Dr Facer: Hello, welcome to chapter 18 of Lost Together! We worked hard to make sure this chapter is as good as possible, and I really hope you all enjoy what we have in store in this one; most people really wanted to see the Monlon and Jurojin fights so we hope we delivered and that you like the way the fights go.

DaisukiFox: That's right! We're back with another chapter after a while! It was really hard to keep doing things to remind people this story still exists and from what I've been seeing it's worked!

There was something I wanted to say before the chapter and it's thanks for not giving up on the story because I messed up on Ch16. I've messed up before and the thought of losing this story was so painful that I didn't know how to deal with it. I thought that Chapter 17 was going to be the last one because I messed up and even my other solo projects have been sputtering and failing. For me, this is my last story standing and will probably be my last fanfiction as I'm going more towards original things. My story Natsu's life is showing promise and maybe you guys should consider checking that out on DeviantART; search for KiyomuMitsue and look for Natsu's life Chapter 1. Chapter 2 will happen.

Also, Lost Manhood, Lost Memory 2023(Help me make Lost Together not my final FanFic) and check out Facer's story of El Corazon De Nabiki if you speak Spanish and can read it! It's not bad from what I've seen, it's pretty good! It's just tough for me to read a single chapter because I have to translate it and then listen to it in Spanish but it's worth the read if you ask me. ^^

Disclaimer: We do not own Ranma ½! Ranma ½ is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and Viz Media (Plus affiliates if there happen to be any)!

Lost Together

Chapter 18

----------------------------------------

Warm water droplets rained down over the side of the mountain for just a brief second as the geyser collapsed, leaving behind a steamy breeze the wind carried away with a soft murmur, passing over the road where currently two young men were involved in a fierce battle, which continued unhindered by the thick vapor that crossed around them as they fought.

Ryoga threw a high punch through the vapor, certain this time he would be able to land it, but his fist met nothing, as his opponent had anticipated his move and dodged by ducking to the side. The young Hibiki was quick to lift his forearm, blocking a descending chop from his attacker.

'He's faster than Taro if he can dodge me this easily,' Ryoga realized, slowly moving left while keeping his guard up, assessing his opponent, and thinking of a way to finally land a punch, something that was proving to be rather difficult. 'He may be almost as fast as Ranko… There has to be some way to catch him!'

A few steps ahead of Ryoga, the other man frowned as he opened and closed his hands. This was not really going the way he had expected. He knew his adversary was strong, as he had defeated Bishamonten and Wu, but he never imagined he would be someone like this. All his attacks so far had been blocked, and his fists were resenting slamming into this bandana-wearing man's arms.

'It's like hitting solid rock,' Jurojin thought, moving in a way that matched his opponent to avoid being cornered against the wall. 'And if his arms are that solid I bet hitting his stomach would be like trying to punch concrete… I have to think about how to get around that!'

At this point, both fighters understood that they had reached a standoff. Ryoga couldn't match Jurojin's speed, while the latter couldn't get through the other's defense. The two lowered their guard slightly but remained wary of any sudden move.

"Trying to punch each other isn't working," Jurojin said with a shrug. "At this rate, we'll just be dancing around until one of us gets tired."

"Are you giving up, then?" Ryoga asked, knowing his opponent wouldn't yield, but hoping he would.

"Of course not," the Shadow Fist master answered. "I'll just have to change strategies."

"What are…?" But Ryoga's words were interrupted by Jurojin suddenly rushing at him fast enough to surprise him, and he only managed to raise his right arm to block a punch aimed at his face at the last second.

"Got you!" Jurojin announced. Moving quickly and before Ryoga could counterattack, he grabbed his blocking arm with one hand, used the other to reach for his opponent's belt to secure his grip, and swiftly threw him high into the air.

"Throwing me won't work either!" Ryoga called as he started to maneuver his body so he would land on his feet, but as he looked down he realized Jurojin was not on the ground. 'Where is he?' He wondered, but then Jurojin's arms closing around his torso answered that question. His opponent had jumped after him and grabbed him from behind!

Before Ryoga could do anything, Jurojin pulled him back so they were upside down. The Lost Man tried to break free but it was too late, Jurojin wouldn't let go and he made sure they plummeted down with increasing speed until…

Thooom!

The young Hibiki crashed head first into the ground with enough force to crack it, and he collapsed on his side while Jurojin swiftly jumped back on his feet, as Ryoga had taken the full brunt of the fall.

'Let's see how you like that!' The Shadow Fist master thought, feeling confident his opponent was not going to get back up from that any time soon, but…

"I have to admit that was a good move," Ryoga said, already getting back on his feet while dusting his shirt and moving his head this way and that. "Congratulations, I actually felt that."

"You're… you're not hurt?" Jurojin asked, mouth agape at what he was seeing. How could that man not be hurt? He couldn't understand. "Are you kidding? I…"

Whatever Jurojin was going to say was interrupted by a kick aimed at his chest, as Ryoga had taken advantage of his distraction to launch an attack of his own. Reacting at the last instant, he was barely able to bring his arms up to block Ryoga's leg, but being caught unprepared he was sent crashing against the mountain side, hitting it so hard his body made a man-sized dent on the rock after impact.

"Such… strength…" Jurojin muttered. He had fallen on his knees and was breathing hard as he took a second to recover. He was not particularly hurt, but couldn't remember the last time anyone had hit him that hard. Probably his father or uncle during training, but never someone outside of Nekonron.

"Will you let me pass?" Ryoga asked, walking to where his adversary was. "I really don't want to hurt you."

"That kick was impressive," Jurojin admitted as he stood up, "but not enough to make me change my mind, you can't continue past this point!"

Swearing this, Jurojin tried to sweep Ryoga off his feet with a low kick aimed behind his knee. His feet connected well and Ryoga buckled a step, almost losing his balance and dropping his guard, something Jurojin quickly used to his advantage, smashing his right elbow on the back of the Lost man's head, hoping this would knock him out at last.

Unfortunately for the unofficial Lucky God, Ryoga Hibiki was having none of that. Unhurt by the elbow smash, but slightly annoyed by it, he went low and used his right hand to steady himself, quickly turning back and then lunged at Jurojin, grabbing him by the torso and with one swift move he went behind him, locked his arms around his chest and suplexed the Shadow Fist master on the ground with enough strength that Ryoga estimated would be enough to knock out Taro in human form.

"You're not the only one who can do throws," Ryoga smirked as he got back on his feet. "How did you like that?"

"Not much, I assure you," Jurojin replied. He had managed to get back to a crouching position, but had to go on one knee to steady himself and was again amazed by how strong this Ryoga person actually was. "But this fight is far from over, you have not hurt me yet."

"I told you, I'm not interested in hurting you," Ryoga insisted as he closed the distance between him and Jurojin. So far the fight had been more annoying than difficult, and considering how it was going, the young Hibiki was starting to believe he may be able to talk his way out of this useless encounter. "Look, I think we…"

Bash!

Ryoga couldn't finish his sentence. As soon as he was close enough, Jurojin, smashed both his fists against his face like a mace, hitting him hard enough to send him flying all the way to the edge of the road, where he unceremoniously landed on his back. The only reason why Ryoga didn't fall was that he clawed at the dirt with his fingers, stopping himself before going over the edge and into the chasm.

'That one actually did hurt…' Ryoga thought, bringing one hand up to his aching jaw while he started getting up. 'Seems he's not just fast, he's stronger than I expected, too.'

"You should not underestimate me," Jurojin warned in a serious tone. "I am the next bodyguard of Nekonron's Royal Family, I am not like the Lucky Gods you've faced so far."

"I can see that," Ryoga replied while getting back up. "But there's no way I'm losing here!"

"We'll see about it!" The Shadow Fist master said and dashed towards Ryoga. Jurojin had decided he could not let this fight go on any longer. It was clear to him that Ryoga was not just strong but appeared to have stamina to spare and Jurojin was starting to think he would not be able to outlast him.

'I'll have to take him out in one hit,' Jurojin thought, not too happy about what he was about to do but seeing no other way to end this quickly and keep Monlon safe. 'I didn't want to use any of my special techniques on him but he should be able to survive them…'

Taking advantage of his superior speed, the unofficial Lucky God moved under Ryoga's defense and grabbed him by the shirt, then quickly used his arms and legs to gain leverage and once again threw Ryoga against the mountain.

The young Hibiki struck the same place Jurojin had hit earlier like a wrecking ball, and the side of the mountain, already weakened, dangerously cracked behind him, a few pebbles crumbling and falling around him. Moving slowly, Ryoga got back on his knees and shook his head from side to side. His jaw still bothered him and slamming against the hard rocks had left him momentarily breathless. It was true his current rival was not as strong as Wu or even himself, but he was strong, and he had resented his last two attacks more than he expected.

'I can't take this lightly just because he's not one of the Lucky Gods,' Ryoga thought as he drew in a deep breath to clear his head. 'At least he doesn't seem to have anything else…'

Ryoga noticed Jurojin was already a few steps in front of him, but didn't appear to be preparing any sort of attack, and that worried him.

"What are…?" Ryoga started.

"I'm sorry about this, but this is as far as you go," the Shadow Fist master interrupted. He brought his right fist up and before Ryoga could do anything, he brought it down, striking the ground hard. "Kanketsusen Bakuhatsu!"

What followed was something that caught Ryoga completely by surprise. The moment Jurojin's fist collided with the rocky ground, it unleashed a burst of blue ki that struck the mountainside like a wave, going up and loudly fracturing a large section of it into big chunks of rock that collapsed on top of Ryoga, burying him under several tons of debris!

"I'm not proud of using my Geyser Explosion to bury him like this, but I think he would have been able to resist the Kanketsusen Bakuhatsu at point blank," Jurojin whispered after he jumped back to avoid the last few falling pieces of rubble and stared at the destruction in front of him. A bit excessive, perhaps, but Ryoga was the strongest martial artist he had ever encountered, and he doubted anything other than this would put him down. "But no matter how strong he is, this should be enough to stop him… though we'll have to dig him out of there later."

Momentarily forgetting about Ryoga, Jurojin looked down the road and wondered if the twins were alright. He didn't know if the redhead had hurt them much or not, and he didn't fully trust Ryoga's claim that they would be fine once they woke up.

'No, the twins are fine, they are stronger than everyone gives them credit for,' Jurojin thought and, taking in a deep breath, sat on the ground to rest for a little while and recover his energy. His ki had weakened somewhat after using that technique but that was to be expected; he hadn't completed his spiritual training yet, and until he did so, using any sort of ki attack of the Kage No Ken school would considerably drain his reserves. 'I guess I'll have to go back with my uncle and finish my training soon, but not until I do what I came back for.'

His thoughts drifted to his past, and the young Shadow Fist user closed his eyes and prepared to meditate for a few minutes, as this would help his ki recover faster.

----------------------------------------

A few minutes later…

Meditating to restore his ki, Jurojin found out, was not working. He could not relax or calm down no matter how much he tried, as his concern for the twins was keeping him out of focus and he could not stop thinking about his younger brothers. Would they be fine? What if they were in pain and in need of assistance? Could he afford not to go see them?

'Stop it, they will be alright, they have to be,' he told himself, taking in a deep breath as he tried to refocus. 'Those two are stronger than they seem, always have been. They will be fine and you'll be able to spend time with them and Monlon again as soon as this emergency is dealt with.'

"We should go visit Mother too," he decided, standing up and hoping Daihakuse and Daikokuse were fine. "I'm sure she'll be happy to have the three of us there for a day or two."

Going to the edge of the road, Jurojin couldn't help but remember the first time he met the twins, many years before when he was only nine…

Scrubbing sounds filled the large kitchen, and the boy tasked with cleaning the clay pot, which was about as tall as he was, decided it was time to pour some water over the spot he had been devoting a considerable amount of time trying to clean. He was almost done now, all he needed was to make sure this spot was clean and his chores for the day would be complete. He poured warm water over the foam covering that section of the pot and smiled when he saw it wash away the bubbles and the gook under them that had so stubbornly stuck to the pot. Good, his mother would be happy to see he had done so well.

The sound of the front door opening drew his attention, and he was preparing to show his parents the result of his labor when he heard his mother call him.

"Come to the living room, Jurojin," a woman called, her voice sounding serious, but not angry.

"Yes, coming," the boy answered, a bit confused by the way his Mom sounded, but he obeyed nonetheless.

Jurojin found his parents sitting next to identical twins who were sleeping on the couch. Looking at them, he thought the twins couldn't be older than five. Intrigued by this, Jurojin waited in silence for his parents to explain who the children were, even if he was dying to ask himself.

"They are your new brothers," his father announced. "Their names are Daihakuse and Daikokuse, they've suffered a lot so you must treat them well, my son."

"I will, but… why are they my brothers?" the boy asked, eyeing the nervous twins, who had yet dared to even make a sound.

"They lost their mom and dad," his mother said. "We are the only ones who can help them."

"They lost them during the war with the Phantom Claw last year," his father provided, but did not elaborate any further.

"Their mom and dad were our friends, we feel it is our duty to help their children," the mother completed. "We adopted them months before, but it was only until now that the elders agreed to let us bring them home."

"It is a matter of family honor to help these twins," Jurojin's father stated then. "It is very important that we keep the oath I made to their parents before they died in combat, do you understand that, Jurojin?"

"I think I understand, Dad," Jurojin said. "Don't worry, I'll be a good brother, I promise."

It was then Daikokuse woke up, and just a second after, Daihakuse opened his eyes too. The children looked around and settled their sights on Jurojin, who was the only other child there.

"Hello," Jurojin said, smiling at the younger children. "I'm Jurojin, and I'll be your older brother from now on."

"You will?" both twins asked at the same time, already being fully synchronized with each other, "for real?"

