Inazuma Eleven/イナズマイレブン 1. Chapter 1

**Me: Hello minna! ^^ First of all, this will be yaoi, so if you don't like that, don't read this. It's also my first yaoi-fic ever, so maybe it's crappy as I-don't-know-what, but I don't care. Second, this is gonna be a RanTaku-**

**Kirino and Shindou: Say what now?!**

**Me: A RanTaku story. You know, Ranmaru... Takuto... Pairing...**

**Kirino and Shindou: *looks at each other, then back at me* EHH?**

**Tsurugi: Well, good luck you guys *snickers evilly*.**

**Me: And I'm planning for some KyouTen as well.**

**Tsurugi: Say what now?!**

**Me: Ugh, you guys should read more fanfictions about yourselves. This entire site is full of pairings like these.**

**Kirino, Tsurugi and Shindou: We know what it means... It's just *looks at each other, blushes***

**Me: No more objections? Great. But before we start I want to say something else. Neru Vearin, the start of this fanfic was inspired by your (awesome) story 'Kirino's Tail' (seriously, if anyone hasn't read that one yet, go check it out. It's awesome). After reading that, this story came in my head and after lots of doubts, I decided to write it down. There may be some similar things in this story (like Kirino being a merman)-**

**Kirino: WHAT?!**

**Me: a merman. Now shush, I am talking. Anyways, I have tried to create as much differences between our stories as possible and I think it worked out pretty well. It's quite different from yours, especially further in the story. However, if you feel like I've been copying your story, please PM me about it or leave a review, then I'll rewrite this thing. Deal? Great! Okay now, Kirino-kun, please do the disclaimer.**

**Kirino: I can't believe you made me a mermaid.**

**Me: A merman. Now do the disclaimer or I'll come up with something even worse.**

**Kirino: *eyes widen* Att-chan doesn't own the Inazuma Eleven/Go/Chrono Stone/Galaxy series, nor it's characters. *mutters* But apparently, she does have the right to change their species and love interests. *grumbles***

**Me: Enjoy minna! ^^**

* * *

><p>Kirino Ranmaru, prince of the merfolk in the Sea of Japan, grumbled silently. He was seated left from his father and the other seat was taken by his father's main adviser. The three of them were listening to the presentation of one of the councillors, who was trying his best to convince his superiors. Of course, there was no way that Kirino would get a moment rest.<p>

Not. Ever.

He sighed for the tenth time this morning and tried to focus on the meeting. His father, the king, noticed his stance and sent him a stern look. Kirino knew what that look meant: _Pay attention, boy, this is important. One day you'll be king and I want you to protect your subjects at all costs and blah blah blah..._ Kirino heard that speech thousands of times and he knew it by heart. He knew that he had to protect the merfolk in times of danger, he knew that he was gonna be a king one day... He just didn't see how discussing all morning whether the taxes should be raised by 0,03% or not could help the kingdom to get better.

Yes, it was a meeting about the taxes... Again. It was boring, time-consuming and - according to Kirino - absolutely pointless. While Kirino would much rather train with his sword or patrol along the borders, his father forced him to attend meetings like this one. Kirino admitted, training and patrolling were boring tasks too, but at least they served a goal.

He didn't like the old mermen in this room either. They always looked down on soldiers and Kirino knew that they only accepted him as their equal because he would be their ruler one day and when that day came, they wouldn't want to look bad for ignoring him in the past. It was the exact opposite for Kirino actually. He admired the soldiers and knights for their bravery and courage. After all, every time the kingdom got attacked or there was another catastrophe, the knights and soldiers would dive in to protect the people while the councillors would hide underneath their tables like the cowards they were.

The councillor had finished his presentation and the king bent over to his right to discuss with his advisor. Kirino just stared blankly ahead. The king wanted to hear Kirino's opinion as well, but he refrained from asking when he saw the distant look on his son's face. He sighed and turned to the councillor again, informing him that he would considder the proposed tax raise. The councillor bowed, thanked his lord adulatory and left the room.

"Ranmaru," the king sighed, and Kirino turned his gaze towards his father. "You should really pay more attention to meetings like these. It's important and one day you'll-"

"Yes, I know, father," Kirino sighed. Interrupting the king was considered a crime, but the king ignored it for today, as it was his own son that did the deed. "I know that I am to be king and that I have to protect the merfolk, but that's exactly why I wonder why I am here. How in the name of Poseidon can discussing about tax raises help me protect my kingdom, rather than practicing? Or patrolling? Or investigating?" The young merman let out a frustrated sigh as he sank deeper into his chair.

The king's eyes softened at the sight and he remembered how he was when he was younger. "You are really into your investigation, aren't you?" he laughed. A month or so ago, he had assigned Ranmaru with a test. The young prince had to learn more about the species that lived around them and the king thought that it would be a good idea to let the boy investigate on his own. Ranmaru was an eager merman when it came to new knowledge and he had happily agreed. He chose a subject - and a challenging one at that - and studied even in his spare time. "Well then, you are dismissed. Are you going to the surface again?"

"I am going to study the doubletailers again, yes indeed," Kirino replied as he swam towards the door.

"Remember, don't talk to them," the king smiled softly. "You know what they say, doubletailers hav-"

"Yes yes, I know, father," Kirino sighed, interrupting his father once more and thus commiting another crime without realising it. "I'm not a child anymore. _"Doubletailers have silver tongues that lure you into their webs of lies."_ Don't worry, I won't talk to them. I won't even show myself, or else I might influence my investigation."

"Alright then, take care," his father smiled, but Kirino was already gone. He went to his room and prepared himself for the journey. It would take just a few hours to get there, but it was worth it. Kirino found the doubletailers utmost interesting and liked to study them up close. At first, he had read every scroll about his subject in the local library (it once was only for royals, but his father's father had decided that the knowledge should be for every merman and -maid). However, there wasn't much known about the doubletailers that Kirino was investigating, so the young prince often went to the surface to study them up close. They looked a lot like merfolk, but they had two strange tails - hence the name that the merfolk gave to that species. The doubletailers didn't live in the water: they moved around on land while using both tails to support themselves. It was very interesting to see.

Kirino swam towards the surface and reached his destination within two hours. He hid behind a few rocks and prepared himself to raise his head above the water. That was the only thing Kirino hated about studying the doubletailers: he had to go above the water. It was not really a big problem, just an annoying detail. The thing was, merfolk could survive both underwater and on the surface, since they possessed two respiratory systems.

Since most of them never came to the surface, only one system was used: they breathed in water, which left their bodies via small openings in their necks, the gills. Though before it left their body, their respiratory system would take in the oxygen from the water. However, merfolk also had lungs that could assimilate large amounts of oxygen from the air. Merfolk that went up to the surface really often 'trained' their second respiratory system and had no trouble with switching between them. Kirino however had not often been there and his lungs weren't very experienced yet. Conclusion: every time he went to the surface, he felt like he was choking and often coughed until his throat was sore. But it was worth it.

Still hidden behind the rocks, Kirino raised himself and as expected, he started to cough immediately. He covered his mouth with his hands in order to muffle the sound. He had the feeling that it stopped sooner than usual, meaning that his lungs finally adjusted to breathing. When his breathing was normal again, he peeked around the rock to find doubletailers to study. But unfortunately, the beach he was looking at was deserted. His heart sunk a bit.

This couldn't be true, could it? Had he really swum for two hours to find a deserted beach? He checked it again, hoping that he was mistaken and would see one or two doubletailers. It was pointless: he was really the only living being around there. He sighed and turned around, about to return home again, when he saw something from the corner of his eye.

A movement. He stared at the place where he thought to see it, but he saw nothing. Then he remembered one of his lessons from the captain of the royal guard (all royal mermen had to take on at least two years of battle school before they were allowed to rule the kingdom). The captain of the guards was a true genius when it came to tactics for spotting hidden enemies. Don't stare at one point for too long, the merman had said, sometimes, the enemy wants you to look at one point so that he can surprise you. Scan your entire setting. That way, you have a greater chance of spotting movements.

Kirino nodded to himself and let his eyes float around the entire beach, the forest behind it, the cliff, the... Wait a minute! The cliff! If he squinted his eyes, he could see a careful movement. Something or someone was climbing down the cliff. It was clear that that someone didn't want to be spotted: he or she wore clothes in the same dark grey colour as the rock.

Kirino hesitated for a bit, but then he decided to discover what or who was climbing there. He sank into the water and swam towards the cliff as fast as possible, making sure that he swam deep enough so that whatever was up there wouldn't notice him. When he reached the foot of the cliff and looked up after hiding behind some rocks, he found that he couldn't see it anymore. Was it gone? Where did it go to?

His thoughts got interrupted when a second thing went down the cliff. At a certain height, this one disappeared as well. Kirino frowned. The creature seemed to become one with the cliff. And it was even harder to figure it out when they wore those clothes. He growled silently and swam backwards, his eyes not leaving the cliff for a second. There came a third creature climbing down. From this point, Kirino could see how small the thing was and that it used a rope do get down. Suddenly the creature stopped. Kirino saw that he was standing on a ledge before he disappeared.

His mind quickly figured out what it meant: it was a cave. The cliff was hollow - at least up to a certain point - and there was a cave inside. You could enter that through the small ledge. Now he was really curious, but there was no way that he would be able to get up there... He growled underwater. His curiosity was killing him.

Then he got an idea. Maybe, just maybe, there was an underwater passage to the cave in the cliff. The chances were slim and Kirino knew that, but he decided to take a look anyways. After all, there were no doubletailers around that he could study and if he returned home early, his father might drag him into another tax-related meeting. He shuddered at the thought and dived deeper, looking for a small opening in the rock.

And he found one, coincidentally. He had swum past it several times, but he only spotted it when he was about to give up. It was a shallow opening, but he managed to squeeze himself through it. After the first few feet, the tunnel he was swimming throug slowly got wider, until it was so wide that he was able to turn around. He smiled to himself. _If this turns out to be a dead end, I can always turn around,_ he thought. But it wasn't a dead end.

The tunnel ended in a small but deep lake, maybe sixteen feet in diameter at the surface and over 150 feet deep. Kirino could clearly hear soft voices, but the sound was deformed by the water, so he couldn't understand the words. A movement above him drew his attention and when he looked at it, he got the shock of his life. A merman's eyes were adjusted to dark surroundings and Kirino had no problem with making out the silhouette that was visible from here. It was probably one of the creatures he saw before, but Kirino was shocked when he recognised what the creature was.

A doubletailer.

* * *

><p><strong>So yeah, that's the first chapter of The Final Battle. Please leave a review with what you thought about it. Please note, Kirino is a merman and has only been to the surface for a few times. There are some things from the human world that he doesn't know yet. Like that humans call themselves 'humans' and not 'doubletailers'. I think that that was quite obvious, but I still like to point it out.<strong>

**Kirino and Shindou: Well, not much happened between us in here... thank goodness.**

**Me: Don't worry, I'll start with that as soon as possible. And further in the story, there will also be some KyouTen, although I mainly focus on RanTaku. Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Me: Boo! Here I am again. This time, it's Shindou's perspective. Just so you know, he's a human ;)**

**Kirino: No fair *pouts***

**Me: Shush. Can you stop about that, please? You make me feel guilty.**

**Kirino: Good.**

**Kariya: Okay, what's going on here?**

**Me: Kirino is pissed because I'm writing a RanTaku fic with him as a merman.**

**Kariya: ... Kirino-senpai with Shindou-san? Pffthh! *starts laughing***

**Kirino: *growls* Kariya!**

**Kariya: Come on, senpai, it's funny! *keeps on laughing***

**Kirino: No, it's not.**

**Me: Kariya, stop laughing, you're mean. By the way, you're in the story too.**

**Kariya: *stops laughing* What?! Wait, what are you going to do with me?**

**Me: *innocent smile* nothing. If you behave, that is.**

**Kariya: Eh? O-of course. E-enjoy the story, minna! And Att-chan doesn't own Inazuma Eleven.**

* * *

><p>Shindou let his eyes wander over his surroundings. The coast was clear. He beckoned the four boys behind him and they crawled out of the bushes where they had been hiding. They were all wearing a grey cloth that made them nearly invisible in the dim forest.<p>

Shindou looked each one of his juniors in the eye. Their faces showed nothing but doubt and nervousness. He didn't blame them, he felt just the same.

The five of them formed a small group within the army that their leader had gathered around him. The Leader was a strange man, but he showed to have potential to lead an army. The first thing that was off about the man? Well, nobody knew his name. He was always introduced as 'the Leader' and when you spoke directly with him, you had to address him as 'Leader-sama'.

The second thing was that the Leader seemed to believe in fairy tales. At least, that was how Shindou voiced it in his head. The mission that they had to fulfill right now was solid proof for that. The Leader claimed that there were other species, similar to humans, and that he could gain power from them. Shindou didn't know if the man was nuts or if there was something else going on, but he really didn't like it. Right this moment, he and his juniors were sneaking through the woods in order to find this secret cave in a cliff. They had to endanger their lives and climb down there, just because the Leader believed that there would be a hint for the location of a town for mermaids. Mermaids for crying out loud! Mermaids didn't exist, everyone knew that. Well, apparently, everyone except for the Leader. The man wanted to captivate one to take it's powers and use it for the upcoming war.

Shindou didn't believe at all that there would be secret 'mermaid' writings in the cave, but he didn't dare to disobey the Leader. The reason for that was that the Leader had a close group of minions around him that would punish every person who dared to utter a negative or doubtful word about the man. That was the same reason why no one dared to desert the army. The few that tried and failed got terrible punishments.

Shindou gritted his teeth when he thought about a good friend of him. It had been a good and eager boy, but he couldn't take more of the constant danger that surrounded them. So two months ago, during the night, after the moon had set and the entire world was covered in pitch black darkness, he had tried to escape.

Later that night, the boy entered the tent that he shared with Shindou. He tripped and fell on Shindou, causing the latter to awaken. Shindou was shocked, to say the least, when he saw his friend covered in terrible bruises and open wounds. He tried to clean them and he did his best to bandage the poor fellow up, but it was all in vain. As soon as the first daylight reached their tent, Shindou's friend died from his terrible injuries.

Shindou never left his side that night, reassuring the boy as much as he could. Strangely, the boy wasn't scared. He was happy. "Now it will all be over," he had smiled. "Now I will finally get rest, now the danger will stop. I will be safe." Those were the things he would say, the entire night. He kept repeating it as some sort of mantra and Shindou believed that the boy eventually forgot what the words meant. Shindou helped him as well as he could, but every time he gave the other something to drink, the boy would nearly choke and cough a lot, which obviously hurt an awful lot. After a few attempts, Shindou had stopped. Shortly before dawn, the other boy had opened his one eye once more (he took on a very hard blow on his right cheek and it was swollen, so he wasn't able to open his right eye). He looked at Shindou with that one eye and smiled a half-smile - revealing the dark holes where his white teeth used to be. Then, he told Shindou what had happened earlier that night.

_"I wandered around the campsite and snuck past the guards. They had patrolled for almost three hours and they were already very sleepy, so that wasn't that hard. I got out and hid in the shadows of the forest, silently getting further and further away from this hell. When I was a few miles away, I relaxed a bit, because I thought that I had escaped. But suddenly, something grabbed my arm and everything got blurry. Just a few seconds later, I was in the Leader's tent. It was crazy, I don't know how I got here so fast, but I was there and he was too. He stood in front of me, calm as ever, and looked at me with his cold eyes. He said that he fetched me, that I was a coward for running off and that cowards didn't deserve to live. And then he started beating. He hit me and kicked me and scratched my skin with his nails. It was torture, absolute torture. I thought I would die immediately, but fortunately I didn't. When he was done, he tossed me outside his tent like a sack of potatoes. I managed to get up and reach you, thank goodness."_

Shindou could still hear his friend's words inside his mind, he could still see the scene in great detail. After those words, the boy had grabbed Shindou's land forcefully. "Shindou," he had said. "Make sure that you are as safe as you can be, but more importantly, listen to your heart and mind. And leave. Find a good moment and get out of here, before he gets you too." Then, after one last shuddering breath, Shindou's friend had died.

It was funny that they didn't know each other very well. Shindou knew his name of course, and where he came from. But his hobbies? His family? His job before he joined the army? Shindou knew nothing about that.

His friend had told him to leave, but Shindou wasn't sure if he could. The Leader knew things about him, where he lived and who he held dear. If he ran, the Leader might punish the people close to him. And he also lost some of his courage after his friend's stories.

"Captain?" one of his juniors muttered. Shindou perked up at the naming of his rank and only then he noticed that a single tear ran down from his eyes. He quickly wiped it away and no one mentioned it although everyone saw it. These four boys had become close with their captain and leader, and they knew that he was very caring and sensitive. But this made them trust their captain even more, as they knew that he cared about their lives as well.

Shindou shook his head vigorously before he spoke to the others in a calm and clear tone. "Okay, we'll do it like the plan. I'll go first and take the bags while you wait behind the tree where the rope is attached to. As soon as I'm on the ledge, I'll tug the rope and then I'll go in further. Tenma, once I tug the rope, you can start climbing. Everyone, tug the rope when you're on the ledge as a sign for the next person to start, alright?"

"Hai," the four other boys said in synchronisation.

Shindou nodded, wished them good luck, took the rope, walked to the edge of the cliff and slowly climbed down. It was dangerous, since the rock was very slippery and steep, but he eventually managed to reach the ledge. He tugged the rope once and then went on into the dark hole. It was now even harder to maintain his balance as he couldn't see where he had to place his feet. He slipped away a few times, but his tight hold on the rope prevented him from falling. He was happy that he had put his sword and shield on his back, or else it would have terribly bothered him during the climb.

And then, after what seemed like an eternity, he reached the bottom. He sighed relieved and took a minute to relax his arms. But then he heard Tenma on the ledge and he hurried to light up one of the few torches that they had. He held it as high as he could to light the path for the other boy.

When Tenma had reached the ground as well, Shindou handed over the torch to him and lighted another one to take a look at his surroundings. The cave was neither really big, nor very small. There was a small lake, approximately sixteen feet in diameter, and the cave's walls were smooth and slippery. He sighed, it would be hard to get out of here again, even with the rope they had. Here and there were a few big rocks on the ground - some were even bigger than him.

When he had fully inspected the cave, he went back to the other boys. Tenma and Shinsuke were already standing there and Hikaru just reached the ground. If he listened closely, Shindou could hear Kariya on the ledge. Though he wasn't quite sure, because it could also be the waves that he heard. When the teal haired boy had joined them in the cave, Shindou lighted up one more torch and handed it to Hikaru.

"Is everyone alright?" The four boys nodded in response. "Great. Now, you all heard the Leader's orders. There should be a secret message around here."

"Captain, do you believe that it's real?" Shinsuke asked doubtfully. Shindou sent his junior an apologetic smile.

"I sure hope so. Let's not waste any more time. Tenma and Shinsuke, you take Tenma's torch and go look around those giant rocks, maybe they hold some clue. Hikaru, Kariya, you explore the left side of the cave. I'll check the area around the lake."

Everyone agreed and went to explore their part of the cave. Shindou walked over to the lake and put his hand in the water. He brought it to his mouth and tasted it, quickly spitting it out again when he realised that it was salty. Great, so they had to be careful with the amount of water they drank. He carefully inspected the walls, but he didn't see anything that could be a message.

"Captain?" Shindou turned around to see Kariya standing there. The boy pointed at the nearby wall. "Could that be it?" Shindou looked in the direction of his pointed finger, but saw nothing.

"What are you talking about, Kariya?"

"I saw it by coincidence. Here, give me the torch and take a few steps back." Shindou did as he said and turned around. Now he saw what Kariya meant. There was a strange glimmering in the wall that seemed to form strange signs. Shindou's heart sped up. Was this is? But then he noticed that it couldn't be a message, since the pattern consisted most out of vertical lines. When you took a closer look at it, you could see that it was caused by drops of water that had run down this walls for centuries.

He sighed. _So this isn't a message from mermaids._ He couldn't believe that he actually thought that. Hello, mermaids were something from a myth, remember? He rolled his eyes before he turned to Kariya again. The boy was still waiting for his judgement as a captain.

"I'm sorry, Kariya, but don't think that's it."

Then he got the feeling of being watched. Something was different, and it was absolutely not good. He turned around to find the source of his uneasyness. His eyes shot back to Kariya when he heard the younger boy scream in pain. He saw him laying on the ground, enlightened by the torch that had rolled a few feet away from him. Kariya despirately clutched onto his left leg, and Shindou could see why. The boy's left lower leg was pierced by a big arrow.

* * *

><p><strong>Aaaaand I'm just gonna stop it there. Okay, this turned out to be long - really long - and there doesn't even happen very much. Alright, about Shindou's friend? I didn't give him a name because I didn't think he was important enough for one :p. Okay, I split this chapter in two parts, cause I just kept on writing and writing and now this came out. I'm not really satisfied with it actually, but maybe I'll rewrite it later. It's just a bit hard do describe how Shindou feels, cause he's afraid of the Leader, but he thinks the man is crazy at the same time... So sorry if those parts are a bit crappy. And for some reason, I'm very tired, so my grammar and such is worse than usual, I think..<strong>

**Please Read & Review :3 Wait, you already did the first one... Ah, who cares.**

**See you next time, folks.**

**Bye!**

**Kariya: Hold it right there!**

**Me: What?**

**Kariya: Why did I get shot by an arrow? I behaved!**

**Me: Actually, I'm kinda angry with you.**

**Kariya: Why?**

**Me: Have you ever heard your dub name? It's terrible!**

**Kariya: What? That's why I was shot?**

**Me: Yes. And now, goodbye! ^^**


	3. Chapter 3

**Me: Wow, I'm really in a writing spree! This is the third chapter for this story in two days! Thanks a lot for all of the sweet replies, guys! It's great! I just wanted to tell you, my project weeks (= homework free weeks) are now officially over, so I may post later... This is just to make up for that I guess? Nah, it's because I have nothing better to do and you guys leave such sweet reviews. I'm so happy!**

**IE-Cast: Well, we're not!**

**Me: Why not?**

**Kirino: You made me a mermaid!**

**Kariya: I got shot because of my dub name.**

**Shindou: You make me fall in love with my best friend!**

**Me: *sigh* Kirino-kun, for the last time, it's a merMAN. Kariya-kun, don't worry, I have something in mind for that. As for Shindou *snickers* well, you two are just really cute. *skips happily away* ~And you're gonna kiss~**

**Shindou: What? Hey, come back here! *chases me***

**Kirino and Kariya: *looks at each other, shrugs* Lotus Sword does not own Inazuma Eleven. Enjoy our suffering!**

* * *

><p>"Quench your torches!" Shindou screamed from the top of his lungs. Luckily, the other boys obeyed him immediately. All but one. Kariya was still clutching on to his leg and whimpering, therefore he couldn't quench the torch that laid near him. Shindou looked up at the opening to see two men standing there, both armed with bow and arrows. One of them was positioning himself for shooting again and Shindou knew that the man was aiming for the helpless boy on the ground, who had nothing do defend himself and was a clear target because of the torch.<p>

_Klang!_

The collision of the metal arrowhead with the rock caused a rain of sparks and made a very unpleasant sound. The arrow had missed Kariya by a few inches and Shindou sighed in relief, but there was no time to sit back. Before any of the men could shoot again, Shindou dashed forward and picked up the torch. "Take cover!" he shouted at his teal haired junior and then he ran away. He didn't know how well trained the archers were, but he heard stories about people who could even hit targets in the dark when they focussed on its location. That was why Shindou didn't just quench the torch: if those men turned out to be that well trained, then they would still target Kariya.

But now that Shindou dragged their attention by running with the torch lifted up high, it would be harder for the men to determine the exact location of the other boy again. There was only one flaw in his plan, Shindou thought as he felt something hit the ground right before his feet. Now _his_ life was in danger.

_Klang!_

It was an another arrow and Shindou jumped over it, even though that wasn't really necessary. He was almost at the lake when the other man shot an arrow again. Shindou felt, heard and saw how it hit the wall right in front of him. He tripped and with a loud _splash!_ he fell into the water.

* * *

><p>"Damn it, he got away," one of the men grumbled.<p>

"Don't worry, keep your arrows ready. He has got to come up for air sooner or later," the other said and both men positioned themselves for that moment. The cave wasn't exactly pitch black, but the men's eyes had to adjust to the sudden darkness after the torches were extinguished. One of the boys beneath them had pulled his injured companion behind a few rocks and the others hid as well, so it was impossible for the moment to hit them. That was why they waited for the last boy, who would be helpless once he came up.

However, after ten minutes, the boy had still not reappeared and the younger man was getting impatient. Before the other could stop him, he shot a couple of arrows at random places in the lake.

"Spare your arrows," the older one said as he placed his hand on the other's shoulder. "No one can stay underwater for so long. He must be dead already." The younger one seemed to think a moment about this and then he nodded.

"What about the others?"

The other one didn't reply. Instead, he grabbed his knife and started to cut the rope. There was still enough left for him and his companion to climb up again, but the people in the cave wouldn't be able to use it. "There's no way they'll get out. Now let's return to the base and let nature do its work."

They climbed up again, leaving the four boys beneath them sigh in relief. But their relief didn't last long as three of them casted worried looks on the lake, secretly hoping that their captain would be alright. But they knew he wasn't. As the man had said, no one can stay underwater for so long.

* * *

><p>Kirino hid in the shadows when something suddenly came into the water. He didn't have trouble at all with the little light in the water. It took him a few seconds before he realised what the thing in the water was: it was the doubletailer that he had seen before. He pushed himself harder against the wall, desperately trying to become one with it.<p>

Now the doubletailer would see him too. Maybe it would even speak to him. Would he be entranced or something like that? Kirino realised that he never actually thought about how doubletailers 'lured you into their webs of lies with their silver tongues'. He had just assumed that it would be alright as long as he didn't talk to them. But what if they talked to him? Maybe they lured someone with their voice rather than with their words? Maybe all a doubletailer had to do was talk to him and he would be trapped?

But the doubletailer didn't notice him at all. The creature was busy with something on his back and from the looks of it, he was struggling to get it off. Despite his fear, Kirino left his hiding place and cautiously neared the creature. It looked quite like him, except for those strange tails. The longer the doubletailer was in the water, the more aggressive his struggle became. His movements were more vigorous than before and they seemed a bit... desperate? Then the creature slowed down as he sunk deeper and deeper into the lake, clearly being pulled down by the weight of the thing on his back.

Kirino, now more curious than ever, swam even closer to the creature. The doubletailer seemed in need, but Kirino didn't really understand why. Even so, he wanted to help it. A little voice in his head told him to swim back to the safety of the shadows and leave the creature be, but he ignored it. Another voice reminded him of how he promised his father that he wouldn't talk to them, but he shrugged it off. Besides, he wasn't going to talk to it. He would just get a little closer and see if he could help it.

He approached the creature from behind and he saw how it's hands were still pulling at the straps on his shoulder, though it didn't use as much force as before. The straps ran over it's back and kept a sword and a shield in their place. Those were there so they wouldn't bother the doubletailer while he was doing other things like climbing, but now they caused it to sink deeper and deeper. Kirino hesitated for a moment, but then he closed the remaining distance between him and the doubletailer. He grabbed the straps and pulled as hard as he could, successfully lifting them off of the creature. The straps slipped down it's arms and the sword and shield sank to the bottom.

Kirino expected the doubletailer to turn around and maybe thank him or attack him or... well, do something. But he was wrong: the creature didn't move at all. It kept on sinking, though slower than before as it was lighter without its weapons. Kirino scowled and inspected the creature. What was it doing? Was it tricking him? It didn't seem like it, but he wasn't sure. After all, it _was_ a doubletailer.

Its hair sank slower than the rest of its body and thus it was lifted up, revealing the doubletailer's neck. And that was when Kirino saw it. The doubletailer lacked gills! The small openings in its neck through which the water could leave its body weren't there. Did that mean that the doubletailer couldn't breath underwater? Well, that would certainly explain why the creatures lived on land instead of underwater. But that also meant that it was suffocating!

Kirino completely forgot his fear as he tried to figure out what to do. Of course, his father told him to stay away from doubletailers, but this was an emergency. He couldn't let it die, now could he? _Okay, okay, okay. Easy Ranmaru! Think. Okay, doubletailers don't have gills. They look a lot like the merfolk, so maybe they have lungs? If that's the case, all it needs is oxygen._

When he had figured that out, the solution was simple. He turned the doubletailer around until the creature faced him. Its eyes were closed and its mouth was slightly opened. Kirino placed his hands on its chest to prevent it from sinking deeper. He let his lips cover the doubletailer's mouth and closed his eyes. Then he breathed calmly, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth.

He felt the water float through his gills after the oxygen was assimilated. And because he was so calm himself, his body didn't need all the oxygen. Therefore, he breathed the remaining amount of oxygen in the doubletailer's mouth. The two of them were still sinking, so Kirino pushed the creature softly against the wall, not pausing his CPR session for even a second. He could feel the doubletailer's heartbeat, which was slow but steady.

Then, he was surprised. The doubletailer suddenly spat water in Kirino's mouth and its upper body began to move with jerking movements. Kirino was startled for a second, but then he realised that the doubletailer's body simply tried to get rid of the water in its lungs. He calmed down and continued breathing in the creature's mouth. The water that was spat in his mouth quickly left his body again through his gills.

* * *

><p>Shindou coughed and coughed to get rid of the salty water in his lungs. It hurt his throat, but he didn't care about that. Thank goodness, he had been saved. When he fell into the lake, the torch went out and he had been blinded and disoriented for a few seconds. When he realised what had happened, he noticed that his heavy sword and shield were pulling him down. So he struggled with the straps on his shoulders, trying his best to get rid of his heavy burden. The longer it took, the more he had panicked and the burning feeling in his chest, caused by his lungs that were screaming for air, didn't help at all.<p>

And then, his vision got darker. He realised that he was losing his consciousness due to lack of air. He would die here. He accepted that fact rather quickly. Just as he closed his eyes and opened his mouth - letting the last air in his body escape - he felt how his burden was lifted. Then it went black.

But he must've been pulled out somehow. Maybe Tenma or someone else dived in and pulled him out of the water? But there was something odd, something that didn't seem right. And then it hit him.

He was still in the water! He could feel the water pressing against his skin. He felt how something held his shoulders and pushed him against the wall. Was he dead? Was this a sick, last minute game from his mind? Had he drowned in the lake after all? Was he in heaven? Was that why he could breath? But why was heaven underwater? Wasn't heaven supposed to be... well, in the air? These questions and many more passed his mind as he tried to understand what was going on.

He opened his eyes and blinked until they were used to the salty water. Then he tried to look around, but his view got blocked by something pink. When he took a better look, he saw that a pink haired girl was kissing him. Well, he certainly didn't expect that one! She had placed her hands on his shoulders and kept pushing him against the wall while her lips never left his.

He started to struggle, wishing the girl would stop so that he could ask her what was going on. The girl pushed him harder against the wall, clearly not intending to let go of him. He pushed harder, determined to know what was going on. He felt how her lips left his and immediately after that, he nearly choked on the water.

"Be careful," the girl said to him and when he looked at her again, he got the shock of his life. Instead of legs, the girl had a tail. It was a mermaid! Completely in shock, he blurted out all air that was left in his body. The mermaid quickly swam towards him again and placed her lips on his once more. And then he felt how air filled his tired lungs once more. Once his heartbeat was at a normal pace again, he tried to process what was happening.

He was clearly still alive, but he was underwater. There was a mermaid kissing him and that enabled him to breathe. He wanted to go up to the surface, but he was afraid to break the liplock once more. So he tapped her shoulder slightly and after she softly squeezed his shoulders, she pulled away. Since he couldn't say anything, he pointed upwards. The mermaid seemed to understand him. She swam towards him and kissed him once more while blowing air in his lungs. After two times, she squeezed his shoulder again and pulled away.

"It's still too dangerous up there. Before you came in, I heard a terrible scream and then th-"

She was interrupted by several projectiles that suddenly pierced through the water. She looked at the things with curiosity before she remembered his handicap and kissed him again. But Shindou had recognised the things. Arrows. Instantly, his thoughts drifted away to his wounded junior. Would the boy be okay? Would the archers still be there?

The mermaid kept him down there for about five to ten minutes. Every time she felt the need to tell him something, she squeezed his shoulder softly to signal him that she would pull away. But the last time she pulled away, she grabbed his hand and pulled him up. She made small but quick and powerful movements with her tail and they reached the surface in no time. The mermaid didn't raise herself above the surface, but she used the speed as a run-up to push him out of the water.

Shindou landed with his chest on the edge, gratefully taking in large gulps of air. When his breathing was normal again, he looked up and checked his surrounding. He immediately looked into the worried, disbelieving and even scared eyes of his four juniors.

* * *

><p><strong>Kirino: O.o<strong>

**Me: *walks up to him* Did you like it?**

**Shindou: What happened?**

**Kariya: You didn't read it, Shindou-senpai?**

**Shindou: No, I was chasing her *points at me* So, what happened?**

**Kirino: Ehh... We err..**

**Me: You two had a five minute make out session before you even said a word to each other.**

**Shindou: We WHAT?!**

**Kariya: Ne, can't we ask Neru Vearin-sama to say that Att-san copied her story? Then she'll have to rewrite or delete it, right?**

**Me: ^^ Too late! Neru Vearin already left a review and said that it was okay.**

**Kariya, Kirino and Shindou: *groans***

**Me: leave a review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Me: Okay, I'm back again! Happy Valentine's Day! ^^ I hope you all got lots of roses and cards and chocolats and stuff. And if you didn't, well... Join the club! *high fives with the computer screen***

**Saryuu: You know, if you break your computer, you can't write on.**

**Me: Shush, Saryuu. What are you even doing here? Go back to your own story!**

**Saryuu: *sweatdrop* alright, alright, geez! *leaves***

**Me: okay, I finished this a few days ago, but I wanted to post it today 'cause I want to post something on Valentine's day :p Ghehehe. It's not all that romantic or Valentine-y, but yeah... Enjoy!**

**Oh yeah, and I don't own!**

* * *

><p>"C-captain?!" Tenma exclaimed. "Is that really you?"<p>

"Uh, yeah," Shindou replied, still panting a little. A soft moan dragged his attention. "Kariya? Are you alright?" he asked worriedly while he got up and came closer to his juniors.

"I'm perfectly fine, Captain," the boy replied through his gritted teeth. His cheeks were wet from the tears. "It's just a scratch."

