Shizuki slowly opens her eyes when she heard a familiar voice, she slowly sat up and rubbed her forehead. How long has it been when she left that palace? It was a massive relief that she escaped from that hell, otherwise they will make her suffer. "Yes, I'm awake..." she told him while looking back at her childhood friends, her eyes widened to see Hayate was here. "Hayate? Is that you?" she asked that she want to confirm if this really him, hoping that she wasn't dreaming anymore.

Hayate grinned, adjusting his dark blue cape that draped over his shoulders. "Of course it's me," he replied while leaning back, before he retorted. "Who do you think it is?" he was being sarcastic like usual, being always the same as before. Shizuki narrowed her eyes at him, she was aware of his sarcasm but not surprised to hear that. "Thank you for that."

"Shizuki!"

Haruka greeted her happily, coming up to her after cleaning the plates in the kitchen, crouching beside Hayate. "How do you feel? Did your headache gone?" she asked, ignoring him trying to complain at her for shouting, crossing his arms. Shizuki smiled nervously, staring at both of them, "I'm fine, I think it was gone for now," she said to her, but still unsure when it will be gone when she tried to recall it. "I think I'm starving…"

Hayate's stomach growls which made him stared at Haruka, making her glaring back at him, but she smiled at her immediately. "Don't worry, I'll make your favorite meals, for Hayate--you should wait for a while, all because you had a big appetite," Hayate blushed when Haruka said that, which made him grumbled. "But first, let's have some tea before we eat anything else!"

Shizuki laughed nervously, clenching her hands on the blanket, she get used of both of them arguing but she was stubborn enough to let them continue. "Both of you should stop it, let him eat whatever he wants, he'll lose his cash soon…" she answered that made him getting slandered by her again, Hayate shake his hands at her.

"No no! I promise I won't eat much!"

Haruka huffed when she stand up and went back to the kitchen, "It's fine, don't worry!" she clasped her hands together, smiling at them as if she didn't mind. "I wouldn't mind to have some chazuke and onigiri, how about you Hayate?" Hayate laughed coldly, grinning without thinking what the hell he was doing with his mind. "I wouldn't mind with yakiniku and beef…"

***

"The North Mountain in Kagutsuchi?"

Shizuki asked with tilting her head, Haruka nods when they're in the ryokan room, eating their breakfast, they were discussing about tomorrow's activities in the North Mountain. It was quite anew for Shizuki, being independent and daring. "We're going to visit the mountain god of North Mountain, not far from here."

Hayate chewed his rice and beef when he was listening to both of them, he wish he could defeat Shizuki-but she was quite excellent in swordplay. The weak point she has was that she get scared so easily; being frightened by something sensitive, but he didn't want to use that on her. "I won't lose to you, you better watch out."

Shizuki narrowed her eyes stubbornly, before lifting her eyebrows, she reacted because she was familiar with his tauntings during the battle. But she didn't let her guard down, "I bet you could," she smiled sarcastically, making him accidentally bit his tongue, but Hayate gulped down his food and grumbled. "I can't believe I always lose to you-"

Shizuki ate her chazuke while reminiscing of past memories, she tried to recall them, but no avail. The headache didn't return like before, but she was left blank with some questions inside her head, who was she escaping from? Shizuki shake her head a little before finishing her breakfast, "Back to the topic!" she voiced out and making both of them stopped arguing, they would stop when she voice out when they're arguing. "Who are we going to be with? It's not just three of us right?"

Haruka shake her head a bit, answering her question. "We'll be with Munakata-sama, she'll be the one guiding us there with her guardian--Saotome-sama," she pointed out. "Both are the guardians of the North Mountain, but they're also the chieftain of this village and relying on us," Hayate added while finishing his food. "They're attempting to release the mountain god, they didn't want to keep him sealed away forever because of one priestess who sealed him away in there."

Shizuki frowned slightly, she wondered what did the mountain god wrong this time. "What did he do?"

Hayate narrowed his eyes, slightly frowning. "He did nothing wrong, unfortunately…" he sighed softly while recalling the memories of his conversation with the Head Priestess, remembering that the mountain god was a Dragon. "I don't know who the priestess is, all I know that she sealed him away long time ago and never came back, they're trying so hard to break the seal but… no luck," Haruka frowned a bit. "That's why we needed help, would you mind to volunteer, Shizuki?"

"… I wouldn't mind."

Shizuki smiled at them as it didn't bother her much, both of their eyes widened at that. "Really?!"