"Yes, I'll even play with you and teach you cool stuff, too!" the boy promised with a smile that he thought would make him look like an awesome older brother.

"Thank you!" the twins said and rushed to hug Jurojin. "We'll be good, we promise!"

"I… I know," Jurojin said, feeling a bit overwhelmed now that the twins were hugging him. He also felt the weight of responsibility on his shoulders but it wasn't so bad, he wanted to help these boys and knew that he could. Smiling, he hugged them back and silently swore to do as best as he could for them. He was, after all, their big brother now. And that was what older brothers did, right?

The Shadow Fist master started pacing around, wondering if he should go and ask Wu for any news on the twins, or maybe go directly to their Castle Gate to check on them, but in the end decided not to. He had to trust the twins would be alright. Besides, they were not the only ones he was worried about. Frowning, he stopped his pacing and looked to the side of the road that went up the mountain, an image of Monlon entering his thoughts as he did so. If he was right, she should have engaged the redhead by now.

"I hope she's alright," he muttered, hoping for the best. "But all things considered she probably already arrested that red-haired girl, Monlon was always very skilled."

Crossing his arms as he kept pondering the current events, Jurojin recalled the first time he met Monlon, welcoming the memory of that day long ago when he was just a thirteen-year-old kid…

Jurojin was on a mission that perhaps was not really that important, but it was a mission he wanted to accomplish all the same, and he was not feeling particularly happy about the two tag-alongs that were following behind him. He usually wouldn't mind having the twins around as talking to them was better than being alone, but that day he had training to do that he preferred to do alone, so he stopped, crossed his arms and stood as tall as he was to look as imposing as he could.

"Stop following me, I told you I'm going to train by the river and that's dangerous for little boys like you," Jurojin ordered, hoping to be obeyed. Unfortunately for him, the twins simply stared back at him with an expression that indicated they would not be so easily dissuaded.

"We're almost nine!" the two argued at the same time. "We're not little boys!"

"Well, I know that, but it's dangerous, okay!" Jurojin insisted, trying to figure out a way to send the twins back home. He suddenly remembered something he could use, and nodded at his own brilliance. "Listen, if you let me go train by myself I promise I'll take you to the circus next time it comes to town, I remember you wanted to go and Mom and Dad were too busy to take you, what do you say?"

"The circus won't come back in months!" Daikokuse complained.

"But we'll leave you alone if you spare some money for sweets," Daihakuse countered.

"What do you say?" Both twins asked.

"I say you're a pain," Jurojin groaned, but then smirked and shook his head. "Alright, here's some money, go buy whatever you want, but don't tell Mom, okay?"

"We won't!" the twins said with huge smiles, and after grabbing the yuan Jurojin offered, the two waved goodbye to their older brother and marched happily back to Nekonron, surely aiming to buy rice crackers or something like that.

"Seriously, those two…" Jurojin muttered with a sigh. Forgetting about the incident, he walked out of the road and entered the forest, as he wanted to take a shortcut to the river.

Walking carefully under the shade of the tall trees, it didn't take Jurojin long to reach the particular spot on the river he was looking for. He had found it a few days before, and what made this location special was that a log had gotten caught on two rocks, offering a place where he could train his balance without worrying about a surprise attack from his father or uncle under the excuse they were testing his progress.

He was about to part the hedges surrounding that section of the river to reach the place he was looking for when he heard the was odd, and he wondered for a moment why would someone be out here just to play music. Wanting to avoid trouble and following the teachings of his family's school, Jurojin peeked carefully between the branches of the thick bush and was greeted with the image of three girls standing on the log, on one foot, while they played their instruments. One had a dizi, the other an erhu, and the last one a lute. The girls were all managing to keep their balance quite well and played a rather nice melody without missing a single beat. It was then he saw a young woman in her early twenties enter his field of vision. The woman was, in one word, beautiful, and Jurojin was familiar with her. This woman was Ai Fang, the current master of the Ongaku No Sento school and a member of the Lucky Gods.

"Now that I think of it, Mom did mention Ai Fang had taken a few disciples," he recalled. "I didn't think I'd meet her and her students here, however…"

Puzzling about what to do, Jurojin settled on watching the training session from his hiding place, just to see if he could pick up on something that could be useful for him. He soon got bored, but it was then that Ai Fang sat on a rock and reached for a basket she had kept hidden behind it.

"All right, girls, it's time for the second part of today's exercise!" Jurojin heard Ai Fang call.

He waited to see what the instruction would be, but all that he saw was how the beautiful master of the Ongaku school started throwing apples at her students, with the only warning being a quick 'Dodge, don't stop playing!' understandably, the three girls had a lot of trouble accomplishing the task, and it didn't take long for the one with the dizi to slip and fall into the river. The one with the erhu fared a little better and lasted a few more seconds before she got hit in the back by an apple, losing her balance, and taking a plunge. The girl with the lute, however, managed to dodge the apples with certain difficulty but was able to somewhat maintain an elegant posture as she avoided the fruits, even using her lute to deflect those she couldn't dodge in time. This continued until Ai Fang ran out of apples, and when she did, she had to clap at her student's performance, congratulating her for a job well done.

Jurojin, who had watched with particular attention, had to admit the girl was good, but it was not until she lowered her lute and removed her hat, unleashing her shiny silver hair, that he was able to see her properly for the first time. The girl was the cutest one he had ever seen, and her smile made him feel his stomach curl in ways he had never experienced before. How could she be so pretty? It escaped his mind, he simply couldn't understand how such a pretty girl could exist in Nekonron.

"I… I wonder what her name is…" he muttered, shifting his weight as he moved a little to the left so he could look at the silver-haired girl better. "It must be something as pretty as she is."

"Someone's spying on us!" The girl who played the dizi said then, startling Jurojin as he noticed that much to his shame he had moved into a position where part of him was visible.

"You got careless, you fool!" Jurojin silently berated himself as he ducked for letting one of the girls see him. A real student of the Shadow Fist would never let others see him unless he allowed it!

"A peeping tom?" He heard Ai Fang say. "Very well, it will be a nice exercise for you to capture him, go and bring him to me!"

"Oh, crap!" Jurojin muttered and hurried back down the road the moment he heard what the Onagaku No Sento master had ordered her pupils, the one thing he didn't need was to fight a group of angry girls! Seeing no other option as he could hear the girls were gaining on him, the boy surveyed his surroundings and chose a tree to his right. Not losing any speed, he jumped for the lowest branch and then used it to go up several meters, hiding in the foliage, hoping his dark clothes melted well enough with the shadows to help him avoid detection.

Remaining very still, he watched as two of the girls rushed under the tree and kept going, which meant they hadn't seen him, now if only the third one could hurry and pass him, he could slid down and take a detour only he knew and return to Nekonron before this mess ended up being worse than it was…

"Hm?" Jurojin muttered as he suddenly felt a presence behind him. Turning, fearing it would be Ai Fang, he had to blink in confusion as he saw it was the silver haired girl, standing on a branch next to his, a happy grin adorning her face.

"Found you," she said, staring at him and doing little else, as if she was trying to decide what to do with him.

"Just by luck…" Jurojin groused, then crossed his arms and continued, his voice taking an indignant tone. "I was not peeping, okay? Your friend got it all wrong. You girls were at my training spot, I was just.."

"Hmm…" the girl blinked and placed her lute over her shoulder, as if not believing the boy, but a couple of seconds later she nodded and then tilted her head to the left and smiled again. "I believe you, only ugly boys would peep on girls, and you're cute."

"Cute? You… think I'm cute?" Jurojin stammered, quite shocked at learning that the prettiest girl of the trio thought he was cute. Did that mean she liked him or…?

"You may be cute, but you're still a fool," Monlon said then, taking advantage of the boy's distracted state to swing her lute hard, bonking him in the head with enough strength to drop him from the tree, headfirst, to the ground.

"Master Ai Fang, I got the boy!" Monlon called her teacher at the same time she dropped from the tree, landing perfectly next to the prone boy.

----------------------------------------

A couple of minutes later…

"So, why is the son of the Kage No Ken master peeping on my students?" Ai Fang asked, crouching next to Jurojin, who was sitting with his arms crossed and his eyes low, surrounded by the three Ongaku No Sento girls.

"I wasn't," Jurojin said, looking straight into Ai Fang's eyes. "I came to the river to train, you and your students were in the same spot I was planning on using for training balance, it was all a misunderstanding, Master Ai Fang."

"Oh? And why should I believe you?" The member of the Seven said. She didn't seem to have found any duplicity in the boy's words, but was apparently not yet convinced it had all been a coincidence.

"I believe him," Monlon said, surprising her two classmates. "He didn't feel like he was telling lies when I found him."

"That's because I'm not," Jurojin put forth. "It's all a big mistake… I mean, I know I should have called out instead of hiding, but I just didn't want to interrupt and ruin your training session, I just…"

"Didn't know what to do, I gather?" Ai Fang smiled, finally accepting the kid's words as true; they carried the tone of honesty, and the boy seemed so sure of himself, not afraid as if he had been discovered doing something wrong. "Well, next time you wish to see me teaching my students, make sure to greet us first and then ask if you can watch us, that's the polite thing to do."

"I… I will Master Ai Fang," Jurojin said and bowed, just too glad that this wouldn't get him in trouble, he wouldn't have liked his father to hear about it. "I appreciate you for forgiving my mistake."

"Not a big deal in the end is it?" Ai Fang chuckled. "My girls had the chance to practice tracking you, and no harm was done to any of us. I will spare your father the details of today's misunderstanding, though I will tell him you helped us train a little bit, by my request."

"You will?"

"Yes, as I said, you did help me see which of my students I need to give tracking lessons again," she said. "That was helpful. Anyway, you should leave here while I give my girls some pointers about tracking… Monlon, you got the boy so you can skip the lesson, go and escort him back to Nekonron and then you can go home."

"Thank you, Master Ai Fang!" Monlon said.

Not too long after that…

"It wasn't nice, you know?" Jurojin called without looking to his left, where Monlon walked besides him. They had just crossed Nekonron's gates, and soon would part ways.

"What wasn't nice?" She asked.

"Distracting me like that," he accused her. "Telling me I'm cute."

"Well, you are cute, what was I supposed to say?" she told him and hurried to vanish after turning on the following corner, leaving a very confused and blushing Jurojin behind.

Jurojin took in a deep breath and his gaze moved towards the rocks he had buried Ryoga under. That time by the river had been not just the first time he had seen Monlon, it had been the first time she had helped him, the first of many over the years, and as the years went by, they helped each other more often than not.

"I still remember that time when I was sixteen…" he muttered as his gaze moved back to the road that went up the mountain. "When the twins fell ill and we had to find medicine."

Closing his eyes to welcome the memory, Juorjin's mind drifted back to that day when he and Monlon, defying his father's orders, entered an area around one of the many mountains that surrounded Nekonron, prepared to do anything necessary to save the twins…

The chasm in front of them was deep, deep enough to warrant nobody could survive a fall… at least nobody without training. A Lucky God could survive the fall for sure, though not unhurt. Jurojin and Monlon stood by the old and rickety rope bridge that went over the precipice, studying it and uncertain of using it.

"That thing is going to collapse if we cross it," she declared as she leaned on a large rock to start playing the lute. "We should try going around it."

"We don't have the time for that," Jurojin said, adjusting a small velvet bag to his belt. "The twins got worse this morning."

"You did mention that," Monlon said, strapping her lute to her back and passing her hands over her skirt to dust it. "And I mentioned this area is rumored to be under bandit control, why didn't we just go to Yakusai for the medicine your brothers need?"

"My father went yesterday," Jurojin said, his voice full of concern. "The herbalists didn't have it, the herb's out of season; they said nobody has that plant. My mom went to look for it near Bao and my uncle went to Shanjie, but they couldn't find any."

"Not even dry leaves?"

"Yes, but the remedy can only be made with fresh ones," Jurojin sighed. "Look, Mon… I know you want to help, but perhaps it's best if I go alone from here."

"I don't like it when you call me that," she said and shrugged. "I'm just offering other options, Juro… but if there's nothing, I guess we'll have to go look, right?"

"You're coming, then?"

"I kind of have to, someone has to save you if you get in trouble, right?"

He chuckled. "I thought I was in charge of doing that."

"Eh, you save me, I save you…" Monlon said and grinned at him. "That's the way it is between us, isn't it?"

"Yes, I guess it is," he said and nodded. "Well, shall we?"

Monlon nodded back and followed him, slowly crossing the old bridge, paying attention to where he stood and which boards he stepped into until they were on the other side of the chasm.

"Now what?" She asked once they had crossed to the other side as she examined her feet and wished she had brought sandals, but going barefoot was part of her fighting style requirements so there was not much she could do about it.

"Now we go deep into the mountains," Jurojin said. "The healer said the herb could be found around these parts, even off-season, but that it was scarce. It's the best chance we have."

"You do know the deeper we go the more dangerous it'll be, right?"

"Yes, but I will do anything to save my brothers," he declared, not looking at her. "You can go back if you want to, I am not asking you to come with me beyond this point."

"I care for the twins too," she said, her voice firm. "I'll help you find that plant."

"Thank you," he said.

It didn't take them more than an hour to find a spot where a variety of plants grew and they explored the clearing, looking until Monlon called Jurojin.

"These plants with white and pink flowers… are these the ones we need?"

Jurojin pulled a piece of paper from under his sleeveless black shirt and checked the illustration on it. He smiled and then showed her the drawing, revealing that this plant was indeed the one they needed.

"Great, let me pluck it and we'll be all set," she said.

"No, wait, we only need a few leaves," he interrupted her and kneeled next to her. "Best to leave it here and only take what we need so it can grow back."

She nodded and observed in silence how he used a knife to cut a few leaves and flowers, and how he carefully placed them inside the bag he carried. It took him less than three minutes until he was done, and she felt glad she had helped him find the twins' medicine.