Shindou looked at the boy's left leg and his face went pale. The wound was seriously bad and Kariya would most certainly die if it wouldn't be treated. He reached for his backpack, which contained his emergency first-aid kit, but he felt nothing. His heart went cold when he realised that it now laid on the bottom of the lake. Even if he would be able to get it, everything would be soaking wet. Moreover, it would be salty as well, so it would hurt an awful lot when the bandages would be placed on the wound.

"Kariya, I'm... I'm sorry. I should've been more careful. I thought that we were completely safe, but they..." Shindou said with tears in his eyes. If he had been more careful, then his junior wouldn't be about to die. He knew deep in his heart that he could never have forseen this, but he still blamed himself. He looked up when he felt Kariya grabbing his hand.

"It's alright... Captain... We knew that it was... dangerous... I'm not blam-... Blaming you..." the boy smiled although tears still streamed down his face. Shindou looked him in the eye while squeezing his hand.

"You're one of the bravest men I have ever known, Kariya."

The other boy nodded in response, a half smile on his lip. "Now tell me, Captain... How is it you... you're still alive? You've been gone... for a long time..."

Shindou looked around to find his other juniors staring at him with curiosity as well. He took a step back so that he could look them all in the eye. Before he said something, he closed his eyes and rubbed them with his fingers. When he looked at the others again, a tired smile was on his lips. "Would you believe me if I told you that I was saved by a mermaid's kiss?"

* * *

><p>Kirino was just beneath the surface and he could clearly hear the conversation of the doubletailers. He had intended to leave and hide as soon as the doubletailer was on land, but his curiousity was too great. He wanted to know more about the that specie, so he stayed just below the surface and eavesdropped on them.<p>

He didn't feel like he was entranced or lured by their voices and this reassured him a bit. It was his intention to stay just below the surface and not make further contact, but then he heard what that one doubletailer said.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I was saved by a mermaid's kiss?"

That one statement just made his blood boil. A _mermaid_'s kiss? Before he could stop himself, he broke through the surface, placing his lower arms on the edge and resting on them. "Excuse me?!" he shouted from the top of his lungs, causing the doubletailers to flinch and turn around. Kirino wanted to say more, but the switch between his respiratory systems prevented him from doing so. He coughed while he almost collapsed. He felt a hand on his arm and looked up to see the worried eyes of the doubletailer he just saved.

"Are you okay?"

Kirino, suddenly remembering the rumors about the doubletailers, got a bit scared. He had a moment of weakness and the creature in front of him might take advantage of that. Besides, it was now talking to him! He pulled his arms back and swam away, though he kept his head above the surface. He stopped in the middle of the lake, coughing until his lungs were working properly again.

The four doubletailers stood on the side of the lake while the fifth one sat behind them, leaning against a rock. "It's okay, we won't hurt you," the all too familiar doubletailer said.

"I can't believe it, a real mermaid," the smallest one sighed in admiration. That little remark caused Kirino's anger to return.

"Do I look like a mermaid to you?" he asked. The doubletailers looked at each other in confusement before returning their gazes towards Kirino.

"Aren't you?" asked one of them.

"Of course not," Kirino growled while swimming closer until he was just a few feet away from them. They still couldn't reach him there and he didn't have to yell so much. "That's one of the worst insults I have ever heard. I am a merman."

"A mer...man? So you are male?!" the small doubletailer exclaimed in surprise. Kirino gritted his teeth in annoyance. Of course he was a male, wasn't it obvious? Back home, everyone knew that he was a merman. Stupid doubletailers.

The familiar one knelt down before Kirino and smiled. "I'm sorry, that was an honest mistake from our end. It was really dark down there so I must have mistaken you for a mermaid. I'm sorry about that."

Kirino eyed it but didn't say a word. He quickly backed away when the doubletailer reached out its hand. The creature looked at him in surprise, but then it smiled its warm smile again.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be fine," he said. "I'm Shindou Takuto, what's your name?"

Kirino eyed the outstretched hand suspiciously before he carefully answered: "Kirino Ranmaru." He decided to keep the fact that he was a prince to himself. Who knew what the doubletailers would do with that information? He glanced at the hand again, which hadn't moved anymore. He was curious, so after a few seconds he asked: "What's with the hand?"

The doubletailer in front of him looked confused at its hand and then back at him. "It's a handshake. You know, for when you introduce yourself?" Kirino shook his head in confusion. He had never heard of such a thing. The doubletailer smiled that sweet smile again. "Come on, give me your hand," he said. Kirino looked at his own right hand and hesitated. Everything in his body screamed do swim away and leave the cave, but his curiosity screamed even louder to stay. He knew that he would never get a chance like this one again, and maybe he would discover something really important about them! So he slowly placed his hand in the doubletailer's hand and waited. He was relieved when all that happened was a slow movement up and down, before the creature let go of his hand. He exhaled, not realizing that he held his breath during the action. He had to admit that he had expected to be dragged out of the water and captured or something like that, but nothing of the sort happened.

He was introduced to the other doubletailers as well and they all gave him one of those weird handshakes. Matsukaze Tenma. Nishizono Shinsuke. Kageyama Hikaru. Their naming system turned out to be the same as his: surname first, then the first name. Kirino saved this information in his head, determined to mention it in the report about. These three doubletailers insisted that he called them by their first names and Kirino agreed to it, thinking that it might be a strange habit. The merfolk never called each other by their first names, unles they were family, really close friends or lovers or something like that. But he was pretty sure that he wasn't anything like that to the doubletailers. But yeah, as he thought before, maybe it was just a strange habit of theirs?

He then glanced over to the fifth doubletailer, who was sitting against the wall. The creature saw him and flashed him a tired, painful smile. "Kariya Masaki is the name," he sighed slowly. "So... you were the one... making out with our... captain, weren't you?"

Kirino frowned at the statement. Making out? "What is making out?" he asked confused. The creature on the ground looked a bit confused. This was clearly not the reaction he had expected.

"Making out means... kissing," Shindou said with a small blush on his face as he remembered what happened in the lake. Kirino stared at him for a few seconds, studying his blush, before he asked his next question.

"And what does kissing mean?"

It remained silent in the cave while all the doubletailers stared at him. He started to feel uncomfortable.

"Eh?! You don't know what a kiss is?" Shinsuke exclaimed with widened eyes and he exchanged glances with the others. Kirino shook his head.

"So, what is it?"

"Kissing is... like... er..." Hikaru started.

"It's something you do with your loved one," Shindou explained while his kind looking eyes bore in Kirino's. "You place your lips on their lips and keep it there. It's like... a sign of affection."

Kirino's cheeks heated up and he lowered himself slightly in the water, until only his eyes were above the surface. Shindou chuckled at his reaction and motioned him to get up again. "It's okay, you didn't know that. Besides, you saved me, so thank you for that."

Kirino nodded and lifted himself again. But there was one thing he had forgotten...

Using his arms on the edge to keep him above the surface, he coughed for a few moments until his lungs started to work again. "Darn lungs," he muttered before he looked up at the doubletailers. They all eyed him with worry written over their faces.

"Are you okay?" Tenma asked and Kirino nodded.

"I'm fine, it's just those damn lungs need to start up again. I haven't been to the surface all that often, you see, so my lungs are not used to working. Every time I start breathing air instead of water, well... That happens. But I believe I'm getting used to switching. It's getting easier every time."

"That's great to hear," Hikaru smiled.

Kirino wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by a painful yelp. They all turned around to Kariya, who had produced the sound. Kirino suddenly noticed how pale the creature was. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly.

Shindou moved over to the smaller doubletailer and placed his hand on his forehead. The creature's eyes were closed and he was breathing shallow. Kirino wondered if the creature had even heard him at all.

"As you can see, he isn't," Shindou said. "He was hit by an arrow." At Kirino's questioning look, he pointed at the piece of wood in the younger one's left tail, which was clearly out of place. "But we have nothing to treat his wounds, so it doesn't look good for him..."

Kirino watched as Shindou let his voice fade away. He saw small drops of water appear in the corners of the creature's eyes. He wanted to ask about it, but he refrained from doing so. It was clear to him that Shindou was mourning over his dying friend and it wouldn't be polite if he asked about such trivial details.

An idea popped into his mind. He wasn't sure if it would work with doubletailers, but it was worth to try, right? For some reason, he didn't like the sight of Shindou being sad. He inhaled and looked at the other creatures.

"There might be a way..."

* * *

><p><strong>Me: DUN DUN DUUUUUN! :D Yay, Kariya is going to be safe again! At least, I hope so... Maybe it won't work out! MUWHAHAHA!<strong>

**Kariya: You're the worst, Att-chan! *pouts* Why are you even so happy, you're the one who made me injured in the first place!**

**Me: *puts on innocent smile* Whatever are you talking about, Kariya-kun~? It were those men on the ledge, remember? Are you now getting amnesia because of blood loss~?**

**Kariya: *growls***

**Me: Anyways, you may have noticed that Kirino starts to think different about the doubletailers... In the first half of this chapter, he thinks of them as 'beings' and sees them as 'it' instead of 'he'. This changes in the second half and I did this on purpose, 'cause I think it shows how Kirino starts to see them as equals... It's like: at first he thought of them like we would think about other animals (dogs, cats, monkeys, you name it). Later, he realises that they are actually just like him and he starts to see them more as persons.**

**Hikaru: Please leave a review, minna!**

**Me: HIKARUUU! *hugs him***

**Hikaru: Ehh? *sweatdrops***


	5. Chapter 5

**Me: Hello minna! So, here's the fifth Chapter of The final battle (seriously, does anyone have a suggestion for that title because I feel like pulling my hair out every time I read it). Anyhow, Kariya was shot by an arrow and is kind of dying now I guess, and I can't really let that happen now can I... Well, actually I could, because I'm planning a character death in this story, but you'll find out about that later.**

**Kariya: Who are you going to kill?!**

**Me: Later, Kariya, later. Now, do the disclaimer please!**

**Kariya: *eyes me suspiciously* Lotus Sword-sama doesn't own Inazuma Eleven. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"There might be a way..."<p>

Those five words filled Shindou with sudden hope. Maybe there was a chance that Kariya could survive all of this. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well..." The mermaid in front of him trailed off and Shindou felt the sudden urge to shake him vigorously to get the answer, but he refrained from doing so. After all, he might just scare the creature away and right now, Kirino might be the only one that could save Kariya. "I don't know if it will work with him, since I only tried it out on mermen with small wounds, but I think it's worth a try. Have you ever heard about sirens?"

The question caught him a bit off guard and it took Shindou a few seconds to realize that Kirino was talking to him. He shook his head in response and the merman began to explain. "You see, sirens are water spirits with certain powers. They are really hard to spot, since they're completely made of water, so you'll often only see them as a movement. But they often come to the surface to sing. Their songs can hypnotize other creatures, both in the sea and on land, but sometimes there are other purposes. And old siren lives near the ca-... er, my house, and she taught me the words for healing things with my voice. I'm not really talented at it, since I'm a merman and no siren, but it worked out pretty well so far."

"And what does this have to do with Kariya?" Hikaru asked impatiently.

"Right, sorry. You see, I could try to heal that wound with my voice, but it's going to be tricky. As I said, I only tried it with small wounds and there might be other thinks that'll go wrong since he's no merman... And there's one last thing. He has to be in the water, because I'm not powerful enough to reach him on land..."

"But the water is salt!" Tenma exclaimed. Kirino gave him a weird look.

"Of course it is salt, it's seawater."

"What Tenma means," Shindou explained, "is that salt in an open wound is really, really painful for us."

"Oh," Kirino said, clearly not knowing what else to say.

"Let me... Let me try it," a tired but familiar voice spoke up. Everyone turned to Kariya, who was sitting against the rock with his eyes opened. Shindou looked him in the eye and saw pain and worry, but also a small spark of hope. The boy wasn't stupid. He knew he would die if nothing happened. Shindou knew it too, but he hesitated. Kirino seemed quite unsure about the outcome himself and there wouldn't be a second chance if it went wrong. Could he really take such a risk? It was Kariya's life that they were talking about! After a few more seconds of doubt, he made a decision. Yes, it was Kariya's life, so it should be Kariya's decision as well. And if the boy said that he wanted to try it, then who was he, Shindou, to say no?

"Alright then," he nodded and Kariya flashed him a half, painful smile.

"Thank you... Captain."

"First we'll have to remove the arrow," Shindou started, determined now that they had a clear goal. The pale boy went even paler, but he nodded nonetheless. "Hikaru, get something for him to bite on," Shindou ordered while he carefully replaced Kariya's leg so that he could reach the arrow properly. Despite being very careful, it was obvious that he hurt the younger boy a lot.

Hikaru came back with one of the arrows that laid in the cave and placed it between Kariya's teeth. It would've been funny if the situation wasn't so tense. Kariya grabbed Hikaru's hand with his left and Shinsuke's hand with his right hand before he nodded to Shindou that he was ready. Shindou tried to reassure the boy, but he was very nervous himself. Apart from the first-aid course from the start of his time in the army, he had no experience with things like these.

"I have to break it in half and then pull the pointy end through your leg, do you understand?"

"Just do it," Kariya said with the arrow in his mouth. Shindou nodded and broke the arrow in half. He made sure that he broke it as close to Kariya's skin as possible, so that it wouldn't move too much in the process. Kariya tried to muffle his screams, but the wailing, groaning sound was still heard in the entire cave. He squeezed his friend's hands and tears streamed from his eyes. His breathing went rapidly as he slowly calmed down again.

"You're doing great, Kariya," Shindou said. "We're halfway there. I'm now gonna pull it out, are you ready?" Kariya wordlessly nodded in response and prepared himself for the next wave of pain that would flood over him.

* * *

><p>While the others were busy with Kariya's wounds, Tenma and Kirino were still at the edge of the lake. Tenma's face was pale and he tensed up every time Kariya screamed. "Hey Tenma?" Kirino asked carefully.<p>

"What is it?"

"Can I see your tail, please? I want to make sure that I know all the differences between us, so that I don't accidentally mess it up."

"My what?" Tenma asked confused, but Kirino didn't notice. He pointed to Tenma's left tail, which was covered by some grey cloth. The boy lifted it up and Kirino took a close look at it. It was one of the strangest things he had ever seen. But then again, doubletailers _were_ kind of strange.

His own tail was covered in big scales with the same colour as his hair and it glimmered slightly in the little light there was in the cave. The fins on the end of his tail were flatter and more transparent, though one couldn't see clearly through them. His tail started around his hips, clearly visible due to the darker colour. However, not only his tail was covered in scales. More delicate, lighter coloured scales covered the rest of his body, including his hands and face.

But the doubletailer's tail was different. It wasn't covered in scales, not even in the more delicate scales. Instead it was covered in... Well, he had to admit that he didn't know that, but it was weird. It was like a second cloth was wrapped around the doubletailer's tail. He hesitantly reached out with his hand and touched it, surprised by the warmth he felt. Now that he looked closer, he could also see small hairs on the muscled tail.

Luckily, Kariya wasn't shot at that strange inflection point halfway the tail, for Kirino had no idea how he should heal that. But now he got a pretty clear image of how a doubletailer's tail was built. It wasn't all that different from his after all, only they had two.

When Kirino returned his gaze towards Kariya and Shindou, he saw that the latter just removed the last part of the arrow. There was a gaping hole in Kariya's lower leg and big drips of dark blood dripped out of it. Kariya was still regaining his breath, panting heavily. The sweat on his forehead mixed with the tears on his cheeks. Suddenly he remembered something, and without explaining himself to the others, he dove underwater.

He swam to the very bottom of the lake, searching for what he had seen when he entered the cave. It seemed so useless back then, but now he was glad that he had seen it. _Where is it? It should be around here somewh- There it is!_

* * *

><p>"That's it Kariya, you did great."<p>

His captain's voice pulled out of the raging tornado of pain that swirled inside him, trying to suffocate him. He opened his eyes and blinked a few times to get rid of the blurs. Captain Shindou smiled at him, but his eyes were worried. They reflected Kariya's own feelings. He had no idea what the merman would do to him and he was - although he hated to admit it - very afraid of more pain.

"Help him up," Captain said, and he felt how Hikaru lifted him up and supported him. Shindou went to his other side to do the same, as Shinsuke was obviously too small to do it. With very, very careful steps, they made their way to the lake to find only Tenma was there.

"Tenma? Where's Kirino?" Shindou asked.

"I don't know, Captain. He suddenly swam away."

"Wha-?" Shindou's exclamation was interrupted by the splashing sound of the merman who broke through the surface once more, followed by the inevitable coughing. "Where did you go?" Shindou asked sternly. Kariya could see how the captain tried his best not to show his relief for the merman's return.

"I just had to get something," Kirino replied, still panting a little bit. He opened his hand and Kariya saw a few algae. The merman explained: "I don't know if it will work with you, but at home, the older mermen and -maids use it when they have trouble with breathing. When you place it under your tongue and keep it there, it will react with various substances in your saliva, resulting in the production of oxygen... But I'm not sure if it will work."

Kariya, along with the others in the cave, stared at the small green heap with widened eyes. They had never imagined that something like that even existed. "Let me try it first," Shindou volunteered. Kirino nodded and handed him one of the smaller alga. Kariya watched as his captain took the plant and placed it under his tongue. He used his hand to close his nose and pursed his lips to close his his mouth as well.

They watched as Shindou's chest slowly rose and were amazed when he opened his mouth, not to inhale but to _exhale. _After a few more tries, he turned to Kirino. "It's a strange feeling, but it works. Make sure you breath slowly and exhale through your nose when your underwater." The last sentence was directed to Kariya and he nodded in response.

He took the remaining aglae from Kirino and placed them under his tongue. They tasted salty and he felt a bit of sand, but he ignored that. Captain was right, it felt really strange to breathe without breathing. Kariya could think of no other way to describe it as he was slowly lowered into the water.

At first it was comfortable. His wounded leg was hotter than the rest of his body and the fresh seawater cooled it down quickly. But Kariya knew what would come next and he suppressed his screams of pain when the salt water came into his wound. He closed his eyes, tears escaping from them once more. He felt how Captain and Hikaru slowly let go of his shoulders and how two new hands took him over. He realized that it was the merman, who was now carefully dragging him underwater.

Even though he was prepared for it, Kariya slightly panicked when he was completely submerged by the water. He opened his eyes and tried to get away before his common sense took over again. He calmed himself down and breathed from the algae under his tongue.

The merman took him a few feet deep and then let go of him. He slowly sank, but not fast enough to distract the other creature. Kariya saw how he took a few gulps of water as if to calm himself down. Then he swam closer to him, Kariya, and opened his mouth.

Kariya couldn't describe what it sounded like. It was soft but loud at the same time. The melody was clear, but he wasn't able to make out the words. It was high and low, as if more voices sang it at the same time. Kirino swam closer to him and closed his eyes in concentration.

Kariya's leg started to tingle and then it grew numb. He didn't know for how long this went on, but eventually, Kirino opened his eyes and flashed him a tired smile. He grabbed Kariya's hand and pulled him to the surface. The merman coughed while Kariya gladly took large gulps of air. He was pulled out by Tenma and Hikaru and he didn't protest since he was pretty tired.

Kirino placed his hands on the edge and rested his head on them, obviously very tired. "I think it worked," he panted with a smile. Kariya followed the merman's eyes to his leg and his breathing faltered. The open wound was completely filled up with brand new skin and it didn't hurt at all. There wasn't a scar either, the only thing was that the new skin was slightly lighter than the rest.

He remained silent for a few more seconds, carefully touching the place where his wound once was. He could barely believe that he really survived all of that.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: soow.. no real cliff hanger, but oh well. At least Kariya can walk again.<strong>

**Please leave a review people! ^^**


	6. Chapter 6

**Me: It's been a while :p I hope you still enjoy this story! So yeah, it's spring break here in the Netherlands, so I may update a little more often..**

**ON WITH THE STORY! I don't own IE, enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"I... I can't believe it, it really worked," Shindou breathed in awe. He looked down at the merman, who was panting heavily and looked really tired. "Are you okay?"<p>

"I'm fine..." Kirino replied and he flashed them all a half-smile. "Just a bit tired, that's all. I'm just glad I could help."

"You already helped us so much... First you save our captain and now our companion," Hikaru said and Shindou nodded in agreement.

"Hikaru is right, I don't know if we'll be able to thank you properly, but..."

"Don't mind it," Kirino said, slightly blushing. "I'm just as glad as you are. I learned so much about doubletailers today, it's amazing."

"What are... doubletailers?" Kariya asked curiously. Right now, the five of them were sitting on the ground, their eyes on the merman in the water.

"Eh? W-well, doubletailers are... erm... you are doubletailers, actually," Kirino started awkwardly. "The merfolk don't know much about your species, so we gave you a logical name. You've got two tails, right? Therefore, we know you as doubletailers... But what do you call yourselves then?"

"We're humans," Shinsuke said.

"Hu...mans?" Kirino repeated, tasting the word on his tongue.

"And we don't have tails," Shindou continued. Kirino gave him an odd look.

"But you-"

"We call them legs, we use them to walk around."

"Legs? Wait, then are your fins different as well?"

"We don't have fins either," Tenma giggled. "We have feet... And toes." He took off his footwear and showed Kirino his bare foot. The latter was obviously shocked about what he saw, since both his mouth and his eyes were wide open. He slowly extended his hand to touch Tenma's foot, only to retrieve it as soon as the boy wiggled his toes.

"So you don't have gills, you don't have tails, you don't have fins and you apparently don't have scales either... Strange," he said.

"No, we don't have scales," Shindou smiled. "This is our skin." He extended his hand so that the merman could touch that as well and his skin started to tingle where Kirino touched him. Kirino's wet hand left a trail on his arm, but Shindou didn't mind.

"Amazing," Kirino breathed in awe, and Shindou couldn't help but laugh a bit. Everything that was so normal for him was so strange for the other. They remained silent for a little while, giving the merman time to formulate his next question.

"Are... How is... What about your tongues?" Kirino finally blurted out and he recieved five confused looks, so he tried to explain it. "Are they really... silver?"

"What? No, no they're not," Shindou hurried to reply while Hikaru stuck out his tongue to illustrate the matter. "Why did you think that our tongues were silver?"

The merman flustered and lowered himself a bit as if he tried to hide in the water. "No particular reason, really," he muttered, but his red cheeks said otherwise.

Shindou thought to himself that Kirino looked rather cute like that and before he could feel ashamed of his thought, he let out a chuckle. "It's alright, just tell us."

"Well, where I come from, there's a saying... about you..." Kirino started, not looking any of them in the eye. "It goes like, ehm... 'Doubletailers have silver tongues that lure you into their webs of lies.' Everyone who goes to the surface is told a million times not to talk to your kind. It's... dangerous."

There was an awkward silence, which eventually got broken by Shindou. "And in spite of all those warnings, you still decided to safe us and help us, even if it meant that you had to endanger yourself,"You're heart is in the right place, Kirino."

For some reason, Kirino's cheeks heated up at the comment. "Thanks," he muttered.

"Maybe you could help us one more time?" Shindou started. "You see, those attackers cut our rope, so we can't get out of here anymore. But can you..."

"Hmmm, if I can find enough of those algea for all of you, we could get out the same way as I got in. There's a narrow tunnel at the bottom of the lake. I'll get some extra algea for you, so that you won't need to get up immediately after you left the cave. After all, who knows whether those men are still around or not?"

"If you could do that, Kirino, you would help us so much," Hikaru smiled as he jumped up. Kirino smiled back.

"Yosh, then I'll go now. I'll be right back!" Kirino replied before he swam away from the edge and dived to the bottom of the lake. Shindou didn't move, he just kept on staring to the place where he last saw the merman.

"Captain?" Shinsuke's soft voice made him look up into the eyes of his four juniors. "Captain, are you really planning..." He didn't finish his sentence, but he didn't need to. Everyone knew what he was thinking.

Shindou sighed before he got up. "I'm afraid we don't have a choice," he said while looking out over the water. "Our fate was sealed the moment we met him." Those last words were muttered to himself, but the others could hear them. They joined their captain as they stared at the lake, rather sad about what would happen next.

* * *

><p>It took Kirino half an hour to collect enough algea for the five doubletai- I mean humans. They had to practice a bit with them before they entered the water and Kirino advised them wherever he could. "Remember," he said when they were ready. "You must stay calm and just sink to the bottom. Since you can't see underwater as well as I can, I'll guide you through the tunnel. Then, we'll swim a few miles to the east, to where your camp is located. I have a clear image of where it is now, so we must be able to reach it pretty soon. Is there anything else that we are forgetting right now?"<p>

"I think we have everything, Kirino," Shindou smiled. Kirino smiled back, but then he noticed the hint of sadness in the other's eyes.

"What's wrong, Shindou, you seem a bit down."

"Ahaha, it's probably nothing, Kirino-san," Tenma laughed nervously.

"He's probably scared of getting in the lake again," Kariya added.

Kirino squinted his eyes when he looked at Shindou again and found that the boy wouldn't look him in the eye. Then he smiled reassuringly. "It'll be okay, Shindou. I know the way like the back of my hand and I'll help you if something goes wrong, alright?"

"No, it's not that..." Shindou muttered softly, but the merman heard him.

"Than what is it?"

Shindou flinched and smiled apologetically. "A-ah, nothing, Kirino. Sa, let's get going." And with that, he jumped into the lake and let himself sink. The four other boys followed his example and soon, Kirino was the only one with his head above the surface. Something about their behaviour bothered him. It was almost like they didn't want to get out of the cave. But that was ridiculous, right? He sighed, shook his head to erase the thought and chased after the others. He probably misunderstood them. After all, he didn't know _that _much about humans.

He saw them a few feet below him and quickly caught up with them. He studied their faces, interested and a bit amused. It was obvious that this was a whole new experience for them and that they didn't know how they should respond to it. "It's okay, you're doing great," he said and then he saw how their expresions became a bit more relaxed.

His heart ached when the thought about their departure in the near future. He only knew them for a few hours, but they were so nice and trustworthy... Especially Shindou. He didn't like the fact that he would never see the brunette again. Whenever he looked at the boy, he would feel something that he felt never felt before. No merman or mermaid he ever met had ever made him feel this way. And he was scared that he would never feel like that again after he departed with Shindou.

And that was when he made a decision. He wouldn't just lead these humans to the surface. Instead, he would bring them back to where they belonged and would stay with them for as long as possible. After all, his encounter had proven that rumours about the humans weren't true. What harm would there be in staying with them a little longer and learning a bit more about them? And he had to admit that he was rather curious about other humans as well.

.

_But, as many humans know, curiosity killed the cat..._

* * *

><p>When they reached the bottom of the lake, Kirino started to look around for the tunnel entrance. Shindou and the others remained where they were, unable to make out anything in the dark. "Tenma, I'll take you out first, okay?" There was no relpy, since Kirino was the only one able to talk underwater, but Shindou knew that Kirino did this so they could follow what was going on.<p>

One by one, they were led out of the cave. Shindou was the last and he waited patiently for Kirino to fetch him. He thought about what he should do. He had to make Kirino stay with them for longer, but how could he arrange that when he couldn't even talk?

"I'm back," the merman whispered. Next, Shindou felt something on his arm that softly dragged him through the darkness.

"Kirino," he said, although it sounded strange because of the air that escaped from his mouth when he opened it. It took him a few seconds to regain his breathing and he was grateful that he hadn't spit the algea out. He wanted to go on with his struggle to voice his request, but something touched his lips and stopped him from doing so. He suddenly realized that it was Kirino's finger that closed his mouth.

"You shouldn't talk. You might lose the algea and now that I know what that kissing thing means to you, it will be awkward to save you again that way." He paused. "Actually, it's a good thing that you can't talk now, since you won't be able to object to my plan."

_His plan?_

"I have decided to accompany you a little longer. After all, I'm really curious about other humans and there is still so much to learn." The merman sounded like a little child in a candy store and Shindou couldn't help but smile about this. He could clearly imagine what Kirino's face would look like right now.

_I guess I don't have to worry about that __anymore__,_ he thought, but he wasn't relieved or happy. Why? The merman had, though unconsciously, solved his problems, so he should be happy, right? But deep in his heart, he knew he was fooling himself. He wished that something went wrong, something they couldn't do a thing about. That way, the Leader wouldn't blame them and Kirino... Kirino would be safe...

The silence went on for a few more seconds before the merman pulled him along. Kirino kept on talking to him and gave him simple instructions. It didn't last long before Shindou got out of the cave, followed by the merman himself. The six of them swam to where the Army's camp was. It was late in the afternoon, so they could still make out the details of their surroundings and Shindou would have enjoyed the wonderful view if it wasn't for the weight on his shoulders.

They changed their traveling style after a few minutes, since Kirino got annoyed by their pace ("Aargh, why are humans so very slow?!"). He grabbed Shindou's left hand and Tenma's right hand and told the others to grab a hold. Suddenly, he dashed forward, using strong movements of his tail. At first, the five humans were startled by this speed, but they soon adjusted to it and enjoyed the ride.

About an hour later, they reached the camp. Shindou's heart grew heavy, for he knew what this meant. He knew that there were always people fishing to enhance their scanty meals or, more often, because they were commisioned by the Leader to catch creatures like mermen and mermaids... Even he could make out the noose in the water, a piece of one of the leader's traps.

Kirino however didn't notice it because he was too tired from the trip. "It's alright," he panted and smiled. "You can go up already, I'll catch up with you once I'm calmed down again." He sat up and prepared himself to swim to the surface.

Shindou's world slowed down. Could he really do this? Kirino helped them out so much... If it weren't for the merman, he and Kariya would've been dead already. And Hikaru, Tenma and Shinsuke would have died as well eventually. Shindou owned Kirino his life... He couldn't betray him like this, could he?

_No, I can't_.

His hand lashed out and he grabbed Kirino's wrist. The latter looked down at him in surprise. "Kirino," Shindou said, struggling with the words.

"You know you shouldn't talk. We're here, so if we just go to the surface, we'll-"

"Listen to me!" The words were stern and fierce, and Kirino fell silent. Shindou didn't know this, but no one dared to use that tone against the merman prince at home and he was shocked that Shindou did. Said boy was trying to get out the words as quick as he could, but it took time to regain his breathing.

Kirino's position was almost vertical now. His face looked down on the five humans while his tail was directed to the surface. It was just mere inches away from the noose, yet the merman didn't seem to notice. It frustrated Shindou that he couldn't warn the other. The person that was operating the trap must've noticed them, since the noose was slowly moving closer to Kirino's tail.

_No!_ Shindou thought. "You need to get awa-"

He wasn't interupted by the lack of oxygen this time. He was interupted by the startled scream that left Kirino's mouth after the noose suddenly enclosed his tail and he was pulled out of the water.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm just gonna end it right there! ^^ CLIFFHANGER!<strong>

**Review please!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Me: Woohoo! I love spring break ^^ Now I can write a lot. So yeah, here's the next chapter (I figured I couldn't let you wait that long after last chapter's cliffhanger.**

**And now: KIRINO!**

**Kirino: *jumps startled* What?**

**Me: Disclaimer please? *puppydog eyes***

**Kirino: *sigh* Lotus Sword doesn't own us, enjoy this.**

**Me: Mou, can't you say that a little more cheerful? And don't call me Lotus Sword, it's so stiff.**

**Kirino: Then, can't you stop making me a merman?**

**Me: Hmm, I'll think about it. Maybe in a few chapters, kay?**

**Kirino: Yay! ^^ So minna, Att-chan doesn't own Inazuma Eleven/Go/Chrono Stone/Galaxy. This is just for entertainment. ENJOY!**

**Me: *sweatdrop* Wow, you really don't want to be a merman, do you?**

* * *

><p>Kirino laid on the rocks, disoriented, blinded and coughing. Something held his arms behind his back and pushed him to the ground. He struggled to get loose, but it didn't work.<p>

"Get the Leader!" the thing that held him down yelled. Kirino was almost certain that it was a doublet- human. He squirmed and wriggled, but the human only pushed him down harder. He wanted to tell the man that it was a misunderstanding, that he meant no harm, but his coughing prevented him from doing so.

What happened? He was just swimming there, ready to break through the surface once more, when Shindou stopped him. Strangely enough, the boy didn't seem to want to go up. Then, something had touched Kirino's tail and he was pulled out of the water. It must have been this human, then.

His coughing slowly died down and he took his time to look around. It was some sort of camp, with thousands and thousands of tents. There were two larger tents in the middle of the camp, close enough to the stoves so the people inside could enjoy a hot meal, but not so close that they would be bothered by the smoke.

A man came out of one of those tents, rapidly walking up to him. The human behind him grabbed his arms and pulled him up so that he could face the man in front of him.

"I got one, Leader-sama," the man who held Kirino said proudly. "It swam right into the trap."

"I see," the one in front of him said. He pointed at Kirino. "You, what's your name and why are you here?"

Kirino opened his mouth, not to answer the question but to protest about the rude formulation of it. However, a splashing sound interrupted him before he could say anything. He looked to his side and saw how Shindou, Tenma, Shinsuke, Kariya and Hikaru climbed out of the water. "Shindou," he said before he thought about it. Said boy looked up and he looked startled when he saw Kirino's position.

The man now turned to Shindou. "Shindou Takuto, do you know this creature?"

Shindou glanced one more time at Kirino before he straightened his back and saluted. "Yes, Leader-sama."

"Then, what is its name?"

"His name is Kirino Ranmaru, Leader-sama," Shindou said without hesitation. Kirino felt betrayed. Why did Shindou tell all these things to that man without Kirino's consent?

"I see, and how did he come here?"

"He accompanied me and my men on our way back. Something happened in the cave and we met him afterwards. He helped us out and brought us here."

"Aha, I see," the man smirked before he turned to Kirino again. "I'll expect you in my private tent in half an hour for a full report, Shindou Takuto. Before that, refresh yourselves."

"Hai, Leader-sama." Shindou saluted again, which was copied by the other drenched boys, and he left after casting one last look at Kirino.

"As for this one," the man said and he smiled an unpleasant smile. "Take it two the second tent."

"W-wait," Kirino exclaimed as he was dragged away. "I-I actually need to go back right away. It's rather late and I'm sure the others will worry about me." The men that held him snickered at his protests, but didn't respond further. Kirino was brought to the second tent, which held some sort of aquarium inside. Without further ado, he was tossed in the water. The men left and he was alone.

He sat down at the bottom and thought about the situation he was in. What was happening? Why didn't those men listen to him? Why was he locked up in a small aquarium? When would he be able to go home? But most importantly, why didn't Shindou help him?

