Arata pursed his lips in worry, a frown on his face and his mood somewhat downsized without the blunt female. His friends were in somewhat the same position, but they didn't understand the danger that she could possibly be in like Arata did. When she had left in a hurry, making an excuse that she felt sick and was going to the nurse's office, it was clear to him and the teachers that something was wrong.
For one, that excuse was a signal for anyone that something had gone wrong within the castle grounds, and as a result, she needed to leave quickly. It was an excuse only to be used in class when she was in class for emergency purposes.
He wanted to follow her, to see what was going on within his own home and hope that he could've helped in some way. However, he couldn't no matter how much he wanted to. As far as he knew, he would've only been deadweight to her, an extra toy for her to protect.
Though, that didn't mean he still didn't want to go. He had no idea why, but he felt like he should be there. For the place he lived in, it was his home. It was the center of the Kingdom he was more or less likely to rule in the years to come. It was the place that he had learnt the most at. He couldn't just wait and sit to hear word of his home.
He felt like he needed to protect it.
His eyes flickered with life and confusion with his thoughts.
Protect...? But I...
He shook his head.
I can't protect anything, not like how I am now...
He could already hear the voices of the guards and Noriko telling him that it was reckless, stupid and overall, the worst thing he could've done. So, he decided to be a good prince - and student - and finish the day at school.
Though, he still couldn't help think that something was wrong.
---
Noriko landed at the front doors of the castle, clawing the doors open and flying around like a man woman in search of her children. Though, that exaggeration wasn't far from what she was doing.
I need to find the princes... she thought.
She swung open one of the doors, but found no one behind it.
Where the heck are they?
Then, she remembered the order she had given Yoshi, the one to tell the other guards to get the Royal family to safety. She mentally face palmed at her forgetfulness, and flew out of the castle quickly.
I'm such an idiot.
She flew high into the sky, deciding that searching blindly would only waste time. She would've tried to sense the Military Force members Tamer powers if they were fighting, but her sensory skills weren't all that great. At best, she could only sense powerful beings such as the Commanders. She was only left with her vision if she wanted to find the Royal Family and the guards that should be protecting them from danger.
Her eyes skimmed over the forest, searching for a herd of people to be clustered together and more or less, trying to keep everything calm. She spotted them in a clearing, a familiar figure fighting against an air-type creature and unfortunately, was losing miserably.
Lieutenant Sakura?
Recognising the figure, she flew down like a missile and tackled the vampire to the ground.
"Head Commander Noriko!"
Noriko didn't dare take her eyes off her enemy, ready to shed some blood from the creature that lay below her. She knew the dangers of letting the enemy off her sight from the last battle she had with an abnormal vampire, and if she was not mistaken, she didn't want to die yet.
She raised her claws, preparing to slash the creature to bits and in the meanwhile, the creature attempts to throw her off. The wind scratched at her wings and body continuously, as if it was a hopeful attack that would help his escape but all it had done was draw small amounts of blood and stain her skin.
She wasn't going to kill the vampire, or at least planning to. She knew that much. For one, it was killing a vampire is particularly against the law even if they are attacking the castle and should be avoided at all cost. Of course, if the life of your own is in danger, it could be considered self defence and would most likely just receive a small time punishment. Though, there had never been an enemy that had made her resort to such a method.
The second reason was they would need to be alive if they were going to be interrogated - something that Noriko hoped that she could do without too much bloodshed. All she planned to do was give him a lesson in life, as she would like to call it.
About to give him a scar to the face, she froze as she heard familiar childish voices call out to her in cheers. She dared to glance over her shoulders, seeing the twin princes watching her every movement - though, in surprise and fear, she was not sure.
Images of her childhood flashed through her mind, images that she wished she could never see again. A growl threatening to erupt from her lips, her muscles tensed and her eyes narrowing in disapproval.
"Lieutenant Sakura, get the Royal Family out of here. Now."
Coming to attention, Sakura nodded and began moving everyone along. Out of everyone, she probably knew Noriko the best - from her life in childhood and towards the present. Sakura knew everything and right now, she knew that Noriko wanted the children out - both for them and her own sake.
Sometimes, Nori-Nori can be so kind. No matter how cold she seems to be.
The pinkette took one last glance at her Commander, then ran off with the other guards to protect the princes once more. Once they were gone, the black-haired female made no more hesitations in her attacks. Blood splattered to the ground, a painstaking screech echoing in the Castle grounds.
She held nothing back.
---
Mika lifted up her head, concerned for the loud, terrorising screech she heard. She frowned, feeling Noriko's energy in the air.
Sometimes I think Chibi doesn't know the meaning of mercy.
She glanced over to her opponent that was pinned to the wall by ice, clenching her yeti-transformed hands. Her hair white as pure snow, eyes blue like the sky, her feet and hands had turned into blue, yeti hands and her body covered with light patches of white fur.
Deciding that it had learned his lesson, she returned to her human form and began walking towards the direction of Noriko.
---
The once-white-haired male lifted up his head, hearing a screech echo in the air and allowing a smile of amusement to his lips.
Looks like she's not holding anything back.