"We must hurry back home," he said once he'd picked enough leaves and flowers.

Saying nothing else, the two teens hurried back to the rope bridge and carefully started crossing it, but just when they were halfway through, a thin, tall bandit came out of hiding and blocked the way. Monlon looked behind her, and saw that a muscular bandit was blocking the way back, too… they had been trapped!

"Ah, you want to cross our bridge back to town?" The thin bandit said. "Well, that means you'll have to pay, hand over all your money, and…"

"We don't have money," Jurojin said, his expression serious and his voice carrying a warning tone. "And we are in a hurry, let us pass or you'll be sorry."

"He's right, we don't have any money," Monlon asserted with a smirk. "And he's also right when he says you'll be quite sorry if you don't let us through."

"You heard that?" The thin bandit said with a laugh, calling his muscular friend at the other side of the chasm. "These two kids are super funny!"

"I think we should get close and personal with them," the other responded, stepping on the bridge without a care about the possible danger of overloading it.

"I agree," the other said and also stepped into the bridge.

"I don't think this is good," Monlon whispered to Jurojin. "They don't look that strong, though."

"We'll have to fight them, I'll take the one behind us," Jurojin said.

"Oh, you two won't be doing anything," the bandit who had approached from the front said with a confident smirk and quickly pulled out a gun, which he pointed at Monlon.

"I'm sure you understand we're not playing games here," the other said and also pulled a gun that he aimed at Jurojin.

"But if you really don't want to pay the toll…" the first bandit said, addressing Jurojin, "we'll kill you and drop your body to the bottom of the precipice… and then we'll get payment from your little girlfriend."

The sight of guns aimed at them was enough to briefly paralyze the two teenagers. Disciples of members of the Seven as they were, this was the first time Monlon and Jurojin had been threatened with actual firearms, and they felt unsure of what to do, wondering if they could deal with this situation without getting shot.

"We can't waste more time here," Jurojin muttered at Monlon. "My brothers need their medicine, here take this."

"Why are you giving the medicine to me?" She asked, taking the bag with the medicinal plant Jurojin placed in her hand. "Don't tell me you're planning to…"

"Hey, what are you doing, what's in that bag?" the bandit at the front asked, noticing what Jurojin was doing. "Hand it over or we'll make you watch while we have fun with that girl, you stupid boy!"

Jurojin didn't answer, he instead grinned and grabbed Monlon by the waist, lifted her, and quickly tossed her with all his might to the other side of the chasm.

"Take the medicine to my mother!" He shouted when he saw her land safely and, before the bandits could react, Jurojin reached for his knife and with a quick circular move of his arm, cut the ropes suspending the bridge.

"What are you doing, you stupid…?" Monlon shouted amidst the screams of the bandits, who had been taken by surprise and failed to grab a hold of the collapsing bridge, falling to their deaths while screaming in both anger and terror.

A single shot was made, and the bullet flew over Monlon's head. The girl wouldn't react to how close to death she had been herself until later that day, for at that moment she had only one thing in her mind and that was rescuing Jurojin. Quickly reaching for her lute, she performed her Phantom Restriction technique and sent the strings of her instrument forth, hoping it was not too late to save the boy she had a secret crush on.

The strings went taut, and Monlon planted her feet on the ground when she felt the weight of Jurojin pulling her down. She silently prayed her strings hadn't sliced him in half, but recalled Jurojin's clothes had leather sewn under them for extra protection, a requirement for members of the Shadow Fist school as part of their bodyguard attire, and relaxed a little. She had aimed for his chest and torso, which were protected and that meant she had not split him in two.

"Are you alright?" She called, risking looking down to find him hanging and grabbing at the rocky cliff wall, trying to find a ledge to hold on to.

"Yes, I'm fine, your strings are too tight, however."

"Worry about that later, you… you idiot!" She chastised him. "And climb up, will you? I'm not sure how long I can hold…!"

"I'm climbing, I'm climbing," He said, and finally finding an opening he could grab onto, started on his way up, reaching the top in a matter of minutes.

"How dare you!" Monlon screamed once he was safely standing next to her. "Do you have any idea how scared I was? You… you… you moron! Never scare me like that again, you hear?"

"I'm sorry, I won't. It's… I couldn't think of anything else to escape those two," he answered, sparing a glance at the bottom of the precipice and then looking back at Monlon.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, now calmer after seeing he was unhurt. "Are the bandits still coming after us?"

"No… they… they are dead," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders to stop her from looking. He decided to spare Monlon the image of the broken, bloody corpses of the bandits, it wouldn't do her any good after all, or at least that was what he believed. He was still dealing with what he had just done, and he knew the fact he had taken two lives would have impacted him more if it weren't because keeping Monlon safe and saving his brothers countered any worries he may have had the moment he collapsed the bridge. He knew it was the only choice he had to save them but he felt so… so dirty.

"I… I understand," she said, turning serious when she noticed how tense he actually was, obviously, this was having a strong effect on him. Taking in a deep breath, she approached him and gently caressed his face, hoping that would help him calm down. "Jurojin… you did what you had to, they didn't give you any other option. Let's go back home, we have to bring your brothers their medicine… right?"

He relaxed after feeling her soft caress and reached up to hold her hand in his. "Yes… we have to take the medicine back home."

Later that day…

Jurojin paced around the living room like a caged dog, worrying if the medicine would work or not. He and Monlon had successfully delivered the healing plant and his mother had prepared the medication for the twins, but it had been almost an hour and his parents had not yet come out to tell him if his brothers would be alright or not.

It was then that two slim arms closed around his torso, and then he felt Monlon's figure pressing against his back.

"They will be alright, Juro," she told him. "Please stop blaming yourself, you've done all you could. They'll be fine, I'm sure they will be."

"I know," he started, breaking the hug and turning so he could hold her hands. "It's just that…"

The door to their right opened and Jurojin's parents entered the room. The smiles on their faces filled Jurojin with hope and he held his breath, waiting for what his mother or father would say.

"The fever is down," his mother said with a warm smile. "The medicine worked."

"They're sleeping now, and it seems the worst has passed," his father said. "The twins will be alright, and it is thanks to you both."

His memories of that incident ended there, and Jurojin smiled as he recalled how the twins woke up the following day feeling hungry and almost fully recovered. They had asked for sweet rice pancakes for breakfast, he remembered well.

"Those kids…" he muttered, then looked back to the road to his right. "Monlon… I hope nothing bad happens to you because I really need to talk to you."

And he really did. The young man reached under his shirt and pulled out a small box he kept in a secret pocket. He opened it, revealing it contained a single golden ring with a small rose made of pink gems. He had bought it at Tong Po harbor not too long before, and the only reason he had asked his uncle for a few days off from his training was here: Monlon, the woman he loved more than his own life.

"I won't be able to concentrate on my training until I've asked you to marry me," he muttered, closing the box and placing it back in his secret pocket. "Monlon, I…"

A creaking sound behind him interrupted his thoughts then, and Jurojin felt a cold wave of fear run up his spine. That sound of rock slowly cracking… it couldn't be, it was impossible!

----------------------------------------

And at the following Castle Gate…

The sound of music filled the air as Monlon gracefully danced around each and every punch and kick an exasperated Ranko tried to hit her with. The Lucky God was having a relatively easy time dodging the redhead's attacks and, as she expertly played a series of notes to accompany her evasive moves, started wondering how her adversary had managed to avoid the Musk for so long. Was this clumsy girl really that dangerous? It couldn't be, she had shattered her focus and concentration with just a few words, and as a result, her moves were as precise as those of a drunkard walking out of a tavern.

'I just don't get it, she seems to have power and speed, but it's obvious she doesn't know how to use them,' Monlon thought as she sidestepped Ranko's heel at the last instant. 'She's too violent to be effective, and too easily riled up, I just don't understand how… Oh, she travels with her boyfriend, of course.'

Yes, that was probably the answer, Monlon decided, there was no other logical explanation why a raging maniac like this redhead could… wait!

"Stop dodging, you…!" Ranko shouted as she used a sudden burst of speed to dash under her silver-haired opponent's nose and throw a swift uppercut, hoping to finally have the satisfaction of knocking that aggravating lute player on her back, unfortunately…

Monlon had almost been taken by surprise by that last attack and only managed to avoid getting hit by backflipping while keeping her lute close to her body. She made sure to throw a quick retreating kick to force the redhead to stand still instead of following her, a maneuver the Ongaku No Sento master had to use to recover some space.

"Quick little devil, aren't you?" Monlon smirked accompanying her words with a dissonant harmony aimed at mocking her opponent; words were not the only thing she could use to distress an adversary; her music could also fill that purpose quite well. "Too bad you don't know how to use your speed properly."

"And you're only good at dodging apparently," Ranko retorted, still frowning and still very angry at the woman in front of her. She couldn't help it, looking at Monlon, all Ranko could think of was how she had kidnapped Lychee, how she threatened to tear their friendship in half, and she couldn't really forgive that. "All you can do is squirm like a fish out of water, huh?"

"Oh, you can bite, too!" Monlon laughed, plucking at the strings of her lute, sending out another mocking tune. "But you can't bite hard enough, girlie, I assure you that. It'd take more brain power than you have."

"I'll show you power, you…!" Ranko growled as she snapped and once again rushed at the Lucky Goddess. She had reasoned that if she couldn't hit her, then she'd use one of those holds that Lotion could use, just grab her from behind, put her forearm around her neck, and then slam her face-first on the ground to knock her out and bam! A quick and easy win!

Or that was the idea because Ranko ended up grabbing nothing but air. Once again Monlon evaded her at the last moment, jumping high into the air and landing on top of a rock taller than Ranko just a few meters away.

"You really thought you could grab me?" Monlon asked with a smirk. "Your form is terrible and your moves lack any sort of coordination, you fight like an angry, ugly gorilla!"

"Shut up, you musical pest!" Ranko shouted, her rage reaching a new high point at being called both ugly and gorilla. Seeing red, all she could think to do was try to drop Monlon off the rock she was perching at, so she jumped-kicked at her with all her might.

Ranko's rage, however, caused her to miscalculate her attack, and her foot collided with the top of the rock, smashing it into tiny bits. Monlon, however, had jumped just before Ranko hit the boulder.

Grinning and still in mid-air, Monlon took the opportunity to perform a spin and just when she was upside down, she smashed her lute right between Ranko's shoulder blades with all her might. The impact was strong, and it caused Ranko to land poorly, having to painfully bring her arms up to cover her head and face as she bounced twice on her side and back, finally managing to bring her hands down to propel herself to a standing position. Monlon, who had landed perfectly, grabbed her lute by the neck and rested its bowl on her right shoulder.

"Are you sure you've had training? You fight like a mindless beast," Monlon mocked as she started circling Ranko, trying to find the best place to attack from. "If this is all you can do then I'm guessing it was your boyfriend who defeated my friends… I bet all you did in the other Castle Gates was to run around smashing furniture like an angry monkey!"

"Shut up!" Ranko demanded, clenching her fists as she slowly approached Monlon. The redhead was seething, and couldn't remember a time when she felt this angry at someone, not even Taro had managed to get on her nerves like this, and that idiot had really been a very aggravating moron. But this woman here, her tone of voice, her insults, every single word she threw at her, and that odious discordant music! Everything Monlon did kept her furious and on the edge of a rage attack. And it was not doing her any favors. As angry as she was, Ranko was clever enough to recognize this was hampering her skills. Taking a series of deep breaths, the crimson-haired beauty was able to regain some of her focus, and that was when she realized Monlon had spent most of the fight being a mean bitch and insulting her.

'Well, I can throw insults too, can't I?' Ranko thought, recalling she had called Monlon a "fish out of water" just a few seconds earlier. 'If that's her game then let's play that game.'

"You know what, ugly?" Ranko called, crossing her arms and smirking in a way that matched Monlon's earlier expression. "You're lucky we're not comparing looks because I'd beat you by a hundred miles and besides, I'm not an old maid who doesn't even have a boyfriend… what, is it because you're such an acid hag nobody wants you?"

'Hag, old maid? Oh, this brat is really asking for it now, I…' Monlon forced herself to stop and take in a deep, calming breath. She had not expected this girl to be able to return her insults this way, and it had momentarily broken her focus. She had to admit the redhead was good, very, very good at verbal sparring, but it was a game she shouldn't have started.

"Hmph… you don't know what you're talking about," Monlon replied with a sneer, "My boyfriend has surely defeated yours by now, and you know why? Because he's a man, not a little boy… I bet you two children have never even gone on a date yet!"

'How… how did she know we haven't…?' Ranko frowned, no, she didn't know, she was just guessing! Trying to piss her off again! Well, it was not going to work, besides, she could ask Ryoga to take her out on a date later, right? Yes, that was right, they could have a date later so it was fine. Smiling, Ranko prepared to return the insult, moving closer again, knowing that this would help her get in position to finally knock this Monlon chick down with a solid punch!

"Oh… so that Jurojin guy is your boyfriend?" Ranko said in a mocking tone. "You have lousy taste in men, then. But it's alright, losers should be with losers… after all, I'm sure my Ryoga already defeated your Jurojin and is on his way here."

'What is this little witch saying?' Monlon thought, her right eyebrow twitching as she struggled to control her temper. Who does she think she is? She and Jurojin weren't losers, and there was no way Jurojin would lose to her boyfriend, not in a million years!

"Heh, it seems you are indeed better at throwing insults than at fighting," the lute player said after taking a deep breath to calm herself and deciding it was time to end this stupid conversation. "But I'm done trading barbs with you… I'm going to arrest you right now!"

"Oh yeah?" Ranko grinned, thinking that Monlon was finally going to start fighting seriously instead of throwing idiotic insults at her. "About time, bring it, I can take any…!"