He knew the answer. He knew it, yet he didn't want to acknowledge it. He desperately tried to think of other possiblilities, but his brain kept on leading him back to that one and simple option. His father's words echoed through his mind. Oh, how many times had he heard those? How many times had he complained about them? How many times had he said that he knew them? That he wasn't a child anymore?

Yet here he was, locked up in a box, unable to return home. He gave up his search for better answers, for he knew that the only right answer was right in front of him. Why hadn't he seen it earlier? He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back against the glass.

_I've been tricked from the beginning._

It hurt.

* * *

><p>"And you stayed underwater the whole time?"<p>

"Hai, Leader-sama. Kirino gave us some kind of algea which enabled us to breath underwater." It was already dark outside, but Shindou was in the Leader's tent. He had to give a detailed report of their mission, about everything that went right and wrong. The Leader wasn't disappointed at all that his so-called hint to the merfolk village hadn't been in the cave. After all, he already had what he wanted.

He took a bite of his food. Although it was very well prepared and steaming hot, it tasted like ash to Shindou. He couldn't get rid of this annoying feeling in his guts. He thought about the merman, who he had betrayed to save his own hide. He felt so terribly bad for leading Kirino here that he couldn't enjoy his food.

"Is anything wrong, Shindou Takuto?" the Leader asked sharply and Shindou gulped. The entire time, he made sure not to show his feelings, but the older man had noticed them somehow. Nothing could escape from that piercing gaze.

"Nothing, Leader-sama. I think I'm just a bit tired from everything that happened today."

"I see. Well then, maybe it's time that you get your well deserved rest. Make sure that you and your men come to the second tent tomorrow at nine O'clock precisely, immediately after you finish your morning practice. I think that you all deserve a reward for what you did today. You are dismissed."

"Leader-sama," Shindou said as he stood up, bowed and left the tent. He walked over to his own tent, which he shared with no one at the moment. The thought of his sleeping bag was really tempting right now and he couldn't wait until he could finally sleep. Despite this, he slowed down when he passed the second tent.

This was where he and the boys had to gather tomorrow. This was also where Kirino was kept. Shindou wondered what had happened to the merman. Did they give him some food as well? He didn't think they did. Part of him wanted to enter the tent and let the merman eat, but another, far greater part of him was scared. Scared of what the Leader might do when he found out, but also scared of Kirino's reaction when he would see Shindou.

He started to walk again and reached his tent pretty soon. When he was finally in his bed, he couldn't fall asleep. Sure, he was exhausted, but his conscience wouldn't give him any rest. Every time he slept in, he thought about Kirino and then he was wide awake again. _Happy thoughts, happy thoughts,_ he lectured himself.

He thought about the gristmill that was his home. He thought about how nice it felt to work hard in the mill or to bring the flour to the baker in the nearby villages. He thought about how hot it could be on a summer day and how the big apple tree next to the gristmill would provide shadows...

He thought about his wife, about how much he missed her right now. Oh what wouldn't he give to leave this dreaded army behind and go back to her?

But in the end, it was all in vain. As he fell asleep, his thoughts drifted back to the pink haired merman.

He didn't sleep well that night.

* * *

><p>Kirino woke up from a sound very close to him. He startled and instinctively tried to swim away, but he bumped his head against one of the transparent walls. Great, so it wasn't just a nightmare, it was reality. He was really trapped in this cave. He turned around to see the man from yesterday. A wicked grin was plastered on the man's face.<p>

"Good morning, Kirino Ranmaru," he said.

"Let me out," Kirino growled.

"Now, now, don't be so rude. Everyone here is delighted with your stay."

"With my captivity, you mean."

The man chuckled at Kirino's snappy replies. It must seem really funny to him. However, Kirino couldn't laugh at the situation. He was in a small prison tank against his will, far away from his home and his father. Speaking about his father, the king must be really worried by now. After all, Kirino had been gone for the entire night.

"You mustn't see it like that, Kirino-san." The man's words pulled Kirino away from his thoughts. "You are our guest at the moment. And you are going to serve a great purpose."

The expression on the man's face was so scary right now that Kirino backed away. "W-who are you?" he asked. "Why am I here?"

"The people here know me as the Leader, and soon the rest of the world will know me like that too. I will rule over all creatures on this earth. Not only over the humans, but also over the creatures in the seas and the skies. I will be all-powerful," he laughed. When he had calmed down, he pulled something from underneath his tunic. Kirino squinted his eyes to make out the details and saw that it was a silver necklace. It had five transparent stones as pendants. The rightmost pendant was dark purple coloured, the other pendants were colourless stones.

"And you, my dear Kirino," the Leader said. "You are going to help me with it." He took the colourless pendant next to the purple one and unfastened it. In mere seconds, he held the stone in his hand.

Kirino swam backwards until his back was against the wall. Last night, he had wondered what it was made of when he couldn't sleep. It seemed like ice, but it was much warmer. Now, with this maniac in front of him, those thoughts seemed so trivial. In fact, all his worries seemed trivial when he looked into the man's dark eyes.

"I-I refuse," he said. Damn that stutter. The Leader's grin widened even further.

"I'm afraid that you don't really have a choice." With those words, he placed the stone against the wall of warm ice. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but just as Kirino sighed in relief, a ray of light came out of the pendant. He couldn't dodge it anymore and as soon as it touched him, he felt so much pain that he could barely move. He screamed as his body made convulsive movements to escape the pain, but it didn't work. His heart sped up and a next wave of pain ran through his body. He had never felt anything like this before.

His body was freezing cold, but steaming hot at the same time. It was like he laid in a fire - at least, he believed that that was what Shindou had called it in an explaination. But not only his outsides hurt. His stomache ached as if he ate coral that had been expired for over a year and his head pounded like it was going to explode.

Was he going to die here?

After what seemed like an eternity, the light faded. However, the pain didn't. Yes, there were no more painful waves that attacked his body, but Kirino felt anything but fine. Exhausted from whatever it was that that man had done to him, he sank to the bottom of the tank. His eyelids were heavy, even though he just woke up, and he slowly fell asleep. The last thing he heard were the words of the Leader.

"Rest now, Kirino Ranmaru. I'll come again tomorrow."

* * *

><p>Shindou and his juniors were waiting patiently outside the tent. It was precisely nine O'clock now, but the Leader was nowhere to be seen. Despite this, none of them even thought about pointing out that the man was too late. He practically held their lives in his hands.<p>

They stood firmly at attention, but they got really nervous from the noises that came out of the tent. This was the tent where Kirino was held, and the painful screams they heard did anything but reassure them that the merman was doing well. His screames sometimes increased in volume and at those moments, he sounded utmost desperate. This went on for a few minutes and they heard how the sounds changed. In the beginning, the merman had sometimes yelled things like "please stop" and "no, no, no". Now, it was just clueless whimpering, as if Kirino had no idea anymore what he was saying.

Tenma, Shinsuke, Kariya and Hikaru grew nervous beside him, and Shindou didn't blame them. He was quite nervous as well. What was happening to Kirino?

Then, without warning, the screaming stopped. The only sound that was left was a soft wailing, barely audible through the thick canvas. When the tent opened and the Leader came out, Shindou was so shocked that he almost forgot the protocol. He quickly took a step forward, saluted, bowed and said: "Leader-sama."

"Ah, Shindou," the Leader said and he was suprisingly happy. A silver necklace laid around his neck, glimmering in the sunlight. Shindou had seen it before, but something was different now. First, the fifth stone was dark purple and the others were colourless. Now, the fourth stone was coloured as well... It was slightly pink, but the colour wasn't as intense as that of the purple stone.

Before he could think about this, the Leader's voice grabbed his attention again. "I see you gathered your men, that's good. Listen up men, I have a message for you. Because of what you did for me and the Army the other day, I am going to promote you. You won't have to keep watch at night in the cold anymore. Instead, the five of you are going to guard the merman in this tent. Make sure he eats enough and preserves his energy, am I clear?"

"Hai, Leader-sama."

The Leader walked away and the five boys turned towards the tent. They all thought the same thing: how would Kirino react when they entered? Shindou took a breath, stepped forward and shoved the canvas aside. What he saw shocked the living hell out of him.

Kirino laid on the bottom of an aquarium with closed eyes and a rapid breathing. The wailing was a little louder now and the merman's body was trembling uncontrollaby.

"Kirino..." He whispered. _What have I done to you?_

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Shindou, how could you?!<strong>

**Shindou: *glares at me***

**Me: Hehe, so yeah. Kinda odd twist maybe, because at first I had all those academic explanations (the two respiratory systems, the algea) and now I resort to magic... Oh well :p**

**Kariya: *reads the story* Shindou-senpai is married?!**

**Me: Yupp! ^^ But don't worry, I'll fix that. This is still a RanTaku-fic, minna!**

**Kariya: How are you going to fix that?**

**Me: *grins evilly* Remember what I told you at the start of chapter five?**

**Kariya: O.o Please leave a review, minna.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Me: Yosh, next chapter! It's a bit shorter than the others, but I wanted a cliffhanger, so yeah! MUHAHAH! Oh, I'm evil :p I don't own Inazuma Eleven yet, but I'm negotiating with level 5... (kidding). Please enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Shindou was in his tent, thinking about the merman. That was all he ever thought about lately. He sighed. When Kirino had first woken up from his unconscious state, they had been worried for his reaction. Justly, because they were kind of responsible for his capture. And as expected, the merman was furious with them.<p>

They didn't even realize that he was awake before he started talking. "So, you came to laugh a little?" he had said with his eyes closed. When he opened them seconds later, he used them to send nonstop glares at them. "Oh how you must have laughed about me. I was so stupid that I believed every word you told me, it must have been one big joke to you, right? I guess it's true what they say. All a doubletailer ever does is lie." When Shindou wanted to protest, all Kirino did was scoff and turn his back to them. "I should have let you die the moment I saw you."

He resisted against them in any way possible. For instance, he had refused to eat the food they gave him and he had splashed them with the water whenever they came too close to the cage. It were small acts of resistance, but it showed them that Kirino hadn't given up yet.

That was two weeks ago.

Now it was different.

Every day, the Leader came and sent Shindou and the others out of the tent. The following five minutes were filled with painful screams of the merman and when the Leader came out and allowed them to go back in, Kirino laid unconscious at the bottom of the tank. It took a little longer every day before the merman woke up, until he didn't wake up anymore. He was now almost permanently in an unconscious state. He laid on the bottom of the tank, sometimes softly whimpering or talking. During one shift, Shindou heard Kirino softly call for his father, to which tears ran down the brunette's cheeks. _What have I done?_

Kirino was now chained around his wrists. Every time the Leader came in, Kirino was lifted with the chains and the Leader did what he always did. There were less screams every day, as if Kirino didn't really notice the pain anymore. Shindou was disgusted with the merman's circumstances, but the Leader seemed content. After all, the merman gave him not even half as much trouble as in the beginning.

Shindou sighed and stood up. It was almost time for his shift, so he walked out of this tent. When he passed the Leader's personal tent, he heard screaming. Despite the danger of being caught eavesdropping on the Leader, he stopped and listened.

"I don't care!" he heard the Leader yell. "I will complete it even if it means his death!" _Is he talking about Kirino?_

"But Leader-sama," a softer, more inferior voice protested. "You will gain more from this if you let him rest more. He needs to regain his energy and-"

"I gave him more than enough time. Why doesn't he recover faster? That other one never took this long!" _That other one?_

"Leader-sama," a new voice said. The rustling of the canvas told Shindou that this person just came in. "Leader-sama, I've got great news."

"You better do."

"We have found a lead to the next location."

"Is that so?" The Leader sounded interested and Shindou became curious as well. "Alright then, I will travel ahead with twenty men to accompany me. You, whatever your name may be, will assemble the Army to travel after me."

"Hai, Leader-sama." The rustling of the canvas was heard once more as the man exited the tent.

"As for you, prepare my horse. I will go and see the merman one last time before I leave."

"Hai, Leader-sama."

Shindou realized that he had to get out of there, or the Leader might see him. He rushed towards the tent and let his eyes adjust to the dusk. What he saw made his heart sink. Kirino looked absolutely terrible. His shiny tail was dull and even cracked at some points. Shindou didn't know how bad this was, but it didn't look good. The scales on Kirino's face were dull too and he was much skinnier than before. He had sunken cheeks and dark circles underneath his eyes. His hair was dull as well and it looked messy. His eyes were closed and his lips were forming words that were too soft for anyone to hear.

The entrance behind him moved and he saw that the Leader entered. As in trance, he brought his right hand up and saluted to the man. "Leader-sama," he said.

"Ah Shindou, I'm glad that I ran into you. You see, we are moving on."

"Moving on, Leader-sama?"

"Yes, we're done here. We're heading to a new place to gain more power." He always said that, they were always traveling to gain more power for the fight. No one really knew who they were fighting. "Prepare him for the travel, you will leave in two days. I will travel ahead." Shindou nodded.

As usual, he and the two boys that were on duty at the moment - Hikaru and Kariya - were sent outside while the Leader stayed with Kirino. They didn't say a word and tried to ignore their feelings of guilt as they waited. When the Leader finally came out, the silver necklace shone in the sun once more. The pink colour of the fourth pendant was a lot more intens than before, almost just as deep as the purple pendant. Shindou couldn't really be bothered by this though, as he was very concerned about Kirino.

He turned around to his juniors and told them to take a break. He would stay with Kirino. The two boys reluctantly agreed and then, Shindou was alone with Kirino. The merman looked even worse than before and Shindou couldn't compose himself anymore.

Staring at the merman's pale face, Shindou cried silently. He kept on murmuring the same thing over and over. "I'm sorry, Kirino. I'm so sorry."

* * *

><p>The next day, Shindou walked like a zombie towards the tent. His feelings of guilt kept him awake last night. Again.<p>

The Leader had already left and everywhere in the gigantic camp were signs of their departure in the near future. Tent's were cleared away, heavy objects were stacked on the chariots and the horses were brushed.

All of this commotion disappeared when the thick canvas closed behind him as he entered the tent. Shindou was surprised to find not only Tenma and Hikaru - who had been on duty - but also Kariya and Shinsuke there. They grouped together and stood side by side, opposite him. "Captain," Tenma started. He was probably chosen as spokesman. For a moment he seemed lost for words, but then he said loud and clear: "We don't want to do this anymore, Captain. We don't-"

Shindou quickly shut the boy up by forcefully covering Tenma's mouth with his hand. "Are you insane?" he hissed. "If anyone hears you say those words, you'll be dead." He retrieved his hand and sighed. "I know how you feel and I feel the same way. But disobeying the Leader's orders equals death."

"Tsch, so you are just a coward, aren't you?" Kariya said hatefully. Shindou sent him a stern look until the boy adverted his eyes and muttered: "I'm sorry."

"I thought so too," Shindou said sternly. "As for what I said earlier, disobedience leads to death. That is a risk I won't allow any of you to take. I'm not sure if I should tell you, but I believe that you deserve to know. Tonight, after the moon sets, I'll take Kirino and run from the Army. I will take him to a safer place. You have to tell everybody that I ran, that I attacked you by surprise and overpowered you. When you woke up, Kirino and I were gone. You got that?"

It remained silent for a moment as the information sank in. Then came the protests.

"No way."

"We won't let you do that, Captain."

"We'll help you."

"Stop it!" Shindou hissed again, because the other boys were talking way too loud.

Tenma continued in a softer tone. "We won't just sit back and let you endanger yourself." The determination shone in his eyes.

"And I won't let you risk your life for this," Shindou replied. "You are staying here and that's an order!"

Silence hung in the air as both sides stood there, neither one planning on giving in. The tensed atmosphere was eventually broken by Kariya.

"You're stupid, Captain," Kariya said in a calm tone. Shindou slightly backed away at the younger one's words. "Do you really think that we'll agree with your plan? How were you planning to get past the guards? What will you take with you and what will you leave behind? How are you getting the key to release Kirino?" he continued and Shindou realized that he hadn't even thought of that.

"You're right," he admitted. "Then again, I really want to ask you to reconsider this. None of us might make it out alive."

"I'm in," Shinsuke and Tenma exclaimed in unison and Hikaru nodded in agreement.

"Kariya?" Shindou asked. Up until now, the teal haired boy was the only one that hadn't agreed.

"He saved my life," Kariya muttered in reply. When he looked up, his eyes shone with determination. "I think it's time to return the favor. Besides," he added airily, "you'll need someone to snatch the key from the Leader's tent, ne?"

He smirked and Shindou did the same.

"Yosh, minna. Tonight, we're going to do something that we should've done way earlier. We're gonna get Kirino out of here."

* * *

><p><strong>Me: They finally realized! ^^ Anyways, this chapter is less detailed than the ones before, because the story moved on too slow in my opinion. So yeah, not a lot of important stuff happened here... Well, there is one little thing. I'd like to hear your theories about <em>the other one<em> that the Leader mentioned. If anyone can guess it right, then... Yeah, dunno, then you're good at guessing maybe? Oh, and the Leader's necklace is also kinda important (just so you know).**

**Review please! Bye!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Me: Hey. Just so you know, I'm sick at the moment, so I'm sorry if this chapter is crappy and/or full of mistakes. I really tried my best, I just don't feel so great.**

**Right, maybe you could see this as a belated RanTaku Day thing? I dunno... I found out yesterday that it was RanTaku Day yesterday and I didn't feel like writing on this story, so yeah... I did write for my other stories yesterday (pretty clever, huh? *sarcasm*).**

**DISCLAIMER: Ugh, I got a headache... I don't own, minna. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Kariya tried not to look suspicious as he walked seemingly nonchalantly through the camp. Everywhere, people were busy with packing their stuff for the upcoming journey. The Leader's tent still stood in the middle of the camp, for it was a meeting place for the Army's councillors. But right now, all councillors were busy trying to lead the soldiers in the right direction, so the tent should be deserted. A small smirk crept on his face. Perfect.<p>

He walked to the back of the tent and when he was sure that he was out of sight, he took his knife and made a smooth cut in the canvas. A second later, he was inside.

It was steaming hot in there and muggy too, so Kariya wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. He looked around the room, trying to find anything similar to a key. He looked underneath the bed and in several bags and cupboards, but there was no sign of a key whatsoever. _Don't tell me that the Leader took it with him,_ Kariya suddenly thought and his heart skipped a beat. If that was the case, their whole plan would fail.

He shook his head to clear the thought away and continued searching. He wouldn't get any further with guesswork. He found it eventually in one of the compartments that were stitched to the inside of the canvas. However, the ring that was attached to the key was stuck to something else. It was a small figurine, approximately as big as Kariya's thumb.

He eyed it for a few seconds before he tried to detach it from the key. It was a little statue of a kneeling boy who held his head bowed down and his arms raised as if he was giving a sacrifice to some sort of God or something. Kariya wondered for a second why the Leader would have such a figurine, but his thoughts were cut short when he heard voices outside the tent.

Without second thought, he put the key and the figurine in his pocket, turned around and dashed out of the tent, using the cut in te canvas he made earlier. He walked only a tad quicker than before, in the opposite direction this time. The key and the strange little figurine burned in his pocket.

* * *

><p>Darkness surrounded him, but Kirino didn't really notice it. He felt weak, very weak. He knew he wasn't dead, because there was still pain. Pain was always there. He couldn't remember the times where he hadn't felt pain anymore.<p>

His world, once a complicated coherence of studies, duties, responsibilities, problems of his subjects and whatnot, was now reduced to a much simpler form. Certain signals from outside his body would tell him what would happen to him. The one he dreaded the most, was the tugging of his arms.

His arms were together in a way that he couldn't get them loose. In one of his clearer moments, he deduced that his hands had been tied together. When his cuffs were tugged, his body was raised and that meant that he would feel pain again.

Not that he didn't feel pain when his arms weren't tugged... As he said before, pain was always there. But every time his hands were pulled, a new wave of pain would follow afterwards. He remembered how he had screamed at first when that pain came. He stopped doing that a while ago, though. Now he just waited for the pain to end and to leave his body to rest.

It always ended, he knew that much. But it always returned as well.

Moments of half-consciousness were alternated by feverish dreams and strange visions. Sometimes he was at home, sometimes he was in the meeting room with the councillors, but most of the time, he was in a dark cave. He was looking up, while a human was looking down on him. The next moment, he was pressing his lips against the human's lips, gently breathing into the other's mouth.

He knew who the human was, for the boy had told Kirino his name. Shindou Takuto.

The boy Kirino had saved.

The boy who had betrayed him.

His thought got interrupted when there was yet another tug at his wrists. He knew what was coming, and in spite of his fatigue, Kirino did what he could to resist. He knew that his attempts only looked laughable to the Leader and who knows what other humans were around him, but he did it anyway. His blurry mind showed him a scene with his father, who laughed and said that Kirino just didn't knew when to give up. "Father," he murmured. He wasn't sure if he said it out loud or only in his head, but he didn't care about that either. He wouldn't give up, even if it would take his life, even if it was hopeless... He would fight on.

He felt hands on his arms, his body and his tail, carefully lifting him out of the water. His body moved automatically as it got rid of the water and switched to his lungs. He felt a strange kind of fabric around him before he drifted off to yet another feverish dream.

* * *

><p>Shindou checked once again if all his belongings were firmly tied to his horse, especially the great hessian bag on top. He didn't like to do it this way, but it was the only way to get Kirino unseen out of this camp. When he was certain that everything was still in place, he climbed in the saddle. Kariya, Hikaru, Tenma and Shinsuke were already waiting for him and at his signal, they softly rode through the camp at a footpace. When they neared the camp's borders, one of the guards stepped up and blocked their path.<p>

"No one is to leave tonight. We will leave tomorrow at dawn," he barked and wanted to turn away again.

"We have an order from the Leader," Shindou said with as much confidence as he could bring up.

"Leader-sama already left two days ago, if there was such an order, he would've given it sooner and would've told us about it."

Shindou put on a face as if the guard only tired and annoyed him. "I know when he left, you fool," he snapped angrily. "Who do you think you're talking to? I'm Shindou Takuto, and me and my men personally lured that mercreature to this place. I think I would be a bit closer to Leader-sama than you, wouldn't you agree? The order we got is time-based, that's why we are leaving tonight. Now step aside or I'll have you reported."

The guard seemed clueless of what to do. Of course he knew who Shindou Takuto was: there was no one in the Army that hadn't heard the story of the capture of the mercreature. And what Shindou said did make sense, but still... He had his orders and those were to let no one out of the camp tonight.

"Prove it," he said eventually, to which Shindou raised his eyebrow.

"I don't have to prove anything to a mere guard like you. Now step aside."

"Not before I've seen the proof," the guard insisted. Shindou sighed tiredly although his heart was beating fast. It was a good thing that they thought of something for this situation. He gestured to Tenma, who was on Shindou's right side.

"Fine then. Tenma, show him the documents of our official mission report, please."

"Hai, Captain." Tenma turned around in his saddle and started to rummage through his luggage. As the guard focussed on Tenma and unconsciously moved closer to the brunette, Shindou slowly removed his right foot from the stirrup.

"You understand that I will have to report this delay to the Leader when we get back, don't you?" Shindou asked threateningly as he moved his leg backwards. The guard paled a bit and moved closer to Tenma in order to help him looking for the documents.

He never reached the brunette though, for Shindou's right foot collided with his head and he dropped to the ground, unconscious. Without checking up on the guard, Shindou spurred his horse and only seconds later, he was galloping through the woods. The sounds of his juniors following him reached his ears and he bent forward to make even more speed.

The stories of his friends ran through his head again, but he shook them away. The Leader had already left the camp, so there was no way that he could suddenly teleport them back or something. Despite this, he was tensed up the entire night.

After a good twenty minutes of galloping, he beckoned the other boys to stop. It was true that he wanted to get as far away from the army as possible, as fast as was possible, but he had to think about Kirino too. He opened the hessian bag and took Kirino in his arms as they continued their ride. It surprised them how light the merman was. His worries haunted him for the entire night. Worries about Kirino, worries about the Army...

He only relaxed when he saw the silhouette of a small gristmill on the horizon. He allowed himself a tired smile as he saw how the image grew bigger and bigger. _Finally, home._

* * *

><p>It changed, Kirino just knew it. In one way or another, the world around him changed. His head was now above the water all the time, though he felt that his body was embraced by the cool liquid up to his shoulders. The pain slowly faded away too and he regained more and more of his original power. He was still too exhausted to open his eyes or talk, which meant that he was still depending on signals from outside.<p>

The tugging off his arms was gone, he noticed with relief. The only thing he noticed were a steady breathing every once in a while and sometimes the noises of a closing door. There was also someone who fed him. That person then lifted his head up and carefully shoved some food in his mouth. He knew that this was a woman, because she sometimes said things to him. His mind was still too clouded to decipher the words, though.

When Kirino had finally gathered enough strength to open his eyes, he looked around in surprise. The room he was in had a wooden floor and stone walls. There was a steady door and sunlight came in through three little windows. Something occasionally blocked the light from one of the windows, but it passed so quickly that Kirino couldn't see what it was.

He laid in a wooden tub that was almost completely filled with water. Even before he tasted it, he knew that it wasn't salty. He felt it, that was why he was still so weak. Merfolk like him needed a lot of minerals to keep their tail the way it was. One of the elders in town once told him that when a merman was in a salty environment for too long, there would be great changes to his body. Apart from that, the minerals in the seawater also gave them strength. That was why it had taken him so long to recover from the Leader's visits. He looked at his tail and groaned. It was dull and even cracked at some points, which meant that he would probably moult in the near future. The scales of his tail would then come off all at once and a new coat of scales would be revealed.

The sound of an opening door dragged his attention and he saw how a young woman entered with a bowl in her hands. She was a human, Kirino noted. Strangely enough, he wasn't scared, despite what humans had done to him so far. It was something in the way she looked at him that told him that this girl wouldn't hurt a fly.

"You're awake." Her voice was soft, but her smile was bright. "That's great news. When my husband brought you here, I was afraid that you might not make it. I'm sorry for the little space we can offer you, but I couldn't find anything bigger."

"It's okay," Kirino said. "Thank you very much for taking care of me."

The woman handed him the bowl and Kirino started to eat. He never ate anything like this before. The woman chuckled when she saw him eating. She took the bowl back when he had finished. "I'm glad you liked it," she smiled. "There are not many people who eat oatmeal porridge that eager."

Kirino laughed a bit. "My name is Kirino Ranmaru," he introduced himself and he extended his hand. He remembered that Shindou told him that this was how humans greeted one another. The young woman smiled and shook his hand.

"I'm Shindou Akane, but please call me Akane."

Kirino stared at her in shock. "Sh-Shindou?" he uttered and Akane smiled with her violet eyes closed.

Before any of them could say another word, there was a knock on the door. It opened and revealed a person Kirino thought and hoped he would never see again.

Shindou Takuto.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: I'm just gonna stop it right there :p As I said, Shindou is married in this story and his wife is Yamana Akane. Also, he's about eighteen in this story (age isn't really important for the story, but I think 14 is a bit too young to marry... It's an AU-fic, so they're just young adults here ;) )<strong>

**Also, dear RanTaku-fans: DON'T WORRY! AS I SAID, IT'S STILL A RANTAKU-FIC! This is just a random plot twist my crazy mind came up with... And ShindouxAkane-fans... Please don't kill me for what will happen in the next chapter(s) *hides underneath table***

**Okay, as for the next chapter:**

**- How will Kirino respond?**

**- Why will ShindouxAkane-fans feel the urge to kill me? (seriously, I get the feeling I'll lose followers/favourites after next chapter /.\)**

**.**

**One last thing.. The little figurine Kariya found? It'll come back later on, so don't forget about it :p**

**Reviews will be very much appreciated! ^^**


	10. Chapter 10

**Me: Here I am again, minna! Okay, I won't keep you waiting, just read on and enjoy (which I higly doubt you will... there's a character-death in this chapter, so beware!)**

**Akane: Att-chan doesn't own Inazuma Eleven *takes photo of you while you're reading this* Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"You're okay," Shindou smiled as he stepped closer. However, Kirino backed away as much as he could. The look on his face wasn't one of hatred, like Shindou had expected, but one of fear. Kirino was actually scared of him.<p>

"I'll let the two of you alone," Akane muttered as she slowly walked past him. Shindou smiled absent-mindedly at her, put his arm around her and kissed her on the forehead. She smiled at him, took the bowl Kirino finished and left the room. Kirino and Shindou both kept silent, staring at each other.

Shindou figured he should say something, but he didn't really know what. "So, how are you feeling?"

Kirino didn't answer at all, he just kept staring at him. Shindou felt very uncomfortable and eventually walked towards the tub, sitting down on the floor next to it. Kirino followed every movement with his eyes and backed away when Shindou came closer.

The latter sighed. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I'm sorry for what I have put you through and I'm sorry for not getting you out of there earlier." He looked at the ground, too afraid to look the other one in the eye. He realized that he couldn't bear the thought of Kirino hating him. It was just like the times when he and Akane argued about something. Afterwards, he always felt a dull pain in his heart that only went away when he saw her smile again. But now that he felt the same thing for Kirino, he wasn't so sure if that ache would ever lighten. After all, Kirino had every right and reason to hate him.

"If you really are so sorry," Kirino started, "then why did you do it in the first place?"

Shindou sighed. "I was scared."

"Then why did you break me out?"

"I guess I was even more scared that you would die."

The silence that followed was broken by Kirino's laughter. "God, you're really a scaredycat, aren't you?" It was a weird response, given the situation, but Shindou couldn't help but laugh along after a few seconds.

"You're not angry?" he asked carefully.

"I was at first of course, but you tried to make up for it. That's why I believe you deserve a second chance." Kirino looked at the ground when he said that, but suddenly pierced his gaze into Shindou's eyes. "You better don't waste it, though," he threatened and Shindou nodded.

"I won't, believe me."

"Say, how long has it been since... You know?" the merman asked after a little while.

"Well, after we arrived at the camp, you've been in that tank for roughly two weeks, I guess. And it was approximately ten days ago that we decided to free you, so..."

"It's been almost a month?!" Kirino exclaimed with widened eyes. He looked at his tail in worry when Shindou nodded.

"Is something wrong?"

"Can I get back to the sea?"

It pained Shindou to tell the other boy that it wasn't safe right now. The journey to sea would take at least two days and the chance of encountering some of the Leader's men was great. Shindou didn't want to risk their lifes. Even though ten days had already passed since they deserted the Army, nothing had happened so far. Shindou started to think that the Leader had forgotten about them, but he was still cautious.

By now, Kirino was showing signs of fatigue and Shindou left with a soft smile. "You should rest," he said before he closed the door behind him.

When he came downstairs, he saw that his juniors had returned. The boys helped out with the chores in the gristmill and had left a little earlier to chop some wood for the cooking fire. Shindou's gaze shifted from his juniors to his wife. She looked tired, but she smiled nonetheless. He hugged her from behind and kissed her crown. "Thank you, for everything," he whispered in her hair. She teasingly pushed him away and smiled at him. It remembered him of how much he cared for her.

* * *

><p>Two days passed like this. Kirino regained more of his power with every day that passed and he talked a lot with Shindou and Akane. They explained everything the curious merman would ask them and Akane brought him his food every day. He quite liked this kind, sweet and pretty girl, but he noticed after a few days that he constantly tried to find her flaws. The fact that he could barely find any wasn't good for his mood, but the girl never seemed affected by his cranky replies. After some time, he learned to get over it, but his strange behaviour still confused him.<p>

The only reason for it that he could think of was absolutely ridiculous. After all, why in Neptune's name would he be jealous of Akane?

So he just shook his thoughts away and focussed on his surroundings. It irritated him that he couldn't get out of that stupid tub and see more of the world, but he realized that there was no helping it.

Until...

.

A shriek woke him up from his slumber. He felt the warm sunrays on his face and realized that it was already morning. When he looked around, he saw Akane standing by the door. The girl was staring at him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open in shock.

"Akane-san?" Kirino asked. "What's wrong."

She didn't say a word, but pointed at his lower body. Kirino followed her gaze and looked at his tai-... _Tails?! What the-?_

It was true, his single tail was split in two. Halfway each tail was a strange infliction point, like humans had as well. He believed that Shindou once called it a knee. All in all, these two tails greatly resembled a pair of legs, the only difference was that his tails were still covered in scales. But how... How was that even possible? He remembered that he started to molt yesterday evening before he fell asleep, and now...

Shindou, Kariya, Shinsuke, Tenma and Hikaru entered the room, startled from the noise. "What's wrong?" Tenma asked, but he gasped when he caught sight of Kirino's split tail. "Kirino-san? What happened?"

"Gah, I should have known," Kirino said with his eyes closed. Yes, he read about this phenomenon before, and the elders in town told him about it as well. He sighed. "The sea contains certain minerals that help us to retain our health. I've been away for too long, so my tail... it's..." He couldn't get the words out, so he continued with his explanation. "We call it double-quick evolution, an irreversible process that changes our bodies. It basically means that my body is quickly adjusting to a new environment and that I have now two tails... Apparently, it's so I can live on land, but..."

"Ir... Irreversible?" Shinsuke asked in shock. "No... But that means you'll..." Kirino looked down, his face a mixture from shock and sadness.

Shindou broke the silence after giving the merman a few moments for himself. "Kirino, I understand this is quite a shock for you... but I need you to listen to me. I already told you that we deserted the army, right? I think that the Leader will come for us sooner or later, so we'll have to travel further. We didn't think we could, since you had your tail and all, but now with this development... Well, let me ask you something." He walked closer to Kirino and extended his hand, smiling slightly. "Can you walk?"

* * *

><p>They spent the rest of the day and the entire next day teaching the merman how to walk properly. They took Kirino to a clearing in the woods. There, where no one could see them or interrupt them, they supported the boy while he tried to get used to his newfound lower body.<p>

Akane stayed at home, doing the regular chores in the gristmill and the household chores as well. Shindou apologized many times to her, but she waved it off. After all, she was happy that Kirino could go out more and understood that her husband needed to help him with it. Besides, she got used to this amount of work during the three months that Shindou had been in the Army, so she didn't see it as a problem.

.

So the six men left while she stayed at home. It would've been better if she had joined Shindou, but none of them knew that. And when they realized it, it was already too late...

* * *

><p>The man took a sip from his water bottle and looked up to the blazing sun. Not for the first time during his trip, he cursed he ball of fire in the sky. His clothes were dirty, since he and his three subordinates had traveled non-stop for almost five days. But it were the Leader's orders, so he didn't dare to disobey.<p>

Five men had left the Army without the Leader's permission. Five people were nothing when compared to the thousands of soldiers that were still in the Army, but these men had managed to raise the Leader's irritation to a whole new level. When the news reached him, the Leader had been so angry that he beat up the people near him in his moment of rage.