"We'll see about that."

Shizuki yawned after waking up too early in the morning, she was strolling down the street with her two childhood friends, stretching her arms slightly. They were going to meet the Head Priestess and the Second in the shrine, soon when they got arrived-Haruka entered the shrine with Shizuki, while Hayate was waiting outside. "Good morning- Munakata-sama, it's Haruka," she greeted her behind the hanging marbles, facing them calmly. "It seems like you had a visitor, Haruka."

Munakata has a purplish black hair, light fair skin and violet eyes, she wears a traditional head priestess attributes and robes, with a pair of white sandals that covered her feet. She looked very elegant and mature, as a Head Priestess must look. The woman was around mid-twenties, from how she appeared to be.

"Nice to meet you, Munakata-sama."

Shizuki bowed at her after greeting her, the head priestess' eyes widened, her appearance was almost looks like a princess and a warrior-0not just because she has a katana but her appearance was elegant and graceful. Munakata took a deep breath, before greeting her back with a slight nod; "Nice to meet you too, Shizuki," she greeted, before she glanced back at Haruka. "Do you remember what I've told you before?"

"What are you talking about?"

Haruka smiled nervously, she remembered that the head priestess told her about it, but she refused to admit it in front of Shizuki. Munakata sighed softly, "We're going to release the seals in the North Mountain, we need someone to release him-not only the shrine maidens and ourselves. We've tried our best that time, but when I saw you- your energy seems different from what I've sensed from the other volunteers…"

Shizuki listens to her, she didn't know what she was talking about, that was until she realize she was talking about the volunteer to release the mountain god. It was all aimed to her, Shizuki remained silent for a moment. "So, what you're implying is…?" Haruka tilted her head, thinking that the priestess was pointing out to her. Munakata nodded as she folded her hands, gazing with her calm gaze. "You will come with us to help releasing him, can you do that?" The warrior princess rubbed her chin to think about it, until she responded with a nod. "I can't promise that, but I will try, depends on how it works."

"Good then, we should get prepared. Haruka, please call Saotome."

Hayate was waiting for the girls, he yawned while waiting near the gate, he didn't sleep much as before-he always staying up all night to stay guarded. The eighteen-years old general turn around to see them heading on their way to him, "Good morning Hayate, sorry for taking a bit longer," Saotome greeted the ex-general, he nodded at her. "Good morning Saotome-sama, we can go now."

***

The mountain was very high from the village, the entrance to the cave and the sealed area was present before them, it took an hour for them to step up to go up there. Shizuki was awed at the tags on the prison bars, keeping the statue of the mountain god, it has black chains surrounding the statue. The statue took a physical shape of large blue crystal stone, with the chains were connected to the prison bars. "This is the mountain god?"

Haruka nodded. "Yes, this is the mountain god and the reason why this place is called 'North Mountain'. This is the main entrance to the mountain, it's where we're going to release him."

Munakata shook her head lightly. "Those are made from magic. There's many things inside the mountain, but the mountain god is sealed away because he's dangerous-and his power is tremendous. The reason why he was sealed inside there was because he's a Dragon-like god--"

"Like the dragon from legends?" Shizuki asked curiously while looking at the chains around the statue, making them shiver at the sight of those chains. "Yes," Munakata stated seriously, "The mountain god has been crying out for help, after many years being sealed away by the priestess of the priestesses, her name was the last thing he needed."

"Why is he trapped?" Shizuki frowned a little as they reached the top of the mountain. "He didn't do anything wrong."

Haruka turned around in confusion at Shizuki's question; of course, he didn't do anything wrong--there has been legends that has different versions of how the mountain god became cursed. One of them was because he had anger towards humans and his tribe and decided to curse them all by himself; others were because he didn't obey to the tribal rules and was trying to escape from them; and one more version is when he fell in love with one of the priestesses and wanted to marry her, but he couldn't make her accepted his proposal. But no one knew who really did that-the stories changed over the years and it kept changing. "Oh... right," Haruka was reminded about that.

Munakata was holding onto the bars while seeing the statue helplessly, after many attempts to get in touch with the mountain god. "The dragon was looking for someone who can free him from this hell, he told me everything what she has done," she glanced back at Shizuki, who was immersed in this. "Many people failed to release these seals, and the priestesses are getting desperate to try to open them again."

