Everyone stared and whispered as Maru made her way to the head table. Takeshi and Yu now followed behind rather than beside her. Akio held out his hand to her. Reluctantly, she placed her hand in his and turned toward the people. Everyone seemed to be waiting for her to say something. Maru chewed the inside of her cheek, a habit she would do when nervous.
"Good evening, everyone. I'm glad to be back in my homeland. And I am ready for our people to have peace once more. Too long, have our people and the rest of the realms suffered. It is time to bring the never-ending wars to an end! And I will be the one to lead us there!" said Maru. The room abruptted into cheers, clapping, and whistling. Takeshi stared at her, looking unpleased but clapping with everyone else. Maru had no idea what her plan was or how she would achieve what she said. It just seemed like the only thing she could say. Akio smiled but looked worried. General Yu nodded in approval and was clapping. She gave a radiant smile and bowed her head. Finally, she sat down beside King Akio.
"How exactly do you plan to pull it off, Lady Kyomi?" whispered Takeshi as he sat down beside her.
"Shut up, Takeshi. I had to say something uplifting." Maru whispered back.
"Uplifting?? You just threw them in the clouds with no way to fulfill the promise. Let alone say you'll be on the front lines!" he whispered angrily.
"I can't hide, nor do I plan to. Where else would I be?" she asked. Takeshi stared at her. This woman was driving him mad.
"Have you forgotten that we still don't know what will happen if you die?" he reminded her. A beautiful maid was now pouring wine into their cups. Maru cleared her throat and waited for the maid to move onto other tables.
"No, how could I? However, at this point, I have assumed this life. According to you, I could be dead already anyway." she whispered. Then she went to grab her wine cup, but Takeshi grabbed it first.
"Your name is Takeshi, yes?" asked King Akio. Takeshi downed the entire cup of wine before answering. He slammed the cup in front of Maru.
"Yes, and you must be King Akio. The one who threw his only daughter to the wolves while cowering in your castle." answered Takeshi. A sad smile came across Akio's face.
"Seems Kyomi, and you share the same sentiments at least..." he said under his breath as he clenched his fist. "I will not explain my actions to an outsider whose clan wishes to kill said daughter." He answered with a sarcastic smile on his face. Maru was beginning to feel suffocated between the two. She rubbed her face.
"Could you blame them?" Takeshi asked. Maru glared at Takeshi. This was not helping their cause. "I myself don't agree with killing the princess, but tell me if she wasn't your daughter, but some random dark elf, how would you feel then?" asked Takeshi. Maru was confused. Did Takeshi know more about her back story than she did? King Akio stayed silent. Maru cleared her throat. "If you're questioning where my allegiance lies, it's with her. Not with my clan and not with you." Takeshi said. It was hard to tell what was on Akio's mind. The man seemed to think about it for a minute, and then he burst into laughter.
"Good, good as it should be." said King Akio with a smile. His eyes, however, seemed to be warning Takeshi that he would not hesitate to cut Takeshi down if he were lying. A sigh escaped Maru's lips. The rest of the banquet seemed to go off without a hitch. In the end, King Akio gave Takeshi permission to be a guard for Princess Kyomi. Maru had allowed general Yu to go home to his family for the night since he had been on the front lines for so long. Takeshi would watch over her for the night since it would only be a short amount of time in the real world. Plus, he would be getting off the game for a break once morning came in the game.
Takeshi sighed as he sat outside Maru's bathroom. She had decided to take a bath after they had returned. Even though he had protested due to the amount of wine she drank. He could hear her singing anime theme songs from inside the bathroom. A smile came across his face but quickly faded. It had grown silent in the bathroom.