Unfortunately, this man had been there too and he took on quite a few blows. Of course, no one dared to stop the fuming man, seen as how he was their superior and all. After a while, when the Leader had calmed down a little, the people who were badly injured were taken to the infirmary.

The man remembered how the Leader, still fuming with rage, ordered him to saddle his horses and follow the deserters. The Leader's words still echoed through his mind. _"__You have two weeks to find them and punish them for what they did. If you find the chance for it, take the merman back with you. Oh, that little sculpture they stole as well. I don't care what you do to the men, but make sure they'll suffer. Most importantly, make sure to be back here in exactly two weeks, or you'll face the consequences of your slacking off!"_

That was twelve days ago, which meant that he and his subordinates had to make their way back to the camp today. If he estimated correctly, they were about two days of traveling away from the camp. He longed for his simple tent and his simple bed, he longed for a full night of sleep again. Needless to say, he didn't get much sleep ever since his journey started. On the other hand, he didn't want to return to the camp without at least punishing the deserters. Knowing the Leader, the man would not be pleased when he heard that his orders weren't executed.

That's why this man tried his best to find the cullprits and make sure that the Leader's commands were executed. He smiled tiredly when a gristmill came into sight. He was told that this was where the captain of the deserters lived. He was kind of nervous, for this gristmill was his last chance. If they weren't here, he would have to aboard the mission and return empty-handed.

Swallowing his nerves, he raised his hands and loudly banged the door. After a few moments, a slender young woman with a friendly face opened it carefully. She had chestnut coloured hair and kind lavender eyes. "Yes?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Mrs. Shindou?" he asked and when she nodded, he continued. "There is an important matter that I need to discuss with you. May I come in?" Like she had a choice. He was a commander of the Army, she was merely a craftsman. Moreover, she was a woman, which meant she was clearly not in any position to refuse him. It seemed like she realized this too, because she opened the door further and took a step back, allowing him to enter.

As soon as they got in, his subordinates went looking through the rooms for signs of the deserters and the merman. The woman seemed slightly panicked about this. "W-wait, you can't do that," she exclaimed, but he stopped her with a movement of his hand.

"On the contrary, miss. Your husband deserted the Army with his juniors. He _deserted,_ which is a capital crime. We have orders to find them and bring them back, which gives us the right to look here."

"What? N-no, you must be mistaken. Takuto would never do such a thing!" the woman exclaimed. He smiled at her, but there was no warmth in his eyes.

"Then there's nothing to worry about, is there?" The woman didn't reply and after a few minutes, the man's subordinates returned.

"No sign of them, sir," one of them called out and the man scowled.

"Nothing at all?"

"Well, we did find this," another said, revealing a helmet. It was conical and made out of various small metal plates that covered each other like scales. The man recognized it immediately, for this was the kind of helmet that was handed to every soldier in the Army. The symbols on the back taught him that it belonged to someone who had a leadership role, which meant that this had to belong to Shindou Takuto himself. And if the helmet was here, that meant that Shindou was here too. Or at least, he had been here.

The man turned to the pale young woman in front of him, smiling rather devilishly. "Takuto would never do such a thing, eh?" he mimicked her words and an angry scowl formed on his face. "Speak up, woman! Where are they?!"

She bit her lips and shook her head, signalling that she wasn't going to tell him. Enraged with her little act of rebellion, he swung his arm at her. She tried to back away, but she was too late and he hit her in the head, successfully knocking her out. Her body went limb and she collapsed on the ground in front of him.

He exited the gristmill with a frown, followed by his subordinates. "Sir? What are your orders?" The man didn't look at them. Instead, he looked to the sun, calculating how much time they still had left.

"We'll return to the Army. Who knows how far away those thuggs are and we need to be back in time." He mentally cursed himself for knocking that woman out. She could have told him where her husband and his little friend were.

"What about the mill, sir?"

He turned to send them a glance before he turned again and walked to his horse. "Burn it down," he said over his shoulder.

Fifteen minutes later, the four of them were riding on their horses, their backs turned towards the burning building. The walls were made of stone and would probably survive the fire, but a lot of things wouldn't. The wooden floors and the support beams for instance. The man slightly smiled to himself, content with the way he executed the Leader's commands.

Even though he didn't bring back the merman or the figurine, he had still punished the deserters. _After all,_ he thought to himself, _sometimes it's far more painful to live on while someone who is dear to you doesn't. _He figured that someone like Shindou would be devastated by the loss of his wife and his home.

Black smoke rose from the buring gristmill, slowly darkening the light blue sky. The raging fire that produced the smoke feasted on everything flammable inside.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: ... Oh. My. Flippin'. God... I killed Akane... .\**

**IE-cast: WHAT DID YOU DO?!**

**Me: I'm so sorry, minna, but I really needed to do this. I don't want Shindou to cheat on his wife, so... yeah. I'm really sorry to all ShindouxAkane fans out there *bows*.**

**Akane: Uhm... Please leave a review?**

**Me: AKANE! You're alive?!**

**Akane: Of course, it was only a story, Att-chan.**

**Me: Pfew, well, that's a relieve. Well minna, please leave a review to scold me for brutely killing Akane-chan here. Oh yeah, and the man in the end? He's not so important, so I didn't give him a name ;) (I suck at names anyways). Also, if you think that the changes to Kirino are confusing, please leave a review with it and I'll PM you about it (seriously, I don't mind if you PM me now or when I already completed this story... I'm just glad to help you out).**

**Bye!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Me: Here you go, the eleventh chapter of 'The Final Battle'. I hope you like it, minna!**

**Tenma: ... O.o**

**Kirino: Huh? Tenma, what's wrong?**

**Tenma: I... I already read it... In the end, it's-**

**Me: Shush, let the readers find out for themselves!**

**Tenma: :#**

**Kirino: The usual disclaimer applies, Att-chan doesn't own anything!**

**Me: It's long (over 4000 words, the bold words not included), but I still hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

><p>"That's it, Kirino-san," Tenma smiled as the merman took another insecure step. Kirino didn't respond, for he was focussing on his newfound legs. Although he was improving rapidly, he still couldn't walk on his own without falling to the ground.<p>

At first he had already a lot of trouble with standing on his own, for his knees didn't work properly yet. After a while and lots of comments from the others, he figured out how to stand straight without anyone's help. Then came the second part, which was far more difficult than standing: walking. It was hard to control two legs instead of one tail. Now he had to focus on two limbs that had to do two different things. If he raised his left leg, then his right leg had to remain on the ground. Kirino, who was used to moving one thing, often moved both his legs at the same time. This was why he couldn't walk alone. He was improving, though. At first, he needed the help of at least two people to keep himself from falling, now he only needed one.

He was currently being supported by Hikaru. The purple haired boy suddenly stood still and Kirino shot him a questioning glance. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but Hikaru flashed him a smug grin before Kirino could say a thing. "Let's try the next step, Kirino-san," the boy smirked as he suddenly let go of Kirino's shoulder and ran away.

"What the- Hikaru!" Kirino wobbled without his support, but frustrated as he was, he wanted to get back at te boy. So he did what he had never done before: he ran. Kariya, Tenma, Shinsuke and Shindou looked with great surprise as the former merman chased Hikaru like he was born with legs. Truth be told, Kirino was fast. He slowly caught up with Hikaru while scolding the boy for his prank.

"But Kirino-san, just look at what you're doing right now!" Shinsuke yelled when Kirino stormed past them. "You're running!" Kirino slowed down and looked at his legs, as if he couldn't believe what just happened.

"I... I did, didn't I?" he said.

"I got an idea," Shinsuke suddenly exclaimed. "Let's play tag! Kirino is 'it'!" Only a second later, he dashed away with Tenma and Hikaru.

Kariya scoffed. "Tsk, little children." But after a good two seconds, he backed away from Kirino as well. The pink haired boy eyed the others' behaviour with curiosity before he turned to Shindou. The captain was the only one that hadn't backed away from him.

"What are they doing?" Kirino asked and Shindou smiled.

"It's a children's game called tag. The one that is 'it', in this case that's you, has to touch one of the others and then that person becomes 'it'. The others run away and the one that is 'it' chases them."

"I see," Kirino muttered thoughtfully before he took a half step and seemed to lose his balance. "Woah!"

Luckily, Shindou caught his shoulders in time and kept him from falling. "Are you alright?" he asked with worry. Kirino smiled and nodded, but just as Shindou was about to sigh in relief, he felt something tapping his shoulder.

"You're 'it'," Kirino smirked before he suddenly dashed away. Shindou stood there dumbfounded. Kirino had... tricked him? But then a small smile appeared on his face and he chased after the other boys. They played tag for quite a while and neither of them was bothered by the fact that it was a game for little children. They hadn't felt this carefree in a long time and they enjoyed every moment of it. For Shindou, Tenma, Shinsuke, Hikaru and Kariya, this game brought back many memories of their past and for Kirino, it was just a whole new experience. When he was a young merman, he didn't play with other merfolk very often. This little game gave him a piece of childhood that he never had.

Kirino was currently being chased by Shindou, who was 'it'. He was astonished by how quickly he got used to his legs when he just did something fun. He had barely any trouble with running, walking or standing anymore and it seemed like his new legs were just as muscled as his former tail was. As he ran away from Shindou, something caught his eye and he slowed down.

Shindou caught up with him and playfully hit him on the shoulder. "You're 'it'," he laughed, but stopped once he saw that Kirino wasn't paying attention anymore. He followed the other boy's gaze and was shocked to see that the sky was dark. But not a normal dark, like when the sun is setting. No, the sky was dark because of thick black smoke that came from a distance. Shindou whistled through his teeth as his juniors slowly got closer to him. "Seems like there's a big fire over there."

"How do you know?" Kirino asked.

"There's a lot of smoke, so it must be a big fire," Shindou explained and Kirino nodded.

"But Shindou, isn't your home there too?"

"It's in that direction, yes, but we don't know how far the fire is away. It's clearly not in the woods, because that would be too close, but it's close enough for us to see the smoke."

"Maybe we should go back," Kirino said. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"I'm telling you, it's probably nothing," Shindou reassured with a smile. "But maybe you're right, let's go back to Akane." Everyone agreed and climbed on their horses. They had used the animals to get deeper into the forest so no one would see them. After all, if rumors started spreading about a boy who couldn't walk properly and was covered in scales, the Leader might come for them. Since there were five horses and six people, Kirino sat behind someone else. Sure, he could walk and run now, but riding a horse was something completely different.

This time, he sat behind Tenma as the five horses galloped through the forest. Kirino noticed that no matter how far they went, the cloud of smoke was always right in front of them. And that could only mean one thing: the thing that was burning was on their path. The closer they came to his home, the more nervous Shindou grew.

Suddenly, without warning, they exited the forest. Everyone blinked furiously to let their eyes adjust to the sudden change of light intensity. Their horses stopped and stumped nervously with their hooves. Kirino only had to look in front of him to see why: the gristmill was on fire. Though the building was still a few hundred feet away from them, the smoke and the blazing heat scared the animals. It took Kirino a few moments to let the sight sink in. The mill was on fire. The place where he had stayed was on fire. Shindou's house was on fire.

Akane.

Shindou seemed to have had the same thoughts, because he suddenly gave his horse the spurs and raced towards the fire. The horse was a bit reluctant, since its instincts said that he should get away from the fire, and not closer to it. But he followed the orders of the one on its back. At least, until its instincts finally took over. Everything around it told the poor animal that it would die if it went on, yet the person on its back kept on sending him forward. When the instincts took control, the horse pranced and launched its master from its back. Panicked, the animal ran away from the blazing fire, leaving its master on the ground.

The man didn't stay there for long, though. Shindou got to his feet and started running towards the gristmill. His eyes were narrow because of the smoke and the heat, but he didn't notice it. He just kept on running and running. _Please, let her not be there,_ he thought as his eyes started to water. He didn't know if it was from the smoke or from the possible loss of his wife. "Akane!" he yelled, but the fire swallowed every sound he made.

Was this the Leader's work? It had to be, who else would do such a thing? If it was the Leader's punishment for them, then Akane was probably still... He couldn't finish his thought as tears streamed down his face. He had to get her out of there! He had to save her! Even if that meant that he would have to go into that burning hell himself.

He was still a few dozens of feet away from the burning building when he was suddenly tackled to the ground. His hands were pushed down by someone's knees as that same someone sat down on his back. He tried to get loose, but the person wouldn't let go of him.

"Let me go!" he screamed to be heard over the fire. "I have to save her!"

"If you'll do that, you're dead, Captain!" the person yelled back. It was Kariya. Unbeknown to Shindou, the teal haired boy chased him immediately when he, Shindou, dashed off. Kariya had seen the panicked look in his captain's eyes and realized what the older boy was thinking. When Shindou's horse pranced and tossed him off, Kariya took his chance and jumped off his horse as well. Luckily, he caught up with his senior in time and he tackled him.

"No! It's... I... Just let me go!" Shindou struggled to break free, but Kariya pushed him down. Tears ran down Shindou's face as he watched the fire in front of him. Deep inside of him, he knew that he couldn't save Akane anymore. After all, the fire was already burning for so long... But another part of him wanted to jump in the fire and save her. She had to be okay, right? He shouldn't waste time here and just go looking for her. And then, when he found her, they would just walk outside. Dirty, scared... but alive. And then he would kiss her, and then she would throw her arms around him and whisper his name.

His heart broke into a million little pieces when he realized that she would never to any of those things. He would never be able to hold her again, he would never see her smile again or hear her voice... She was gone, he knew it. So he finally gave up his struggle and cried. He cried his heart out, unable to keep his feelings to himself. Akane, his beloved, sweet, beautiful wife, was gone...

When the fire died down, Shindou's tears had been long gone. All that was left were quiet sobs and an incomparable pain in his chest. She was gone... Forever... Kariya stood up and noticed that his eyes stung. Refusing to cry, he rubbed in them and turned towards the others.

They had all gotten off their horses and Shinsuke managed to get a hold of Shindou's horse. The little boy was still trying to calm the animal down. Hikaru, Tenma and Kirino stood next to the other horses and looked at the windmill with sad eyes. Kariya felt the same pain as they did. Akane had been such a nice, lovely woman and now she was dead. They couldn't even imagine how Shindou must feel, because Shindou knew Akane far longer than any of them did. Kariya eyed his captain once more and saw that Shindou was still in the same position. He was on his knees and stared with glassy, empty eyes towards the black, smoking residues of his house. His tears had left a trail though the soot on his face.

Kariya sighed and decided to leave the older boy be for a while. He walked back to the others and devided the chores. It was around noon, so they should prepare something to eat. They quietly fulfilled their taskes. No one really felt like talking after what happened. Kirino often shot concerned glances towards Shindou, but the other boy didn't move. When the food was ready, Kirino took soft steps towards Shindou.

The latter didn't really seem to notice Kirino's presence, so the boy coughed softly. Although Shindou clearly heard him, he still didn't respond. "Shindou?" Kirino's voice was soft and hesitant, but he continued. "Shindou, you have to eat something."

"Who cares?"

"What?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does."

"Please, just leave me alone."

Kirino hesitated. Should he do as Shindou said? He shook his head to clear the thought away and walked closer to the brunette. "I won't. Come on, you got to eat something." He grabbed Shindou's arm and pulled him up, almost losing his own balance in the process. But he kept his ground and soon, he walked with Shindou towards Kariya, Hikaru, Tenma and Shinsuke.

The meal was scanty, with hard bread and a thin slice of cheese, but it was all they had. They hadn't really packed a lot of food for today's little trip and all the other food was lost in the fire. They would have to earn money very soon.

When they all finished their meal, Shindou stood up and looked at every one of his companions. They were kind of shocked to see his facial expression, since it wasn't sad anymore. It was strict and determined. "Pack up your stuff, men, we'll leave soon."

"Leave?" Tenma asked. "But Captain, where are we going?"

"None of your business."

"B-but-"

"I said we leave soon, now pack your stuff and prepare your horses! Am I clear?" Shindou asked sternly. He spoke so loud that he almost yelled in poor Tenma's face and the latter hurried to nod.

"H-hai, Captain, very clear!"

Shindou nodded and walked away to prepare his horse. The five other boys did the same, but shot worried and confused glances at their captain from time to time.

* * *

><p>They traveled for the entire day with barely any breaks. The breaks they did have were short and rushed, for Shindou constantly urged them to hurry up. The horses they rode on became tired and couldn't keep up their galloping pace anymore. Much to Shindou's annoyance, the animals often slowed down.<p>

The sun had already set and they were still riding. Their bodies hurt from riding so long and their horses' flanks were wet from all the sweat. The poor animals and their riders were close to breaking down. But despite all this, Shindou still urged them to go on. Whenever they asked him about their destination, he snapped at them. He was currently riding a few feet ahead of him while Tenma, Shinsuke - along with Kirino - Hikaru and Kariya grouped together behind him.

"That's enough." The four boys were surprised to hear those words from Kirino. "Please prepare a simple camp, we need to rest," the pink haired boy said as his eyes were locked to Shindou, who was still in front of them. Shinsuke urged his horse to speed up and he soon rode alongside Shindou.

Before the latter could say a word, Kirino bent forward and took the reins from Shindou's hands. He pulled them and both horses came to a stop. Shindou glared at him and opened his mouth to object, but Kirino was faster. "It's enough, Shindou. We all need to rest now."

"It's not enough until I say it's enough," Shindou angrily snapped, but Kirino didn't even blink. Shindou tried to snatch the reins back from the former merman's hold, but Kirino evaded him. He jumped off Shinsuke's horse and started to guide the horse back to the others, but Shindou jumped off as well. "Stop that, you don't tell me what to do, Kirino!"

Kirino looked at the brunette in front of them, completely calm on both inside and outside. Shindou on the other hand looked bewildered and he wouldn't look Kirino in the eye for longer than two seconds. "Shinsuke, please take care of the horses," Kirino said without breaking the eye contact with Shindou. He felt how the little guy took the reins from his hand and heard how he walked back to the camp.

When they were alone, Shindou repeated his statement from before, only softer this time. "You don't tell me what to do..." It sounded more like a question than a threat.

"I will. I will, because you can't lead us right now."

"What are you talking about?!" Shindou angrily shouted. "I'm the captain."

"And not a really good one at that."

"What?"

"You're gonna kill us with that crazy march of yours."

"That's not true!"

"I know you're sad about Akane, but you have five people to take care of right now. If you can't do that, I can no longer see you as a captain."

"I'm perfectly fine!"

"Then where are we going? Where are you taking us to?"

Shindou kept quiet and looked at the ground. His actions confirmed what Kirino thought: Shindou didn't take them to another place, he took them away from the place where he lost everything. There was no clear destination to their journey, Shindou just didn't want to be at the place where he lost everything dear to him.

"Shindou, I know it hurts, but-"

"You don't know anything!" Shindou's sudden shout startled Kirino and he almost took a step back. Almost. Shindou glared at him. "You don't know anything," he repeated.

Kirino took a step forward. "I do know, Shindou, I-"

"No you don't! You're a stupid, bothersome little pest who keeps on asking about every unimportant detail here. You know absolutely nothing about me!"

Silence hung in the air when Shindou finished his rant. Kirino squinted his eyes. His next action caught Shindou completely off guard: Kirino stepped forward and hugged him tight. He didn't say anything, he just hugged him. Neither one knew how long they stood there. Seconds? Minutes? Eventually, the silence was broken by Kirino's soft whisper. "I miss her too."

Suddenly, he felt how Shindou leaned in. The brunette rested his head on Kirino's shoulder and started crying. Once the first tear escaped his eyes, Shindou couldn't stop anymore. He just cried and cried and cried over his loss until there were no more tears. Kirino rubbed his back and whispered soothing words from time to time. When Shindou finally calmed down, Kirino pulled back from the hug to look Shindou in the eye.

"I know it hurts, but do you really think that this is the way to deal with it? Think to yourself, would Akane be happy when she saw you right now?"

Shindou's eyes widened a bit. "No," he whispered. "No, she wouldn't." Kirino smiled a bit and took his hand. He softly guided Shindou back to the others, who had built a fire by now.

* * *

><p>Before he sat down with Kirino, Shindou bowed to the other boys and apologized for his behaviour today. "It's alright, Captain, we understand. But please, can we take it a little easier tomorrow?" Tenma pleaded and Shindou smiled and nodded. Hikaru gave them all some of the food and they ate their scanty meal while chatting a little with each other. Kirino noticed that Shindou was still pretty silent, but he decided to shrug it off. It took time for these kind of wounds to heal. He stroke Shindou's hand with his own and when the brunette looked up, Kirino flashed him an encouraging smile. 'I'm right here for you,' it seemed to say. Shindou smiled as well.<p>

"We will have to buy new food very soon, there's barely any left," Hikaru said as he looked into the bags. He, Tenma, Shinsuke and Kariya unconsciously looked at Shindou, asking him what to do with their eyes.

"To buy food, we'll need money," Shindou thought out loud. "To get that, we could try to get a job, but I'm afraid that won't go well since we're on the run for the Army and can't stay long in one place... Don't we have anything with us that we could sell?"

Everyone except for Kirino started to search their pockets. The merman didn't look for anything because he was wearing Shindou's clothes and not his own, so he figured there wouldn't be anything in his pockets. Everything they collected was worthless stuff: a small piece of rope, two handkerchiefs and Shinsuke's lucky stone. Then Kariya put down his stuff.

"What's that?" Tenma asked as he picked up a little figurine. It was a statue of a boy who was kneeling with his hands raised, as if he was going to sacrifice something.

"I don't know," Kariya shrugged. "I took it from the Leader's tent the day I stole that key. It was attached to this, so I took it with me. I completely forgot I had it until just now."

"Did you see that there's something engraved here?" Tenma asked as he pointed to the bottom of the figurine.

"Really? What does it say?" Kirino asked.

"I don't know, I can't read," Tenma confessed and Shinsuke, Hikaru and Kariya nodded to signal that they couldn't either. Shindou actually could read a little, since that was required for someone of his position in the Army, but he couldn't read much. Kirino looked closely at the figurine to make out the words in the little light that the fire provided.

"There's only one word," he said. "Clau... Claustrum. If I'm correct, it's an old word for prison."

"Prison?" Kariya muttered. "Could it... Could it be that the Leader locked someone up in there?"

"There is definitely something weird going on around the Leader," Shindou muttered. "I mean, he knew about the existence of mermaids and maybe there are even more species that we don't know of. I wouldn't be surprised if that man could actually perform some kind of magic."

"Well, if someone is locked up in there, let's free him!" Tenma exclaimed as he took the figure from Kirino's hand.

"Wait, Tenma, maybe-" Shindou started, but it was too late. Tenma stood up and threw the figurine at the ground. When it broke, purple smoke seeped out of it. The others got up as well and slightly backed away from the growing purple mist. The smoke slowly cleared and revealed a boy with navy blue hair. He sat in the same position as the statue and they all noticed his increddibly pale skin. The boy coughed because of the smoke, which showed that he was really alive.

Tenma, as naive as he was, took a step forward and extended his hand. "Hey, are you okay?" The boy looked up at him and Tenma looked in his golden eyes. The boy looked... fragile. He slowly raised his hand and grabbed Tenma's.

The next moment, Tenma's view got blurry and wind blew through his hair. He let out a startled yelp when his back collided with a tree. He saw his companions about a hundred feet away from him. How did he get here so fast? When he looked in front of him again, he saw that it was the navy blue haired boy who pushed him against the tree. The boy held him at this shoulder and Tenma figured that he was pretty strong, since he could raise Tenma from the ground with one hand.

The aura of fragility had disappeared: this boy was strong and dangerous. His lips parted in an evil grin when he saw Tenma's shocked face. Tenma gasped at the sight of two pure white, razor-sharp fangs.

"One little tip for the afterlife, kid," the creature in front of him said in a deep voice and he smirked. "_Never_, trust a vampire."

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Hehehe, cliffhanger! ^^ Mermaids aren't the only 'mythical creatures', you know? :P I guess you can all guess who this vampire is :3 Just so you know, this story still has a plot (it's not like I just come up with something and don't know how to end it... so yeah).<strong>

**As I said, it's quite long, but I just had to put in this last scene... I hope everything is still clear and if not, PM me or leave a review. **

**Tsurugi: Please leave a review on your way out! *smirks and reveals his fangs***

**Tenma: O.o *shivers***


	12. Chapter 12

**Me: Here I am again! I thought I irritated you long enough with that cliff hanger, so here is the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it, minna! ^^ Tenma, please do the disclaimer.**

**Tsurugi: Lotus Sword doesn't own Inazuma Eleven, for it belongs to Level 5.**

**Me: Hey, you aren't Tenma!**

**Tsurugi: Tenma's busy at the moment.**

**Me: Busy with what?**

**Tsurugi: Read the previous chapter of your story, girl, he's in quite a situation, you know!**

**Me: Yeah, but... Don't you have to be there as well?**

**Tsurugi: Crap, you're right *dashes out of the room***

**Me: *sweatdrop***

* * *

><p>Tenma let out a pained cry when the creature's sharp fangs pierced through his skin. He felt how two lips quickly covered the wound and how the blood was sucked out of his body. Along with it came a dull pain in his neck, which slowly but surely spread out when there became a lack of blood in the veins in his neck. He breathed with jagged breaths and his heart sped up. Blurs and black shapes appeared in his vision and he suddenly realized that he was losing consciousness. Or was it even worse...?<p>

Despite knowing about the other's strength and speed, Tenma tried to free himself from the vampire's grasp. Every attempt was fruitless, though. It became harder and harder for him to stay awake. The soft sleep - or was it death? - called out for him, louder and louder. Promises of rest and an escape from the pain lured him, but Tenma didn't give in.

Not yet.

* * *

><p>Kirino watched in horror, along with Kariya, Hikaru, Shinsuke and Shindou, how the vampire held Tenma against the tree. Goosebumps rose when they heard the brunette scream as the navy haired boy bowed down and bit him. Tenma struggled, but he didn't stand a chance against his opponent. The latter was forcefully sucking Tenma's blood and Kirino knew that they would never reach the duo in time. The others were screaming Tenma's name in shock and fear, but the vampire didn't let go.<p>

"Stop it!"

Kirino shouted it without thinking and his voice was full of authority, like the voice of the prince he was. He didn't think the vampire would listen to him, so he was utmost surprised when the creature indeed pulled back from Tenma. He kept Tenma against the tree with only one hand and turned around to face the group of five opposite him. Kirino's eyes widened when he noticed the deep red eyes that stared amused at him.

"Who tells me to?" the creature said in his deep and confident voice. He shifted a bit and Tenma softly groaned in pain at the movement. There were four punctured wounds visible in his neck, since the vampire bit him using both the upper and the lower teeth. The lack of blood from the wounds did nothing to reassure Kirino. He shifted his gaze back to the vampire and tried to sound as confident as possible when he answered.

"Kirino Ranmaru, prince of the merfolk in the Sea of Japan." He felt the need to add the rest of his title, yet the vampire didn't even blink at the mention of it. Kirino kept on staring in the blood-red eyes and added: "Who wants to know?"

The vampire closed to his eyes and smirked to himself, revealing his fangs once more. He used his free hand to wipe away a little of Tenma's blood from the corner of his mouth. When he answered, his words sounded indifferent. "Tsurugi Kyousuke, second born in the last generation of the Tsurugi clan, one of the most prominent vampire clans there is." He eyed Kirino from head to toe before he raised an eyebrow and smirked wider. "Double-quick evolution?"

"How did you-"

"I know a lot about your kind." The vampire cut him off with a dismissive gesture. "Back to the main point, I don't think you're in the position to disturb my meal, Your Highness." Even though Tsurugi ended his statement with an honorific, the threat and sarcasm were very clear.

"You can't just kill him!"

"Why not? I'm thirsty."

"He set you free!"

"That's his own mistake. He should have known better than to free a hungry vampire."

"How was he supposed to know that?"

"Not my problem."

Kirino was getting angry. Tsurugi was completely unreasonable and, according to the arrogant smirk on his face, he knew that all too well.

"How honorable of you!" Shindou suddenly shouted sarcastically. He was angry because he didn't know how bad Tenma's condition was and they were wasting time. Add up the arrogant, sadistic bastard in front of him and everything that Shindou endured today and it was enough to make him lose his temper. "You are no better than the Leader!"

Tsurugi's figure became a blur as he let go of Tenma and ran away. Before Shindou could wonder where the vampire was and before Tenma's feet could reach the ground, Shindou felt a cold arm around his neck. The grasp tightened quickly and it nearly suffocated him. His own fingers plucked at the arm, but nothing changed. "Listen carefully, boy," a voice hissed near his ear and he realized that it was Tsurugi. "Don't you dare to compare me to that low-down, infamous, dirty little crook, you hear me?" He shook Shindou's body vigorously during the last words and the boy hurried to reply.

"Y... es... Yes," he choked out.

"I thought so," Tsurugi said and he threw Shindou away with seemingly little force. Shindou fell to the ground and rolled over a couple of times before he halted. He sat upright and massaged his sore neck. His eyes never left the vampire. He was cautious for another attack, but he knew deep inside that he could do nothing against it.

"You know the Leader?" Hikaru dared to ask and he flinched slightly as the vampire's gaze shifted to him.

"He's the one who locked me up," Tsurugi explained indifferently. "He set up a trap for me. I fought his men several days, but they wounded me in the end and locked me up before I could do anything."

"Why did he lock you up then?" Shinsuke asked. "What does he want from you?"

"Is'nt it obvious? That bastard wanted my power, of course."

"Your... power?"

"Don't you know anything?" Tsurugi growled as he took a threatening step forward. His eyes glowed furiously and Kirino needed all his willpower to stay standing. Tsurugi heaved an exaggerated sigh and explained slowly and sarcastically, as if he was talking to a little child. "That bastard turned me into that stupid little figurine so I could charge up his pretty little necklace with my power, got it?"

"Is that even possible?" Kirino muttered to himself, but Tsurugi heard it.

"Of course it is. I'm betting he did the same to you." Kirino dug into his memory. _Did that really happen? All I remember is that I had a lot of pain during that time, but..._

Shindou was thinking deeply as well and, while still rubbing his throat, he spoke up. "And the Leader... He can just use your speed and strength with that necklace? How is that possible?"

"How should I know? I don't care at all about that," Tsurugi said.

But Shindou didn't even listen anymore. The words of his friend, who died in his arms three months ago, replayed in his head. _"When I was a few miles away, I relaxed a bit, because I thought I had escaped. But suddenly, something grabbed my arm and everything got blurry. Just a few seconds later, I was in the Leader's tent. It was crazy, I don't know how I got there so fast."_ Could it... Could it be because the Leader had used Tsurugi's powers? He had to know.

"How... How long have you been in that thing?" he asked.

"Too long," the vampire growled. "At least a few months, but it's hard to measure the time. All I know is that I haven't properly drunk in a long time, which is why I am nearly dying with thirst at the moment. So you better give me a very, very good reason why I shouldn't just kill you here and now and drain you dry."

Those words caused the three juniors that were still standing to take a step back. Kirino was the only one who stood firmly and didn't advert his eyes. That was why he saw small victorious smile on the vampire's lips. He realized that Tsurugi enjoyed making them scared before feeding of them and decided that he wouldn't give in. _Tsurugi has some unfinished business with the Leader as well, huh? Maybe we could use that._

He took a step forward and was pleased to see the little glint of surprise in the vampires eyes. The latter obviously didn't expect his prey to get closer. "Because we," Kirino said and he empathized every word, "are going to stop the Leader." All eyes were on him right now. This wasn't something they had consulted, he only thought of it just now. But he meant what he said. He wanted to get back at the Leader for all the pain that man had caused. He had tortured Kirino, he had killed Akane...

Tsurugi squinted his blood-red eyes, searching the former merman's face for a trace of a joke. But there was none. Kirino was as serious as he could be. "Well, I wish you good luck with that," Tsurugi said before he turned around and walked away.

"Wait, you can help us!" Kirino called out after him and Tsurugi stopped in his tracks. He didn't turn around though. "Your speed and power are amazing, they would be a great asset, you know," Kirino continued. Tsurugi let out a small snigger.

"A great asset, you say? Hah, without my speed and strength, you wouldn't stand a chance against that man."

Kirino bit his tongue to keep himself from a snappy reply. Although Tsurugi was arrogant to no end, he was right. They really did need his power to get back at the Leader. "So, are you in?" he asked.

"I don't think so."

"W-what?"

"Yes, I have a grudge against that man as well. And that's exactly why I don't want to waste my time with relying on pathetic little humans like you. If I feel like getting back at him, I'll gather a few worthy vampires to finish the job. But right now, I have more important matters to attend to. My next meal, for example."

"But we fre-" Shinsuke tried to speak up but Tsurugi interrupted him.

"Get your act together, you already used that one. Remember? It's why I am still thirsty at the moment!" With those words, Tsurugi turned to walk away. Kirino had the urge to call him back, but what could he say? They had already used their trump card. What else could that vampire want? The answer came from a surprising angle and the words caused Tsurugi to freeze with his foot in mid-air.

"You can drink from me."

All eyes turned to Tenma, who was tiredly leaning against the tree. His face was pale and his breathing slightly faster, but his metallic blue eyes were clear. His hands held onto the trunk and the ground and Kirino suspected that it was to keep himself from falling. Tenma seemed so close to collapsing... Only his strong will kept him awake and upright.

Then Tenma's words finally got through.

Shindou was just a split second faster than Kirino. "Tenma, are you insane?!"

Tenma completely ignored his captain and kept his eyes locked with Tsurugi's. "I-I'll let you drink from me again," he said slowly, "if you help us out." Before anyone could object to Tenma's proposal, Tsurugi let out a laugh. He didn't make any effort to muffle the sound as he took slow, confident steps towards the sitting brunette.

"Let me tell you how this works," he smiled while crouching down until he was at the same height as Tenma. The latter gulped loudly, but didn't look away from those captivating red eyes. The smile, the pale face, the eyes... Everything about the vampire emitted danger as he extended his hand and grabbed Tenma's chin to pull the boy closer to his face. He stood up and lifted Tenma up in the process until the brunette's feet were a few inches above the ground. "First of all, you don't _let_ me drink from you. If I want to drink your blood, I'll drink it, whether I have your consent or not. Secondly," he stated and his smile changed into a scowl. "Your blood wasn't that good. Why would I go through all that trouble when there are other humans just a few miles away?"