"Seishin Seigen Kogeki!" Monlon shouted, interrupting Ranko as she performed what could be described as a quick dance while invoking the name of her Phantom restriction attack technique, sending forth her lute's strings at Ranko so fast that the redhead was unable to dodge them, ending up with both arms and her left leg completely immobilized.

"What… what's this?" Ranko groaned, instinctively pulling back against the strings and finding they were getting tighter to the point they were starting to hurt her. "Release me, you creep!"

"I wouldn't recommend you resist me," Monlon said with a confident smirk. "The more you struggle the tighter the strings will get… they'll start digging into your flesh if you continue, and they can cut all the way to your bone, so you better give up and let me arrest you."

"Like hell, I will!" the redhead said and continued resisting, doing her best not to be dragged to where Monlon waited. "Let me go and fight fair, you cheater!"

Struggling to the point she actually managed to move a step back, Ranko's efforts were rewarded by a sharp sting starting in her upper arms and moving all the way to the top of her head, the wet sensation that accompanied the pain made her realize she was bleeding before looking down to confirm that the wire had bit through her shirt and was splitting her skin open, painfully cutting it's way through her flesh, her blood trailing down the strings and dripping drop by drop into the ground between her and the Lucky God.

"I warned you," the Ongaku no Sento master said in a cold voice. "Stop struggling or the strings will go deeper, I'm sure you don't want to lose your arms and that leg, do you? On the other hand, we can stay like this until you pass out from blood loss, it's all the same to me either way."

Ranko frowned and swallowed her pain as she slowly moved to the left, being very careful not to pull back or to struggle too much against the wire binding her, all the while Monlon moved to the right and made sure to keep the wires as tight as they already were. The fierce redhead sent a silent curse at her adversary but understood she had no reason to give her any leeway.

'I bet Ryoga would be strong enough to just tear these strings like nothing,' she thought and stopped moving, taking in a deep breath to calm herself. She had to think of a way to beat this technique, she was sure there was one, and that she wasn't seeing it. 'I can't break them, so maybe I could get them loose somehow, but… how?'

"Ready to give up?" the silver-haired musician asked, pulling at the strings and then plucking one of them, sending a small vibration all the way to Ranko's leg, causing the string to shred the fabric of her pants and to painfully dig into her leg, but it stopped before it could start biting into it. "Pull back or resist in any way and your leg will be sliced open… your choice, girl."

'Strange… she keeps telling me what'll happen if I resist, but not what'll happen if I do the opposite, I wonder if…' Ranko left the trail of thought incomplete as a realization struck her.

A smile appeared on her lips as she finally understood the fatal weakness of the Phantom restriction attack and her sharp mind quickly formed a plan that she thought was a bit desperate, but it was not as if she had any options, so she decided to try it, as it was better than doing nothing and letting Monlon win. 'I guess she may have a counter to what I'm planning. Yeah, it's a gamble, but what other choice do I got?'

"Why are you smiling?" The Lucky God asked, not liking the grin on the redhead's face at all or the way she started pulling back until she reached the point the strings were about to cut deeper, stopping there to avoid further injury. "You suddenly started enjoying the pain?"

"Of course not, I'm just preparing to escape this trap of yours!" Ranko said, and before Monlon could react, she used her superior speed to rush at her, untauting the strings and gaining enough freedom to perform a fast frontal jump kick aimed straight at her opponent's torso!

"You're crazy!" Monlon yelled, completely unprepared for what was happening! The annoying redhead had found the Seishin Seigen Kogeki's weak point, and instead of resisting her had come to her so fast it was impossible for her to keep the lute's strings tense enough to bind and cut, but this was impossible, how did she figure it out? She had made sure to keep the girl emotionally unstable enough so she wouldn't be able to think of a solution when she used the restriction attack on her, she should not have been able to think of a solution!

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Unable to move or dodge in time, all Monlon could do to protect herself was to block the incoming kick with her lute; it received the full impact of the attack, and the Lucky Goddess was sent flying backward, landing on her back while the redhead gracefully touched down on both feet. Looking down, the silver-haired beauty noted in horror and shock her lute was broken in half and completely useless now. Feeling angry, but admitting her unusual adversary was far more resourceful than she had initially thought, Monlon got back on her feet, seeing the redhead was waiting for her while removing the strings from her body.

"Now that you don't have that thing I bet you're outta tricks!" Ranko said as she tossed away the last of the strings still wrapped around her right arm. She frowned and readied her stance again, ready to continue the fight. "It's time for you to pay for kidnapping Lychee!"

"You're pretty clever, I admit," Monlon said, recovering her wits and taking on a stance that would allow her to counter and defend from several directions. "But if you think I'll lose to you then you are quite mistaken!"

"Oh yeah? Let's see about that!" Ranko countered and went on the offensive; the redhead's arms were stinging a little because of the cuts, and she did feel a little pull between her shoulder blades, but it was nothing and she could fight as effectively as always, throwing a flurry of punches as fast as she could to force Monlon back and to put her on the defensive. Her strategy worked well, as the Lucky God kept her arms up to block her attacks, leaving her midsection unprotected.

'Got you!' Ranko thought with a grin. Throwing one last punch aimed high that met Monlon's forearm, just as intended, the redhead continued with a lightning-fast spin kick that fully struck the Lucky God's torso, sending her flying almost all the way back to her Castle Gate, where she landed with a loud thump!

"That… was actually impressive," Monlon admitted as she rose back to her feet, her hand covering her stomach where she had gotten hit. "I underestimated you, girl… but I'm not going to make that mistake again."

"You won't get the chance anyway!" Ranko promised, rushing towards the Lucky Goddess, ready to end the fight once and for all.

In her haste, Ranko was not prepared for what Monlon did to counter her; moving quickly, the Ongaku no Sento master jumped towards her Castle Gate and planted both feet on the wall then ignited her battle aura around her, and ricocheted towards the redhead, placing her forearms in front of her face as she flew, her ki enhancing her speed so much that she became a sort of human missile aiming for her opponent!

"What's… Aaaagh!" Ranko shouted in pain when Monlon collided with her chest like a cannonball. The attack was fast, so fast that Ranko had no time to properly defend; she took the full impact straight on and found herself sent flying against the mountain wall, crashing on it with a loud Bash!

The Lucky God's maneuver worked perfectly, striking her enemy exactly as intended, sending her crashing to the side of the mountain as if hit by a bomb. Using her hands to cartwheel forward and then stop the moment her feet hit the ground, Monlon saw how Ranko violently smashed on the ancient rocks side-first so hard she cracked it on impact, creating a dent as large as she was tall. The redhead then slid to the ground and fell face first on the ground, not moving at all afterward.

"In less than a second…" Monlon said, bringing her right hand up to cover her stomach and wincing the moment her palm touched her midsection. "She managed to kick me in the same spot she did earlier the moment I hit her… and she had less than a fraction of a second to do that, she… she's incredible!"

'Now I see why she's caused Prince Herb so much trouble, she's really someone to be feared,' she thought, staring at the redhead with newfound respect. Monlon waited until she was convinced her unusual opponent was unconscious before slowly making her way back to her Castle Gate. She didn't want to admit it but she would need some rest after this battle.

'I've never fought anyone so strong before…' Monlon decided once she reached her personal fortress, leaning on the wall to catch her breath. 'But she won't be getting back up anytime soon, I'm sure of that… I'll just rest for a little while, and then… then I… I'll tie her up and drag her back to the Royal Tower and to Prince Kirin myself.'

----------------------------------------

A little bit later…

Monlon's eyelids felt heavy, however, sleep would not take her for the damage done prior kept her from drifting into a peaceful slumber as she groaned and attempted to open her eyes, mustering enough strength to have them half-lidded, she looked down to the ruffles and tattering done to her clothing.

"I know I won but that should have been more gratifying," Monlon mumbled to herself, sounding like her ego took a hit, 'Perhaps I'm not as strong as I've made others and frankly, myself, b-believe…' the teal haired girl pursed her lips and then sighed heavily, slouching forward a little.

Thankfully or rather unthankfully, depending on how the Lucky God felt about it, the pain in her abdomen came knocking in about as hard as an overly enthusiastic door-to-door spokesperson, 'Even as much as I loathe thinking about someone like 'her' being on my level, it makes me wonder if my Master would consider training me some more…' Monlon's thoughts continued as she arched her head back a little, grinding her teeth together as she held her side, memories of her early training days returning while she focused on not falling to her knees…

Inside a large marble room filled with weapons and instruments of all sorts stood a woman with long wavy teal colored hair, before her were three other girls who were standing side by side.

From the perspective of the three six-year-olds and exactly where this older individual was standing, made her seem larger than life, elegant and dignified, something to aspire to. Even the way she stood was poised and practiced, for that's how she must have wished to present herself.

A girl with brown hair opened her mouth, only to have the girl next to her look at her with shock and awe. The once willing girl that had opened her mouth felt herself losing any courage she might have had, so they just continued to wait.

"I am Ai Fang of the Seven and you've all been summoned here as per my request," The otherworldly goddess introduced herself, addressing the question that most of them wanted to be answering.

"Does anyone know why that is?" She turned to her audience of three and saw all of them looking at each other.

"It's because you three have not only been chosen by fate but by me as well to study in the Ongaku no Sento art, though a single extra lucky one of you could be selected as the next in line to join the Seven Lucky Gods once I am to retire," Ai Fang explained, her head moving from right to left as she studied her student's expressions.

All three of the girls gawked at Ai Fang in amazement, honored that this important figure in their country wanted to teach them her ways.

Ai Fang placed the back of her palm over her mouth, giggling quietly to herself as she then lowered her hand.

"I don't suppose anyone has any questions perchance?" The member of the Seven inquired of her soon-to-be trainees.

One of the girls raised her hand over her head, eyes closed before opening them and locking eyes with Ai Fang. To which the member of the Seven could only tilt her head in amusement, silently respecting the teal-haired girl's confidence.

"Will training with you help us be as pretty as you are?" The brave six-year-old asked as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Needing a second to adjust and then realize what Ai Fang had just been asked, she started chuckling loudly enough to be heard as she then fought off her laughter long enough to shake her head with her eyes closed.

"Mastering Ongaku no Sento will merely make you all more proper ladies, but how 'pretty' you all might end up depends solely on how healthy each and every one of you becomes," The female Lucky God replied, shutting her eyes and bowing her head once.

"Has that answered your question? Monlon, I believe?" Ai Fang asked for clarification, meeting the future Lucky God's gaze.

Receiving an appreciative bow from the teal-haired girl, she straightened her posture and remained silent.

"Since there doesn't seem to be any more questions, please ladies direct your attention to these instruments…" Ai Fang's voice trailed as she gestured to the rack with her arm like a gameshow host might have.

All of the girls stared in wonder at what they were seeing, sure they were just instruments but the pristine look and care that went into these pieces hadn't flown over these girls' heads.

"Now you only get to choose one so nobody think about getting greedy, it's very unbecoming of the ladies you're all going to blossom into…" Ai Fang warned sternly as she clasped her hands together.

Monlon took a step back to think, crossing her arms, allowing the others to pick before her and while she studied the others' choices the future member of the Seven then realized she had yet to pick her own instrument. Walking up to what remained of Monlon's choices, the teal haired six year old cupped her chin while her other hand rested on her hip.

In front of her was all that remained of her selections, to her right was a suona, and to her left was a lute. Inspecting them felt like something that was an order in Monlon's mind, letting her gut feelings lead her she made her way over to the suona first.

Holding the pseudo trumpet-like instrument up she appeared to be inspecting the craftsmanship. Lowering it down she then held it in both of her hands, lips pursed and eyes zeroed in on it before she started lifting it up and down in her hands as if checking the heft of it.

Holding it with one hand she then looked to be swinging it around as if she were some sorceress about to cast a spell with a wand. Narrowing her eyes at it for a moment she hummed to herself and put the suona back where she got it.

It was then that she went over to the last thing there for her, the lute. Picking it up she held it in her hands, both of her palms facing towards the roof as she gave an appreciative nod when gauging the weight.

"Can it…?" Monlon questioned no one in particular, obviously letting her thoughts slip through as she placed her hand atop the space between the neck and the nut of the lute, squeezing down on it.

"Yes…" The future Lucky God candidate then pressed the lute up to her body as if she was already capable of playing it.

Now that all the girl's had decided they went back to standing next to one another, facing their potential master as they waited while holding their chosen musical weapons.

"So my young students, might I ask why you've each chosen your instruments?" Ai Fang inquired of the younger girls, crossing her arms in the process.

The first to respond was a girl with red hair and matching red eyes, her hair was long and straight.

"I chose mine because I heard the Dizi was easier to master than the others!" She exclaimed, clenching her flute and bringing it close to her chest.

"The Erhu is way better and it should be much easier with only two strings!" A brunette between the redhead and teal-haired girl exclaimed with a smile as she held her Chinese violin close to her heart while her other hand simply holding her violin bow clenched upwards in her other hand.

"I decided to go with the Lute because it's the only one I think is sturdy enough to bash someone over the head with…" Monlon remarked as she closed her eyes and held her Chinese guitar by the space between the neck and the nut.

Ai Fang throughout their explanations found the first two's comments to be much like all the ones she'd heard before, this caused her to maintain a slight smile.

Though, that changed the instant she heard Monlon's reasoning behind her choice, finding it impossible not to snort and then chuckle as she saw her teal-haired student hold her Lute out like a caveman's club.

Monlon's smile from remembering how she had made her Master laugh faded as she grunted in pain, suddenly shutting her mouth tightly, still pressing her hand over her stomach, 'S-she hit me harder than I thought, guess I'll actually need some ointments and bandages,' the only female member of the Lucky God's thought with a grimace.