Shizuki looked back at the statue which has scratches and crack marks, noticing that they were coming from his claws, she frowned after seeing the scars on him. "But why can't you release the seal alone? Or are you unable to?" Haruka asked curiously, Munakata sighed. "It requires a great amount of magic for us to even approach him,"she answered with a serious face. "I'm surprised you can do that though," she muttered under her breath.

"I have no choice," Shizuki answered, she could feel a pressure and she knew the consequences to fulfill this task. The warrior princess remembered she learned how to release seals; but had no idea where did her power come from. However, she tried her best to do so after learning how to use it, pulling out her katana from the sheath and held the blade with her hand, she suddenly felt a burst of red energy came out from her whole body--her aura was showing up as it was visible enough to be seen.

Hayate watched Shizuki closed her eyes painfully before she began to let go of the blade, then she passed and slashed the iron bars. The tags were burnt and turned into a black ashes, the maidens were surprised by her spiritual power, the black bars were destroyed by her spiritual strength of her blade. "What is this power…?"

Munakata murmured as she never seen someone would be able to do this, before she snapped at the warrior princess. "I know you can do it, release the mountain god!" Haruka glanced at the head priestess, she asked worriedly, not wanting Shizuki to risked her life and strength into overdoing it. "Munakata-sama! Are you sure about this?!" Saotome intervened, not wanting to risk something bad. "Let her be, we can't stop this," she glanced at her, narrowing her gaze slightly. "Break it, along the seals that gets in the way!"

Shizuki opens her eyes before she stepped forward to the statue, holding her katana on her right hand, she held the handle with both hands. "I'll release you, mountain god!" she swung her blade towards the statue and cutting it into half, her blade was surrounded by red energy which is strong enough to cut through the tags. The statue was torn apart into two, her eyes widened to see a burst of light emerging from the crystal, Munakata's magenta eyes widened, despite doubting it, she was astonished at the same time. "The seal has broken…"

The ground inside the cave was shaking as if there was an earthquake, Hayate held Haruka's wrist immediately. "We have to barricade ourselves, now!" he shouted at her, in protest she shouted back at him, "But, how about Shizuki?!" Hayate realized that they can't let her get hurt, she look back at her from the distance.

"Shizuki!"

Shizuki glanced back at them, she can't risk them to get hurt, their safety are her priority and she was selfless enough to do it. "Step back! If you get any closer, you'll get hurt!" she heard Munakata as she clenched her teeth--while seeing the statue exploded with a snow mist, the shrine priestesses screamed and Saotome protected them with the head priestess. Munakata had no idea what happened to Shizuki--hoping that she was okay out there--she was hiding behind the rocks with the Second. Hayate and Haruka was hiding behind the rocks on the other side, the maidens were barricading themselves behind them.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

There was a long silence around them- Shizuki carefully opens her eyes, she placed her hands on the ground and trying to si up. The air temperature was extremely cold and she could see her own breath coming out from her mouth, it was like a mist of snow. "W-What happened…?" she saw her katana was laying across from her, she crawl up carefully and picking it up-before putting it back inside her sheath. Now she was trapped far from them, their sight almost blocked by the ruins on the ground. She turned around to look at the ruined mountain god statue, it has been restored to its original form; she felt a presence in front of her-it's like she can sense it. "Hello there…?"

"Who have released me?"

The male voice was speaking loud and clear, echoing through the cave, she turned around after standing up from the ground. Shizuki was petrified in her spot that she never met a mountain god in her entire life, he wasn't humane for her from how he sounded. "It's… it's me…" she answered, as she saw a tall figure was standing before her, he was clothed and she was glad he isn't topless. The tall young man took a step forward and revealed himself before her, it makes her flustered by his presence and surprised to see the mountain god for the first time.

It takes a human form of a tall handsome young man with a porcelain complexion just like hers, he was dressed in dark blue traditional courtier-like outer robe with white flower embroidery, underneath was a white and light turquoise kimono robe with hakama. The two cloth on his both shoulders has scriptures connected by two connecting strings, with a small three turquoise gems that attached his robes and keep his garments closed, donned with a black fingerless gloves on his both arms to his palms and upper hands, and his black tabi and silver zori with silver tips.

The man has a muscular and slim body, bluish black hair with several bangs falling below his eyes and was on the right side that fell and between his face, his hair was tied in tight-knot ponytail, leaving two parts of his hair fell behind his ears to below his chest. His dark brown eyes are sharp and mysterious, he was actually angry if his eyes turned blue--there's an inextinguishable air around him that never leave him. He stood beside Shizuki; his feet planted firmly on the ground. He glared at her for a few seconds, she was nervous of how he is staring at her like he's examining every single inch of her appearance. "I've been waiting for you to come here for a long time," he spoke with a deep voice that could be heard throughout the cave, his voice was soothing to hear.