With that, he released his grip on Tenma and the boy fell to the ground, his legs were still too weak to carry him. Tsurugi on the other hand bent through his knees and pushed himself off for a big leap. While still in the air, he performed a backflip and landed neatly on a thick branch. A thick branch that was forty feet high, in a tree that was twenty-five feet away from where he jumped. The humans could barely see him in the little light that the fire behind them provided.

He smirked and his white teeth and fangs flickered a bit. "Don't try to get killed too soon, though. I have to admit that you're interesting, so I might want another drink in the future..." His smirk widened even further, if that was possible. "...Tenma-kun."

Then he was gone. It was like he had just disappeared into thin air, but they knew he had run off with his amazing speed. They all hurried to Tenma, who still laid on his back and groaned.

"Tenma, what on earth got into you?!" Shindou asked sternly. "Offering him to drink from you, even when you're like this..."

"I'm sorry, Captain," Tenma replied weakly. His eyes were half closed and his face was deadly pale. "I just knew we needed his strength and it seemed like the only way... I'm sorry I couldn't convince him..."

"Don't worry about that," Shinsuke pouted. "You shouldn't put yourself in danger like that."

"I'm sorry... Did I make you worry?"

"Your wound needs to be treated quickly, before you lose even more blood," Kariya muttered when he saw a thin red stream in Tenma's neck. Hikaru nodded and together, they carried Tenma closer to the fire, where Hikaru started to bandage the other boy up. Tenma was already sleeping soundly before Hikaru was finished.

The others sat down at the fire for a consult. "So, are we really going to stop the Leader?" Hikaru asked and he quickly scanned his surroundings.

Kirino hesitated a little, but then he nodded. "We have to. That man is pure evil. I mean, look at what he did to Tsurugi, to me, to..." he cut himself off just in time, for he realized that Shindou sat right next to him. "Anyways, we have to do something about him!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, though they were all a bit reluctant. Kirino could clearly see why, the Leader wasn't someone to joke with. He sighed and bent closer to them. "Look, I decided this on my own without asking you to join me. I completely understand if you don't want to help me out."

It remained silent. No one immediately jumped up to say that they would do this together, much to Kirino's disappointment. However, no one stepped out either, so he supposed that was a good thing.

"But Kirino-san..." Shinsuke started. "Do you really believe that the Leader can take someone's power? And if he really has that inhumane speed and power, how are we ever going to stop him?"

"I don't know," Kirino admitted. "When he captured me, he used that necklace on me. It felt like a piece of my soul was torn... I don't think Tsurugi was lying about taking one's powers."

"I saw the necklace a few times," Shindou muttered. His eyes stood glassy, but that disappeared when he looked up. "It has five pendants. The last time I saw it, there were three colourless, one pink and one dark purple. Assuming that the Leader can really take one's power, I think the pink pendant holds your power and the purple pendant holds Tsurugi's." He unconsciously rubbed his painful neck again, but no one except Kirino seemed to notice it.

"That also means that there are probably three more people in danger!" Shinsuke exclaimed shocked.

"That's why I want to stop him before he hurts anyone else," Kirino said. "This may not be my home and these people might not be my subjects, but I still feel responsible for them."

They stared at him for a while, until he got uncomfortable. "What?"

"Was it true what you said? About you being the mermaid prince?" Kariya asked.

"Mer_folk_ prince, thank you very much," Kirino said. "And yes, that's true. Didn't I tell you that?"

"It's the first time I heard it," Shinsuke muttered.

"Oh, well... Sorry then, I must've forgotten it," Kirino said awkwardly. He cleared his throat at the stares he got. "A-anyways, let's sleep. I'm dead tired from everything that happened today." Everyone nodded and stood up.

"I'll take the first watch," Shindou muttered as he stood up. Kirino prevented him by grabbed his hand and pulling him back down.

"Can you please show me your neck?" he asked.

"Kirino..."

"Show it to me."

Shindou sighed and obeyed. He pulled his collar down and Kirino gasped at the sight of the purple bruise. "It's nothing, really," Shindou muttered without looking him in the eye.

"You should rest a little, you're pushing yourself way too far. I'll take the first watch, so you can go to sleep."

"No, I can see you're tired as well. It's my fault for forcing that crazy march on you today. As you said before, as a captain, I should look after you so-"

Kirino cut him off by grabbing his shoulder. He flashed the brunette a reassuring smile. "Don't forget to look after yourself as well, Captain. It was the hardest for you today, so you shouldn't push yourself. We understand it and we're right behind you."

Shindou looked at the ground and his shoulders started to shake after a few seconds. Kirino only realized that the other was crying when he felt a tear on his leg. He placed his arms around Shindou and rubbed his back. "It's just that every time I look at you guys... It's like you're opposite me," the latter quietly sobbed. For the second time this evening, he cried all his feelings out. Kirino just smiled and tightened the embrace slightly. Both he and Shindou were too tired to realize how close they were and to be ashamed of it.

"We're not opposite you, Shindou. We are all behind you. You're just looking in the wrong direction."

They stayed that way for a little while and at some point, Kirino noticed that Shindou had fallen asleep. Carefully, because he didn't want to wake the other boy up, Kirino tried to get out of Shindou's embrace. The latter wouldn't let him, though, not even when Kirino tried to pull the arms away. There was no other way to put it: he was stuck. After a few more attempts, he heard someone snigger behind him.

When he turned around, careful not to wake Shindou up, he found Shinsuke, Kariya and Hikaru behind him. They all had smug smiles on their faces as they watched the scene. Kirino's cheeks heated up for no particular reason. "Don't just stand there, please help me out of here. I have to take the first watch, remember?"

"Don't bother, Kirino-san," Shinsuke smiled. "I'll take the first watch, Kariya takes the second and Hikaru the third."

"So you can spend all night snuggling with our captain," Hikaru teased.

The blush on Kirino's cheeks darkened tenfold and he was really glad that it was night, for no one would see it. "Th-that's not i-it," he stuttered. Shinsuke giggled in response and Kirino tried once again to get out of Shindou's grasp.

"Easy, you don't want to wake him up now do you?" Kariya smirked. His words successfully stopped Kirino's attempt. He glanced down at his lap and smiled slightly at the sight of Shindou's sleeping face. For the first time today, the brunette seemed really at peace.

"No," he whispered. "I don't want to wake him up."

"Then, good night to the both of you, Your Highness~" Kariya teased and he chuckled when Kirino hastily turned around to send him a glare.

"Get out," the former merman said angrily. The three boys only sniggered to this though and casually walked away. _Those guys,_ Kirino thought as he turned his blushing face back to Shindou. Before he realized what he did, he stroke the other's soft hair. He shifted gently to find a more comfortable position and soon drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Aww, you're so sweet Kirino :3<strong>

**Kirino: *blush***

**Me: Oh yeah, as for the part with Tsurugi: just imagine him to talk like he did in the first episode of GO, okay? Actually, I added that last 'Tenma-kun' because it was like that in the anime when he challenged Tenma to save the soccer club and IT WAS SOOO SEXY! O.O Ahehe, sorry for that. Anyways, just imagine him to say it in his own, sexy way, okay?**

**Tenma: Please leave a review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Me: Woohoo! New chapter!**

**Aoi: I kind of have a bad feeling about this.**

**Me: *whispers* You should.**

**Aoi: O.o**

**Me: Ehehe, gomen Aoi-chan, please don't mind me!**

**Aoi: A-alright then, please enjoy this new chapter, minna! Att-chan doesn't own Inazuma Eleven, Level 5 does.**

**Me: On with the story!**

* * *

><p>Somewhere, far away from our heroes, was an encampment. Small, plain green tents formed neat rows for as far as the eye could see. From the looks of it, the tents were designed for two to three persons, except for two bigger ones.<p>

In the biggest one of the two - the biggest tent in the whole camp for that matter - was a man pacing up and down. He wasn't slim, but he wasn't fat either. His hair was already silver-coloured, which indicated that he was rather old, but his body was still muscular. From the way his feet stomped on the ground, one could tell that he was angry.

He walked from the bed to a small cupboard on the other side of the tent. When he reached it, he turned around and headed for the table that he used to display his maps. A small wooden chair that was in his way, was mercilessly kicked away as the man let out an animal-like roar. Yes, he was angry. He was furious! Everything went according to plan, but then those rotten soldiers decided to steal and run away like cowardly dogs.

He raised his hand and reached for the necklace around his neck. He didn't need to look at it to know that there were still three colourless pendants. It was tempting to use the power that the other two would provide him. He would find those deserters in less than a day and he would kill them. And then he would take back what belonged to him.

The merman and the vampire.

But he couldn't. He had to stay here and watch over the idiots around him, or they might ruin everything. Besides, he needed to preserve the power he had collected. On the off-chance that something went wrong and he wouldn't be able to charge his necklace again, he wouldn't be able to execute his plan. That was a risk he couldn't take.

He stroke the middle pendant, the one that was still colourless. The movement calmed him down. It would be alright, it wouldn't take long anymore. The first one, the vampire, was wounded and that's why it took so long to collect all the power. As for the merman, that one had been exhausted from the journey he made. Of course, the Leader had let the creature rest a full night before he started to take its power, but it had been too soon and it still took very long. One of the scientists in the camp had recently discovered why: the water hadn't been salty. The man had hurried to the great tent, telling his superior about his findings. However, the Leader had grown so angry about the man's stupidity that he hit the man in the face. He was knocked out immediately.

"Leader-sama!" A voice came from outside the tent and the man inside turned to the entrance, just in time to see one of his subjects entering. "Leader-sama, we got one!"

The Leader, who was about to scold the poor guy for acting against the protocol, smiled slightly. "Lead the way," was all he said, and he followed the enthusiastic boy quickly. In his enthusiasm, the boy tripped over a rock and fell to the ground, but he kept on running. The Leader watched the boy for a while and wondered about how foolish someone could be. But this boy wasn't the only one: the Leader was completely surrounded by idiots, except for a few scientists who predicted where the next mythical creature would be.

But that was alright. Idiots would listen to him and obey him without a doubt. _Besides,_ he thought, _it won't take long until I collected all the creatures I need. And then I won't need these idiots anymore._

.

They reached the edge of the encampment and went deeper into the woods. When they walked a few hundred feet, the Leader saw the trap. It was a glass cupola, small enough to hide between the branches of a tree, but large enough to capture something as big as a human. He squinted his eyes, but he didn't see anything.

Turning to one of the men beside him, he asked: "Where is it?"

"It is in there, Leader-sama," the man assured. "We captured it immediately, so it shouldn't be exhausted, and it doesn't seem wounded either."

"Then please tell me why I can't see it," the Leader asked softly. Despite his soft voice and polite words, the man gulped.

"I-it's in there, Leader-sama, I swear!" he squeaked. "It's probably just panicked, but I saw with my own eyes how the cupola fell over it."

"Hmm." Without further explanation, the Leader walked closer to the cupola. Yes, when he squinted his eyes and looked closely, he could see a faint black smoke. He suppressed his evil smirk and crouched down near the cupola. "Hello? Is someone in there?" He knew that there was, but he needed it to be in its solid form. "If you are in there, you don't have to be afraid. Just show yourself and we can get you out of there."

There was still no response, although the Leader saw a small swirl in the smoke. So the creature had heard him, eh?

"Hmm, it seems like there is really no one in here," he sighed. It seemed like he was talking to himself, but he spoke loud enough for the creature to hear him. "Well, I guess we should just move on. There is no point in moving that thing without a purpose." He turned around and started to walk away. However, a wicked grin decorated his face and he slowly halted his steps when he heard a soft voice.

"Stop, please."

It was high-pitched, like the voice of a young girl. When he turned around, he saw indeed a young girl inside the cupola. She had short dark-blue hair and a fair skin. Her light-blue eyes emitted fear when she stared at him. He smiled and hoped to calm her down a little with it. He tried to be gentle, but inside, he felt like screaming. This was it! She was real! A real shadow, he had found one!

"Hello there," he smiled. "I'm sorry, but I didn't see you before. Are you alright? You're not hurt or anything, are you?"

She shook her head. "N-no, I j-just... I want to get out!" He saw a tear glimmering in her eyes and admired her fear for a moment. Then he stepped out of it. If this went wrong, it would take just as long as with the other two!

"Of course, I understand. My men are working on it, don't worry. You see, this was never supposed to happen. It was just a coincidence that the rope snapped when you were here. I'm relieved you didn't hurt yourself." He lied every word of it, except for the last sentence. He was genuinely relieved that the girl wasn't hurt in any way, for it would only delay everything.

"I-I was just picking herbs. I-I-I'm sorry if I..." Her voice trailed away.

"Shh, it's okay, there's no harm done, is there? I'm not at all angry with you." He said it in a tone that could almost be described as 'fatherly' and to his satisfaction, the girl completely fell for it. He could see that she already calmed down. "May I ask you for your name?"

She hesitated for a bit, but then she took a deep breath and said: "I'm Sorano Aoi."

His smile widened. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Sorano-san. Would you mind helping me out with something to pass the time? It seems like they are almost able to lift the cupola, but in the meantime, I need your help." During those last words, he reached for his necklace and unfastened the middle pendant.

"I'll help as long as it lays in my capability," Sorano immediately replied. _So naive,_ the Leader thought.

"I'm glad you say that." He pushed the pendant against the glass wall and after a moment, a ray of light shot out of it. The girl started screaming as soon as it hit her body. She tried to move away, but the light and the glass held her captive. The muscles in her arms and legs started contracting at random, resulting at weird-looking, shocking movements of her body. Her body tensed up in a desperate attempt to keep the energy that was being drained by the light, but it was a lost battle.

The Leader looked at the stone between his fingers. If he looked closely, he could see that it changed from colourless to dark-blue. However, the colour was still faint. "Why are you doing this?!" The pained cry drew his eyes back to the girl. She was the first one so far that was able to produce a whole sentence. Tears dripped down her cheeks and her body made convulsive movements to escape the torture, but it didn't help.

Suddenly, Sorano's body became a bit more transparent. The Leader quickly caught on and realized that she tried to go to her shadow form. The creatures of her species, which were called 'shadows', had not one but two physical forms. They were able to switch between them to their heart's content. Both forms had their advantages and disadvantages. For instance, in their solid form, they were able to carry and touch things, while in their shadow form, they completely acted like shadows or spirits. That meant that they could move unnoticed by others, but as said before, they couldn't touch anything. In order to do that, they had to switch back to their solid form or use the shadow of the object. For example, if a shadow were to attack a human in its shadow form, it would attack the shadow of the human. That was the ultimate attack, for the human often wouldn't realize where the attack came from until it was too late.

Right now, Sorano was trying to switch between her forms in order to escape the pain. She had been in her shadow form before, when the Leader approached the cupola. That was why it had seemed like there was no one in it. Maybe she thought he wouldn't be able to hurt her when she was a shadow. Or maybe she thought he was foolish enough to believe that she had disappeared when he couldn't see her anymore. Or maybe it was just an automatic reaction of her body, caused by her mind that was clouded with pain.

Whatever the cause was, the Leader was happy she did it. During the moment of switching, a shadow was vulnerable. The energy in its body needed to be diverted in order to change to another form and these diversions exposed the energy to the surface for a brief moment. But that brief moment was enough, because the light absorbed it all and drew the energy into the stone. The blue colour became intenser by the second. The stone became warmer because of the extra input of energy.

Aoi let out a pained cry and in one moment, the transparency of her body was gone, letting off another flood of energy. It must have been too much for her to change to another form. She sank to her knees and soon completely fell to the ground. She curled up into a ball, but nothing worked. The ray of light kept shining, no matter how much she whimpered. She had long stopped producing sensible words. All that was left was a nearly monotone wail that intensified every time another wave of pain ran through her body.

The Leader looked down at her helpless form and felt nothing but excitement. Excitement, because he was now one step closer to obtaining his goal, his dream, his purpose in life. Sorano stopped producing sounds, but the Leader still didn't let her go. He would do so when the stone was fully charged. He barely finished that thought when the ray of light faded away. He looked at the stone in his hand and smiled wickedly when he saw that its colour was just as intense as the other two. He calmly hung it back on the necklace and gestured to the others that they should lift the cupola. They did as he told and within ten seconds, the glass cage was hidden between the leaves of the tree.

The Leader moved a bit closer to the lying figure of the shadow girl. Grabbing her chin with one hand, he moved her head a bit. Her skin felt abnormally cold against his fingers. But if he focussed a lot, he could feel a very shallow breath against his fingers. If he looked real closely, he could see how her chest slightly rose and fell. Only slightly. He got up and walked back to his men, who were patiently waiting for his next order.

"Get the cage back down and pack your stuff, we'll be moving along to the next spot."

"Where will that be, oh Leader-sama?" one of the men asked humbly. The Leader didn't snap like he usually would, saying that it wasn't of the man's concern. No, he was too much in high spirits right now to be bothered by that.

"There are clues that the next one will also be in this forest. Since they are the complete opposite from shadows, it is logical to assume that they live elsewhere, but they are most definitely somewhere among these trees."

"And what is it that we are looking for?" the same man asked again.

"If I were you, I would start by looking out for fire. You might just find them too."

"Fire?" the man mumbled to himself, but it wasn't heard over the next question that was asked.

"What about the girl, Leader-sama?" another one asked as he cast a look at the motionless figure in the distance. Sorano hadn't moved so far and from here, it seemed like she was already dead.

The Leader shrugged. He really didn't care for her. Sure, he had when he still needed her, but now... "Leave her here. She's as good as dead and I can't use her anymore." After looking at the sky, which turned darker by the minute, he said: "Pack as much stuff as you can before you go to sleep tonight and make sure you rest well. Tomorrow at sunrise, we will prepare for the journey and an hour later, we'll depart."

"Hai, Leader-sama." The exclamation came from different people at the same time and the Leader couldn't help but smile to himself as he started to walk again. Not because of the obedience that his men showed him, though. Ha, he didn't care at all about them. No, he smiled because he felt the weight of the necklace around his neck, as a silent reward for what he had just accomplished.

The said ornament glimmered in the light of the setting sun when he walked back to his private tent. Not one, not two, but three of the pendants had an intense colour that reflected the light. _Yes,_ he though. _Three done, two more to go._

* * *

><p><strong>Me: There you have it, folks, the thirteenth chapter of 'The Final Battle'! This was supposed to be just a small part of the chapter, but I just kept on writing and writing until this came out. I figured it will be too long if I put more in it, so I just made it a chapter on its own.<strong>

**Tenma: O.o Did you kill another person, Att-chan?!**

**Me: Waa-? NO! No, I didn't! Dear readers, please note that Aoi is STILL ALIVE! I repeat: she is still alive! (and I plan to keep it that way, don't worry). I just needed an excuse as to why the Leader would leave her behind, because I couldn't stand it if Aoi was his captive.**

**Also, another mythical creature was introduced: Shadows! I made them up myself, so I hope everything is clear about them. If not, please PM me or leave a review (the usual drill, you know it, don't you?). And the Leader left a cryptical hint for the next creature. I'd love to hear what you think it'll be and which characters will belong to that species!**

**Aoi: Please leave a review when you have the time, minna! *bows***


	14. Chapter 14

**Me: Here is another chapter, minna! Have fun while reading.**

**Kirino: Att-chan doesn't own Inazuma Eleven.**

* * *

><p>Shindou woke up by a cloud of smoke that prickled in his nose. He sneezed and opened his eyes to look around. He immediately wished he didn't, for it would have prevented him from seeing the embarrassing position he was in. With Kirino.<p>

He was instantly awake.

The former merman laid on his back and Shindou laid partly on top of him. Their arms were around each other's bodies and Shindou's head was at the height of Kirino's chest. It rose and fell in the rhythm of Kirino's breathing. Shindou, whose face was now the new definition of red, shot upright in order to get out of this situation as quickly as he could, but he ended up waking up Kirino.

"Huh? Oh, eh... Good morning?" the pink haired boy awkwardly started.

"Uhm, yeah, you too." The awkward silence was broken by an amused snicker and when they looked up, they saw that Kariya was smirking at them. The boy sat on his knees by the fire, and his mere presence caused Shindou's and Kirino's blushes to darken.

"Yeah, good morning, Captain, Kirino-san." His mischievous smile was replaced by an innocent expression. "Did you sleep well, Captain~?"

Shindou cleared his throat and adverted his eyes and Kariya's smirk widened when he realized his captain's unease. He was about to make another comment, but the glare Kirino sent him somehow made him change his mind. He tried to shake the feeling off, but the former merman's eyes pierced like daggers through his skin and it only ceased when he changed the topic. He cleared his throat. "A-anyways, can you watch this for a while? I need to check up on Tenma."

"What's that?" Kirino asked.

"A ferret. I went hunting after my watch, and I found this one. There's barely any food left, so I'm preparing it for later." The teal haired boy left and Kirino and Shindou were now alone. An awkward silence lasted between them, until Shindou broke it.

"I eh... I'm sorry for... that." Kirino didn't need to ask what 'that' referred to. Obviously, it was the awkward position they found themselves in when they woke up.

"Don't worry about it... Did you sleep well?"

Shindou's face heated up again as he stared in Kirino's eyes, but he didn't find a trace of a joke. Kirino was sincerely interested in his answer. "Yes, thank you," he nodded.

"Thank goodness," Kirino smiled. "How's your neck?"

"It's fine."

"Can you show me?"

Shindou hesitantly pulled his collar aside and showed his badly bruised neck. It was really stiff and almost every movement hurt. Damn that Tsurugi! Kirino trailed over the purple bruises with his fingers. His touch was so light that it didn't even hurt. Every time they brushed against his skin, Shindou felt a little tingle, but it wasn't from the pain. It actually felt quite nice.

Then Kirino retrieved his hand and Shindou felt like he lost something. "That stupid vampire," Kirino growled. "There was no reason at all to attack you!" A warm feeling spread through Shindou's chest when he heard how Kirino verbally attacked Tsurugi. It felt good to know that the merman cared that much about him.

Soon, Hikaru, Kariya and Shinsuke joined them by the fire. There was still no sign from Tenma. No one really felt like talking after all the events yesterday, so they ate their meal in silence. Kariya's ferret was a welcome addition, but after breakfast, no one was really satisfied. Shinsuke went to check up on Tenma and try to let him eat and drink a bit, and after he returned, everyone sat down around the now extinguished fire.

"Our food is gone and so is our money," Shindou started. This wasn't the time to beat around the bush, so he immediately cut to their main problems. "We'll have to sell something to buy food and water."

"What about the horses?" Everyone turned to Hikaru, who had put the idea forward. The boy shifted uncomfortably under the attention, cleared his throat and continued. "I mean, Tenma is certainly in no condition to ride a horse right now, so we have at least one spare... If we sell it, won't we have enough for all the food and water and stuff we need?" His voice went up at the end of the question, expressing his hope for acceptance of the idea.

Shindou rubbed his chin in thought. The movement hurt his throat as well, so he quickly ceased it. "You do have a point there, Hikaru," he mused. "Selling one of the horses would definitely solve our problems on food and money. But can we afford it, practically speaking? We don't know if the Leader has given up on us or not. For all we know, someone might just be lurking at us now."

And he didn't know how right he was with that last statement, until it was too late.

* * *

><p>Eventually, they agreed with one another. Shindou didn't like the idea of having fewer horses to carry them and their luggage, but he understood that they really needed the money and he couldn't find any other idea. He knew Tenma needed medicine of some sort, at least to get his fever down. The poor boy had gotten an higher temperature in the worst possible moment. Right when his body was weak and in lack of blood. They needed antipyretic herbs and a lot of luck if they wanted their friend and teammate to survive.<p>

Tenma's health was their biggest priority.

They agreed on selling one horse - Shindou wanted to keep at least four - in the nearest village, and Kariya and Kirino would be the ones to do it. After all, it might be suspicious for the townspeople if five strangers showed up, offering to sell a horse. People in these remote places often recollect strange faces for a few days and the last thing they wanted was to draw attention. Another reason was that they couldn't simply let Tenma alone.

So the two boys walked alongside in the direction of the nearest village. According to the map that Shindou had taken with him when they ran from the army, it was eight miles away from their current location. Eight miles meant that they had to walk at least one hour to get there, and at least one hour back. It would have been faster if they just rode the horse to get there, but they didn't want to exhaust the animal.

Neither of them said much as they walked; the silence between them got filled up by the sounds of the horse's and their footsteps. It was hard to walk in a straight line when all you saw were trees. Countless trees. As soon as their camp disappeared from view, Kirino didn't know what direction to take anymore. Kariya however, seemed to be quite certain about where they had to go. He kept on looking at the sky and every time they made a turn, he marked the place with a little tower of pebbles. Kirino didn't question the other's actions, he just assumed that Kariya knew what he was doing.

He was glad when they finally arrived at the small town. Kariya went to negotiate with an interested salesman about the price of the horse, while Kirino waited outside. He closed his eyes to enjoy the warm tingling of the sun and the whistling of the birds. It was peaceful and nice and suddenly, he wished he was here with Shindou instead of with Kariya. He blinked and shook his head vigorously to clear the thought away. Where in Poseidon's name had that come from?!

He was startled by a hand that firmly gripped his shoulder and jumped from shock. At the same time, a small yelp escaped his lips. Turning around, he found himself staring into the glimmering golden eyes of Kariya. One second, two seconds, then his heart finally continued beating. His younger companion shot him a confused glance before his face split into a mischievous grin. "Oh, sorry, did I disturb any happy thoughts?"

The words themselves weren't really embarrassing, it was the implying tone that the younger one used which caused Kirino to feel uneasy. "What are you talking about?" he asked. Thank god he didn't stutter there, but he couldn't look the other in the eye either.

Kariya smiled wider. "Oh come on, you were thinking about Captain, weren't you? Just admit it already."

The uneasiness expanded with the moment. "Why would I? You and the others have been acting weird since yesterday evening. Look, Shindou and I are just friends, just like I'm friends with you and Tenma and Hikaru and Shinsuke." He paused for a moment and studied Kariya's face. "Is there another human custom that I got wrong? Like when I first met you guys and... Ahem, kissed Shindou? Did I do something that implied that he means more to me?"

Kariya was about to say that there wasn't such a thing as misinterpreted actions, rather than the loving looks the two people sent at each other, but he stopped himself. He recalled how flustered Shindou had been this morning, when he woke up. The beet-red faces of the two oldest people in their group were a sight that he wouldn't mind seeing again. Besides, it would be good for Shindou to distract him a little from Akane's fate. Struggling to hold back a really devious smile, he feigned an innocent and genuine expression. Luckily for him, he was a master in hiding his true emotions and Kirino didn't sense anything odd.

"Well, actually..."

* * *

><p>Shindou entered the small and muggy tent and let his eyes adjust to the dusk. He knelt at Tenma's side and placed a hand on the boy's head, checking his temperature. Tenma groaned when Shindou's cool hand came in contact with his own hot and sweaty forehead. His eyes stirred behind his closed eyelids, but he didn't wake up. Shinsuke told him that Tenma had woken up this morning to eat a little, but Shindou was still worried to death. If the brunette's condition didn't improve soon, he feared the worst.<p>

It was hot inside the tent and a few beads of sweat dripped down Tenma's face. Shindou poured a little water from the water bottle on his sleeve and used it to clean the younger one's forehead, as well as to cool him down a little. After that, he brought the bottle to Tenma's lips and watched as a tiny trickle of water ran into the brunette's mouth. Tenma slowly swallowed the water and muttered a faint "Thank you, Captain." Shindou figured he had been awake ever since he, Shindou, came in.

"No problem, Tenma. Just get well soon, okay?" he smiled.

"It's hot," Tenma replied, still not opening his eyes.

Shindou's smile faltered a bit. "It'll be alright," he said bravely. "Everything will work out somehow." That last part was more to convince himself than to reassure the sick boy. After all, how could things work out without medicine and barely any food or water? _No, I mustn't think like that,_ he lectured himself. _Kirino and Kariya will be here soon and then we'll have enough supplies. I just hope nothing else goes wrong from here on._ His eyes shifted from Tenma's pale face to the four punctural wounds in his neck. Luckily, they had healed well so far, but he couldn't help but glare at them. If it hadn't been for that damn vampire - who they had freed, for crying out loud! - Tenma wouldn't lay here like this. Shindou gritted his teeth and dug his nails in the palms of his hands. Tsurugi had said that he might want another drink from Tenma, but... did he really mean it? Or did he just want to give them a scare? Shindou wholeheartedly hoped for the last option, because he was quite sure that Tenma wouldn't survive a second drink.

"Captain?" Shinsuke's voice came through the canvas of the tent and Shindou's head jolted in the direction of the sound. He suppressed a groan when his stiff neck protested against the sudden movement. Casting one last look on the sick boy at his feet, he got up and crawled out of the tent.

What he saw greatly shocked him.

If he hadn't been as tired and as emotionally broken down as he was now, he would have noticed the odd thing about Shinsuke's tone of voice. When the boy called out for his captain, his voice had been slightly higher than usual, which indicated the panic that he felt.

If he had been more alert, he would have jumped into action immediately after seeing two of his juniors being held by four strange men. Two men kept Hikaru's and Shinsuke's arms behind their backs, while the other two held a knife on their throats.

If he hadn't been so surprised by the sudden sight, he might have been able to dodge the attack that was aimed at him as soon as he exited the tent. But he _was_ surprised, and before he could comprehend the situation, a fist collided with the side of his skull and he dropped to the ground. Black blurs invaded the edges of his vision and became bigger, leaving him with the feeling as if he walked through a tunnel.

The sounds became more distant too, so maybe he really was inside a tunnel? He didn't know. The voices from the distance were distorted and barely audible over a noisy hammering that throbbed through his painful head. Was that his heartbeat? "Are these all of them, Taiyou-sama?" one voice asked, and another replied. "No, there are two who left a little earlier. I'll take care of those myself, you take these ones away."_  
><em>

Then suddenly, his collar was lifted and roughly came in contact with his sore neck. Shindou managed to utter one groan before he lost consciousness and sank into a room with no sights, no sounds and no pain.

* * *

><p>They walked in silence once again, and Kirino used this moment of rest to organize his thoughts. He was so preoccupied with everything Kariya had told him about friendships between humans, that he didn't notice the cunning smile that decorated the other's lips. And Kariya made sure to properly hide it every time Kirino's gaze shifted to him.<p>

According to the teal haired boy, the actions between Kirino and Shindou implied something different from their words. "When you talk to each other, everyone can see that you care for each other to a certain extend. But when you look solely at your behaviour, it just seems like you aren't friends at all. That's what was so amusing to us last night."

After that, Kariya had bombarded him with tips and examples of how real friends behaved among each other. Kirino's head was still spinning, but he wanted to memorize as much as he could. Only a month ago, he would have used this information for his report about the humans. Or doubletailers, as he still called them back then. Funny how much he had learned in a month.

He took a few more steps, but then he realized that Kariya wasn't next to him anymore. As he came to a halt and turned around, he saw that the younger boy was frozen in place, intensely staring at a spot between the trees.

"What-" he tried to ask, but Kariya hushed him.

"Sssh." It was soft but sharp, and Kirino immediately swallowed his next words. Just like Kariya, he stood frozen on the spot, afraid to move another muscle. Meanwhile, Kariya carefully moved again. His movements were slow and small as he took out something made of leather. It consisted of two strings, each connected to a pouch in the middle. Kariya placed a small pebble in the pouch and started to circle it. The movement went faster and released a buzzing sound. He let go of one of the strings and the pebble flew out of it, too fast for Kirino's eyes to see it. It bounced off a tree, just at the moment when a brown blur raced to the top and disappeared between the branches.

Kariya relaxed his figure, which Kirino took as a sign to start moving as well. "What was that?" he asked.

"Squirrels," Kariya answered nonchalantly. "I thought I could get one, but I missed."

"And what is that?" Kirino asked, pointing at the leather thing in Kariya's hands.

"It's a sling. A long-distance weapon."

"A weapon?"

"Yeah, you can fire stones and pebbles at targets, though it's not often used against humans. It's possible, but just like bow and arrow, it takes a long time to learn how to aim properly. The crossbow is more often used in armies, since it's not that hard to aim with it. The sling is often used for hunting small critters when you're on the road. If you camp somewhere for a few nights, you can also set out a few snares. I think I might start on those when we get back."

"I see. We're you a hunter before you joined the army?"

A small nod was the only reply before both got back to silence. They walked like that for a little longer, until they saw the camp in the distance. They both unconsciously quickened their pace, happy to finally be released from their burden, which consisted of food and water. But when they reached the small encampment, it was deserted. The horses were gone, the fire in the fireplace was extinguished and the only tent that was set up, was empty. Both boys dropped their bags and looked around, as if the missing people would suddenly come out of the woods.

"Where are they?" Kariya said out loud, displaying his confusion to Kirino. "Even Tenma is gone! This can't be a joke, something mu-"

"Kariya." The tone of the former merman was serious and cautious, and as Kariya followed his gaze, he knew why.

Behind them was a single boy. He seemed to be of the same age of them and he had spiky, bright orange hair. His skin was pale and his forehead was creased, resulting in a deep scowl. The dull blue eyes were glaring daggers at both boys, and they both knew that this guy wasn't here for a nice talk. At first, no one moved, but then the stranger slowly made circular movements with his hands. Now they noticed the objects the boy held in his hands. They looked a bit like the sling that Kariya showed him, but there were differences.

The sling consisted of two straps, which were connected to one pouch that held the pebble. This thing was different. It was one rope, about three feet long, with two heavy-looking balls on the ends. The stranger held the rope in the middle as he spun it faster and faster. His hateful expression never faltered.

Kariya was the one to figure out what the things were, and what purpose they served. "Kirino-san," he said. "Run."

They both turned around and ran away from the strange boy. They didn't get far though, because the boy soon released the objects in his hands. They hurled through the air, right before one of the ropes came in contact with Kirino's lower legs. The speed of the heavy balls caused them to spin around Kirino's legs, effectively tying him up. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. Another thud taught him that the same happened to Kariya. He heard soft footsteps as the stranger slowly made his way to them.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Once again, a cliffhanger. Cliffhangers are fuuuuuuun~ Hehehe. I promise I'll update soon, but there are a few problems with my laptop, so I'm using my brother's right now and I can only do that when he doesn't want to use it... Yeah...<strong>

**Kariya: By the way, if anyone has another tip for my 'advises' to Kirino-senpai, please tell them in a review or via PM (if you don't want others to know ;) ).**

**Kirino: -.- I'm so not gonna enjoy the upcoming chapters.**

**Me: That's right! ^^ So please tell me your ideas about what "friends" should do, according to Kariya. I'm not sure if I'll use all of it, but I'm a bit short on advises (I only have 'holding hands' XD). Also, if you tell me what you thought of this chapter in a review, I'll be more than happy.**

**Bye! (L)**


	15. Chapter 15

Lubdub. Lubdub. Lubdub.