Once she could concentrate sufficiently the teal-haired woman opened her eyes and looked in the direction of her Castle Gate. There wasn't much she could do in this condition but thankfully she was still capable of at least standing.

Getting off to a somewhat shaky start may have bothered her but it didn't matter right now, she had, in her eyes, fulfilled her orders and therefore had served her duty to the best of her ability. That meant that despite her pain she should hold her head up high. That she did, even if she was hobbling over to the front of her gate and jerking it open as she stepped inside.

Inside was a rather decorative room with mostly scrolls with words of wisdom, kabuki theater fans, vanity mirrors, a large closet with double doors, and from the furthest corner of the room was a medicine cabinet. Opening the middle drawer she found a bunch of ointment jars, opening the first one she could get her hands on she started to hurriedly apply it over her outer injuries, eventually, she applied it under her dress, winching as she felt the cool cream touch her warm skin.

"This reminds me of the time Jurojin got hurt when I was thirteen…" Monlon's voice trailed as she appeared to feign a smile as another memory entered her mind…

The morning sun slowly raised over the eastern horizon, younger versions of Jurojin and Monlon were seen walking onto a dirt path leading to the outer perimeters of Seven Luck Mountain.

"You can't do this on your own, Jurojin!" Monlon shouted as she followed a boy in a black outfit with no sleeves.

"I'm not alone! I got you tagging along!" A fourteen-year-old Jurojin replied with a smile. "Even though I told you not to follow me the night before…" He added with an annoyed tone and a scoff.

"If you didn't want me to come then you shouldn't have told me what you're planning!" His future lover exclaimed in equal annoyance, her teal-colored eyebrow twitching.

"You're always asking me what my training is like so now you get to know I figured," Jurojin responded with a slight hitch in his voice.

"I was only curious but if it's too much information I would have understood," Monlon commented on the matter.

Jurojin put both of his hands behind his head, casually escorting them to his training grounds.

All around them was the beauty and majesty that came with an enchanting land with comically large vegetables in the fields. The most notable thing there though certainly had to be the geysers that sprung from the ground and the various craters surrounding them.

There happened to be one in particular that was most eye-catching to Monlon, she noticed the hole wasn't very big but that wasn't what really caught her eye, no, it was the fact two thick chains rested fully extended and towards the center.

"What are those for…?" The thirteen-year-old girl asked, sounding slightly perplexed.

Jurojin continued towards the center, rather than answering he leaned over the hole but reached for one of the chains, "I'm about to show you something only my father and uncle can do! Something I'm going to try for the first time!" Jurojin exclaimed as he clenched the end of the chain, causing it to rattle from the movement.

Doing the same with the other chain the fourteen-year-old stood on the edge of the geyser hole, slowly leaning himself forward into the pit in the middle. Suspending himself horizontally only by the tips of his feet and the chains that he held onto.

"Have you lost your mind!?" Monlon demanded to know as throughout her friend's demonstration it all dawned on her what was going to happen.

"Stop!" Jurojin demanded loudly, looking out the corner of his eye to see the teal-haired girl had reached her hand out to him.

"This is how we the students of the Kage No Ken make our bodies stronger! I must avoid getting blown away by the geyser while it erupts!" The brunette shouted his reasons but from what Monlon could hear he was also pleading for her to trust Jurojin knew what he was doing.

Freezing in place the wavy-haired student of the Ongaku no Sento art could feel his heart and soul emitting from his words. Trying to fight that sense of pride off she shook her head and closed her eyes.

"Is this really the right way to trai-" Monlon began shouting.

Rumble! ¡Boom! Hiss!

"Ahhh–" Jurojin was heard whaling in pain as he was submerged in the geyser and its intense boiling water.

Having no choice but to jump back for fear of getting hit by boiling geyser water, the teal-haired student of the Ongaku no Sento school shut her eyes and then opened them.

Frantically looking for any signs of her friend, looking a little further up now that she had a second she saw her fellow student crash back to the Earth on his back like a meteor falling from the sky.

Wham!

It felt as though her heart had somehow sunk in her chest, without thinking she rushed over to her friend's side.

Dropping to her knees she held him up by his back, judging by the fact his shirt was torn and by how red his skin had gotten, her friend wasn't in a good place.

"I'm not strong, not by a long shot…" Jurojin said in between pained groans, rising a shaking hand towards the bruises on his chest.

"You're such an arrogant fool!" Monlon scolded her senior, he may have been older but what he did in her eyes was just stupid and dangerous.

All Jurojin could do was chuckle in a hoarse tone before closing his eyes and going limp for a bit but his deep breathing let her know that he hadn't passed out.

The odd hair colored girl sighed heavily, moving so Jurojin's arm slung over her shoulder.

Getting herself and Jurojin into a standing position the girl dragged her barely conscious friend to safety.

Eventually the pair were back in Nekonron's city, the girl ignored any looks she had gotten as she made her way home. Besides, they were supposed to be training to become members of The Seven, getting hurt came with the job description.

Monlon looked up as she seemed to smile at the sight of an honest home, it wasn't much but it was a standard home for the typical person living in Nekonron. The only real notable thing about it was that the outward color of her home was that its teal colored walls matched that of the girl carrying a barely there Jurojin.

"Mother! Father!" Monlon called out as she opened the door to her home with her free hand, looking around for a second she noticed that she and Jurojin were the only ones there.

"Guess they're busy today," Monlon remarked, making her way over to the couch in the center of the room.

Gently, she deposited him onto the couch, making sure he was resting on his back in a comfortable position.

"Ugh," Jurojin groaned when he felt the warmth of Monlon's hands leave his body.

"You're awake? Good, because the next time you're going to do something like this make sure I haven't followed you out of curiosity again…" Monlon began with a question then continued without letting him answer, letting him know how upset she had been with this whole ordeal.

"Keep saying things like that and I'm going to start thinking you care about me…" Jurojin's voice trailed, a smile forming on his tired face.

"I see your foolishness knows no bounds," Monlon remarked with a shaking of her head before leaving the room.

Suppressing some laughter, Jurojin ran his hand through his still-wet hair as he allowed himself some time to recuperate from his training. Letting his arm flop back down his side he exhaled softly. Not knowing that in the nearest archway into another room was the oddly hair-colored girl with a first aid kit in hand.

Dragging a nearby chair towards the couch she sat down and put the first aid box on the coffee table nearby. Opening it she reached for anything that could help her deal with the scratches on his face. finding a cloth and some disinfectant she dabbed the cloth in the medicine before gently tapping and cleaning off his face.

All the while causing Jurojin to wince just the slightest bit, still, this would not deter her from helping him.

That was until…

Her eyes widened when she saw that the next place for her to clean off was Jurojin's well-sculpted physique. The heat rose to her face as she couldn't take her eyes off him, feeling embarrassed but also glad Jurojin's eyes were shut she looked away.

"I'm afraid you'll have to put the ointment on your torso by yourself," Monlon announced as she put the cloth and disinfectant back, reaching for an ointment jar and uncapping it for Jurojin before handing it to him.

"I-I suppose that's fine, long as you can at least help me with the bandages…" The future Royal guard responded with a pained but happy voice.

"That's fine, I guess," Monlon replied with a sheepish nod.

The double doors to her Gate swung open as the teal-haired woman stepped out, wobbling much less than before, 'That day taught me that the only way I could deal with Jurojin's training was to learn to be cold and distant, otherwise, I fear I may have jeopardized my own training had I not…' The current incarnation of Benzaiten thought to herself.

However, she stopped when she saw that her enemy still hadn't moved from where she had left her, she had kind of expected she would have. The only female member of The Seven took a few hesitant steps towards her but saw that the redhead still wasn't moving.

Sighing calmly she closed her eyes before opening them again, looking down the path from whence Ranko came. 'Are you okay? Will I see you soon? And would you leave without coming to see me first?' Monlon wondered these questions as her face softened in worry.

"It's almost like it was back then when I was sixteen and you went for your first training trip with that uncle of yours…" Monlon commented as she took another trip down memory lane.

Inside Monlon's home was the teal-colored girl's room, along the walls were things like inspirational scrolls with words of wisdom, mirrors, decorations, or special fans with symbols drawn on them.

On a simple bed was Monlon, in her hands was the lute she had chosen to be her musical weapon. Adjusting the pegs while testing the strings by playing a few notes, she hummed once happy with the notes coming from her instrument.

Satisfied with this she looked at the moon through her room window, feeling the soft breeze gently hitting her skin, keeping herself along with the room, cool and comfortable. Looking back down to her lute she smiled at her handy work.

Setting her lute back down on its stand, she turned back to her window, spotting Jurojin sitting on her windowsill.

"Hi…" Jurojin says as he gave her a two-fingered salute; his other arm crossed over his chest.

Thwap!

"Whoa!" Jurojin exclaimed as he caught the sandal thrown at him, letting it drop to the floor. "I just came to say goodbye! I'm not looking for a fight!" he defended as he stood up from his seat.

"You really ought to leave, because I have no intention of even talking to you…" Her voice trailed in annoyance as her arms rested at her sides.

With a downtrodden look, the future master of the Kage No Ken turned around, unable to face her anymore. He looked down, then straightened out his posture as he looked out the window from where he came.

"Still angry about this morning?" He questioned as he approached the window, taking his previous seat on the windowsill and patting the spot next to him.

Monlon stared at him with an intense glare, maintaining it for as long as she could before taking a step forward and then stopping herself. Sighing, she moved over to his side, leaning on the side of the windowsill opposite Jurojin's.

"Look, I don't know why you're angry Mon-" The unofficial member of The Seven began.

"You really should know, it's because you're leaving town without so much as apologizing for what you did," She commented with a twitching eyebrow, folding her arms over her chest.

Faced with no other choice the only student of the Kage No Ken school nodded his head, "It was wrong of me for not being there when Master Ai Fang claimed you as her official successor to join the Seven, so, I'm sorry I missed it, the only thing I can offer as a form of forgiveness is that when Ai Fang retires and you take her place, I'll be there…" He offered with a half smile, hoping she wouldn't let this get her too down.

What followed was a brief instance of silence, the girl in question sat there for a moment. Once she had felt that she had ruminated enough on this matter, she sighed. "You better keep that promise then," She replied with a cold demeanor.

"I promise! I swear it on my life in fact!" The future shadow hand assured the girl as he bumped his closed fist onto his chest.

Another moment of silence filled the room, although his words were comforting she still felt like there were some things they had yet to address. "Can I ask why you decided to refuse your spot as the next Lucky God?" Monlon inquired of him with a soft tone in her voice.

"The twins needed it more than I did, so I asked my father to let them take my place…" Jurojin responded as calmly as he could.

"But why? Isn't this your birthright?" Monlon asked in confusion.

"Even if that is so, the twins have always doubted their worth and their place in my family, so being members of the Seven will help them see how much my parents and I believe in them, how much their big brother is willing to help them achieve their goals," Jurojin said as he looked up at the twinkling stars above him.

"You spoil them far too much," Monlon added with a warm smile and a chuckle. "Still! I love how good you've been to them…" She commented as she unfolded her arms.

Both of them smiled at one another, the air around them didn't feel as hostile as it was before. Still, there was something between them, something that needed to be brought up.

This realization caused their smiles to falter into uncertain frowns.

"Are you really okay with your choice? Refusing a role as a member of the Seven means you'll forever be a shadow behind the royal family…" Monlon's voice trailed as she looked off to the side.

"It's fine, I'm more than strong enough to compensate for the twins…" Jurojin answered in a stern and determined voice, the wind blowing both of their hair.

Nodding without much in response, Monlon looked out at the starry night too. Her face was saddened but not in a way that meant she was too far gone. "I should have suspected that was the reason why you traded places, letting them study the Odayakana Hansha Ken over the Kage No Ken…" Monlon speculated as she then turned to look at Jurojin.

"You know me far too well, miss Monlon," Jurojin shut his eyes and then looked up to the moon, almost looking at it as if it had answers he didn't.

This expression wasn't lost on Monlon but she didn't have anything to say at this moment, so, she instead looked at Jurojin and then back at the starry sky before them.

"Could you do me a favor, Monlon?" Jurojin inquired all of a sudden.

"I believe so, what is it?" She asked looking over at him, eyes widened slightly.

"At first I was considering a goodbye kiss but I guess I should settle for your word on keeping the twins safe while I'm away I suppose…" He remarked as he blushed softly, looking down at the grassy plains beneath the window.

Leaning her head back in surprise, the prodigy of the Ongaku no Sento school blushed deeply, only to recover and shake her head. "I'll guard them with my life…"

"Thank you," He responded as warmly and as kindly as he could. "I should get going, my uncle said that we'll be departing by sunrise so it's probably better if I go now…" The shadow hand commented as he stood up straight and looked for the best place for him to leap towards.

"I should give you that thing you didn't ask for," Monlon remarked softly enough for it to be mistaken for a whisper.

Stopping before he could go any further, he looked over his shoulder with a deep crimson blush. "Are you sure? This could be your first…" He commented uncertainly.

"It's alright as long as it's you," Monlon said, her voice giving out shortly after answering.

"It would be my first as well," The shadow hand confirmed as he turned around.

Now that all that they had said was out in the open, they both stood frozen in place for a moment. Neither sure of what to say, they took calm and calculated steps toward the other. Closing the space between them they both met their gazes before lowering them to the lips that had called to them.

Closing their eyes, they approached each other, the future member of the Royal Guard raised his arms and placed them on Monlon's shoulders. It was then that instinct drove them, they knew what their positions implied but that didn't matter.

There was something in between them that was begging to be let out, now was that time…

Jurojin covered roughly ninety percent of the distance between them, whereas Monlon easily covered the remaining ten percent as her lips met his. Their kiss was gentle and uncertain, at first they made small pecks but those pecks continued until they became deeper and longer.