Shizuki was petrified at his presence, she can feel his anger boiling inside of him. As she closed her eyes as she took a step back, his pupils sharpened slightly when he stared back at her. She was frightened and scared for this situation, it took her a while until she regained herself from her shock. "You're not going to tell me your name, are you?" Shizuki heard him as she looked away from him, she knew what he wants--but it is impossible for her to give him an answer.

Every maidens were fluttered by his handsome presence, thus that made them a bit enthralled by that. But his cold attitude and expression doesn't matter for that, instead he was shoving glaring daggers towards the maidens. But then, the young man glanced at Shizuki with his eyes turning brown when he's normal and not blue when he's in the bad mood. Munakata stared at the Dragon; the mountain god, she stood up from where she was hiding as she greeted him. "The mountain god of the North Mountain, the bringer of rain and snow, representative of water element, you have awakened from your thousand-years' sealing--"

"Silent, you talk too much human, I don't need to be called a god."

Shizuki heard him replied to her coldly while staring at the High Priestess--Munakata herself, he seemed annoyed of having someone talked too much for him.

Munakata glared back at the god angrily-she doesn't care about his anger towards her as she's not here for that reason anyway--the goddess will release him once the task is completed. "I'm surprised you have released me from my slumber," his sharp black pupils staring at Shizuki, there's something special about her, she looks like someone he used to love in his past life. That was until she betrayed him into sealing him, making him despised her but… this eighteen-years old young girl saved him.

"That's fine; but you should've given up on your pride long ago."

Munakata said coldly, folding her arms when she gazed back at him, her lips pursed slightly. "What do you want from us?" she asked, ignoring his remark. "You must be aware of what I am capable of, so I do not need to explain myself further." Shizuki had no idea what was Munakata talking about, she saw the young man scowled at the high priestess--he didn't appreciate on what she just told him. Munakata sighed quietly, before she bowed her head respectfully to him.

"Forgive me, I don't intend to disrespect you or the mountain god-"

"You were about to call me a Dragon, but now you're calling me a god?" the young man exclaimed sharply, it made Shizuki startled about that. There's a cold atmosphere around the cave, causing the maidens to felt weakened by coldly aura. Munakata couldn't do anything, she felt her feet being frozen beneath her zori--it was freezing cold--her breath froze instantly upon breathing, it was like winter had descended on them all.

Shizuki stared at the young man with astonishment, he has a strong presence of aura that was overwhelming her; she felt weak in her knees and wanted to sit down. It became hard to breathe for everyone present. It could kill anyone in no time, Hayate and Haruka are weakened by the ice--which made Shizuki grew worried--she need to do something... and she was ready to risk it.

"Please don't! I'll do anything for you!" Shizuki pleaded, gripping his sleeves that stopped the young man from going to freeze the whole cave; she tried to convince him to calm down and listen to her; her eyes were begging him for forgiveness. "I-I swear! Please stop… just stop," the warm sensation could be felt through his skin, he felt softened yet stopped by her actions and flickered his eyelids. That was a warm feeling from this human girl. His heart felt soft towards her--it was an unusual warmth compared to his previous lover. Shizuki felt that he can trust her--but why? "I won't hurt you," she reassured him. "Please... don't kill them... don't kill my friends..."

The young man reduced the cold temperature with a wave of his hand, he was astonished by what she did for him, it was the first time he ever felt this kind of warmth from another human being. He felt warm inside of his body, as if he was being wrapped in a warm blanket. Shizuki was unafraid, even her looks could be seen feminine--her dauntless strength doesn't stop her enough from that--it's all she can do to prevent him from hurting them and her friends. "This is the first time a human touched me, without hatred and wrath," the young man spoke with a deep voice that made everyone silenced.

Shizuki gulped nervously; she never thought that he will talk to her in such manner, but she didn't mind it. "My apologies," she bowed her head deeply and lowered her gaze in respect to him. "I'm sorry about that," Shizuki was afraid of how he feels about her, it was different than how he reacted towards the other maidens.