It was as if someone was banging on a drum, right next to his ears. The loud rhythm travelled through his body, he could both feel it and hear it. Why was someone drumming at a time like this? Was there a party? It didn't make sense. But then it hit him. It weren't drums that he heard, it was his own heartbeat.

From that moment on, more sounds penetrated him. Children's laughter, elders' chatter, wind through the leaves. He could feel it too, the warm wind that tickled the skin of his cheek. "Still no reply?" someone asked, and his clouded mind tried to decipher to whom the voice belonged. He knew that person. Was it... Hikaru? Yes, it must have been Hikaru.

A sigh. "No." Another voice spoke only one word, but Shindou didn't need more to know who it belonged to. For some reason, he knew it immediately: Kirino Ranmaru. He shifted a little and tried to open his eyes. A bright light attacked his mind and when he closed his eyes, red and purple specks were floating through his vision. His headache, which he hadn't fully realized before, increased as well. "Shindou?" Kirino asked again. He opened his eyes again, though more careful than before, and saw that the former merman was blocking the sunlight from his eyes.

More heads appeared, and hands reached out for his shoulders to help him up. He was still a bit dizzy and leaned on the nearest person as he sat on the ground and tried to make the world around him stop spinning. When he succeeded, he focussed on the faces of the others, who had joined him in a circle on the ground. Four faces stared at him, checking if he was really alright. Kirino, Hikaru, Kariya, Shinsuke... Wait!

"Where's Tenma?" he croaked.

"We don't know," Shinsuke said in a sad tone. "They knocked you unconscious and brought us here. Kirino and Kariya were brought in a bit later. But Tenma... I don't know why, but they brought him to that hut over there."

He pointed and Shindou followed his extended finger until his gaze fell upon a large round hut, made of wood. It was quite small, actually, but it was big when compared to the other huts he saw. It was only now that he realized that they were trapped in a wooden cage, in the middle of a large clearing. The wooden poles were thick and strong: impossible to break without an axe or a big sword. There was a door in the cage, but it was closed with lots of leathery ropes, which were also tarred, from the looks of it. Again, it was impossible to break those, unless they had some kind of weapon. Or if they set them on fire, but how on earth could they make fire?

The throbbing in his head got worse as he thought about it, so instead he looked around the clearing. He saw a group of small kids, running around and playing tag. They must be around the age of seven. A little red-haired girl was now chasing after a boy with raven-black hair. They seemed to be of the same age and wore the same simple clothes, but there was something different about them.

Despite the boy's speed, the girl slowly but surely got closer to him. She extended her arm and the distance between her fingertips and his back decreased by the second. A foot, half a foot, three inches, two, one and then... Suddenly, the boy disappeared before their eyes and consequently, the girl lost her balance and fell to the ground, rolling over a couple of times before she came to a halt. Shindou gasped.

A second later, the black-haired boy reappeared, with tears in his eyes from laughter. "I can't believe you fell for that," he neighed. "Literally!"

"Unfair!" the girl yelled in reply. She was the only one of the children that wasn't amused. "You can't change to another form in the middle of a game! That's cheating!" Without warning, she chased after him, but he must have seen it coming, because he immediately dashed away. He threw a few teasing remarks at her, which really fueled her anger. And then... Well, her hair caught fire.

Shindou inhaled sharply when the wavy red locks suddenly changed into flames, which followed her like a waving flag. Strangely enough, her clothes didn't catch fire and the girl didn't seem to have any pain. It was like... like it was normal for her to have burning hair. But how could flames on your head possibly be normal?

Her anger gave her strength and she caught up with the black-haired boy again. But he pulled the same trick as before and suddenly disappeared again. Shindou rubbed his eyes to see if he was dreaming. Boys that disappear into thin air? Girls with flaming hair? Surely, his mind must be playing tricks on him. The girl tripped again and stopped when her back collided with the cage. She let out a pained yelp at the contact and Hikaru, who was the closest to her, hurried to her side.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he extended his hand through the poles of the cage. The fire-haired girl's pupils dilated in fear and she slapped the hand away, leaving a burn on Hikaru's arm. At the same time, she let out a shriek and crawled backwards, away from the cage and from them.

"Don't touch me!" she half cried, half yelled. The other children quickly got to her side and helped her up while sending accusing glances at the humans in the cage.

"Back off, _humans!_" one of them hissed and Hikaru obeyed, just to not upset the children any more. Their words surprised Shindou a bit, since the children used 'humans' as if it was an insult. Something clicked in his mind and he realized that if these children talked like that, they had to be something else. Maybe his mind wasn't playing tricks on him when he saw the boy disappear and the girl with the fiery hair.

In the meantime, the children were still throwing insults at them. "I think that's enough," a calm voice said, but it was enough to shut the children up immediately. All eyes turned towards a tanned boy with dark-blue hair. He had two bangs, which had a red and white stripe on the tips. He couldn't be older than Shindou, though the latter sensed a great wisdom from this stranger. His eyes seemed considerate and caring, but also strict.

The children pulled back and went back to their game, every now and then shooting a glance at those in the cage. The stranger disappeared and before any of them could respond, he reappeared, but now inside the cage. Without a word, he headed towards Shindou. Shindou, who was kind of freaked out from all these impossible things that happened all around him, backed away. The stranger knelt down beside him and smiled kindly.

"Don't worry," he said as he took out a bowl with a green paste in it. He dipped his finger in it and smeared a little on Shindou's bruised neck. "This may sting a little bit, but it warms the muscles so you can move without pain."

"Thank you," Shindou said. He didn't understand why they were trapped here or what was happening, but he thought he could at least thank the boy for helping him.

"Who are you?" Kirino joined the conversation.

"I'm Shuu, representative of half of this village."

"Representative? But you're so young!" Hikaru exclaimed.

Much to their surprise, Shuu let out a cheerful, youthful laugh. "You're right about that."

"Why have you trapped us here?" Shindou asked. He tried to pick his words carefully, but he couldn't help but sound a little accusingly. Shuu's face darkened a bit.

"We have taken you into custody. Yesterday evening, there was an injustice done to one of our people by humans. You are our main suspects." He said it casually, like he was talking about the weather instead of a crime. "But since you haven't been found guilty yet, I see no need not to treat your wounds, that's why I'm here."

"You speak about humans as if you're not one yourself," Kariya remarked warily. His eyes had been on Shuu ever since the other boy came into the cage.

"That's right," Shuu shrugged, turning to him. "I'm not a human, I'm what you would call a shadow."

"Shadow?" Shinsuke inquired, unconsciously glancing at the darkness at Shuu's feet.

"Yes."

"Is every one of you a shadow?" Shindou asked. His neck burned a little, but not so much that it hurt. The paste did a good job on warming his stiff muscles. Shuu made a face as if he didn't want to share information with strangers.

"I'm going now," he said as he abruptly turned around.

"Wait!" Shindou grabbed Shuu's arm. One second his hand laid on the boy's arm, then he went through it. Shuu was gone, but reappeared outside the cage a moment later. The kind look had disappeared from his eyes, and he glanced warily and sternly at Shindou. The latter gulped, but then decided that he needed to ask his question.

"How's Tenma?"

"Tenma?" Shuu followed Shindou's quick glance in the direction of the main tent and his eyes softened a little. A faint smile was on his lips when he answered: "Your friend is alright, his fever has dropped and he isn't as weak as before."

Then he left and the people in the cage sat back down, waiting for what would happen next.

* * *

><p>Late in the afternoon, when the sun barely over the treetops, a crowd gathered around the cage. Feeling that something important was about to happen, the people inside shifted their attention to what happened outside. A boy their age, with bright orange hair, walked over to them along with Shuu. Where Shuu was discreet and held a neutral expression, this boy openly glared at the prisoners.<p>

Kirino shifted when he recognised the boy: it was the same boy who had captured Kariya and him! According to the reactions of Shinsuke and Hikaru, the boy was familiar to them as well. Only Shindou didn't show any sighns of recognision, but maybe he was just a good actor. The boy walked up to them and gave them a loathing look before he spoke up.

"I am Amemiya Taiyou, representative of half of this village," he said in a clear voice. It seemed that he and Shuu were some sort of leaders of these people. "I give you one chance to confess your crimes. You'll be treated merciful if you do that." He said that last thing reluctantly, like he didn't mean it wholeheartedly.

Shindou cleared his throat. They unconsciously decided that he would act as the spokesman. "Excuse me, but... What crimes are we accused of?"

Taiyou's eyes shot fire, literally. Shindou's eyes widened when he saw flames flashing in the other's pupils. Taiyou's hair started to flare and crackle and his orange locks turned into flames, just like the girl's hair this afternoon. In general, Taiyou looked like he could burn them alive. Contrary to his looks, his voice was soft and low when he spoke again. "You dare to act like you don't know. Did she mean so little to you?"

Shindou decided to keep quiet, mostly because he really had no idea what they had done wrong. Taiyou took a deep breath and his flaming hair went back to its original state. The crowd parted for two men, both with dark hair and a tanned skin, who carried a stretcher made of plaited leaves. On the stretcher was a pale blue-haired girl in simple clothes. Her hands were folded on her stomach and she looked like she was dead. However, Kirino didn't see a wound and the girl looked too young to die of age.

"Is she alright?" The question left his mouth before he realized it. Taiyou's glare shifted towards him and the representative opened his mouth for a snappy reply, but he stopped when Shuu placed his hand on his shoulder.

"As you can see, she isn't. We have tried to heal her, but we can't cure her if we don't know what causes her all this pain. Please, just tell us what you did to her," Shuu said. His voice wasn't accusing, but it showed the concern for his subject. Kirino recognized it.

"Let her rest, don't touch her more than necessary and make sure she eats and drinks enough. Put her in her most natural circumstances."

Five seconds of silence, then the hell broke loose. Shindou, Hikaru, Kariya and Shinsuke were staring at him with open mouth. Taiyou pretty much exploded - or at least, his hair went back to its fiery state - since he thought that this counted as a confession for the crime. Shuu narrowed his eyes and nodded once, a gesture that Kirino repeated.

Taiyou shot Kirino a murdering glance, but fortunately, the former merman refused to die on the spot. Shuu interfered before there would be any casualties. "Thank you," he simply said.

"Thank you?!" Taiyou shrieked. "They nearly killed her and all you say is 'thank you'?!" He seemed like he wanted to lunge himself at the other boy, but two men stepped forward and held him back. Both men were older than him, thus hadn't much trouble in holding him. The leftmost man had platina blond hair that was tied in a pony tail and he was slightly tanned. The other man had red hair, which had the shape of a flame on top of his head, and a lighter skintone.

Shuu didn't move a muscle during all this."Taiyou," he said calmly. "There isn't any proof that they are the perpetrators. I know that Aoi is a great friend of yours ever since you could walk, but if your grief leaves you incapable of fulfilling your tasks, then please leave." He gave the other a few seconds to let the words sink in before he continued. "Or you can calm down and listen to what they have to say."

Taiyou seemed to calm down and the men let go of him. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I crossed a line. Please continue."

Shuu nodded and turned back to the prisoners, especially Kirino. "How do you know this?" he asked, not unfriendly. "Are you the ones who did this to her?"

"No," Kirino said calmly. He took his time to answer, because he knew that a quick reply only made the story sound more unreal. "I didn't do that to her, nor did any of my companions. But I know who did it, because he did the same thing to me."

Kariya nodded, deep in thought, and Shindou gasped when he realized what Kirino meant. Now that it was pointed out, he scolded himself for not realizing it sooner. "The Leader," he breathed, and Kirino nodded in confirmation.

"Explain," Taiyou's stiff voice pulled them back to reality, and they did as told. They explained what had happened to them so far, their mission, Kirino's capture, the anxious days when Kirino was imprisoned, how they deserted the Leader's army, Kirino's recovery, Akane's fate and Tsurugi's attack last night.

It was already dark when they finished their stories and looked at the two representatives with anticipation. Said boys leaned closer to one another and negotiated by whisper. Kirino felt anxious for their answer, though he knew it should be okay because they told nothing but the truth. After a few minutes, Shuu and Taiyou seemed to have come to an understanding. They looked each other in the eye and nodded once, before Taiyou walked up to the door of the cage.

A flick of his wrist, and his hand was surrounded by a halo of fire. He slowly brought it to the tarred rope that kept the door shut and set it on fire. Less than a minute later, the rope was burned to ashes and Taiyou entered the cage. He stood in front of them with a blank expression, and for a moment, Kirino felt his intestines twist. _It didn't work out,_ he thought. _They didn't believe us and they still think we're the perpetrators. _

That's why he was very surprised when Taiyou suddenly bowed before them. "I think I owe you an apology," he said.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: I'm sorry if this is very confusing, everyone, but I'll explain things in the next chapter, okay? And with 'things', I mean EVERYTHING! Also, if you have trouble imagining the flame-hair thing, look on YouTube for 'Disney's Hades'. I actually got the idea while watching Hercules :3 Though this was less drama (so no volcano erupting every time someone gets angry. Just normal hair turns to flames)...<strong>

**I really hope this is not too confusing and/or random for you, because I realize it's quite an odd thing to suddenly bring up. But as I said before, EVERYTHING WILL BE EXPLAINED IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! I'll write my main plot idea then, so please stick with me until then *bows***

**Is it too much to ask for a review? *puppy eyes***

**PS. sorry for OOC-ness on Taiyou's side. I needed him to be angry and 'fiery'. :3 I'll try to stick more to his character next time.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Me: Helloooooooow!**

**Kariya: Finally! I thought you forgot about this story!**

**Me: That's not true, I just... I was really scared to upload this chapter. It seemed like a great idea when I was cycling home a few months ago (yes, I made this up while cycling home from school... It takes me an hour, so it's not like I have anything better to do), but now I'm doubting... What if the readers don't like it? What if they think I'm crazy?!**

**Kariya: *rolls eyes* Oh, brother!**

**Tenma: *pats my back* Don't worry, Att-chan! I'm sure they already know you're crazy!^^**

**Kariya: *sweatdrop* Oi Tenma, that's not really hearteni-**

**Me: Arigatou, Tenma, that really made me feel better :) Kariya, can you do the disclaimer, please? :3**

**Kariya: ...I'm surrounded by idiots! Lotus Sword doesn't own Inazuma Eleven GO. She does kind of own this story, so if you dislike it or even hate it, please flame in the reviews! *smirk***

**Tenma: KARIYA! That's really mean, you know?**

* * *

><p>They hesitantly followed Taiyou out of the cage. The people who had surrounded them during the trial now turned away and went back to their own business, like nothing ever happened. Even the children resumed their joyful game of tag.<p>

Taiyou and Shuu led them to the biggest hut, which they slowly entered to let their eyes adjust to the dimness. The hut consisted of one circular room with a fireplace in the middle. Though the walls were made of beams of wood, Shindou noted that the ceiling was made of canvas. He figured that these people had laid branches and malm on top of it to make the whole building fully waterproof. The roof was pointed in the center, and the tip was not directly connected to the other part of the roof. It was slightly raised with sticks, so that it formed an opening through which the smoke of the fire could escape, but which wouldn't let in any water when it was raining. Strong beams were attached to where the walls and the ceiling met, and there were a few candle holders hanging from those beams. They looked a bit like lanterns, though there wasn't any glass or paper around the wooden frame.

Shindou's eyes drifted to the rest of the room, which was sparingly furnished. Around the fireplace were mats of wicker where people could sit, and there were a few boxes near the walls. On the opposite from the entrance, which was covered by a hide to keep out the cold and curious eyes, laid a still figure on a mat. It didn't take Shindou very long to figure out who that was.

Tenma.

He hurried over to his injured junior, with the others right behind him. Shindou instantly sank to his knees and placed his hand on Tenma's face. Relief washed over him when he realized that the boy's fever had decreased. Tenma looked stronger too, just tired. A healthy glow was on his face and his lips formed a relaxed smile.

"I wasn't lying, you know, when I told you that he was fine," Shuu calmly smiled. He and Taiyou stood side by side near the fireplace, watching the reunion from a polite distance.

"I never thought you were lying," Shindou defended while turning to the two boys.

"Then why did you hurry so much to check your friend's temperature?"

"I just wanted to..." His voice trailed away. What was he supposed to answer? He had done it unconsciously, but now that Shuu mentioned it, he had really wanted to check whether Tenma was really alright or not.

"...make sure I wasn't lying," Shuu finished the sentence for him. Shindou looked at the ground, shame decorating his face in the form of a blush. Shuu's laughter made him look up again, and he met the kind gazes from both boys. "It's alright," Shuu chuckled. "Trust takes a long time to build up, don't worry about it. You must be hungry after not eating today, so allow us to prepare you something."

Before anyone could object - which they wouldn't do because the prospect of a meal was rather promising - Taiyou and Shuu turned around and exited the hut, leaving them alone with their sleeping comrade. Speaking about Tenma, he gradually seemed to realize he wasn't alone anymore, because his eyes fluttered open after a minute or two. He looked confused.

"Minna? Where am I?" Glances were exchanged before everyone turned their heads back to the laying brunette.

"That's a long story," Kirino chuckled as he helped Tenma to sit upright. Luckily, the latter didn't have any trouble with keeping his balance anymore. The four big holes in his neck had fully closed up, though one could still see four red markings. In time, they would turn white and become less noticable, but the scars would never disappear. Shindou gritted his teeth when he thought about the rough way Tsurugi had treated Tenma, but quickly pushed those thoughts aside. There were more important matters right now.

And the most important one of all were Taiyou and Shuu, who re-entered the hut, each carrying three plates with fruit, vegetables and a small piece of meat. All six sat down around the extinguished fireplace and after they said their thanks, they happily started to fill their empty stomachs.

Shuu joined them after he tied the hide in front of the door to the poles, so it wouldn't flap too much in the wind. Taiyou completed the circle and then he put on some lights, since the sun had already set during the end of the trial. He made a circular motion with his right hand - for as far as Shindou could see it in the darkness that surrounded them - covered it with his left hand and brought it too his mouth, like he was praying. But instead of praying, he blew into his folded hands and when he opened them afterwards, Shindou was met with the most amazing sight he had ever seen.

A small bird, about the size of a robin, which was completely made of fire, took flight from Taiyou's hands. The flaming bird calmly flew to the first candle holder and sat down, eagerly pecking at the wick of the candle as if it were a worm. As soon as the beak of flames set the candle on fire, the bird flew to a next candle. It continued until all the candles were burning. Then it flew to Taiyou and landed on his shoulder. It remained there for three seconds, but it transformed into a snake of fire when Taiyou extended his arm and pointed to the fireplace. The snake crawled around Taiyou's arm on the way down and curled up once it reached the fireplace, effectively setting the wood on fire.

Tenma, who sat right next to Taiyou, dropped the piece of meat he was currently holding between his chopsticks. It landed on his plate with a small sound, but he didn't seem to notice it. With wide open eyes and mouth, he stared at the orange-haired boy, who replied with a cheeky smile. "What was that?" Tenma blurted out after he found his voice again.

Taiyou chuckled slightly. "No big deal."

Shuu, on his other side, rolled his eyes. "False modesty is not honorable, Taiyou. You know as well as I do that that is not something everyone can do," he scolded in a neutral tone of voice. Turning to the still perplexed humans - and merman - he smiled apologetically and said: "I understand that you must have a lot of questions by now. Taiyou and I will do our best to tell you what is happening, but feel free to ask if you don't understand anything."

"For starters," Taiyou took over. "How much do you already know?" He directed his question to Shindou, who was the obvious leader.

"That's a hard question to answer when we don't know how much there is to know," the latter smiled uncomfortably. "All we know is what we told you during the trial." Shuu and Taiyou exchanged a long glance before they nodded. Shuu bent forward and started talking.

"As I told you this afternoon already, and as you had already guessed, we are not humans. I said that I was a shadow, which is someone with two physical forms. Right now, I am in my solid form, which means that I can touch and grab things. My other form is my shadow form, which allows me to get through areas without being noticed. We can change between our forms at will, which can be highly convenient in given situations."

"Then, when you disappeared and reappeared in the cage this afternoon..." Shinsuke started.

"Yes, I was changing between forms."

"As for me," Taiyou spoke up, "I'm a fire nymph, like about half of this village."

"A fire... nymph?" Hikaru repeated slowly. When he was younger, his mother used to tell him stories about a faraway land that was filled with flowers. Young girls in summer dresses carelessly sang and danced and laughed all day, while playing in the lake or resting between the flowers. Those girls were called nymphs, if he recalled the stories correctly. He was just about to open his mouth to voice his thoughts, but Taiyou was faster.

"As you saw this afternoon, I get a little... hot-headed when I get angry. And there is nothing that makes me more angry than stupid creatures, no matter from what species, who think that nymphs are singing young maidens in a flowerbed." He gave everyone a stern look and Hikaru hurriedly closed his mouth again, gulping down the words. His actions didn't go unnoticed by the others, but the fire nymph decided to dismiss it.

"I know how you feel," Kirino sighed while thinking back to his first meeting with humans, who he still called 'doubletailers' back then. They had also mistaken him for a girl, since they hadn't known that there was a male equivalent of a mermaid. Tenma, Shinsuke, Shindou, Kariya and Hikaru shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, but all the awkwardness was forgotten when Taiyou resumed his explanation.

"Our powers are dependent from our mood. Intense feelings call out the fire in our hearts, which causes our hair to catch fire. In time, we learn to use our powers as we like, like I just did with lighting up the room."

"Taiyou and I are chosen as our people's representatives because our powers are much greater than anyone else's in this village. Taiyou is already more skilled in controlling fire than most of our people, and I am the wisest of all shadows here." He smiled a bit at the looks they were giving him. "As I said before, false modesty is not honorable. But I'll explain myself in a minute. Before that, I need to tell you something else. What do you know about the origin of your kind?"

"The... origin of our kind?" Kariya muttered. "What do you mean by that?" Shuu didn't reply, but instead took Kariya's question as an answer to his own.

Taiyou spoke again. "I need you to listen carefully to what I'll tell you next, since this will be a lot of new information. First of all, there are more species like humans, as you already deduced. They share lots of similarities, apart from a few differences, since they have a common ancestor. _We_ have a common ancestor," he said, emphasizing the word 'we'.

"Let's start at the beginning," Shuu took over. "Thousands of years ago, before any of our species existed, the earth and its inhabitants were guarded by one mighty creature, a dragon. The dragon's body was covered in scales, which were harder than an armor and shone in the light of the sun. It had wings, razor-sharp claws, a long tail and the ability to breath fire. It was the job of the dragon to keep the harmony on earth. But even though the dragon was the wisest, fastest and strongest of all, it could not be everywhere at the same time. So, while thinking of a way to overcome this high inconvenience, the dragon decided to split itself up in five portions. The five kinds of creatures that descended from it, would each cover a part of the earth to look after."

Taiyou accounted for the next part of the story. "The merfolk descends from the tail of the dragon, that's why they don't have legs. You probably agree with me, Kirino, when I say that you keep the oceans clean and safe for all creatures, right? That was the merfolk's original task: they took care of the seas and oceans, slowly adjusting further to their new environment. We fire nymphs descend from the dragon's heart. The dragon's ability to breath fire came from the fire in his heart, just like with us. Our job was to take care of the forests."

"As for the shadows," Shuu said, "we descend from the dragon's mind and consciousness, which is probably why we are the only ones who actually remember the true history of the earth. We have a great knowledge of medicinal herbs and plants, but also of animals and flowers. We, too, were appointed to look after the life in the forests."

"Why is it that two species ended up in the forests?" Kirino inquired. "And why were those species the shadows and the fire nymphs? Aren't you two complete opposites of each other?"

"An understandable question," Shuu nodded. "I take it you see us as opposites because we are light and dark? Warm and cold?" He waited a short moment before he added: "Good and evil?"

"I never said that!" Kirino said.

"That's true, you didn't," Shuu agreed. "Many people forget that good doesn't always equal light, and that evil isn't always dark. They made that up to create some order for themselves in this world of chaos. Humans can't see in the dark. Therefore, everything that is in the dark is unknown to them, while they know everything in the light. Light and dark shouldn't be associated with 'good' and 'evil', but with 'known' and 'unknown'. People hate the things they don't know or understand, which is why they see darkness often as evil. I'm glad that you're not that simple-minded."

Shindou processed Shuu's words again in his mind. Now that he thought about it, he had always naturally assumed that the darkness was uncomfortable and he always preferred the light. He might not have believed that darkness is always the same as evil, but he could clearly understand how people could group those things together.

"Anyways, I'm straying away from the point," Shuu reprimanded himself. "You see shadows and fire nymphs as opposites, right Kirino? But the truth is that we are connected to each other. Shadows may descend from the dragon's mind, but we're the embodiment of the smoke that was caused by the fire. Though we may be opposites, we can't exist without each other. No lights means no darkness, and vice versa."

"That's... an interesting way to look at it," Tenma murmured out loud. Taiyou flashed him a smile and hit him on the back in a friendly manner.

"Don't think too much about it. If you plan on walking all the paths in the mind of a shadow, you probably end up getting lost!" The tension was briefly broken by a moment of laughter, before Shindou turned back to Shuu.

"So the merfolk went to the sea and the shadows and fire nymphs went to the forests. What about the other creatures, there's still two more to go, right?"

"Indeed. The vampires descended from the dragon's legs, where the scales were the thickest and the strongest. Because of this, vampires are nearly invincible. They are faster than the eye can follow, stronger than any other creature and their pointy fangs resemble the razor-sharp claws of the dragon. Their task was to look after the earth at nighttime. You see, since the dragon's legs were always hidden underneath the body, whether it was walking or flying, there wasn't much sunlight to reach them. This resulted in the vampires' only weakness: they can't stand fire or the sun. Since they hide during the day, they're at their best during the night."

"The last species are the angels," Taiyou told them. "Angels look much like humans, but they have a pair of feathery wings growing from their backs. Obviously, they descend from the section with the dragon's back and wings. They had to protect the skies and settled on mountains. Though they can be very prideful, their loyalty is endless. Their appointed target might be the skies, but they won't hesitate to help a creature on the ground or in the water."

Silence followed as they tried to process all this new information. Taiyou and Shuu politely waited for questions that would surely follow. And as expected, Kariya soon found something to ask. "You said that the dragon split in five species," he started and Shuu nodded in return. "Then what do the humans originate from?"

"Well," Shuu started as he closed his eyes to pick the right words. "Some things went differently from the original plan. The dragon's body didn't split into five species, but six. The sixth species, known as the humans, descended from the dragon's neck, which is the dragon's only weak spot. Since it wasn't planned, humans weren't appointed with a specific area to look after."

"So you are saying that our kind is merely a mistake?" Shindou asked incredulously.

"No, I am saying that it wasn't originally planned. There are no mistakes, just unexpected turns that all life forms need to cope with. Another thing that wasn't planned, was that the species forgot. As I said before, shadows descended from the dragon's mind and kept on remembering everything, but the others forgot it in time. The fire nymphs only know it because the shadows shared the information with them. By my knowledge, vampires and angels know that the other species exist, but they don't contact them. Since the merfolk is so hard to reach, they never encountered any other species and thus forgot about it completely."

Another silence followed, but it was broken by Kirino this time. "Okay, I think I get it, but why are you telling this to us? What does this have to do with everything?"

Taiyou and Shuu exchanged glances, before Taiyou eventually sighed and spoke up. "We think- No, we are pretty sure after what you told us this afternoon, that the man you call the Leader is trying to resurrect the dragon."

"What?!" Shindou exclaimed. "Is that possible?"

"Apparently, the Leader believes it is. You said that he takes people's energy, right? If you compare the different species, humans are obviously the weakest," Shuu said while making an apologetic gesture towards the others. "My theory is that the Leader wants to let the dragon revive in his own body. That means that if he can somehow absorb the energy of all five other species in his own body at the same time, he will change into a dragon himself. He won't be nearly as strong as the original dragon, but if he succeeds, I doubt that anyone can stop him."

Shinsuke jumped to his feet, his fists clenched in determination. "But then we need to stop him!" he exclaimed. Shuu smiled gently at him.

"Tomorrow," he said. "You have all had a couple of hectic days and it won't be good for anyone if you are exhausted. Tomorrow, we'll decide on what we should do about this matter." Both he and Taiyou stood up and exited the hut after bidding the other's good night.

Shindou, who was as sleepy as the others, laid down at the ground and enjoyed the embrace of the warmth of the fire. The words of Shuu and Taiyou replayed in his mind, but he was too sleepy to go through it again.

_It has been only sixteen days since we left the army,_ he thought as sleep invaded his mind and made his thoughts slower. _Sixteen days... And it was only four days ago that Kirino's tail split up. And two days s-since... since Akane... _No, he couldn't think about that! Not yet, it was still too fresh! _Only one day ago since Tsurugi attacked Tenma... It all feels like it happened a lifetime ago!_

Closing his eyes, he forced those unhappy thoughts out of his mind. _ It has been thirty days since I first met Kirino. I barely know anything about him. Like when he was a prince, he only told me that yesterday! It has been on__ly thirty days, so__ why... why..._ He was so sleepy that he could barely finish his thought before he was pulled into the warm embrace of sleep.

_Why do I feel so at ease when I'm around him?_

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Pfiew, these things just keep getting longer and longer! I'm really sorry for not updating sooner, but school wants to kill me (I know, cliché excuse, but it's true! My final test week starts soon and all my teachers think: <em>well, she hasn't got much to do, so let's bombard her with homework!<em> /.\)**

**Shindou: I hope you liked it, minna! *yawn***

**Me: Mou, Shindou-kun! You make me feel sleepy!**

**Kirino: Reviews pleazzzzzzzzz *sleeps***

**Me: Not you too! /.\ *yawn* Byebye! *sleeps, jolts awake* B-by the way, what did you th-think, minna? *trembles***

**Kariya: *rolls eyes* Here we go again! -.-**


	17. Chapter 17

**Me: Konichiwa, minna-san!^^**

**Fei: Hey Att-chan, what're you doing?**

**Me: Fei?! What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be born in 187 years from now?**

**Fei: *sweatdrop* Inazuma TM Caravan, remember?**

**Wondeba: And now, the great coach Clark Wandebat-sama will do the disclaimer! *clears throat***

**Me: You're not in the story, so you can't do it *innocent smile***

**Wondeba: Gaah! *freezes and falls to the ground like a statue while looking like he got a heartattack***

**Shuu: Lotus Sword or Att-chan, whatever you want to call her, doesn't own Inazuma Eleven (GO/Chrono Stone/Galaxy) characters.**

**Wondeba: *sulks***

**Me: Arigatou, Shuu!^^ Enjoy, minna-san!**

* * *

><p>They woke up early in the morning, awakened by the muffled sounds from outside and the light of the raising sun that seeped in through the hole in the roof. Since sleep still invaded their minds and so much had happened lately, it took them a few moments to realize where they were. The fire had been extinguished over the night but the warmth still lingered in the room.<p>

As if he predicted that they were awake by now, Shuu knocked on the wood next to the entrance to signal that he was coming in. "Ohayou," he said and the greeting was returned by all of them. "I've taken the liberty to pick out a few clothes for you, for I assume you'd like to change after traveling so hectically."

"Thank you very much," Shindou said and bowed before he took the heap of clothes in his hands.

"I don't know if I got the sizes right," Shuu smiled. "If something doesn't fit, I'll ask one of the women to adjust it later. As for now, there is a river not so far from this town. If you want, I can take you there so that you can refresh yourselves?"

"That would be nice," Kirino smiled. He had no trouble with Shuu's somewhat formal way of speaking, but the youngest members of their group seemed a bit uncomfortable. Though that could also be caused by their sleepiness, of course.

They followed the shadow and blinked when the bright morning light reached their eyes. Shuu led them to the river and left them alone after telling them how they should get back to the village. "Take your time," he said gently, "though I recommend you not to stay here for too long. It's still early, both in the morning and in the year, and the river is still quite chilly."

After they all showed that they understood his warning, everyone quickly undressed themselves until they only wore their underwear. All but one hesitated at the river bank, a bit reluctant to enter the cold water. Kirino was the only one who didn't seem to have any trouble with the water's temperature and he dived in immediately, splattering the others a bit in the process. All watched how he disappeared in the slowly flowing water and expected him to come up while shrieking from the cold. However, Kirino only smiled at them and said: "Come on, the water's not that bad!"

The fact that he didn't mention - possibly because he didn't know it or didn't think about it, possibly because he wanted to tease his friends - was that the scales on his body protected him from the cold. Though he had lost his precious tail - rather, it split in two - his body was still covered in scales instead of skin. His split tail, which he had used for walking up until now - seemed to get back to its original function and made unconscious movements to make steering easier for him. It was still hard to adjust to swimming with two tails and not one, though.

The people on the bank still seemed a bit incredulous of his words and none of them made the first move. That is, until Kariya finally did something. No, he didn't heroically jumped in like one would expect. Instead, he pushed Tenma and Hikaru, who stood at both sides of him, forward until they stumbled into the water. Tenma wobbled a bit with his arms before he fell and bumped into Shinsuke, so all three juniors toppled in the water. A short moment was filled with their startled shrieks and the other's laughter, before Shindou and Kariya also inched closer to the river. Kariya slowly put his feet in the water to get used to the low temperature, but Shindou lingered a little longer.

"Hurry up will you?" He looked down to see Kirino resting with his arms on the bank and his head on his arms. Droplets of water fell from his wet hair as he stared up at the brunette. The latter couldn't help but getting a slight feeling of déjà vu.

Voicing his thoughts, he smiled down and said: "Wasn't it in that cave, when we first met, that we were in the same situation?" Kirino thought about it and remembered himself putting on a similar stance while talking with the first humans he had ever met.

"I guess you're right," he laughed. "Only you wore more clothes back then."

Shindou's smile fell and he looked down at Kirino with widened eyes, blood quickly rushing to his cheek. Kirino didn't really understand what he'd said wrong, but he saw Shindou getting all flustered in a matter of seconds. The merfolk barely wore clothes. As said before, the scales protected them from cold and heat and fabric around their limbs and tail would only hinder their movements. That was why he didn't understand that his light comment made a heavy impact on Shindou. But since he noticed that the brunette blushed from something Kirino had said, he got embarrassed as well.