Basking in this feeling for so long, Jurojin placed his hands and her hips and brought Monlon in closer.

Monlon shook her head, 'Focus! Now isn't the time to get distracted! Now where is that-' Monlon thought as she made her way back to where she had last seen her enemy.

"H-How are you still awake?"

----------------------------------------

Down the mountain road…

As Jurojin watched, the creaking noise grew louder and morphed into the sound of rocks crumbling and falling apart. He could hardly believe what he was witnessing - and then, all at once, the earth surrounding Ryoga erupted into an almost blinding white light. Without a moment to spare, Jurojin reached up to cross his arms over his face, protecting himself from the onslaught of flying debris. The force of the explosion was like taking a close-range shotgun blast. Stinging bits of stone pelted Jurojin in all directions, sending him skidding back several feet from the epicenter.

Lowering his arms he noticed the rocks that had loosely been embedded into his arms and legs, Jurojin flicked the bits of rock off his body, making light scattering sounds as they rained onto the ground in front of him.

Seething with pain and anger he turned to see that a dust cloud was still in the midst of settling. Although there was something in the middle, the shadow of a familiar person, Jurojin knew it could only be one person but he didn't want to believe it.

His eyes widened for a second before he felt his still-warm blood coming down the side of his face, practically going into his eye. Reaching a hand up he touched the warm crimson fluid and stared at it while it dried on his fingertips.

From the upper corner of his eye, he noticed Ryoga's form was still standing! That wasn't all! Within the haze Ryoga could be seen holding out his pointer finger, almost as if he had rang the doorbell at someone's house.

"What-what did you do?" Jurojin inquired coldly while clenching his blood-soaked fingertips inward, balling it into a fist, the rest of his body quickly shifting into an appropriate offensive stance.

"That?" Ryoga asked with an equally icy tone. "That's a technique called the Bakusai Tenketsu and I just used it to clear away all that rubble…" The black-haired teen continued before letting his voice drag out unknowingly sounding menacing.

Though he was standing and sounding so concentrated, it was far from the truth, the arm he had used to perform his skill was oozing blood as well as his own forehead, a scarlet stain forming on his bandanna.

Wordlessly Ryoga began walking over to Jurojin with a strong and prideful stride in his steps. To further cement that feeling he casually dusted his shoulder off as if it hadn't even hurt.

"Gotta' say the last time I felt something like this was when I was still mastering the Bakusai Tenketsu," Ryoga remarked in such a cocky-sounding way that it might have even made Ranko proud, had she been there.

Jurojin's mouth went wide momentarily, it looked as though he had something to say but couldn't find the right words with how nothing had come out, 'Is he somewhat superhuman or something? Nobody should be able to walk after that! Let alone marching their way over to me!' He thought in a bitter but also flabbergasted manner.

Shaking his head and reminding himself not to let his resolve waver, the man in black regained his composure just in time to see that his Lost Foe was only a few feet away from him. Shocked to see Ryoga so close, the royal guard swung a strong haymaker toward the cold deadpan of his enemy's face.

"Huh!?" Jurojin gasped out as he saw that the raven-haired teen caught his closed fist in his hand.

"That was a mistake," Ryoga shook his head once before yanking the black-clad man's body towards himself.

Jurojin cried out in pain as his torso had been damn near rocketed into Ryoga's iron-like fist, as it struck him straight in the stomach so hard that the wind had been thoroughly knocked out of his lungs.

There was no longer any doubt in Jurojin's mind, this stranger from another land was more than human. His gut wretched, helping to deter the pain shooting around the point of impact.

"Noooow! Stay down!" Ryoga roared out as he grabbed the unofficial Lucky God below the collar, pulling him down and slamming his back with what he had hoped wasn't lethal for an enemy as strong as this.

Crack!

The second Jurojin's back was forcefully rammed into the mountainside trail, the ground beneath them appeared to shatter like the glass of a car window.

Jurojin closed his eyes shut, his arms flopping to his sides as he lay there; motionless.

"Ah damn! Did I overdo it!?" Ryoga kneeled down and looked at Jurojin's now relaxed and beaten face.

Putting two fingers to his neck Ryoga checked for any signs of a pulse, sighing contently when he saw that there was still life in him, he stood up straight with a rather somber expression.

"It's been an honor fighting someone as strong as you are but Ranko needs me right now…" Ryoga complimented his enemy, clapping his hands together and closing his eyes before bowing.

Once he had straightened his back he looked around until he spotted his backpack, focusing on it he calmly made his way over to it.

"Sorry you have to disappoint her but you haven't won yet!" Jurojin's voice rang out behind the wanderer.

"H-How?" Ryoga questioned after gasping when he turned around to see that despite bashing this other man into a crater, there he was; still standing.

For Jurojin it was funny really, so much so that he chuckled for a brief moment before wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth.

"A royal guard can't be so easily defeated, besides, if I can take getting hit by geysers point-blank for weeks when training then I can handle your attacks too!" Jurojin declared with renewed vigor, 'I have to admit, I don't usually get this fired up unless I'm sparring with-' Jurojin pondered as an image of the Prince himself appeared.

"Guess I'll have to hit even harder than that," Ryoga remarked with a sigh, 'I don't know if that's true or if he's just trying to act tough right now but I really need to get back to you Ranko,' Ryoga thought to himself with an inward groan.

"Haaa!" Jurojin screamed as he pumped his arms to his sides, dashing forward to kick Ryoga.

Getting lost in his thoughts longer than he would have liked to admit, Ryoga witnessed Jurojin trying to kick one of his hips. Going bug-eyed for a split second the raven-haired teen took a quick hop backward before lunging forward with a powerful straight punch.

With eyes that resembled pin-needles, the brunette redirected Ryoga's strike with his forearm, at the same time his other hand moved in to catch hold of the Lost Martial Artist's shirt.

"Now you stay down!" The would-be member of the Seven ordered as he then shot out one of his legs and maneuvered it behind one of Ryoga's.

Seeing the tables getting turned on him the Lost Man found himself falling backward, his opponent had taken advantage of his momentum and was now about to try and punch him!

Glaring at Jurojin he brought one of his forearms up to block it before using the other to perform a handstand which he then used to backflip away from Nekonron's future shadow hand.

The instant Ryoga was back on both his feet he moved in to close the gap between them, roaring as he threw a wide but swift kick at his foe's head, 'I'll have to leave myself open but that'll have to be my chance!' he thought.

Ducking under Ryoga's powerful kick Jurojin's eyes set their targets on Ryoga's neck, once up and straight he threw out his palm and hurled it against Ryoga's throat.

It was then that Ryoga felt the sting of having his windpipe obstructed by someone hitting it. Choking in pain the fang-toothed wanderer opened his mouth, releasing a muffled and pained groan.

Wham!

Jurojin literally didn't know what hit him but if he had seen it, he would have seen Ryoga's backhanded punch colliding with his side hard enough to send him tumbling all the way to their things.

Growling in anger the Non-Lucky God forced himself to stop on his right knee.

"D-Dammit!" Jurojin muttered with one eye closed, breathing deeply as he cringed in pain while holding his injured side.

Wheezing in pain for a bit, Ryoga focused long enough to look around and hold a hand over his throat. "Have to-" he began but had to stop to clear his throat by coughing until some precious air could make it into his lungs.

Jurojin looks up to see that Ryoga was still standing and to make matters worse appeared to be making his way over while gradually easing his hand away from his throat. With what felt like a titanic effort the brunette forced his legs to try and come to a shaky stand just as Ryoga was back within arm's length.

It was then that the two started throwing punches wildly, neither bothering to even dodge as from the looks of it they were both a little too winded for such movements.

It had now evolved into a desperate struggle between two capable men, each grunting and groaning with every hit that landed.

Though the longer their fistfight continued the slower and weaker Ryoga could feel Jurojin's attacks becoming.

"Ah!" Jurojin cried out as he was struck across the cheek causing him to reel backward a bit, only for the Lucky God to narrow his eyes and lunge forward to return the favor.

"Now!" Ryoga declared as he bent his knees a little and launched himself ever so slightly enough to make him fast enough to land an intense right hook.

The weakened unofficial member of the Seven fell onto his knees, clenching his stomach with both arms.

Upon witnessing this Ryoga closed his eyes, feeling confident that now must have been this sudden enemy's limit.

"Y-you're amazing," Jurojin wheezed out as he looked up at Ryoga with half-open eyes. "But I'm afraid I can't let a man so strong take on my wife…" He said before his voice trailed off, becoming strangely gravelly and dogmatic sounding.

It was then that Ryoga appeared annoyed by just how resistant this other man was trying to be, 'He's on his knees and he's still-' he thought.

"I swear I'll protect Monlon from you!" Jurojin defiantly replied as he gathered his ki, causing his hair to sway as well as Ryoga's.

Not wanting to deal with this any more than he had to, The Lost Man raised one of his arms to strike Jurojin one more time.

Suddenly moving into a standing position in front of Ryoga with both of his arms extended out at the same time! Jurojin's hands generated a black sphere of ki that crashed into the center of the directionally cursed teen's frame!

"Kage No Bakudan!" Jurojin exclaimed loudly as the dark ball in his hands exploded upon contact with Ryoga's torso.

Boom!

Even though the ki being released came out as black, the blast at first released a blinding white light, a light that only the shadows that had been left standing there before the explosion could be seen, the shadowy center expanded outward as a secondary blast wave came roaring out.

"Ugh…" Jurojin's voice groaned in agony as his arms dropped to his sides, lowering his head from fatigue, he could see that he was in a small knee-deep hole, 'That was far too close, though Monlon should be safe now,' he thought as he fell to a kneeling position, his legs wobbling.

The sound of shuffling dirt hit the unfortunate Lucky God's ears. His eyes opened in surprise but there was little more he could do but hope this was just one final act of defiance before going back down.

"That was even stronger than the first guy's technique!" Ryoga commented as he sounded as though he was wincing a little.

Slowly Jurojin looked up to see that Ryoga was in a seated position, a hand over the blast point. At first, the brunette had felt a glimmer of hope as he saw that it didn't appear exactly easy for Ryoga to get back up.

That idea quickly died once he had gotten back on his feet, walking towards Jurojin at a snail's pace, 'I mustn't let it end this way! He has to be just as tired! Just as!' The Unlucky God thought to himself with grit teeth, getting back up onto his feet.

"You have to stop…" Ryoga warned with a soft voice, shaking his head.

"Nev-" Jurojin exclaimed as he elevated a trembling fist, he tried to thrust it forward but reeling it back had caused him to fall on his back.

FWAP!

Once the shadow hand hit the ground, his arms flopped down to his sides, looking as though he was doing a 'T' pose.

Grinding his teeth together before relaxing his face, Jurojin closed his eyes.

Cautiously Ryoga waited for a bit, his eyes watching for subtle hints that his enemy was just faking being defeated for a surprise attack. His eyes widened as Jurojin's body jerked ever so slightly, making Ryoga take an offensive stance, only for him to see that his enemy was beaten but still conscious as by the attempts at moving that amounted to little more than gentle sparks of movement.

"Now about that promise of yours," Ryoga reminded the fallen warrior as he strode over to see Jurojin open a strained eye.

"Of-of course! A promise is a promise…" Jurojin's voice trailed as he wasn't just reminded about his deal but that he had failed to live up to his promise of not losing, 'If I could just m-move I could e-end this but my-my arms won't respond!' the unofficial Lucky God thought to himself, trying to will his body by commanding his beaten form; still not getting anything but sudden little jerking motions.

"Do you still wanna fight?" The Lost Victor asked of the Not So Fortunate would be Lucky God as he kneeled in front of him.

Rather than offering an immediate rebuttal Jurojin forced as much of what he had left inside him to move! Grunting with what sounded like another titanic effort, the brown-haired man managed to sit up.

Ryoga did nothing but stare coldly, the signs of hesitation he once felt before had now faded. He could tell that when Jurojin sat up he tried to move his arms. This too failed, causing the man clad in black to shake his head from side to side with a defeated smile.

"I'd love to keep going but I'm afraid I can't, so that means I concede defeat and will do as I had promised," Jurojin retorted but as he kept talking he realized something would get in the way of this promise.

Ryoga appeared confused by this, making him tilt his head to one side.

"Just as soon as I can stand up and walk you there…"

Ryoga momentarily lost balance by how sudden that was, his hands warding evil before he straightened himself out, "Well duh!" He exclaimed then facepalmed in annoyance, 'Maybe I ought to carry him, who knows what could be happening to Ranko…' the directionally cursed teen pondered.

"I know I lost but all that I ask is that you don't fight my wife Monlon…" Jurojin lowered his head a bit as his eyes trembled.

Seeing how genuinely upset Jurojin was about breaking his promise to his loved one, the fang-toothed man hummed for a moment.

"Alright, I promise not to hurt your wife," Ryoga said with a small smile, most likely because he could sympathize with wanting to keep a loved one safe.

"Monlon isn't my wife yet," Jurojin clarified suddenly with a slight blush and a chuckle.

"Huh?" Ryoga blinked with his mouth slightly agape.

"I just called her that because I got caught in the heat of the moment! I do intend to pop the question soon enough though…"

----------------------------------------

And at the next Castle Gate…

Meeting Monlon eye to eye again was Ranko as she grinned knowingly at the teal-haired woman. "I asked you how you're awake!?" she demanded of the redhead.

Forgoing an answer Ranko instead replied by spinning her legs around until she could propel herself back onto her feet.

"Huh!?" Monlon honestly hadn't expected that but didn't have long to dwell on it before having to dodge Ranko's legs by taking a few hurried steps back, barely evading the leg kicks by side-stepping them.

"You're pretty tough so I'll give you that but ya aren't as strong as you think, letting me play dead long enough gave me a chance to rest, an' recover," Ranko said as she eased herself into a comfortable fighting stance.