He stared at her with his sharp dark brown eyes, she felt a tingling sensation on her scalp, his eyes were piercing her soul. "Do you know who I am?" he asked her, Shizuki shook her head in response. The young man gazed back at her with his sharp dark brown eyes, before he gently pulled her up with his hands, lifting her up and making her stand in front of him; it makes her gasp with surprise when she realized that he is taller than she thought--his height made her feel petite and small to him.

Shizuki gasped, she didn't expect him to say that to her, it was so sudden. Munakata sighed in relief that Shizuki was able to stop him since no one able to stop the Dragon, but she was glad he was free from this. Hayate saw the ice melt from his feet, as he grunts in almost losing himself, shivered by the sight of the ice. "I thought I will be hypothermic..." he mumbled coldly, looking up at them. "Great god of North Mountain, this is the warrior princess," she introduced her to him, stepping forward bravely. "After a long effort of unleashing you, she was the one who saved you."

Shizuki felt a warm sensation from the young man's hands, she looked down at his hand that held her, his fingers were gentle and smooth. She never expected that he would hold her like that, it was something new for her. It was an unexpected reaction for him from this maiden-even though it happened once before but… his mind was blown away by the feelings and sensations he felt before. Shizuki looked up at him shyly, feeling embarrassed because she didn't expect this would happen. The young man stared at the high priestess when he looks so vengeful and unable to control his bad temper, the past memories made him angry to think about it. "I see… but watch your words, Munakata… I'm taking this seriously, I don't want anyone to interfere again in this matter…"

Munakata would rather ignore him mostly as long Shizuki is taking her responsibility to watch over this dragon, but it is useless to argue further with him, as long as he's not willing to listen to her. Munakata moved aside and stepped backwards, before she bowed her head respectfully to him. "As long as you promise not to harm them--"

"So, I take her with me if she agrees," he stated bluntly, Shizuki felt her face red--but she ended up agreeing to it because she didn't want him to hurt anyone. She would do everything to stop him from doing so. The young man let her go from his arm and stepped away from her, he looked into her eyes and stared at her face with such intensity that made her feel uncomfortable. "Why are you standing like that?"

Shizuki was confused by his question. She stood still for some reason, even though her legs felt like jelly, she couldn't stand on her feet. "Shizuki!" she look back at Haruka who tried to approach her with Hayate, "Are you okay? Did something happened?" Shizuki heard them which made her shake her head, smiling at them nervously. "Sorry about that... it's just that... wah!" the young man suddenly lifted Shizuki in his arms--making her gasped as he carried her away from there in a blink of an eye.

"Wh-What are you doing!?"

Everyone could sense the strong aura coming from him and the Dragon god in his shadow--their presence was too powerful for everyone to bear it.

It made them nervous when they saw the Dragon approaching their location. They saw the young man and Shizuki walking away from the main entrance towards where a door can be found inside--everyone panicked and followed them. It took them awhile before they arrived at the young man's room; it was a big chamber located at the end of the corridor; it made everyone gasp when they entered his room. It was huge; it had a lot of beds, cabinets, and tables for the maidens to clean around--they were stunned by how large this chamber was. However, his room is isolated from anyone who can enter it easily. There were no windows to open the room either-only a single doorway leading into his room. Shizuki looked at the door with curiosity when she saw how heavy it is, seeing the hinges are solid steel, it made her feel secure about being here. There were no locks on it--just for decoration perhaps, but she wondered why there is no lock.

"There is no need to worry, I'll make sure no one is interrupting us," the young man spoke with a serious voice that made her shivered. He set her down gently on the bed that he brought her to, making her stand on her own two feet again-she's grateful to be on her feet again. It was hard for her to balance herself while standing on her own two feet, especially when she's carrying by someone--she didn't expect that he would carry her away so suddenly. "Now sit down," he ordered while pointing at the bed. "Why are you so stiff like that? Are you afraid of me?"

Shizuki shook her head. "No! I'm not afraid! You're very kind! But... I-I just can't imagine myself sitting there," Shizuki explained to him, she felt nervous about being on a stranger's bed--she could feel the cold sensation from it, it made her feel uneasy. "It's not that dangerous, just sit there," Shizuki nodded at him, she haven't asked him about his name--but she decided to ask him but he asked her instead. "What's your name?" the young man asked coldly, Shizuki gulped. "Kasuga Shizuki, but you can call me Shizuki," she introduced herself, before she asked him. "How about... you?"

"… Kazuya, Amamiya Kazuya."