He grabbed Shindou's left ankle and pushed himself off, catching Shindou off-guard and pulling him into the water. He made sure that the brunette broke through the surface to catch his breath, and for a few seconds they just stared at each other while their faces were inches apart. But then Kirino snapped out of it and quickly swam a few feet backward. The river was broad and deep, so the current wasn't very strong.

"What was that for?" Shindou exclaimed in mock anger.

"You took too long to get in," Kirino shrugged indifferently. Flashing Shindou a cheeky grin, he concluded with relief that the embarrassing moment was over.

"Oh, now you're gonna get it!" Shindou threatened before he jumped towards Kirino and pushed him under. Kirino had a slight advantage in the water, since his gills hadn't silted yet and he could still breathe fine. Shindou, however, often needed to go to the surface for air and Kirino always let him. But as soon as the brunette had taken in enough oxygen, Kirino was sure to pull him under again.

* * *

><p>"Well, they sure have a good time," Kariya commented while watching the 'fight' of the two older boys.<p>

"Don't think you're off the hook," Hikaru said while glaring at his friend. "We still haven't forgiven you for pushing us in like that."

"You're still not over that?"

"It was really cold, Kariya!" Shinsuke exclaimed and Tenma nodded in agreement.

Kariya rolled his eyes. "So you won't forgive me just like that?" The other three boys nodded with determined faces, though Kariya knew that if he simply acted like he didn't care for two more minutes, they would just accept his so-called 'silent apology' since they wanted to talk to him again. But right this moment, he didn't want to act like that. Smirking at his companions, he said: "And what if I told you that I've arranged some entertainment for our upcoming journey?"

"Entertainment?" Tenma wondered. "You mean, you asked a fiddler to go with us? Why would you do that?"

Kariya suppressed the urge to knock the brunette on the head to check if the boy really had a brain - because he sincerely doubted it - and rolled his eyes again. "No, of course I didn't hire a fiddler. Where would I even find one in this forest?" He turned back to his frolicking senpais as a mischievous grin spread over his lips. "No, it's more like a fool duo, to make us laugh a little every once in a while."

Now he had caught their interest. Teasing them a little when they pleaded him to tell them what he meant, he said: "First, do you forgive me now?"

"Yes!" they screamed in unison and Kariya smirked victoriously before he shared his plan.

"Did you know that whenever Kirino-san and Captain get close to each other, they start blushing and stuttering like maidens in love?" He snickered. "Well, I just made sure that that'll happen more often from now on."

"How did you do that?" Shinsuke inquired while he giggled slightly at the prospect of two stuttering seniors.

"I gave Kirino-san a few advices on how human 'friends' act among each other. But I need your help to keep this going, or else it'll be ruined. So whatever you do, _don't_ make it too obvious that you know what's going on, okay?"

They all nodded and Hikaru giggled to himself. "So, what advices did you give him?" Kariya motioned them to come closer and explained it in whispers, afraid that either Shindou or Kirino might hear him. But he shouldn't have worried about that, because those two were still indulged in their water fight.

* * *

><p>Shindou stood up, glad to finally be able to stretch his legs. It was already late in the evening, and he couldn't see the sun anymore. It was probably still above the horizon, judging by the amount of light, but the trees blocked the burning ball from his view.<p>

He had sat cross-legged ever since he got back from his bath this morning. They had talked all day with Shuu, Taiyou and a few other people from the village about what should happen next. Right after breakfast, Shuu had informed the people about the situation, using a calm voice and clear sentences. After that he respectfully asked a few older men to join them during the negotiations. Shindou had realized that, even though Shuu and Taiyou were really powerful and considered to be the village's leaders, they still paid respect to others and listened to their opinions. As if Shuu had read his thoughts, he walked past the brunette while softly muttering: "A good leader repays his followers with respect and deeds, not with money." After that he walked into the tent as if he never said anything.

And now they could finally get out again. His legs and his bottom were stiff from sitting so long in the same position and his respect for Taiyou and Shuu grew, since he figured that those two did this on a regular basis. Kirino walked next to him in silence as they headed for the tables in the middle of the huts. Apparently, when some people were really busy with something important, the others would join forces and cook for the entire village to support the ones who worked hard.

They sat down on the ground - to their great annoyance, they had to sit cross-legged yet again - and smiled gratefully as a little girl handed them a plate at her mother's request. There was a heap of rice with a mixture of cooked vegetables and a salty sauce that neither of them had ever tasted. After finishing the formalities, they happily filled their stomachs with the warm food. The villagers, both the shadows and the fire nymphs, were really kind to them ever since the trial and conversations sparked as the meal proceeded. Shindou noticed the glimpse of curiosity in a shadow girl's eyes, but she didn't ask him about the meeting.

After everyone finished eating, Shuu and Taiyou stood up and all conversations immediately died down. They shared a glance and Taiyou cleared his throat to ask for anyone's attention, which was pointless since everyone already focussed on the two representatives. "Brothers and sisters," Taiyou spoke. "I'm afraid I have bad news. A war is coming up." The people around Shindou whispered among each other to express their shock, but it automatically died down after a few seconds.

Shuu took over. "The enemy is someone who does not care about others. He is willing to throw nature's harmony out of order to obtain power, even if it kills all but himself. Our dear Sorano was one of his victims, and we all saw how she ended up."

"Tell me, are we gonna let that bastard get away with that?" Taiyou yelled. He pumped his fist in the air and his hair crackled to express his determination. Everyone on the clearing, including Shindou, Kirino, Hikaru, Kariya, Shinsuke and Tenma copied him and roared their assent.

"I understand your determination and I admire your fighting spirit," Shuu said with a raised voice in order to be heard over the cheering, "but what Taiyou and I agreed upon with our guests, is that we shouldn't rush things."

"We have something that the enemy wants, and if we'll run at him to attack him, we'll be presenting that something to him on a silver platter."

"What does he want then, Taiyou-sama?" a fire girl as old as Shindou asked, but it was Shuu who answered.

"He wants one of you, one of the fire nymphs." The girl scowled deeply and cracked her knuckles.

"I'd like to see him try," she glared, but Shuu squatted beside her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Not now, Midori. Let's be smart." She nodded, but the scowl didn't change. Shuu raised both himself and his voice as he spoke the next words. "We need to be cautious with that man, for he has shown that he doesn't back down from hurting us. We need all fire nymphs to stay back..." he waited a few seconds before he added: "...and prepare for the final battle!"

Cheering was heard among the trees as the sun sank behind the horizon, taking the last light and warmth with it. But Taiyou simply snapped his fingers and a circle of bonfires appeared between the seated listeners. "Hopefully, we won't fight alone," he said with a serious look in his eyes.

"Indeed," Shuu nodded. "Judging from Shindou-san and his friends' stories, the enemy has already gathered the powers from vampires, merfolk and shadows. That means that both the fire nymphs and the angels are still in danger, so we want to warn the people from the sky as well. Since we need to stay back, our guests will be the ones to travel and tell them. They will also ask the angels if they can fight alongside us. And then we will stop that villain!"

The cheering went on for a couple of minutes, before Taiyou and Shuu made their final announcement, saying that Shindou and the others would depart tomorrow at sunrise. Many people glanced gratefully in their direction and a few even lifted their cups as if they brought out a toast. The last sunrays had now disappeared and the humans and the merman stood up to prepare for the night. Tomorrow would start early, after all.

They entered the hut one after the other, feeling delighted when they noticed that the fire was burning again. _Probably Taiyou's doing,_ Shindou smiled to himself and he just wanted to change for the night when he noticed that Tenma wasn't with them. Frowning, he moved the hide in front of the entrance and was relieved to find the younger brunette outside. Tenma was looking at the top of a certain tree, but Shindou didn't see anything but specks from the fire. His eyes were adjusted to the warm glow of the burning bonfire behind him and that caused the darkness outside to seem even deeper than it was in reality.

"Tenma, are you coming? We need to get up early tomorrow."

Tenma turned around and smiled brightly. "Hai Captain!" Shindou watched with a tender smile as the younger boy darted past him towards the warmth and light of the fire. _What a difference with two days ago,_ he thought while remembering Tenma's critical state. Without casting another look outside, he dropped the hide and curled up at the fire, enjoying the blanket of warmth it emitted.

.

But even if Shindou had casted a look around, he probably wouldn't have spotted the squatted figure in the treetop that Tenma had been staring at. The seemingly young boy sat perfectly still as his golden eyes drifted over the roof of the hut. His sharpened ears could hear the muttered 'good night's the boys exchanged before their breathing slowly evened, signalling that they fell asleep. A small breeze played with his navyblue locks and brought him the scent that he knew very well.

He'd seen that boy staring in his direction, but he hadn't worried about being spotted. He knew that a human's eyes couldn't pierce through the darkness like his own eyes could. He had been in this position, in this tree, ever since the last rays of sunlight disappeared and it was finally safe for him to come out. Of course he had caught the last part of the plan, and he smirked as it crossed his mind.

"Che, like they could actually do something useful," the mocked in a silent voice. He was the only one who could hear it, for the breeze increased in strenght and volume, effectively muffling his words for all other creatures around.

Casting one last look on the hut beneath him, he pushed himself off. That way, he disappeared without a sound or sight in the darkness of the night.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: The seventeenth chapter! WOOHOO! ^^<strong>

**Fei: Who is that in the end?**

**Me: Ushishishi, you should read the whole story if you want to find out!**

**Fei: You know what? I should indeed do that! Wondeba, let's travel back to our own time to find out how this story will end!**

**Me: Eeeh?! Wa-wait a minu-**

**Wondeba: Yosh! Come on, Fei, let's do it! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, TIME JUMP!**

**Me: DON'T YOU DARE READ IT AND COME BACK TO SPOIL THE ENDING!**

***silence***

**Me: *grumbles* I'm so gonna kill them if they do that! Anyways, minna, I'm sorry for not adding a little more fluff, but I wanted to ask for your help! You see, I asked this before, but no one replied to it, so now I ask it again. I need a few loveydovey things for Shindou and Kirino (of which Kirino will think that it's normal between friends ;) ). Please tell me if you have any ideas!**

**Bye! (L)**

**Ps. The journey will take about five days, so I need lots of loveydovey, okay? ^^ Expect a little fluff every now and then in the upcoming chapters!**


	18. Chapter 18

Right before sunrise, the moment where the sky was tinted orange but no one could see the sun yet, Shuu walked towards the group. Shindou, Kirino and their juniors had already finished their breakfast and were preparing to leave, though they waited for the shadow because he had asked them to. Smiling kindly, Shuu handed Shindou a leather casing that was tightly closed with a red cord.

"What's that?" Shindou asked curiously as he took the object from Shuu's hand.

"A letter," the shadow replied. "I thought it might help confirm your story. The casing will protect it from heavy rainfall, and even if you accidentally drop it in the river, the letter will stay dry for a few minutes."

"Don't worry," Kirino smiled. "If it really falls in the river, I'll get it out as quickly as I can."

"Ah yes, by the way, Kirino-san..."

"Yes?"

"Your gills... they haven't silted yet, have they?"

"Eh, no they haven't. Why?"

"That is one of the further stages of double-quick evolution, and it's almost impossible to invert."

"Yes, I know," Kirino said, briefly unable to meet anyone's gaze. "Double-quick evolution is an irreversible process."

Shuu eyed the pink-haired boy for a few seconds, and if Kirino had looked up, he would have seen a mix of expressions that were reflected in the tanned boy's eyes. Surprise, then doubt, followed by determination. "Yes, that's true, it's irreversible," was Shuu's slow reply. "Anyway, if you follow this river upstream, you'll reach the base of Mount Tenshi*. It's one of the homes of the angels, since it's so hight that the mountain tip is only visible on clear days."

"I take it that they live at the highest places?" Shindou asked as his heart sank a little. He had never climbed real mountains before.

Shuu nodded. "The angels descend from the part of the primordial dragon that lived to soar through the sky. They feel chained when they are on the ground for too long and but they need to rest there. That is why they chose the mountains as their homes: they are close to the skies they love so much and they can rest at the same time."

Shindou nodded and when his worries were once again confirmed - he had asked this before - he reached for the backpack at his back, feeling if he hadn't forgotten their climbing equipment. Shuu supressed a small smile as he saw this small motion again - this, too, had Shindou done a few times already - and instead whispered a few words of encouragement.

"I wish you all the best of luck. May your feet be fast and strong," he said, ending his goodbye with a common expression among shadows. Neither shadows nor fire nymphs used horses or wagons when they traveled; they only took as much as they could carry and then ran to their destination. They had built up their endurance and their speed since they were children and an adult could run all day long, if needed. However, they often took a break every two hours if that was an option. Our protagonists didn't have such stamina or speed, which is why this trip would take them at least four days. If someone from the village would have done it, it would have taken three days at the most, but Shuu and Taiyou didn't want to take that risk.

"Please be careful," Shindou warned in turn.

"We will," Shuu ensured them. "We are safe as long as that man doesn't realize that, despite our differences, shadows and fire nymphs live together."

After those words, the group finally left and Shuu stood there until they got out of his sight. He sighed softly before he turned and made his way back to the village. Humans were the weakest descendants of the primordial dragon and he knew that there were so many things that could stop or delay them. There were so many things that could go wrong...

They could get hurt while they climbed the mountain. Also, Tenma had been injured not long ago and even though he didn't show it, the boy still needed his rest. If he pushed himself too far, he might end up delaying the whole group. Another thing that could go wrong was that they encountered an aggressive boar or buck that attacked them, or maybe the Leader would find them. And what if the angels didn't want to lend their strength?

Shuu sighed again, stronger this time. He could only hope that everything went according to plan, although he knew from experience that it rarely happened like that.

* * *

><p>"May your feet be fast and strong, eh?" Kirino mused to himself and then he let out a merry laugh. He was walking next to Shindou at the front of the group. Kariya and Hikaru walked behind them and Shinsuke and Tenma were the rear guards.<p>

"What's so funny about it?" Shindou asked in return, stealing a glance of the pink-haired boy beside him before he focused on the path again. He didn't know why he acted as nervously as he did, but he couldn't really help himself. Something about Kirino made Shindou just feel a little out of character.

"Nothing, it's just funny," Kirino shrugged. "Have you ever used those words for a goodbye?"

"No. I mostly say 'have a safe trip', or something like that."

"At home, we always say 'may the currents be with you'," Kirino smiled. "It's both literally and figuratively, because if a current comes from behind you, you can reach your destination much faster."

Shindou wanted to ask Kirino more about his home at the bottom of the sea, but he decided against it when he saw the distant look in his friend's eyes. Kirino stared longingly in the distance, probably thinking about his former life as a merman. Shindou's gaze shifted from Kirino's face to his new legs, and he recalled that Kirino didn't even have them for a long time. It had only been about a week since his tail split, and Shindou remembered what Kirino told them that morning. Double-quick evolution was irreversible. _That must be why he looks so sad right now,_ he thought as his eyes shifted back to Kirino's face. _There is no way for him to go back to his home._

All six of them marched the whole morning in silence. They followed a strict regime in which they ran for thirty minutes, followed by twenty minutes of walking at a slower pace to allow their bodies to regain energy. It might be slower than shadows or fire nymphs or vampires could travel, but all in all did they travel a considerable distance. When the evening fell, they had traveled a distance that a full fledged army would have reached in two days at least.

They placed their bags on the ground and Kirino was the first one to drop down next to them, panting heavily. The others seemed tired too, but they weren't as exhausted as the merman. "It's not dark yet," Shindou said while looking at the sky, "so I think we can afford a small fire to cook on. We need to extinguish it before the real night arrives, though, because the glow will be visible for anyone nearby."

The chores were quickly divided: Kariya and Hikaru would build the fire and warm some food for dinner, Tenma would repair his trousers - he ripped them this afternoon when he walked through the thorn bushes - and Shindou and Shinsuke would look around for edible plants. They had food, of course, but it would be nice to enhance their boring meals with a little fruit or something. Kirino wanted to get up too, but Shindou motioned him to stay on the ground. "You should stay here," the brunette smiled gently. "You aren't used to marching like this, unlike us, and you need to rest a little. Besides, Shinsuke and I can cover it just fine, can't we, Shinsuke?"

"Yes, Captain!" the short boy exclaimed enthusiastically. Kirino briefly wondered where the boy found the energy to be this eager after a march like today's, but then he just shrugged it off and smiled at Shindou to show his gratitude.

The two boys quickly disappeared into the mass of trees that surrounded their resting place. Tenma sat cross-legged on the ground in his spare trousers, frowning in concentration as he pierced a needle and thread through the fabric of the other trousers. Kariya and Hikaru made a small circle of small boulders that they had gathered from the river bank. Kirino couldn't see the river from here, but he knew that they were close to it because he could still hear it.

"Hey."

It wasn't until Kariya's voice pulled him back to the land of the living, that Kirino realized that he had been staring off in the distance. He sat more upright as the teal-haired boy sat down next to him. The fire was already burning and Hikaru went on with preparing the meal. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing really," Kariya said as he casually stretched his arms and legs. "Say, why haven't you followed my advices yet?"

"Well, ehm..." Kirino looked at his feet, uncertainty present on his face. "What if Shindou doesn't think about it like that? I mean, shouldn't he do such things as well?"

"Captain is just being considerate," Kariya huffed and he sounded very convinced. "Maybe he figured you didn't know about these customs and refrained from doing them because he didn't want to be pushy."

"Then, won't it be strange if I suddenly act like that?"

"Probably not," Kariya assured. "And if he does think it's strange, you can always apologize, right? He won't think that much of it, really." He paused for a moment and watched how the merman was still consumed by his dilemma. It was kind of hard to suppress his mischievous smirk, but he knew that what would follow after this would be worth it. But it all depended on whether he could convince Kirino now or not. "I'm pretty sure that Captain sees you as a close friend, Kirino-san."

"What makes you say that?"

"For example, he didn't give you any chores right now."

"Wasn't he just being considerate, seeing as I just recently got my legs?"

"Nah, he is a strict captain, you know? Discipline is quite important when you're in his group, so it is obvious that he cares for you after he gives you the night off just like that."

"Really? I wouldn't have thought," Kirino mused to himself.

"Yes, really. Captain can be really strict if he wants to, right Hikaru?"

"Uhhuh," the boy nodded, focused on the small wicker basket that was filled with water and rice. It hung from a small scaffold so that the bottom of the basket was just a few inches above the flames. As long as there was enough water in it, the provisional cauldron wouldn't burn, although the bottom did turn black from all the soot. The purple-haired boy was bent over it and stared intensely at the white food inside. His back was turned towards Kirino, preventing the latter from seeing the broad smile that Hikaru was unable to suppress. He had followed Kirino's and Kariya's conversation and he looked forward to the scene that would probably follow.

* * *

><p>Shindou and Shinsuke walked back to the clearing. They had only found a few chestnuts, but those weren't ripe yet, so they had decided to leave the things be. As they neared the clearing, the soft chatters of their companions reached their ears. Shindou contentedly ascertained that the glow of the fire was only visible from close range. The sun hadn't fully set yet, but if they kept the fire like this, the chances of them being discovered by enemies were small.<p>

He sat down between Tenma and Kirino and he noticed that the merman didn't look as exhausted anymore. _Good,_ he thought. When Hikaru announced that dinner was ready, he reached for his backpack and rummaged through it to find is wooden plate, but... _How can this be?_ he thought as he looked more carefully. He was sure he had put his plate and his chopsticks in his bag this morning, but now he couldn't find either of them.

"Something wrong, Captain?" Kariya asked as Hikaru put some of the rice and the cooked vegetables on his plate.

"Strange, I can't find my tableware," Shindou mused, checking the bag for a third time, but with the same result.

"That's weird," Tenma said as he placed his full plate next to him.

"You can eat from my plate, if you want?" Kirino smiled kindly and Shindou returned that smile after he gave up on the search for his missing eating utensils.

"Don't bother, I'll eat when one of you is finished."

Kirino's confidence seemed to waver a bit and he glanced at Kariya, who gave him an encouraging nod. Then the pink-haired boy looked back at his captain. "It's nothing, come on."

"But-" Shindou got interrupted from his own growling stomach and he blushed slightly as the others laughed merrily. Feeling like he had no other choice, he scooted closer to Kirino. His heart beat faster for some reason, and why did he suddenly get sweaty palms? As he wiped them with minimal frustration about his body's behaviour, he didn't notice Kirino's actions until he looked up again. Then he found a bitesize amount of rice, held by two chopsticks, about an inch away from his mouth.

Shindou shot a quick glance around, but all the others were solely focussing on their meal. He actually wanted to tell Kirino off, but he knew he couldn't do so without dragging the attention of his juniors. And that was the last thing he wanted, especially when he took all the teasing from the past few days in consideration. So he decided to ignore it for now and hurriedly took the food in his mouth, glancing around again after he did so. Luckily, none of them had seen it. Or so he hoped.

Kirino smiled broader after Shindou took a bite, and the meal proceeded like this. Shindou's cheeks darkened every time Kirino fed him a bit of rice, but no one seemed to notice it. He made a mental note to himself that he should tell Kirino the meaning behind his actions. Maybe it was different for merfolk, but among humans, feeding each other like this was something that was mostly done by lovers. This realisation didn't really help and his blush intensified again.

But still... It was quite a nice experience actually. _Maybe I should tell him in a few days,_ he mused mentally as he opened his mouth for yet another bite.

* * *

><p><em>Mount Tenshi:<em> I made this up. '天使' (tenshi) means 'angel' in Japanese (according to google translate :P)

* * *

><p><strong>Me: This chapter was kind of slow and you have no idea how much it took to write this. I think I'm experiencing what people like to call a "writer's block" .\ Gomenasai! *bows* I'll try to upload my stories before I'm off to Italy on the fifth of July. Until my writer's block disappears, I hope you can bear with me.**

**Shindou: We know this isn't the best chapter, but a review might help Att-chan greatly.**

**Kirino: *pats my back* See you next time!**

**Me: By the way, what is wrong with this story, don't you think? I mean, Shindou just LOST his WIFE a few days ago and he's already hitting it off with Kirino!**

**Shindou and Kirino: *sweatdrop* Geez, thanks for pointing that out -.-"**


	19. Chapter 19

**Me: I'm really sorry for not updating for so long, minna-san! I really struggled with this chapter as it ABSOLUTELY DIDN'T WANT TO BE WRITTEN! But your continuous support helped me and I succeeded! *hero pose***

**IE-cast: *sweatdrop***

**Me: Now, I usually don't dedicate chapters of my multi-chaptered fics to anyone, but there is someone I really want to thank right now. Fan101, I dedicate this chapter to you. See it as a 'thank you' for all your kind reviews and for letting me know that there are still many people who like this story and that I shouldn't slack off! ^^**

**Tenma: Alright then, let's get this thing started quickly! Att-chan doesn't own us, just the plot for the story.**

**Shinsuke: Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Shindou had disciplined himself ever since he was a young boy. At first in the farm where he grew up, then in his own mill with Akane and later in the Leader's army; he had taught himself discipline with everything he did. Although the tasks of all three places were very different from each other, one thing was the same. No matter where he had been, he always had to be awake at sunrise to start with his chores and tasks.<p>

Over the years, it had become an instinct for him to wake up as soon as the rays of sunlight enlightened the world around him. This instinct proved to come in handy on a journey like this, where they had to reach their destination as quickly as possible. Of course, the one who took the last watch - in this case, Kirino - was there to wake everyone up at sunrise, but Shindou still prefered to wake up by himself.

He heard someone nearing him carefully and then something blocked the early sunlight from his face. "I'm awake," he whispered before he opened his eyes, spotting Kirino bent over him. Shindou untangled himself from the cloak he had slept in. All six of them carried these cloaks with them, because they were easy to sleep in when it didn't rain at night.

Because tonight had been such a warm and muggy night, Shindou had only slept in his sleeveless tunic and his shorts, leaving his arms and legs exposed whenever he turned at night and the cloak didn't cover him anymore. Only now he realized the mistake he had made.

True, the group hadn't met with any dangerous animals this night, but that didn't mean that there'd been no animals at all. Countless dark-pink humps were the indication that a group of mosquitos had feasted on him last night. He counted at least twenty bites, but there were probably more and they all started to itch when he merely looked at them. Trying to ignore the tingling feeling on his skin, Shindou put on his trousers and sweater.

Meanwhile, Kirino had woken up the other members in the group. One of the boys, the mastermind behind Shindou's and Kirino's awkward moments, eyed his captain for a few seconds and purely occasionally, his eyes drifted over the small, barely visible mosquito bites on the older boy's arms. His lips parted in a sly smirk as yet another scenario for his two senpais crossed his mind.

After he spotted the former merman walk away from the group, Kariya got up to his feet and followed the pink-haired boy, hoping to speak with him in private to initiate his next plan. He eventually found Kirino kneeling down at the riverbank, bringing water to his face with his hands.

"Good morning, Kirino-san~" he smiled innocently as he neared the other boy. Kirino turned around and smiled as well.

"Good morning, Kariya. Did you sleep well?"

Kariya nodded and mirrored the other as he sank to his knees and splashed some water in his face to wake himself up. He spoke up when Kirino stood up and was about to leave. "Ne, Kirino-san, did you see Shindou-san's arms this morning?"

Kirino paused for a moment and recalled the moment when he bent over his captain to wake him up, only to be told that the brunette was already awake. Shindou had only slept in his sleeveless tunic, leaving his tanned, muscled arms exposed to the morning air. "What's the matter about them?" he inquired. For as far as he knew, there had been nothing out of the ordinary with Shindou this morning.

"He is bitten," Kariya shrugged indifferently, raising himself as well. He looked into the slightly startled eyes of the other boy. "Mosquito bites, can be very painful."

"Really?"

Kariya nodded and leaned closer, as if he told Kirino a secret. "At first they are only really itchy, but when you scratch them for a while, they become really, really painful. Like there is a thorn in your skin."

"Hmm..." Kirino mused, staring at the others in the distance. "Like jellyfish stings, you mean?"

Kariya nodded, even though he had no idea how a jellyfish sting felt. He had never even seen a jellyfish, let alone gotten stung by one. But he had the feeling that it might help if he didn't say that, so he kept quiet. Kirino waited a few more seconds before he walked back to the others, a thoughtful expression plastered on his face. Kariya watched him leave and smiled a little mischievously. He absent-mindedly scratched a mosquito bite on his elbow before he used his nails to press a cross in the hump to stop the itching. _This is the first time those little pests prove themselves useful,_ he thought before he made his way after the former merman.

* * *

><p>After they ate a piece of hard bread, drank some water and filled their flaskets in the river, they continued their way towards Mount Tenshi. They would travel at the same pace as the day before: thirty minutes of running, followed by twenty minutes of walking. Every three hours there was a thirty-minute break, where they ate a little or even took a short nap.<p>

Kirino glanced sideways at Shindou, who walked next to him. They walked in front of the group once again, with Kariya and Hikaru in the middle and Shinsuke and Tenma behind them. Shindou held the straps of his backpack with his right hand and his left hand swayed back and forth as he walked. They had run for thirty minutes and just started walking, all panting slightly from the exertion.

The former merman's eyes processed how Shindou's arm brushed past his side, again and again. The movement became more forceful after a while and Kirino realized what Shindou was doing: he was scratching one of those mosquito bites.

Kariya had said that mosquito bites were just like jellyfish stings, which Kirino knew more about. Jellyfish stings were small red bumps that itched, but soon started to hurt. Depending on which type of jellyfish had stung, one could also vomit and feel nauseous and some cases even resulted in death. Merfolk usually stayed away from jellyfishes, but it happened once or twice that someone got stung by accident.

Since the young teal-haired boy had acted relatively unfazed at the knowledge that Shindou was bitten by these so-called 'mosquito's', Kirino assumed that mosquito bites weren't deadly. But they were really painful when they were scratched, as the young boy had said, and Kirino didn't want Shindou to be in pain. With jellyfish stings, it was important not to rub or scratch because the venom spreads if you do. Assuming it was the same with mosquito bites, Kirino made a decision.

He reached out and firmly grabbed Shindou's left hand. The latter looked up in surprise, to which Kirino merely smiled. Shindou tried to pull his hand out of the strong grip and when it didn't work, he looked to the right side. Kirino couldn't see his eyes anymore, but he could see his cheeks and noticed that they were getting dark again. Why was Shindou feeling embarrassed about this? A while ago, when he and Kariya visited that little town to sell one of the horses, Kariya had told him that holding hands was nothing strange between two friends. Rather, it was a sign that they respect each other. That was nothing to be embarrassed about, was it?

"You shouldn't do that, you know?" Kirino said, feeling the sudden need to explain his actions even though his intentions should be perfectly clear. Shindou looked back, showing Kirino his face that was indeed beet-red.

"W-What?" The brunette's voice sounded insecure and Kirino could even hear the embarrassment in it. He shrugged it off, though. This was something that needed to happen if he didn't want Shindou to feel the extra pain of the mosquito bites.

"Scratching," Kirino clarified. "You'll spread the venom if you'll do that and it'll only get worse."

* * *

><p>Shindou was literally dumbstruck and he didn't know what to say for a while. Kirino did this so he wouldn't scratch the mosquito bites? Sure, they would only itch more when he scratched, but nothing serious would happen if he did. He could hear a faint chuckle from behind and knew that at least one of his juniors had noticed what was going on. He tried again to pull his hand out of Kirino's grip, but to no avail. Kirino only held him tighter.<p>

"Kirino," he half-spoke, half-whispered while trying to forget his embarrassment. "It's okay. You don't have to be worried about trivial things like that." But Kirino didn't listen to him and they kept walking hand in hand, much to Shindou's discomfort and to the others' amusement.

Kirino let go of his hand when they started running, since running hand in hand proved to be too difficult for him, seeing as he only learned how to walk recently. But as soon as they slowed down to collect their energy, Kirino's hand was sure to find Shindou's. Shindou always blushed furiously when this happened and tried to free his hand, but Kirino was persistent and eventually, Shindou let him have it his way. He felt that it wasn't the right moment to tell Kirino what the things he did made them look like to an outsider. _Or to an insider,_ he thought sourly as he caught sight of Shinsuke, who tried too obviously to hide his own grin.

During the breaks, they all ate some of their dried supplies and drank some water, after which they filled their flasks in the river. _That's the good part about traveling along a river,_ Shindou thought. _There is always enough water to quench one's thirst. _He wished he could have a moment with Kirino, but the merman was never completely alone and Shindou didn't want to embarrass him by pointing out his odd behaviour in the presence of the others. _There's nothing I can do but tell him tonight,_ he thought.

As soon as he decided that for himself, he reacted more calmly to Kirino's actions. The pink-haired boy simply misunderstood a few customs, that was all. There was nothing behind these actions, so there was no reason for him to feel embarrassed about it. When the merman reached for his hand once again, Shindou didn't struggle anymore and simply smiled kindly at Kirino before they walked in silence. Besides, the merman's soft hand did help to forget about those annoyingly itching mosquito bites.

* * *

><p>To say that Kirino was happy was an understatement. When he had first grabbed Shindou's hand and the brunette started to struggle, Kirino's confidence had wavered. He remembered clearly that Kariya told him that holding hands was nothing strange for good friends, so did Shindou's resistance mean that he didn't see the merman as a friend? That sole realisation would usually be enough for Kirino to let go of the other's hand as if he had burned himself. But knowing that Shindou was bitten by these 'mosquitos' and that he would be in pain if he scratched the bites, Kirino held on despite Shindou's struggle. He didn't care what it looked like to the others, as long as Shindou didn't endure more than he had to, Kirino was content.<p>

But now, after their lunch break, Shindou accepted him. No struggles, no blushes, nothing. He just held Kirino's hand and squeezed it now and then. It seemed like his worries unfounded, Kirino concluded with relief.

The day continued with periods of walking, periods of running and short breaks alternating each other. As one of their breaks came to an end, Hikaru looked up at the sky. He squinted his eyes when he looked at te sun, which was already far on his way down. "I'd say the sun sets in one hour," he imparted, nodding afterwards as if to underline his words.

"How do you know that?" Kirino asked. "The sun already disappeared behind the trees."

Kariya was the one to answer. "If you are a lot outside, it becomes some sort of instinct."

"That's right, I often slept outside if I had gone too far on a hunt."

"You're a hunter too?" Kirino asked curiously while switching glances between both boys who, apparently, had the same occupation. Kariya snorted.

"He wishes. Hikaru's a poacher."

Kirino was puzzled. "And that's... different?"

"Of course," Kariya almost exploded as he pointed at the purple-haired boy who listened to the conversation with a neutral expression. "He never learned how to use a weapon, except for a filleting knife and the swords we used in the army."

"You didn't know how to use that sword, either, Kariya-kun," Hikaru cleverly countered. Kariya's ears got a little red.

"Maybe, but at least I knew how to use a slingshot, a sling, a bolo and a bow and arrow."

"If I had had the means at the time, I would know how to use them too."

Kirino had heard some dispersed details about the purple-haired boy's background. His parents were fishermen who died when their boat hit some rocks while rounding a headland and sank. Hikaru was only three. His uncle, a merchant, took him in and raised him, until Hikaru became twelve and found out about some of his uncle's darker customers. Since Hikaru had always held onto his childlike innocence, he decided to part ways with the man who had been like a father to him. He kept himself alive using snares and his knowledge of edible plants. After wandering around for a few years, traveling from town to town, he settled in a secluded cottage near the sea. Even though he was only one year younger than Shindou and clearly old enough to be married, Hikaru didn't seem to have a wife. At least, Kirino had never heard him talk about a girl in that way.

"And if I had gotten a crown on my head and grown up in a castle, I would've been a prince," Kariya retorted. He wanted to say more, but got cut off by Hikaru.

"God forbid. We would be fighting with six or seven countries for having such an insolent prince. At least." Kariya's ears got redder and he quickly stammered his next reply. Kirino watched the scene with growing astonishment, wondering whether these two friends were really fighting or only teasing each other.

Shindou dryly cleared his throat. "Right, back to the matter at hand." He turned his body a little to exclude the two quarrelers from the conversation. Neither Kariya nor Hikaru seemed to notice as they threw remarks at each other. "It'll take one more hour until the sun sets."

Shinsuke jumped up from his sitting position and threw his fist in the air. "That's more than enough time! Let's go, ne Tenma?"