To which Monlon could only narrow her eyes in irritation.

"But you better be ready to get serious cuz round two is coming up and we still got us some unfinished business…" Ranko's voice trailed with a low growl despite how eager she appeared to settle said business.

"Are you really going to try and make me pay?" Monlon questioned while returning the smirk Ranko was now giving her.

"I brought your dear friend to her destined Prince, so I ask, what kind of friend are you?" The teal-haired Luck God questioned while stifling a chuckle in her chest that from the sounds of it sounded maniacal.

"I'm pretty damn sure her parents won't forgive you for the pain you caused kidnapping Lychee and neither would I, you messed up freak!" Ranko answered but in her own way.

Instead of a look of annoyance or irritation like Ranko had come to expect, she instead was met with a stifled laugh, Monlon could no longer hold back her wicked laughter.

"What's so funny you hag?" Ranko inquired while tilting a brow up.

"You can't be this stupid!" Monlon declared while pointing at the redhead in front of her.

A scowl appeared on the redhead's face as she then narrowed her eyes.

"Because even if we took Lychee by force, her position as The New Princess of Nekonron would have had us escort her back to her parents when she returns to announce her engagement! So! All this resistance is an utter waste of time and unless you want to ruin the chances of keeping her 'friendship' and her happiness, I'd suggest you come quietly with me!" Monlon defended as there was a dangerous-looking glint in her eye.

Ranko was at a loss for words, she hadn't expected that and hadn't even considered that as a possibility, 'Am I really just hurting her with all this?' she imagined Lychee scoffing at the sight of her before going to a Prince shaped silhouette in her mind.

If Monlon's eye movements could be compared to something it was a targeting computer as her eyes sped through her options. Within an instant the Lucky God seemingly vanished before reappearing in front of Ranko, delivering a spinning kick onto the redheaded martial artist's shoulder.

With shocked eyes the redhead took the hit, buckling her legs as she stumbled to her side but ultimately resisted the attack. Seizing the opportunity as best as Ranko could she tried to land a swift punch with the arm that was getting kicked.

"What a terrible friend you turned out to be, you don't really care about our Princess' happiness, you're only worried about your own!" Monlon said while elegantly side-stepping Ranko's attack, closing her eyes with a knowing smirk.

About to go rushing back into the fray the redhead stopped moving altogether, her arm poised and at the ready but still, she seemingly froze in place. "It isn't like that!" Ranko denied as she shut her eyes.

It was then Monlon disappeared again, coming back once she was standing behind the redhead while lunging forward with her elbow extended and aimed for the center of Ranko's shoulder blades.

"Ah!" Ranko screamed out in pain as she was pushed forward by the force put behind Monlon's sneak attack.

Not wasting any time the teal haired Lucky God once again retreated to a safe distance away from the redhead, 'She's much stronger than expected but not only that she's faster than me at times, so then what would be my best strategy? Perhaps it would be best to keep her distracted and avoid any close battles?' She pondered while maintaining her spectral image as best she could.

Turning around Ranko tried landing another swift punch, only for Monlon to mockingly pirouette her way to safety. Feeling like the veins on her head were bulging from sheer annoyance she wanted nothing more than to land a finishing blow on her enemy.

A pain shot through the amnesiac's mind as she felt a powerful pulsation striking her shoulder, causing her arms to stiffen suddenly.

Circling her adversary Monlon narrowed her eyes in a way one might imagine a snake would before pouncing on its prey, 'It seems this one is more broken than I first thought, now should be my chance to finish her,' she mused to herself.

"Stop deluding yourself! You're not here for some noble endeavor, you're just here because you want to keep Lychee all to yourself! That's not what a friend would do! What you're really after is to control her!" Monlon fired off one after the other, speaking with a concerned tone as if she were scolding Ranko.

"It ain't like that! Our friendship is the real deal! All I want is to save her!" Ranko exclaimed more to herself than Monlon, just trying to make sure she could live with herself.

As Ranko spoke in her defense Monlon's concerned frown flipped upside down into a confident smile, suddenly she exerted enough force to seemingly blink out of existence before returning above the redhead having done a half somersault in the air and a half twist in one fluid motion.

"Huh!?" Ranko gasped as she felt the Lucky Goddess' hands grab her shoulders.

Opening her eyes at just the right moment, Monlon used her momentum to bring her knees crashing directly in between Ranko's shoulder blades yet again.

"Gah!" The pigtailed girl screamed as her arms convulsed upon impact.

Pushing herself off of Ranko with both arms and knees the elegant egotist landed gracefully on one knee before coming to a beautiful stand.

Ranko's face collided with the ground with enough excess pressure to slide across the dirt until she stopped. After fighting off all the pains that came with Monlon's attack, the amnesiac couldn't help but mull over Monlon's words.

"Am I really trying to control her? Keep her to myself just because I don't have anyone else to call a friend? A-am I really that selfish?" the redhead questioned herself quietly, choking up as she asked herself that final question.

Recalling how Lychee looked while they laughed at Jasmine's reply to Ranko's praise, remembering how genuinely happy Lychee looked as she uttered a nickname close to the redhead's heart.

"I'm glad we're friends, Hóng fā,"

Those words repeated themselves in Ranko's head like a voice bouncing around in an echo chamber, remembering how Lychee's laughter had been when she uttered the following.

"So, Chéng fā, and Hóng fā, huh? I guess we make quite a pair."

The redhead focused on how happy she was to have someone to talk to and to laugh with as friends, "I only wanted Lychee to be happy too…" Ranko's voice dragged out as something started dawning on her, 'Who's to say she was happy about being taken away forcefully from her family!? And what guarantee does she have of even liking this Kirin punk!? Hell! How do we know this guy's the one the scroll belongs to!?' Ranko's sensible side remerged with a vengeance and a seriously ticked-off inner monologue.

Coming back to her senses her subconscious mind helped with more reasons, letting them flow out and into her mindscape, 'For all I know she could be lying!' Ranko pondered further on the matter of her orange-haired friend.

"I was thinking you could come to Bao instead," the elephant tamer invited with a smile. "We can have another sleepover, and if you stay for a couple of days we can even go camping near the river, what do you say?"

"I say…" Ranko chuckled. "I say it sounds awesome! It'll have to wait for a bit, though, Ryoga and I still have to do some errands for Lotion, but I'll call you as soon as we're back, how's that sound?"

"These memories of mine aren't who I once was but the me I am now knows that I'm doing the right thing! And I ain't about to let a lying witch like you make me break my promise!" the pigtailed martial artist declared as she pushed herself up off the ground with wobbling arms.

Monlon throughout the shorter girl's internal coaching merely watched in an amused way, her smug look shifted drastically as she heard the sound of the dirt beneath Ranko scraping between her fingers and clothes.

"You've already lost! Don't make me have to beat you within an inch-" The incarnation of Benzaiten began as she took a few steps toward her struggling enemy.

It was then that Ranko's eyes shot open within an instant, immediately getting back onto her feet as she closed the distance between Monlon and her. Surprised by her enemy's amazing speed she knew she had to put some space between them right now! Unfortunately, Ranko was blitzing her so hard that when she tried the redhead would throw a swift punch or kick.

Now was the time for Monlon to start panicking! Every punch the Lucky God managed to evade only seemed to enrage and push the redhead in front of her to try harder and faster than the last attack. The once confident Lucky Goddess had no choice but to try and block or deflect the vortex of fists, unable to find a blind spot in Ranko's stance simply because she couldn't keep up.

Monlon's head bent back as she took a punch on the cheek, shutting her eyes as a white light flashed through her closed eyes. Followed by that she hunched over from a punch to the gut, causing her to gasp for air before taking another two swift punches.

First Monlon's right shoulder, then her left shoulder, each hit pushing her further back towards her gate.

"Hhhaaa!" Ranko let out a rage-filled battle cry as she performed a spinning kick with all the force she could muster against the side of Monlon's midriff.

All the teal-haired beauty could hear was the ringing of her ears as she spun around from Ranko's kick before crashing against the corner of her gate where the building's archway and the side of the mountain met.

"Now stay there!" Ranko ordered as she landed back on her feet, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, massaging her neck in annoyance.

Monlon's hearing cleared after her back hit the wall harder than she had time to adjust for, all she knew was that now it was much, much harder to move as she slid down until she was in a seated position.

"And don't get in my way anymore, because I'm saving my friend Lychee and nothings gonna stop me!" Ranko declared while clenching a fist out in front of her.

Baring her own set of fangs the teal-haired woman fought with every ounce of strength she had to place her hands against the wall behind her, 'I am not finished! I have to show them all what I'm worth! Show 'him' I can go just as far!' Monlon thought motivating herself to keep going, there was far too much at stake for her to just stop!

"I'm afraid I can't let you continue," Monlon shut her eyes while smiling as some blood fell from the corner of her mouth.

Beaten was the best way to describe Monlon in this instance but despite that, she still maintained that oh-so-annoying smug sense of superiority. Lowering her arm she closed her eyes, the redhead didn't even want to indulge in someone who was just clearly bluffing.

"I have to congratulate you, you've forced me to use my most powerful technique!" Monlon exclaimed as she stood up straight, letting her battle aura shine, revealing its pinkish hue as she then lunged at the martial artist with her arm reeled back.

"Tamashī no Hibana!" Monlon called out the name of her attack as it went soaring toward Ranko's face at a downward angle.

"In your dreams!" Ranko declared as she jumped back at the last moment, her back facing the mountainside just as she was about to fully form a smirk on her face.

BOOM!

Monlon's attack may have missed but much like a landmine had a radius, Ranko was still very much within the blast zone when the Lucky Goddess' fist came crashing down into the ground, sending the blue-eyed girl flying backward onto the mountain's side during the middle of her escape jump.

Ranko felt the wind getting knocked out of her as well as the pulsating and nearly crippling pain shooting through the spot in between her shoulder blades, 'That witch must of planned those hits! But wait, that means I'm open for an attack!' she thought to herself as she looked up to where she had last seen the ethereal-looking Lucky God.

Letting out deep pain-stricken huffs was what the teal-haired woman was doing, with a glossed-over look in her eyes she allowed her head to drop as the hand she hadn't used to expend all that ki reached up to grab the side of her stomach, 'That damn kick on top of using the Tamashī no Hibana…' Monlon thought as she winced at even the lightest of touches on her wound.

Seeing this Ranko knew she had to act now, she had to get up! The martial artist needed to be there for Ryoga! She needed to save her friend! Her legs buckled and shook but continued anyways, finally standing on her own two feet.

"Now to…" Ranko's voice trailed as she made her arms shake before doing nothing, 'Come on! Not now! Give it all you got!' she demanded of herself in her thoughts as her arms quaked while they ascended in front of her.

Monlon raised her head once she finished enduring the utter agony coursing through her body, and gave Ranko a bitter stare.

"You should just give up!" Ranko barked with an annoyed growl in her throat.

"I-I refuse! I've sworn to uphold my duty and to protect this gate with my life!" Monlon explained tiredly as she limped her way over to block Ranko's path.

"If that's how its gotta' be, then that's how its gotta be…" Ranko remarked as her voice softened while she spoke; opening her eyes slowly.

"Hhhaaa…!" The two shouted at each other in unison as they both unleashed sluggish but strong physical attacks.

Grunting at the same time the two stood like statues, the teal-haired woman's fist landed on Ranko's cheek whereas the redhead's shin once again struck Monlon's already hurt side.

There was a pause, Ranko staggering back as she fought to maintain her balance, for a second she lost it before she course-corrected and put the one foot that had gotten off the ground back onto it.

THUD!

Monlon collapsed right where she stood, falling to her knees with her head slightly arched back and eyes closed; flopping onto her side.

"Finally! Geez!" Ranko complained while relaxing her expression, breathing a bit heavy as she made time to catch her breath.

Moving her shoulders back and forth the pigtailed victor did this until she felt her shoulders pop a bit, feeling a little better than they had before she took the time to give the Lucky Goddess one last glance.

"Even if I said you weren't as strong as you wanted everyone to think, you still gave me one hell of a fight…" Ranko complimented her fallen adversary before going through the next gate.

----------------------------------------

At the Royal Tower…

Lychee and Kirin sat across from each other in the grand dining room of the Royal Tower. The room was opulent, with walls covered in gold leaf and crystal chandeliers that sparkled in the soft light.

Kirin had raised his cup and silently began drinking from it, closing his eyes he hummed quietly to himself.

"Do you not want to talk about the Phantom Claw anymore?" Lychee inquired about the Prince and or her future boyfriend.

"Forgive me for I was merely considering how best to tell the tale! Mustn't be boring my lovely guest, especially for this, since it's something I think you'll need to know." Kirin began apologetically, lowering his cup before clearing his throat.

Lychee blinks with a childlike wonder in her eyes, nodding her head approvingly.

"The aftermath of that battle meant that the Seven would forever have to be reorganized, they were to begin fortifying their defenses again, including refortifying the walls surrounding our fair city, establishing agreements with Yakusai as well as Shangjie, soldiers from those towns, and finally they were to improve trade among them," Kirin's tale began with him keeping his eyes closed, opening them halfway through his explanation.

"This is all very interesting my Prince but it does make me wonder why I've never heard of anything like this happening with Bao…" Lychee's voice trailed, wondering if maybe this had already happened or if Nekonron had yet to.

"During that time my father decided it would be best to focus our energies on those villages for they were much closer to Tong Po harbor from where many of the goods that follow the river came from," Kirin answered but something had dawned on him so a gentle smile spread across his face.

Lychee seemed a bit disheartened, averting her eyes for a second.

"Though when we are to be King and Queen, we can most certainly look forward to increasing our cooperation between Nekonron and the people of Bao…" Kirin said as his tone took on a more shy but still somewhat confident tone.