His tongue hissed like a snake, his teeth sharp like a sharks and his eyes white like the wings of an angel. His back adorned a pair of small wings, frill spikes starting from the top of his neck down to his lower back and his body covered in thin snake scales. His hair as blue as the sea, and almost could be mistaken for one if not for his face.
However, what was most noticeable was the blood of the vampire that he was fighting was splattered all over his kimono. He glanced over his shoulder, looking at the vampire that laid on the ground in an unconscious state. Large gashed covered his body, half of it engulfed in water that pinned it to the ground.
Finally coming to a conclusion that his opponent was down for the count, he turned back into his human form
Concluding that his opponent was down for the count, he turned into his human form and began walking towards the sound of the screams.
---
Takehiko lifted up his head, covering his ears to drown out the loud screech that broke the silence in the air. He felt like his ears were going to burst. Just by hearing it, he knew she was causing the creature to scream.
His body was clean of any wounds and blood, apart from a few scratches from his opponent but they were healing quickly. On his shoulder was two hydra heads that acted as armour for his shoulder, though what was unique was that they sometimes spoke out his thoughts. His hair had turned a mud brown colour and his eyes shown a shiny, green colour.
As usual, she's merciless when she fights.
He scratched the nape of his neck nervously, looking over his shoulder to make sure that indeed his opponent was unconscious. The vampire was pinned to the ground with pillars of rocks, legs and arms unable to move. He looked unharmed on outer appearance, but it was obvious enough that that wasn't the case as the vampire was unconscious.
He transformed back into his human form, gracefully turning on his heel and heading towards the ear-piercing screams.
---
Four human eyes stared at the unconscious, bloody vampire in front of them, serious expressions on their faces.
Rumon snapped his fan open, fanning himself and covering the bottom half of his face with his eyes shifted away from the bloody scene.
"So, what do you think was the purpose of theses mutated vampires?"
"A declaration of war from the vampires, perhaps?" Mika suggested. "No one else would have the knowledge to create magic enhanced creatures like these except for the King and a few of his men."
Noriko murmured, "Agreed. To add, they put up more of a fight than the usual vampires I've come across."
"You could've tried to hold back a little though," Takehiko added, sweat-dropping.
"I had to make sure it was unconscious," the black-haired female stated, emphasising 'it' to make it clear that she was referring to the unconscious vampire.
"True true," Rumon agreed. "By the way, Noriko, don't you have class to get back to? Prince Arata must be worried, it's best if you explain the situation to him."
Mika said, "That would be a good idea. We don't want him to be stressing over this because he's curious. We'll take care of things here, Chibi."
Not even bothering to protest, Noriko began walking away to do as she was told. She didn't want the prince to worry either, that and he tended to ask a bit too many questions when he was curious.
"Also, what happened to your intercom?"
She replied, "Gave it to Lieutenant Yoshi, his one broke when he fought against the vampire in attempts to call me."
"Good thing he did," Mika muttered, "we'll see you later then!"
Takehiko yelled, "You might want to change into something less... Bloody. You don't want to scare him away - or scare the citizens of the Capital for that matter."
She stopped in her tracks, frowning at the point Takehiko had made and turned around to face them.
"Problem, all my clothes are in the Capital."
"That might be a problem," the white-haired male snickered. "Or you could just sneak inside your room."
She thought about the option that she was provided, and nodded in agreement. She jumped into the sky, landing on her griffin, Winter and flying off towards the Capital.
---
Arata sat in his room, staring at the ceiling with an impatient look on his face and clearly not liking the lonely silence in his room. His lips pushed together in worry and frustration, fingers tapping on the bed in irritation.
A day has past, a whole entire day, and it had only been a few hours ago that Noriko had left. She still hadn't come back yet. He wanted to know what was going on, but he couldn't just go outside without any defence for himself and he definitely didn't want to burden the guards with that job when they're busy with guarding the city.
As much as he hated waiting, he was left to stay in the house like a good boy. However, that thought disappeared as he heard a knock at the door. He bolted onto his feet for the door, practically swinging it open and only managing to catch it before it had slammed into the wall from the force he had used.
Whoops...
"I knew you were impatient, Arata," a voice rang in his ears, "but I didn't think you would impatient enough to nearly kill the door."
His eyes connecting with familiar, pitch black ones.
"Noriko!"
Though, he was expecting to see her sometime soon, he wasn't expecting to see her covered in some blood. He wasn't sure it was hers or someone else's, but either option was not particularly good in any case.
She quickly entered inside, closing the door before anyone could spot her and the bloody state she had been left in. She turned on the lights so she could see better, walking into her room and left Arata confused. However, deciding that she just needed some time he just sat down on a random seat and waited for her to come out.
A few minutes later, she came out wearing some tracksuit pants and a t-shirt, a towel around her neck and her hair dripping wet. She still didn't say a word, and took a seat beside Arata. She draped the town over her hair in attempt to try it, though, it was easy to tell that she wasn't really trying.
She glanced at him once more.
"The castle was attacked."
Arata remained calm for a few seconds, his brain processing the information.
"What?" he shouted.