The young man mentioned his human name to her, Kazuya narrowed his eyes in curiosity with his cold expression towards her even though Shizuki did nothing wrong to him. She felt uncomfortable from his attitude towards her, but Shizuki knew she has to endure this for now; until they find out a way to stop this Dragon of theirs. "K-Kazuya... nice to meet you," Shizuki greeted him, it made her nervous when she look around the room, she never imagined this kind of place would be in a mountain--even the door was pretty heavy to be opened and closed, she has to push it very hard if she wanted it to be open. There were books on the shelves and wardrobes around, it wasn't hard for her to be comfortable around this place.

There was something in him, something... special that made her want to explore him more, she could feel it in him.Shizuki sat down slowly on the bed, careful of the hardness and the coldness of the sheets underneath. She glanced around the room before resting her body on the soft mattress, making her feel comfortable and relaxed--the young man watched as she did so; staring at her as if he's mesmerized. He noticed how nervous she feels and how scared she was when he picked her up from the ground, she looked terrified from his touch and how strong he is--he was glad she's not afraid of him but it doesn't mean anything to him. His attention was captured by her pretty face, he stared at her with his sharp eyes that pierced through her soul. The young man saw Shizuki stiffened from how close they were, feeling nervous in his presence.

There was something about her that made him feel strangely comfortable with her presence. "I won't hurt you," he told her confidently--there's a sincerity in his voice that made her feel ease--the Dragon was lenient and gentle towards her. Shizuki gulped, looking away from him but Kazuya kept his eyes fixed on hers, he found her quite a pitiable sight, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her--not even cause her any pain. "Don't worry, I don't intend to harm or make you upset," she felt her face heated a little, it made Kazuya raised his eyebrows when he realized that she was blushing, Shizuki nodded at him which reassured her that she trusted him. "Yes, I will," she answered softly.

"But... why did you bring me here?" Shizuki asked, she has been meaning to ask that since she's inside the chamber with him--after he brought her here from the cave of the North Mountain--even after Shizuki released Kazuya from his thousand years slumber or his sealed state--she felt uneasy about his presence in a sacred place like this one.

"Because I wanted to talk with you, obviously," Kazuya replied in a lighthearted tone, which made Shizuki blush--this is the first time she saw this side of him--the dragon is known as an arrogant and prideful god--she could see how different he really is when compared to what everybody knows about him; it made her surprised.

"Wait. Wait. Wait. Why?"

Kazuya held Shizuki's hand in his, making the warrior princess froze on the spot. It felt so smooth and warm when he touched it--it was something he would never get used to since his heart beat faster when he feels her skin against his own. He sighed quietly, there is something about her that made him feel peaceful and content in his heart-but the only thing was how would she react if she finds out he's a monster deep inside. "Look at me," he commanded. Shizuki obeyed his command and looked back at him.

Shizuki could feel the coldness that similar to ice from his human hands, the cold sensation made her shivered. "Do you really think I am going to trust you?" Shizuki's voice was unusually quiet; it was low enough so that no one could hear them, Kazuya's expression darkened when she spoke with a harsh tone.

"That's right. You're going to have to accept my true identity before you could trust me with anything else." Kazuya smirked at her, feeling amused when he realized she can feel his cold hands--it was so amusing. "I want to know more about you," he answered honestly, "I want to know everything about you: your name, your family, where did you come from, why are you living in Akatsuki?"

Shizuki was amnesiac, she forgot most of her life. She barely remembered her father and mother. She only remember her childhood; that's all she remembers from her past, she lost her memory when she fell into the ground. "I don't know my family, I don't know where I came from..." she confessed to him. "I have no idea about anything about me, and I don't know who I am... but all I remember is that... I have this heirloom on my hands..."

Shizuki take out her scallop shell compact with the red cosmetic like a lip balm from her sash, there was a red pearl--the Iridescent Pearl on the cosmetic. The pearl was beautiful, it was glowing with light and it was shining brightly. Shizuki showed it to him; the dragon stared at the pearl closely and curiously, he held his breath for a moment when he saw its beauty. He never seen such a thing before. "Where did you get this?"

"Somewhere... but I was the owner of this heirloom," Shizuki informed him. It was a priceless jewel, it was rare and expensive, it was extremely valuable. If she knew how much it worth, she might cry for joy. However, Shizuki didn't care about the price tag on it--she always loved this little gemstone and always keeping it close to her. It was given to her by someone important in her life.

"Well then, it seems like our time is up--we should leave this place."

Shizuki was relieved, but realizing that she wasn't alone.