"Mar..Lady Kyomi?" he called out, knocking on the door. "Lady Kyomi?!" he repeated. Still, there was no answer. "Answer me now, or I'm coming in!" he yelled, but there was no reply. He burst through the door. She sat in the tub unconscious. Quickly, he moved to her and lifted her out of the giant tub. At first, he could not tell whether she was just sleeping or not until she let out a snore. He shook his head. How many times did he argue with her that she would fall asleep in there. He looked down at her naked body. Takeshi could feel his cheeks start to turn red. He averted his eyes. Then he grabbed her towel from beside them to cover her up. It did not seem to do much, but it was enough for him to move her into her room. He placed her on the bed. It sounded like she was mumbling something, but he could not make out what she was saying, so he leaned down to try to hear her better. Singing? She was just singing again. He shook his head as he covered her up and went to stand up. Suddenly, he could not move. His eyes moved to see that Maru had latched onto him. Then she pulled him down on top of her. He tried to pull away from her, but it was no good.
"Ma..Maru! Let me up!" he stammered as he kept trying to pull away. He stopped when he saw a tear slipping down her cheek. "Maru..." Takeshi whispered. Maru began to mumble something. He leaned down, trying to hear what she was saying.
"Please, please don't leave me here. I don't want to be alone in the dark..." Maru was saying. He stopped moving. All of the lights in the room were still on, so it wasn't dark. 'A dream?' he thought. "Please, I won't do it again! I'll be good! I'll be good!" she began to scream and bawl.
"Maru! Wake up! It's just a dream! A dream!" Takeshi yelled as he pulled her close. Her eyes popped open finally, and her breathing slowed down. Her eyes darted from his, and she pulled away from him. She pulled the blanket up to cover herself. "Are...Are you ok? You fell asleep in the tub, and I moved you here. Then you seemed to be..."
"Thank you for helping me. I'm alright now. You can go." Maru said with her back turned to him. Takeshi went to protest but decided not to. He went to walk away. "Oh, and I'll stay away from the whine for now on." said Maru as she gave him a sad half smile. Takeshi just gave a small nod and moved just outside the door. A sigh escaped his lips.
Maru clung to the blanket for a moment. Then she stood up and got dressed for bed. Even though the sun looked as if it were about to come up. She sighed and went to her door. Opening it, she found Takeshi standing on the other side. He seemed surprised to see her.
"Can, can I ask a favor of you? I can't sleep now. Would... would you mind being in the room with me? Maybe we could argue until I fall asleep?" she asked with a nervous laugh. There was a moment of silence. Did she ask for too much? She slowly went to head back in her room. Takeshi grabbed her wrist.
"I have a thought. I'm not sure it will work, but..." he said as he led her back into her room. There was a way to share music you were listening to with people in your audio chat so they could listen along with you. However, Maru was not a normal player and was not technically in chat. Takeshi played the music. It was one of the anime theme songs she had sung earlier. "Can you hear it?" he asked. Her eyes lit up as she seemed to be trying to listen. He turned it up a bit louder. After a moment, she shook her head.
"I don't hear anything..." she answered honestly. She had really tried hard to hear what he was talking about. The light that was in her eyes had faded. Takeshi clenched his fist. Maru moved back to her bed. "Thank you for..." she began but stopped as Takeshi began to sing. She recognized the song instantly. It was her favorite anime theme song. Her eyes grew wide. Now she realized that he must have heard her in the bath. Her cheeks turned bright red, and a tear streamed down her face. Quickly, she spun around and ran back to him. Her arms wrapped around him in a hug. He stopped singing for a brief moment. "Please, don't stop... I just wanted to thank you." she said with tears streaming down her face but with that radiant smile. Takeshi now felt a bit nervous but began to sing again. He went to wipe her tears away, but she quickly pulled away and ran back to her bed. Then he continued to sing until she fell asleep. There was an ache in his chest as he moved toward her to see if she was asleep. Her hair had fallen in front of her eyes. Gently, he pushed it back. There was a knock at the door.
As quick as he could, he made it to the door before they knocked again. Opening the door, he found King Akio on the other side.
"We need to talk." said the king in a demanding tone.