Blushing so deeply that she didn't know what to say or think, Lychee placed her hands on either side of her face, 'This would be really good for Bao! I'm so flattered that-that Kirin is already thinking so far ahead! No! Don't forget! I cannot agree until all this misunderstanding with Hóng fā is settled! Perhaps steering the subject to something else would be for the better!' she urged her inner thoughts to remain strong, someone close to her was risking themselves for her.

"H-Have you any other friends, my Prince?" Lychee asked with a barely noticeable stutter in her response, something which she wish she had control of, 'Allowing him to think about his friends could let my Prince see my point, help him understand how I feel about endangering my dearest friend,' she thought as she choked a bit, glad that she could control herself long enough to hear what Kirin had to say.

Not expecting that sort of sudden shift in topic the Prince blinked before pursing his lips, putting his cup down as he leaned back. "The other members of the Seven are those I'd call friends, does that suffice?" He inquired.

"Have you any friends that aren't of the Seven?" Lychee inquired curiously, that sounded more like work friends rather than any regular friend.

It was Kirin's turn to avert his eyes now, needing a good moment to consider answering he nods, "There is one but it has been quite a while since I've last seen him, ever since he went off training…" Kirin's face trailed as he neared the end of his retort, looking as though he must have been reminiscing.

With a glimmer of hope sparkling in her eyes the future Queen of Nekonron couldn't help but think how good this must have been for her cause, "Can you tell me of this friend?" the strawberry blonde prodded Kirin further.

"His name is Jurojin, the eldest son of the current Royal bodyguard, I recall when we were younger we used to play by the river, have sparring matches when we got older, even hang out with one another on occasion, one time we explored the mountains beyond the royal tower when we had the chance!" At first, there appeared to be a somewhat melancholic expression on Prince Kirin's face but it evolved into a warm smile and eventually, it ended in a pleasantly surprised-sounding tone of voice.

"I take it you miss Jurojin very much?" Lychee asked softly.

Going silent as Lychee spoke, the future king of Nekonron allowed her words to sink in before nodding.

"I do miss my old friend, and I would certainly like to see him again," Kirin admitted with a slightly embarrassed chuckle.

----------------------------------------

In a different section of the tower…

The door to a small cramped room opened inwardly, on the other side was the maid from earlier, looking around her room to see her usual small desk, her dresser, and then lastly the bed in the center of it all.

Reaching into a pocket on her apron, she gathered a small key from inside; a small key which she used to slowly lock the door behind her. She casually made her way over to the side of her bed, she stared at it for a moment before narrowing her eyes in a calm intensity.

Getting down on both knees she reached under her bed, pulled out a box, opened it and she hummed in her throat, 'It's time I do what I was sent here to do, now is the perfect cover while the Seven are distracted by someone else…' She thought to herself as she picked up the box, reaching a hand inside.

"Now is as good as any opportunity to get close to the Prince…" The maid whispered before trailing off.

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, at the fourth Castle Gate…

Walking on unsteady legs, Monlon slowly entered the phone room of her gate and fell on her knees as soon as she was in front of her old rotary phone. Breathing hard, focusing hard on staying conscious, she managed to reach for the phone and slowly, very slowly, dialed the numbers to call the next Castle Gate.

As she sat on the floor, her body trembled with exhaustion and pain. She had managed to remain in a sitting position by leaning on the wall as she waited for Ebiten to answer the call, remaining conscious only by pure strength of will. Monlon wondered if the last Lucky God had already been defeated, but reasoned it was not possible. Ebiten was the oldest member of The Seven and, even if he didn't look it at first sight, was the most skilled member of the group second only to Prince Kirin, there was no way that redhead could defeat the master of the Fishing Rod Fist, no way at all.

The woman started to fear her senior had been defeated but suddenly, Ebiten finally picked up the phone.

"Yes?" Ebiten asked.

"It's… Monlon…" the woman managed to get out between pained breaths.

"Is everything alright?" He asked in a concerned voice. "You don't sound well, what happened?"

"I… lost," Monlon said weakly, "the redhead is… on her way to… your gate."

"Are you okay?" he asked, an honest worry present in his voice.

"Yes, I… I just need to… rest," Monlon said, hoping to hide a little of the pain she was in. "But you should be… careful… no matter what… don't underestimate that… redhead."

"I won't," Ebiten answered after hesitating for a moment. "Try to rest, I'll send someone to help you once I've captured that redheaded girl."

"Yes… I'll be here… good luck," she said and managed to end the call. Once she did so, Monlon finally collapsed on her side and felt she was about to faint.

"Juro, I… I should have... told you that I... I love…" she murmured, before she could complete the phrase consciousness finally escaped her.

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, at the next Castle Gate…

Ebiten hung up the phone, his expression a mix of concern, surprise, and fear, as he had never expected the day every member of The Seven was defeated one after the other would come during his lifetime. For this to have happened… that redhead and her boyfriend were surely stronger than they had ever imagined.

"No wonder the Musk Prince wants them captured," he thought. "But… unless they are so strong they defeated my fellow Lucky Gods with great ease… those two invaders must be weakened by now, perhaps weakened enough for me to finish them off and capture them."

"Still!" he said with newfound determination. "I must report this to Prince Kirin at once!"

His choice made, the master of the Tsurizao no Ken quickly called the Royal Tower, knowing quite well the Prince had to learn of what had happened.

And at the Royal Tower…

"Greetings, this is Yu Nuo, you have reached Nekonron's Royal Tower, please state your business," a maid said once she answered the phone.

"I am Ebiten of the Seven, and I must speak to Prince Kirin at once!" the master of the Fishing Rod Fist demanded. "Tell him this is an urgent matter, hurry!"

"My apologies, Lord Ebiten," the maid said, her voice matching the urgent tone of the Lucky God. "I will call Prince Kirin right away, please wait, I won't take long."

This said, Yi Nuo left the handset on the table and rushed out of the little office where the phone was. It didn't take her long to reach the tea room where the prince and his future wife were currently, and she made a quick stop to check if she was presentable before knocking on the door.

"Come on in," Kirin said from the other side of the door, "But make it quick."

"Prince Kirin, I am sorry for the interruption," the maid said once she opened the door, but not daring to further enter the room uninvited. "Lord Ebiten is on the direct line, he says he needs to talk to you; he asked me to tell you it is an urgent matter."

"I see," Kirin said, not liking the implications of this call; he knew quite well Ebiten wouldn't contact him unless it was important. He dared hope Ebiten had good news, but somehow he was starting to feel that was not the case. Composing himself, he turned to face Lychee, who was on the edge of her seat, staring at him with great intensity.

"I have to take this call," he said, doing his best to sound calm to avoid worrying her. "I won't take long, please wait here until I return."

"I will," she promised, but noting the way his lips had tensed, Lychee understood the phone call involved Ranko, and she wondered if whoever it was who had called Kirin wanted to give him news about the fiery redhead's capture. Lychee really hoped that was not the case.

"Thank you," Kirin said and offered her a smile, a kind, honest smile that for an instant reached his eyes before his expression turned serious.

Lychee watched him leave and could do nothing but take in a deep breath once the door closed behind him.

'Please be alright, Ranko, and… if you can, don't cause too much trouble,' the young princess thought. 'Because if you do… it'll only make fixing this horrible misunderstanding much more difficult.'

Outside, Kirin made a pause and considered locking the door, but in the end, decided against it. He wanted to earn Lychee's trust, and locking her here as if she were a prisoner was not going to help him with that. But at the same time, he really couldn't let her leave the tower, it could be dangerous and, if he had to be honest, he found the idea of letting her go without coming to an understanding about their engagement rather distressing.

'No, I can't let her leave yet,' he thought. 'Not before we sort things out between us.'

"I'll go take the call," Kirin informed the maid, who was still silently waiting by the door. "I don't need you to come with me. Go inside and make sure Lady Lychee is well tended to."

"As you wish, my Lord," the maid said with a bow.

----------------------------------------

A few minutes later…

Kirin entered the small, but elegant and well-lit office, went straight for the phone on the table, and picked the handset up, still wondering what Ebiten's urgent business was, but hoping he was going to tell him the redhead was under custody, and with some luck, unharmed as well. He was well aware, however, that he should be prepared for a report telling him the redhead and her boyfriend were still on their way to the Royal Tower.

"Kirin here," the prince said, his voice expectant and serious.

'My Prince… it is with great shame that I must report that… all the Lucky Gods have been defeated, except for both of us,' Ebiten admitted with clear shame and disappointment marking his words. 'The redhead and her boyfriend surprised us… but don't worry, I will make sure to stop them. I will arrest them and bring them to you.'

Kirin's face turned pale as he heard Ebiten's shocking report, to hear The Seven were on the brink of total defeat at the hands of two complete unknowns was unheard of and a complete embarrassment to his kingdom.

"W-what?... H-how is this possible?" The prince asked, managing to barely control himself and keep his voice from trembling. "Very well, I guess it doesn't matter. All that matters is that we prevail in the end. Do not fail, Ebiten, for the honor of the Seven Lucky Gods, you must succeed!"

Ebiten made a small pause before answering, but when he spoke again his tone was filled with pride and determination. 'I won't fail you, my Lord. I will capture them, you have my word!'

"I trust you will be victorious, old friend," Kirin said and hung up the phone.

The prince took in a deep breath and ran a hand over his chin. He had to admit that he was feeling frustrated and even slightly upset at the current situation. Hoping to cool off, he paced back and forth in the small room, his mind racing with troubling thoughts. They had underestimated the redhead and her boyfriend, and now the Seven's reputation was at stake, something unheard of in centuries.

After almost a minute, Kirin took in a deep breath as he felt calm enough to think rationally. Maybe things were not going as well as he had dared to hope, but he still believed Ebiten could obtain victory.

"Be strong, Ebiten," he muttered to himself. "You are the last one so do your best, this is no longer a matter of just arresting that girl, it has become a matter of preserving our honor as the undefeated protectors of this kingdom…"

Because Kirin knew that if Ebiten failed he would have to face the redhead and her boyfriend in battle, for it was his duty as the Prince of Nekonron and the leader of the Seven Lucky Gods to reestablish the group's honor, and he was determined to do whatever it took if he ever was forced to fight.

The prince clenched his fists, feeling the weight of his responsibility as the leader of the Seven and silently swearing he would not be defeated.

"I won't let them shame us," he said, his voice low.

His choice made Kirin close his eyes and took in a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst-case scenario. The prince knew he had to be ready for whatever came his way, and things being the way they were now, he would not back down if he had to fight.

He knew that things would be difficult, as fate had placed him in a position he was not only risking the honor of the Seven but also a possible alliance with the Musk Dynasty and his future with Lady Lychee.

But even if all of that was at stake, or perhaps because of it, Kirin's determination to claim victory in the face of this challenge luck had brought his way became as strong as steel…

Somewhere else in the mountain…

Jurojin, using his staff for support, started on his way up the mountain, making sure Ryoga was following him as he slowly started towards the next Gate. It surprised him to find he was not upset about his defeat, he was in fact appreciating luck had given him the opportunity to test his martial arts prowess against someone as powerful as the man who walked behind him.

'That man… he could probably give Prince Kirin a real fight,' Jurojin estimated. 'Not that he could defeat him, but still…'

His strength, stamina, and resistance to injury were just incredible. The master of the Shadow Fist glanced back at Ryoga and offered him a nod, noticing he seemed to be already recovering from any damage he may have received during their fight.

'Is he superhuman or something?' Jurojin thought. 'There's no way he's a normal person… maybe he's one of them?'

No, if he were he wouldn't be here, he would be on his way to deliver the redhead to their prince instead.

'His training must have been a nightmare,' Jurojin decided, settling on the more comfortable idea that Ryoga's power came from some sort of grueling training that he had endured. 'I may ask him later because it seems whatever he did, it surpassed the training of the Shadow Fist.'

"You're awfully silent," Ryoga observed then, walking a little faster so he was now walking side to side with Jurojin. "You better not be thinking about tricking me."

"I won't," the other replied, slightly offended at the comment. "I'm a man of my word, I will take you to the Royal Tower."

"Good," Ryoga said.

"I will need to make a quick stop at the next Castle Gate, however," Jurojin said.

"What for?" The young Hibiki asked, right eyebrow up as he didn't really understand why they had to waste time.

"Monlon is there, I need to know if she's alright," Jurojin explained. "Because if your girlfriend is anything like you, chances are Monlon was defeated."

"I'm sure she won," Ryoga boasted with a smile.

"Perhaps," the unofficial Lucky God conceded. "Either way, her Gate is on the way to the Royal Tower, it won't take me more than a few minutes to check on her."

"Fine, we can do that," Ryoga agreed; he knew how Jurojin felt for the woman at the next Gate, and he was not so cruel he wouldn't allow him the time to make sure his beloved was safe.

Despite his more cautious nature, Ryoga was starting to feel that maybe Ranko had been right and the Lucky Gods were not as strong as Lotion had told them.

All he could hope for was that the Prince of Nekonron was a reasonable man…

----------------------------------------

DaisukiFox: That was so much fun! Also, if you guys get the chance check out our DeviantART to see Ranko in Ryoga's shirt from chapter 10. I worked really hard on it and think you guys would like it!

So now we're down to the last two Lucky Gods…! Next chapter we'll probably go a little into Prince Kirin's past too!

Thank you for letting me be a part of something like this guys, remember that people, will… stumble, and they will fall… but you must pick them back up.

Dr Facer: Thank you for reading this chapter, we hope you had a good time with this one. I must say that this is one I feel very good about, particularly the fight scenes! Now there's only Ebiten and Kirin left of the Lucky Gods, and in the next chapter, we can again check on what Chervil's doing. See you then!