"Y-yeah," Tenma smiled shakily in reply. Shindou squinted his eyes when he saw that the boy wobbled after he got up from the ground.

"Tenma, come over here, will you?" Tenma obliged and Shindou put a hand on his forehead, startled by the other's high temperature. "Your fever has gone up." Those five words immediately dragged the attention of everyone at the clearing. Shindou frowned at Tenma, who guiltily looked away.

"Only a few degrees," he countered weakly. "It'll be alright."

But Shindou was inexorable. "We set up our camp here for the night."

"But I can still-" Tenma started, but he was cut short by an angry look from his captain.

"_You_ need to rest. If your condition gets worse, you'll end up delaying us more than if we stay here for now. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Captain," the younger boy replied after a few seconds, to which Shindou's expression softened. Tenma walked over to where they had stalled the backpacks and took out a small, in leather wrapped package.

"What is that?" Shindou inquired.

Tenma looked like he was caught red-handed. "These are, ehm... antipyretic herbs. Shuu-san gave them to me, in case this would happen."

Shindou took a deep breath. Of course Shuu had expected this, the shadow seemed to know everything. Shindou himself was the one who should have thought about it. Shaking his head to clear the thought away, Shindou raised his voice to include the four other boys in the conversation. "Alright, there is still one hour left until sunset. Make this extra leisure time useful, alright?"

Kariya and Hikaru walked away with Kariya's bow and arrow, his sling and a pouch full of pebbles. Before the interruption, their 'argument' had reached the point where Hikaru said that if Kariya knew it all so well, then he should teach it to Hikaru. The teal-haired boy had smirked in agreement, but that smirk quickly vanished once Hikaru tried to shoot with the sling. Kariya used the weapon a lot and had practiced for days to perfect his technique. Hikaru was more like a natural talent. Of course, there were many things that he could do better, but nothing that couldn't be solved with a few advises from the other hunter. It was Hikaru's talent to quickly pick things up and practice them afterwards. Now all that was left for him was to practice his aim.

Shindou walked towards the river with the purpose of filling the pitchers. The bank was a little higher here and covered in rocks, so he had to be careful that he didn't slip. He climbed with one pitcher at a time while he used one hand to keep his balance. As he had reached the top of the bank for the fifth time, he placed the last pitcher near the other four and took a moment to catch his breath and admire the view.

Then he saw something white in the corner of his eyes.

* * *

><p>Kirino looked around from his kneeled position. He was currently bent over a small pile of dry branches and Shinsuke was busy teaching him how to ignite a fire with a stick. The trick was to press the stick against a branch and rub your hands together so that the stick spun rapidly. That would create enough warmth to eventually light some of the dry leaves they had draped around the stick. It was easier to do with two people, because your hands gradually traveled south once you spun the stick and if another person took over when you were at the end, you could keep spinning the stick around without having to pause every three seconds.<p>

Tenma laid a few feet away from them and seemed to be asleep. Hikaru and Kariya were still practicing with the sling and it seemed like they were having fun. Shindou had walked towards the river a long while ago. When Kirino had focussed solely on the spinning stick and the smoke that came from the dry leaves, he hadn't noticed, but now he grew a little worried. He knew that Shindou was strong and smart, that he could handle himself, but accidents happen, right?

"I'm going... there..." he let his voice trailed away and made a vague gesture in the direction of the river. Shinsuke looked up from blowing at the small flames and gave him an approving nod and a smile.

Kirino walked carefully towards his destination. The sun had long disappeared behind the treetops, but the whole forest was still coloured by its orange light. The warmth still lingered, too, and he took a moment to enjoy it for he knew it would disappear soon.

Shindou sat on the slope. He had pulled his knees up and held his arms around them as his chin rested on top of them. He stared at the passing water, but it didn't seem like he actually saw it. Kirino gently sat down next to him and looked at the water too, not saying a word. The flowing water had a calming effect on him and all his worries and problems drifted to the background as he looked at it.

He was snapped out of his daydream when Shindou moved his arm and placed something on the ground between them. It was a white flower which he had held in his fist. Kirino slowly picked it up and studied the fragile leaves. On the three outer leaves were dark brown spots that were surrounded by a small orange rand, but over all the flower was purely white.

"It's called an iris," Shindou said. "She has always liked those, ever since she was a little child." Kirino didn't need to ask who he was talking about. It was clear from the loving tone his voice and the small tears in the corner of his eyes that didn't drop down his cheek yet.

"It suits her," he smiled in reply. It was true: everything about the flower - its sweet smell, its elegant shape, its pure colour and its simple looks - reminded him of Akane. And he hadn't even known her for a long time! To Shindou, who had known her much longer, the flower must bring back many memories of her. Shindou took the flower back and held it as if it could break any minute.

"As soon as spring came, she went on a two-hour trip to pick some to put on the kitchen table. She would be gone for an entire afternoon, but she was always back in time to prepare dinner. I once asked her why she did that, why she went all the way to pick those flowers..." He momentarily choked on his tears and for a moment it seemed like he would cry, but he quickly recovered himself and managed a brave smile. "She said that spring was the season of love, and that she did it because she didn't expect much romance from me." His smile widened at those last words. "I guess she was right about that, I never acted very romantic or gave her flowers or something. Now I wish I had done that at least once... I wish I had told her more often that I loved her..."

Kirino made sure not to look at him while Shindou told his story. He didn't want to intimidate the brunette and knew that when one let all his walls come down, one would feel so vulnerable that even a glance can be intimidating. "I don't think that was necessary." At the sound of Shindou's confused gasp, he turned his face to smile kindly at him. "Do you still remember the day that I met her? When I woke up in your house?"

"Yes."

"Akane was the first one I met that day." He looked back at the river, softly smiling to himself. "She was amazing, I never met a more selfless person than her. Even though I gave her much trouble, the first thing she did was apologize that she couldn't give me something bigger to move around in. And when she introduced herself, I was shocked to hear your surname. But still, I saw in her eyes how proud and happy she was to be called 'Shindou Akane'. She loved you deeply, and she knew that you loved her too. I don't think telling her more often would have made her happiness any bigger."

Shindou was silent for a couple of minutes, processing the former merman's story. "Still, I'm scared that I'll forget her someday. What if someday, I can't remember what she looked like or what her voice sounded like or how she smelled? Worse, what if I will fall in love with someone else, someday?"

"I don't think she would call that 'worse'. If there is one thing in the world that she cared for, it was for your happiness, Shindou."

"But wouldn't I betray her? And what if I forget her?"

Kirino didn't say anything for a while and when he spoke again, it seemed like he started a completely different conversation. "Have I ever told you that I would have had a younger brother or sister?" he asked.

"Eh?" was all Shindou could bring out due to his confusion.

Kirino smiled to himself. "Of course not, I don't tell that to anybody. Yes, I would have a younger sibling. He or she would have been six years younger than me."

"Would have been?"

"My sibling was born dead, and my mother died in childbirth."

"I'm sorry," Shindou said, but Kirino shook his head to dismiss the words.

"Don't be, it's fine. At the time I cried a lot. Even though I was still young, I somehow realized that my mother wouldn't come back to me anymore and that thought was so big that it threatened to destroy me. I wanted that pain to disappear, but in order to do that, I would have to forget her and I didn't want that. Do you know what my father said at that time?" Shindou shook his head. "He said that it was fine if I stopped thinking about her all the time. He said I would never forget her, because I loved her and thus she had been carved in my heart. Eventually the pain went away and I stopped crying whenever I thought about her. I know that, wherever she is right now, she loves me and she wouldn't want to see me cry."

"Kirino..."

"So it's okay if you don't always think about her, Shindou. She is carved right here," Kirino softly pressed his palm against Shindou's chest, where his heart was, and kept it there for a few seconds, "and you can't forget her even if you tried. From now on you can either dwell in the past and keep on blaming yourself for her death, or you can face your loss." His hands traveled to Shindou's hand that held the flower, the iris. "Gradually, the pain will fade away and you'll be able to love someone else. That doesn't mean you stop loving her, it just means that you are slowly letting her go."

Shadows grew longer and longer while both boys sat at the slope and watched the passing water, each occupied with their own thoughts. At some point, Kirino stood up and stretched his legs muscles, which hurt because he still wasn't used to running so much. Shindou shot him a curious glance, to which Kirino replied with a soft smile.

"I'm going back, the others might be worried about us. Come join us whenever you're ready, alright?"

And then he walked away, carrying the five flaskets that Shindou had filled earlier today. The sun had almost completely disappeared and the world around him turned darker, though he could still see fine. He heard the talks from the others in the group. The sounds traveled through the silent forest, though they weren't loud enough for him to understand the words.

When Shindou got up, his legs were stiff from sitting in the same position for so long, but he paid no heed to that. He looked at the iris in his hand. The flower looked less pretty than when he'd picked it, because he had held it in his hand all this time and it had slightly dried out. He descended the slope a little and smiled gently as he placed the white flower in the dark water of the river. He kept looking at it as the river took it away, a white spot in the water.

"I love you," he whispered and blinked a single tear away from his eyes. Then he turned around and made his way back to the camp.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Wow... That turned out differently from what I had intended... But I kinda like it, so I'm keeping it like this!<strong>

**Review please?**


	20. Chapter 20

Seto Midori sat crosslegged on the ground, right next to a thin mattress with a slim shadow girl on it. The visitors, a group of humans and a merman, had left three days ago and they were on their way to warn the angels. Since their leave, Aoi had woken up twice, but she was still very tired and didn't manage to stay awake for longer than an hour.

Ever since the shadow was attacked, Midori had worn a deep scowl on her face. Aoi was her best friend in the village and Midori knew her character through and through. She knew that the blue-haired girl always did her best to help others and prevent fights and arguments, like a true shadow would do. Aoi was always calm yet enthusiastic at the same time and never did she refuse to lend a helping hand, even when the other didn't deserve it in Midori's opinion. And this Leader-person expecially didn't deserve it! She didn't know exactly what had happened to her friend, since Taiyou and Shuu hadn't shared those details with the other villagers. All she knew was that Aoi had endured a lot of pain because of that attack and she simply couldn't forgive the Leader for that!

She clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, barely concealing her anger. A faint smell of smoke filled her nose, accompanied by the soft crackling of her hair as it reached the point of ignition. A tanned hand gently envelopped her fist and she looked up in a pair of sympathic black eyes.

"How is she doing?" Shuu asked softly.

"Still the same," she replied. She held his gaze for two more seconds, but then she had to look away. He might see in her eyes what she was up to. She pulled her hand out of his, turning back to the almost motionless body of her best friend. Every second she saw Aoi like this hurt, but she couldn't look away. If only that man hadn't-

"Midori."

Many might think that Shuu was too young to be a village's leader, but when he spoke resolutely like now, there was no doubt about his authority. She stealthily glanced up and waited for what he had to say.

"I know you're angry, but don't do foolish things. That person is not someone to mess with. We don't want you to get hurt... or worse. Do you understand?"

She bit her lip and nodded, casting her gaze again on her friend's face. She heard the rustling of the canvas as Shuu exited the tent and sighed in relief. "It'll be fine, Aoi," she whispered softly and she caressed her friend's cheek. "I'm fast, I'm strong... I'll get back at that man for doing this to you." Then she stood up and exited the tent.

_There's no way I can let him get away with this!_

* * *

><p>The third day started at daybreak, just like the days before. Kirino yawned as he rose from his sleeping spot. It was getting colder during the night, he noticed. The woolen cloak that he wore to keep himself warm at night was barely enough to shelter him from the cold. It was a good thing that Shindou had foreseen this situation and asked Shuu to pack extra blankets. The blankets weren't very thick either, but when combined with the cloaks, they did their job well enough.<p>

Still overcome with sleep, he sauntered towards the river. An advantage of traveling alongside a river was that it was constantly close to them. They were never short of drinking water and the cold fluid also helped to wake them up in the morning. But to Kirino, the sound of the water was calming too. He had fist heard it when he went to the surface in order to study the 'doubletailers', as he still called humans back then. It seemed like years had already passed since that time, but it had only been a few months. He briefly thought of his father, wondering if the king had already given up on his son or still believed that Kirino would come back. But Kirino knew that he had hurt his father either way, so he quickly thought of something else before the guilt would become too much.

He sank to his knees when he reached the riverbank and splashed some cold water in his face. He longingly glanced at the mass of water in front of him, wondering if he should dive in for a quick swim or not. He eventually decided against it. Not because of the cold (since his scales would protect him from that), but because he didn't have the time to swim leisurely. They needed to reach the angels as soon as possible. Until that point, swimming for fun was out of the question.

"Good morning," someone yawned from behind him. Kirino recognised the voice right away and he couldn't suppress a smile when he turned around.

"Good morning, Shindou. Slept well?"

"Like a log," Shindou replied and smiled. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose, something that Kirino had seen him do every day so far. It was probably Shindou's way to wake up, as it was his that he splashed his face with water every morning. But today Kirino didn't pay attention to Shindou's little trait as he was preoccupied with the brunette's words.

He tilted his head and shot a questioning glance at the other boy, but Shindou didn't notice it for his eyes were still closed. That's why Kirino shifted his gaze to a big branch that had been broken off a tree by the wind. "Then, is that one asleep too?" he asked, pointing at the wooden log.

"What?"

Kirino pointed and repeated his question eagerly. Although his entire world and even his body changed, one part of him would never change and that was his sateless curiosity. The log that he pointed at didn't seem alive, but maybe it was sleeping, as Shindou just said? The brunette, however, let out a merry laugh when he realized what Kirino was asking. The former merman felt his ears warm up at the sound. "What is it?" he asked slightly indignantly.

"It was just a saying, Kirino. Logs don't really sleep."

The heat in his ears spread to his cheeks when Kirino realized his stupid mistake and he turned his head away so Shindou wouldn't see it. "O-oh, is that so?" he murmured quickly. "Well, if you say so..." He bent forward again to splash some more water in his face. He really needed to cool his head or the others would be able to bake eggs on his cheeks.

Shindou waited patiently and spoke up when Kirino stopped to nearly drown himself with the little water in his hands. "Thank you for yesterday, by the way. It..." he took a shaky breath, "it really helped me to sort things out."

"Glad to be of help," Kirino replied, glad that the subject had changed. He stared at his wet palms and then an idea popped into his mind. Trying with all his might to suppress a grin, he said: "Hey Shindou? Can you turn around for a bit?"

Shindou blinked. "Huh? Why?"

"Nothing much. Just do it, please."

"Eh, okay." Shindou turned around, wondering where the merman's request would lead to. He found out sooner than he would have liked, though. Kirino swiftly moved his hair to the side with one hand and dumped a handful of ice-cold water on his neck with the other. For a moment Shindou was paralysed, but then he basically did anything he could to get rid of the sudden cold. He groaned to overpower Kirino's laughter. "What was that for?"

"I thought it would help you to wake up a little," the pink-haired boy smiled innocently. _Too innocently._ Before Shindou could reply, the smile dropped from Kirino's face and the boy turned serious again. "We need to go back to the others, it's almost time to leave."

"You're right."

They walked back to the campsite and found out that their juniors were just about to start with their breakfast: hard bread and some dried meat. It wasn't the tastiest meal, but at least it kept their stomachs from imitating a pack of angry wolves. The younger boys had even been so kind as to tidy up the small encampment while their senpais were at the riverbank. It made Kirino feel a little guilty, but Tenma said that he shouldn't. "It wasn't that much work to put your blankets away, Kirino-san," he smiled. It was an odd smile, and even Kirino noticed this. It was like Tenma was trying not to smile, but couldn't force the corners of his mouth down.

"Is everything... alright, Tenma?"

"A-ah, well..." Kariya, who suddenly emerged next to the brunette, nudged him quite forcefully in the ribs. He smoothly grabbed Kirino's attention as Tenma tried not to groan at the impact.

"I'm pretty sure everything is alright with him, Kirino-san," the teal-haired hunter said innocently. "Until you came back, he kept on repeating how well he'd slept and how well he felt."

"Well, I didn't re-" Tenma was yet again interrupted by Kariya's elbow.

"Yes, you did, _didn't you?_" the shorter boy said emphatically. Kirino watched the scene in front of him with mixed feelings. He sensed that something was off with the other boys' behaviour, but he didn't know what that meant exactly.

Tenma seemed to catch onto what the teal-haired boy meant and he nodded frantically. "Oh yeah. Yes, I'm feeling great now. Shuu's medicine really helped."

"Really? That's good to hear," Kirino smiled.

Their conversation died down when Shindou signalled that it was time to leave.

.

They all hoisted their backpack on their back and lined up in two rows. Shindou mentally groaned when he felt Kirino's hand in his again. He had completely forgotten to tell the merman about the odd behaviour of the day before! He knew from experience that it was pointless to struggle: Kirino's grip was pretty tight and he didn't want to hurt the other's feelings. After all, Kirino still thought that he was helping Shindou and it wouldn't be nice if Shindou rejected his help. He tried to have the same mindset as the day before, when he'd accepted that Kirino simply misunderstood a custom. But it was much harder this time for some reason. His mind kept on pestering him with doubt and annoying questions.

_What if Kirino isn't misunderstanding this?_

He didn't know why he had such thoughts all of a sudden. They didn't make any sense at all! If Kirino wasn't misunderstanding the meaning of holding hands, why would he still hold Shindou's hand? They were both guys, for crying out loud! He blushed at his own ridiculous thoughts and vigorously shook his head to clear them away. His sudden movements earned him a few muffled snickers from the boys behind him and a confused glance from Kirino. He smiled reassuringly and after a second or two, the merman smiled back. Shindou suddenly became aware of the loud thumping of his heart.

_Strange,_ he thought. _We haven't even been running that long, so why beats my heart so fast?_

All day long, he got pestered by thoughts like these and it was distracting him greatly. He couldn't get himself to relax during the breaks either, so he was very glad when they finally stopped for the day. He sank to the ground and took a few minutes to catch his breath. Now that Kirino wasn't holding his hand anymore, his thoughts from today seemed ridiculous. He chuckled to himself for his own stupidity. He had acted like a nervous maiden in love for no reason at all! It was a good thing that Kirino didn't know these things, or it would turn out really awkward on Shindou's behalf.

Dinner was served shortly after that. Just like their breakfast, it wasn't a big or tasty meal, but it would do. Shindou scolded himself for still not telling Kirino about the odd behaviour, as the merman still fed him like it was the most normal thing to do. Despite his earlier declaration that his suspicions were ridiculous, he couldn't stop his cheeks from heating up every time he took a bite. Unlike the first and the second day, Kariya, Hikaru, Tenma and Shinsuke didn't discreetly look away anymore. They talked and laughed and even made a few comments on it, but Kirino didn't seem to notice.

Shindou straightened his back and frowned at the four younger boys. 'Kirino doesn't know that it's odd to do things like this,' was the message he tried to convey with his eyes. 'It's wrong to laugh at him for that.' As proudly as he could, he took the next bite of rice that Kirino held in front of his face. It was weird when a guy did it, but with Kirino it was still pretty comfortable. Besides, he would tell the merman the true meaning behind his actions tonight and then they would all just laugh about things like this.

That was what he thought, at least. But when the night kicked in, another problem that needed his attention occurred.

It seemed like Kirino's blanket had gone missing...

* * *

><p>"Oi, where have you been all this time?" one of the cooks growled angrily at an unfortunate kitchen helper. "I don't have time to look for you all day, you lazy dog. Hurry up and get me some water."<p>

The boy wasn't at all fazed by the harsh words of his superior. "Easy, easy," he said, angering the cook further. "I was with Leader-sama and I have an order for you."

"An order?"

The boy smiled proudly, content that he could finally tell his superior what to do. "Yes, from Leader-sama. He said that he wants you to prepare the best meat you have and to open up a bottle of your finest wine. He wants to eat in fifteen minutes, so hurry up a bit."

The cook scowled, not happy with the way his subordinate was talking to him. "Did you really think I'd let you alone with such good food? If it's you, the Leader won't see a single crumb of it. I'll bring it to him myself. Hurry up and go fetch me some water already!"

With a frustrated expression, the boy looked around for a bucket. Meanwhile, the cook took the key that he wore around his neck and opened a sturdy chest that was filled with bottles of wine. He was the only one who had access to the chest so that the Leader's followers couldn't waste the drink to get drunk themselves. The scum in the camp could drink cheap brandy if they wanted, but this fine wine was only for the Leader.

Only for the Leader and the cook himself, but no one had to know about that last part. He picked one of the bottles and closed the chest again before he turned around. The kitchen helper hadn't moved from his spot and the cook felt like kicking the laziness out of that boy. "Why are you still here? Didn't I tell you to get water for me?"

"I can't find a bucket," the boy complained.

The cook threw a wooden bucket at his head, but the boy had good reflexes and managed to catch the object before it hit him. As he was about to leave, the cook spoke. "By the way, why does Leader-sama want such an exuberant meal?"

"Haven't you heard?" the boy asked. The cook shook his head and the boy shrugged. "It seems like he caught a devil this afternoon. She looked just like a normal girl, but when she saw Leader-sama, her hair caught fire! I've heard some men talking about how Leader-sama wasn't at all fazed by her attack and simply disarmed her. A devil with flames on her head... Can you imagine? Leader-sama really is incredible!"

"Of course he is," the cook growled, trying to suppress a shiver at the thought of a girl with fire as hair. What kind of monsters lived in this world? "Stop lazing around and get me that water already!"

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Pfew, it's done. I wanted to post this when Sinterklaas came to the Netherlands, but I didn't make that. Then I wanted to post it when he came to my village, but I didn't make that either. AND NOW I FINALLY MADE IT! HAPPY EARLY PAKJESAVOND EVERYONE! :D<strong>

**Shindou: What are you talking about?**

**Me: Sinterklaas. It's a Dutch festivity. I'll tell you about it some other time. If anyone's curious, ask in the reviews and I'll tell you.**

**Kirino: What's with this ending?**

**Me: Don't look at me, it needed to happen for plot reasons. Anyways, I'm sorry for not updating in a looooooooooooooooooooooooooong long time, but I hope this sortof made up for it? I don't know, I feel like I kinda failed you with this chapter, but I'd appreciate it if you reviewed :3**

**Kariya: Att-chan would like to thank Sekami-chan and all the others who sent in suggestions. She'll use as many as she can!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Me: Hohoho! Merry Christmas, everybody! I wasn't actually planning on updating this, but since so many asked for the next chapter (as a Christmas gift), I thought: 'why not?' and here it is!**

**It's mostly fluffy (and some of Kariya's awesomeness~! *giggle* sorry :P) I hope you enjoy it! This continues where our heroes' scenes stopped last chapter: so it's the third night of their journey.**

* * *

><p>"And you are <em>sure <em>you packed it?" Shindou asked the younger boys in front of him.

"I am telling you, Captain, we left nothing behind," Kariya defended smoothly.

"Then please go through the events from this morning for me," Shindou requested sternly.

Kariya thought for a while with his finger on his chin. "I woke you all up at daybreak. You and Kirino-san left us for a while. Shinsuke and Hikaru prepared breakfast and I lit the fire. After that, I helped Tenma to clean up the camp."

"And you put all the stuff in the bags?"

Kariya shook his head. "No, Kirino's blanket was clammy from the morning dew, so we hung them up to dry a little. Tenma packed it afterwards."

"Eh, Kariya? Didn't you say that you would do that?" Tenma butted in.

"No, I told you to get it."

"I don't remember that, honestly."

Shindou had planted his face in his palms when he realized his juniors' mistake and he raised a hand to prevent the argument from escalating further. "Stop it, you two." He sighed deeply as he went through his possible options. There weren't many, to be honest. "There's nothing we can do about that now. It's too dark to go back and look for it. Plus, we don't have the time for that. Kirino, you can use my blanket for the rest of the journey. It won't be long anymore until we reach Mount Tenshi, anyway."

"Are you sure it's fine?" Kirino asked as he took the blanket that Shindou handed him. It was obvious he felt guilty for burdening the others, but Shindou gestured that it was fine.

"Go ahead, there's no problem at all."

"Well, alright then," the former merman agreed reluctantly. "Then, to make up, I'll do the dishes tonight." He stood up and gathered the five wooden plates and the tableware before he headed towards the river. Shindou wanted to stop him, but he decided against it. He could see how Kirino felt about troubling him and if doing the dishes could lessen those feelings somewhat, Shindou saw no harm in it.

"Alright then, let's prepare for the night, you guys. Hikaru, I believe it's your turn to take the first shift, isn't it?" Three people were enough to guard one night, so they rotated every night. Hikaru was first tonight, then Kirino and then Shinsuke. The purple-haired boy nodded and stood up to look for a good place to guard the camp.

Shindou looked around for a good spot to lay down, when he saw Kariya nonchalantly heading towards the river. He followed the boy with a frown on his face and gripped the younger's shoulder when he had caught up to him. "Don't," was all he said.

"Don't do what, Captain?" the teal-haired boy replied without turning around. "I can go and take a leak around here, can't I?"

"Kirino's been acting a little off these past days and I'm suspecting you're the one behind it," Shindou said, ignoring Kariya's attempt to change the topic. When Kariya didn't reply, Shindou slowly let go of the other's shoulder and added: "Kirino hasn't been on the surface all that long. I want you all to show some consideration about that fact, got it?"

"I don't know what you are talking about. But can I go now? I'm afraid I can't hold it much longer."

Shindou stared at Kariya, trying to figure out whether the boy was genuine or not. He didn't seem to be neither lying nor telling the truth, and especially with Kariya, one could never be too sure. "Sure, as long as you keep in mind what I just said."

* * *

><p>"Huh, Kariya? What are you doing out here?" Kirino asked when the young boy appeared next to him. "I thought you guys all went to bed already."<p>

"Yeah, but I had to get away for a few seconds. Captain has one of 'those' moments again."

"'Those' moments?"

"You know these times when he gets really protective of all of us? When he's like that, he is just like a mother worrying over her children. It's kind of suffocating, which is why I try to get away if I can."

"It's not that bad, is it?" Kirino asked and he turned his attention back to the last plate. The water in the river flowed quicker now that they got closer to the mountains. Kirino didn't have to do anything but holding the dishes in the river and the water did all the cleaning. "Shindou is just worried about us, like a captain. Right?"

"Hmm, maybe your right," Kariya mused. "But he should also be worried about himself."

Kirino froze. "What do you mean?" he asked warily.

"I mean the fact that he gave you his blanket. He doesn't realize at all how cold it is at night. If this goes on, Tenma won't be the only one with a weak health. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to decline his offer," the pink-haired boy spoke resolutely. "I don't want him to get sick."

"And he doesn't want you to get sick, so that won't work."

Kirino bit his lip and turned to Kariya. "Then what do I do?" he asked worriedly.

"Is it really that hard?" Kariya smiled. "Just share it. The blanket is big enough, isn't it?"

Kirino's face exploded in dozens shades of red when Kariya finished his sentence. "Sh-share it?" he asked unsurely, as if he wanted to know that he'd heard it right.

"Yeah, is there a problem?"

"N-not really, it's just that... wh-where I come from, sharing a bed is something you only do with... you know, with your loved one."

Kariya hardly managed to hide his delight. "Really now?" he asked while feigning innocence. "That's strange to think about. Sleeping together is pretty normal here." He turned away and looked at the darkblue sky, unable to suppress his smirk any longer. He made sure his next words were spoken with clear reproach as he said: "_But_, of course, I don't want to force it on you if you aren't comfortable with it... Besides, Captain has a good health. I'm sure he can manage until we rea-"

"I'll do it."

When Kariya looked back at his senior, he saw that Kirino's cheeks were dark red. "You will? I thought you said-"

"I know what I said," Kirino interrupted, his cheeks getting even darker. "B-but you said it's different here, right? If this is the only way we both won't get sick, then I just have to do it."

"Well said, Kirino-senpai," the other boy smiled encouragingly. "But it's still possible that Captain refuses if you say you want to sleep with him." He pretended not to notice Kirino's unease at his choice of words and continued. "If he is like this, he'll worry about the smallest details, like... Well, maybe he is afraid the blanket is too small to cover you both or something like that. He might make up stupid arguments to convince you, but you have to focus at those times, okay?"

"Okay, I guess?"

"I mean, if he sees that you're uncomfortable with him, he might even make up something ridiculous. Like, that sleeping together is only meant for couples and not for friends or something like that."

"A-and what do I do then?" Kirino asked nervously, fiddeling with the dishes in his hands as he imagined the scene Kariya described. "Should I just say I don't believe him, since you told me human customs?"

Kariya shook his head before the other boy had even finished his sentence. "No, you shouldn't do that. You should just act like you believe him, like you already knew that. And then you just have to say that you are completely fine with it."

"I what?!" the merman exclaimed and he dropped more than half of the dishes. "No way!"

"It's the only way captain can't argue back," Kariya said while picking up the plates. Kirino stood very still as the realisation sank in.

"I-is that really the only way?" he asked unsurely, but he sounded pretty much defeated. All that was left for Kariya to do, was to nod to confirm the other's words, which he quickly did. Kirino inhaled and exhaled deeply, his eyes closed. "Alright then, I'll do it."

"That's the courage of a true friend, Kirino-san," Kariya smiled and he playfully hit the other on the back. They walked back together, both carrying a part of the dishes. Before they came within hearing distance of the other's, Kirino turned to Kariya once more.

"Hey, don't tell anybody about what sleeping together means where I come from, okay? It's already embarrassing enough."

Kariya motioned with his hand as if he locked his mouth and then threw the invissible 'key' away. When Kirino didn't seem to understand the gesture, he smiled gently and nodded. "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul."

Kirino nodded and walked over to where Shindou's blanket was located. He picked it up, headed for Shindou's body, looked back at Kariya one more time - as if to seek confirmation - and then laid down next to the brunette. Kariya silently snickered when the two senpai started arguing softly and then looked around for his friend Hikaru, who was currently on guard. He spotted the purple-haired boy behind a bush a couple of feet away and casually walked over to him.

"What did you tell him this time, Kariya-kun?" Hikaru asked while laughing softly and throwing glances at Shindou and Kirino.

"Captain probably found out what we're doing, so I decided to speed it up a little. You can wake me for the second shift, because we don't want to disturb them, right?" Kariya also looked at the duo and snickered out loud when he saw how his captain laid back down. Even from this distance, Shindou's brightly red face was clear to see in the moonlight. "What is more, I still need to tell you something that Kirino-san told me."

* * *

><p>Shindou was wide awake. His heart was pounding so hard that he was afraid it would jump right out of his chest. Or worse, that Kirino would hear it. He had been laying on his side for the past twenty minutes, but he was still as tensed up as when Kirino laid down next to him.<p>

He had immediately understood that Kirino still felt guilty about the whole 'missing blanket thing', but the merman's way of compensating it was a little too much for him. Kirino insisted that they'd share the blanket, meaning that they would sleep together. Very closey together.

Even though such a thing was reasonable when it was getting cold at night, Shindou rather faced the cold than Kirino sleeping this close to him. When it came to Kirino... he felt weird. Almost as if he was sick. Preferring the cold over these weird feelings, he politely declined. However, Kirino pushed on and Shindou got a feeling that Kariya might be involved with this after all. That why he asked the merman straightforwardly:

"Did Kariya put you up to this?" Kirino hadn't replied, which confirmed Shindou's suspicions. He sighed. "Look, I don't know if he has been telling you things, but this-" he gestured at the blanket that now covered them both, "-this has a meaning for us. It's..." He gulped and felt how his cheeks grew warmer. "I-it's something you do with your loved one."

"I know," Kirino had replied calmly and Shindou could only stare in shock at those azure orbs. His mouth fell slightly open, but he couldn't remember how to close it again. "I'm perfectly fine with that," Kirino had said softly. They looked at each other for a few seconds, in which Kirino's cheeks graduately became darker. "Goodnight," he had muttered quickly before he averted his eyes, turned around and laid back down on the ground, his back facing Shindou.

That conversation was still running though Shindou's mind, chasing the sleep away. Kirino seemed to have better luck, as he was breathing evenly. Shindou didn't know for sure though, since both boys slept with their backs facing each other. The arm that Shindou was laying on, started to sleep, causing a distraction for his mind.

_What mess did I get caught up in?_ he thought to himself and he turned to his other side. He was now looking at Kirino's back and shoulders and wondered how the merman could sleep so peacefully after all that.

_I should focus on sleeping too,_ he mentally reprimanded himself. _Tomorrow is going to be another tough day for us, so I should be fit. Tomorrow I can deal with all this, too. _And with that mindset, he slowly but surely fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Kirino stared at the trees that surrounded him. He had tried to compose himself by breathing calmly and evenly, but it didn't work very well.<em> What have I done, what have I done, what have I done?<em> That was all he could think. He knew it would be embarrassing when Kariya proposed the idea, but it was even worse in reality. How had he been able to say such things?

_What will Shindou think of me, now?_

That question scared him so much that he couldn't fall asleep. He hadn't thought about earlier, but what if Shindou started avoiding him after this? He didn't want that! Of course, Tenma, Kariya, Shinsuke and Hikaru were all good friends, but Shindou was somehow special. He didn't know why, exactly, but he did know that he didn't want to lose the brunette.

He heard said boy turning around behind his back and shut his eyes tightly, hoping Shindou wouldn't notice that he was still awake. The brunette's breathing slowly evened out and when Kirino was sure that the other boy was sleeping, he turned around. He looked closely at the other's face, now that it was completely relaxed. It looked young, much younger than usual.

Kirino couldn't help but smile at the sight. Maybe the words he said so boldly to Shindou held a little truth after all...

He shut his eyes tightly. _Yes, you definitely get strange thoughts when you're tired._

* * *

><p><strong>Me: Lol, I love how this turned out. It was supposed to be a short paragraph, but I just kept on writing XD<strong>

**Shindou and Kirino: Please, have mercy! It's Christmas, for crying out loud!**

**Me: I know, this was a Christmas present for all readers of this story. Anyways, I am aware of the fact that the story is slowing down a bit. But that will soon be over. There are still two days of traveling left until the main story picks up again, so please bear with me until then. This idea (sleeping together because of a missing blanket) was given by the ever so wonderful Sekami-chan! :D Thanks a lot, my dear friend!**

**Maybe I've overdone it a bit, but I'll stick with this anyways.**

**Kariya: If we don't see you again before 2015, then HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! :D**

**Me: Kariya-kun~! Arigatou, I love you! ^^**

**Kariya: Eh? . . . Reviews please :P**


End file.

Inazuma Eleven/イナズマイレブン, Romance, Supernatural