He quickly got to his feet, his hands flying everywhere from both his worry and curiosity for the safety of his home and the attack that had happened.
"What happened? Is everyone alright? No one's dead, right? Who attacked us?"
He took a large breath at the end, while Noriko casually leaned back on her seat while keeping her eyes on him.
"Everyone's alive, no one was killed - at least, not one that I have heard of as of yet. A few were injured however, as expected for a surprise attack."
She paused.
"Our attackers were vampires, they weren't regular ones. They were mutated to have similar abilities to the Tamers, I believe they put up quite the challenge for us, even for the Commanders."
He seated himself back on his seat, trying to calm himself down as he took in all the information he had been provided with.
"You said vampires, right?" he asks.
He looked at her for confirmation, which earned him a nod from her.
"Does that mean the Vampire King is betraying us?"
She shrugs, seeming to be wondering about the same thing but remained quite vague about the actual details.
"It's a possibility, we're still investigating on the matter. It'll take some time."
Silence strung in the air, Arata allowing himself to think everything through. The thing about Arata was that he was more about brain than heart, much like Noriko, though, when in battle she goes by heart. A reason why he takes so long to decide on something, he always had a internal fight against his logic and his heart, his logic usually won.
Deciding that he need some time alone, Noriko got to her feet and walked to her room. She gently closed the door, having one last glance at him and his surroundings before leaving him to his lonesome.
Now he was left alone with his thoughts. Oddly enough, it was blank as a white piece of paper could be. Empty. Normally, he would've been filled with thoughts and worries, but this time, there was nothing. He didn't understand why this time was different.
Perhaps he was glad that his home was safe? Or that everyone he knew was still alive and not dead?
He wasn't sure, he just felt oddly calm about everything. Like these types of situations had become something natural for him, but at the same time it wasn't. It was hardly half an hour ago when he was worrying about his own home.
'Call out to me.'
A voice rang in his head, loud and clear that he nearly thought his head was about to burst. Arata jumped at the sudden noise however, snapping his head side to side in search of the voice.
'Call out to me! Call out to me!'
The voice continued to repeat those words, causing him to panic and hyperventilate. It looked like he was going to faint...
And he did.
---
Noriko dried her hair, looking out the window of her 'home' expressionlessly. She draped the towel around her neck, sitting down at her desk and awaited further notice. Though, she doubted she would get any due to the fact that she didn't have an intercom.
That reminds me, I'll have to steal Arata's later. I'm going to need it, she thought.
She stared out into space in utter boredom, having nothing to really think about until she had more of an understanding of the situation. Then, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud happening outside of her room. She bolted to her feet, running out of her room and searching for the problem. She came to a quick stop as she saw the prince on the ground, unconscious and out like a light. Her eyes scanned the area for any signs of danger, but she found no sign of struggle and figured he had fainted. Nothing more.
She tossed him over her shoulder, taking his intercom for herself and walking off to his room to place him on his bed. She gave him one last glance before leaving the room and closing the door behind her. she shook her head, placing an intercom onto her ear and turning it on.
"Head Commander Noriko here," she began. "I would like to know when I should bring the prince back from the Capital. I believe it's essential for him to come back soon, after what has happened I don't think it's safe to keep him here. Plus, he's already learned what he needed to know."
A long pause hung in the air, before someone replied.
"This is Head Commander Takehiko. Bring him back in a month from today, by that time we should have repairs done and everything back in order," a male voice answered. "By the way, where did you get the intercom?"
"Stole it from Prince Arata," was all she said.
"What?"
"Yeah, he didn't mind though," she replied.
Takehiko asks, "Did you mean he didn't mind because he hasn't noticed yet or he's asleep?"
"Both."
A sigh was heard on the other side of the line.
"You are a very unique person, Noriko, very unique," he said, though he sounded like he was about to laugh.
She rolled her eyes, giving him a short bye and ending the call. She stared at the door of the prince's room, then walked off towards her own.
Maybe it's about time we found his Tamer Beast. He's ready.
---
"Why do you take walks in the morning, Arata?" she asks suddenly.
His back suddenly straightened, his face darkening ever so slightly and his fist clenching at his side. Immediately noticing his actions, she decided that she should tread these types of ground lightly.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, just keep in mind that I have to keep an eye on you."
He stayed quiet, not letting himself peep a single word until he was certain of his decision. His mind wondered contemplating whether he should tell her or not. So far, she had been very helpful to him and he was grateful for that. However, he wasn't sure that she could help her with this problem she had. He decided to tell her anyway, it wasn't like he had anything to lose by telling her.
"I... I've been having this... Weird dream..." he admitted. "It's been haunting me for awhile now."
"A weird dream?" she repeats in a questioning tone. "What's it about?"
He thinks about it the idea of expanding his words, but decided that once again, there was no problem with doing so.
"I'm always surrounded by darkness and every time, someone is calling out to me to call out to them... Sometimes they're muffled, sometimes they aren't..."
"Calling out to you..." she mumbled.
---
He need to find his Tamer Beast soon. He's already on the stage of being called to find one.
He just needs to find him, or her.
He just needs to find him then everything will make sense.
The Bonded will be reunited once more.