Hey everyone, thank you for all of your favs and follows, and of course, comments. I'm so happy to receive them all! I love you guys so much! v-

I have been quite busy lately, but I finally had sometimes to finish another chapter. Hope I did get too sloppy due to lack of practice though.

Well, enough of my chit chat. Please enjoy~

Disclaimer: I don't own IE (GO)

The young prince stood silently on the balcony as he watched the enchanting hall of the palace with daunt eyes. Here, hundreds of soldiers are training intensely and their howling voices could be heard all the way to his place. However, Shindou's mind was far from being here, among the voices of the people and busy sight of the palace. In fact, right now, it was wandering around at faraway places, from the land of the mystical forest where a distant memory laid, to the space in his room, where a small figure with pink hair and azure eyes rested…

I… don't know you.

"He doesn't remember…"

Shindou let out quietly. His fist tightened on the piece of metal. That morning, no matter how much they talked, or at least tried to, his friend wouldn't let out another word. The boy wouldn't even look at him and just stared into the empty space in front with darkened eyes. Shindou almost didn't recognize the beautiful color that used to shine brightly in those azure orbs when they first met. Where had he gone… the little boy by that held his hands out to him... the one who smiled at him and comforted him with his words…? Where had it gone… promise they made…? Or was it all nothing to him… so much that he forget everything…? Or…

…Or was it me?

A theory suddenly jumped into the young prince's mind. Was he the one who imagining things back then? After all, he was just a child, innocence and imaginative. Did his creativity set up an imagination that went beyond reality and his real memories… was he forcing those standards on the boy base on nothing…?

Just as the boy began to doubt his thoughts, he flinched when sound of howl echoed its way from the two towers across the other side of the hall. Soldiers stopped what they were doing and fixed their gazes at the enormous main gate of the palace.

"The general is back!"

A voice boomed in excitement. Following that was the happy cheers and sound of open gates that echoed through the air. And from behinds the gate, a tall figure could be seen riding on his horse, leading hundreds of men through the huge entrance. His long golden hair was pulled into a ponytail behind his head. His sharp eyes bore a black color, but still shone with pride under the sun. As he and his unit dashed along the hall, soldiers made way for them and roared in excitement.

"Gouenji san!" Shindou called out happily as he ran near the man.

"My prince…" Gouenji nodded a bit in respect before jumping off his horse. He smiled at the young boy. "It's been a while…"

"It's been a while Gouenji san. How was the negotiation?"

"It went quite well, your highness."

"Please, you don't have to call me so here." Shindou said genuinely. "After all, you are one of my teachers..." Gouenji returned the boy's respectful look with an approving smile. This boy had been taught well, better than most of the students from noble families he had taken under.

"Where is he?" The young prince asked as he spotted the absent of a missing someone. "I thought he would be with you?"

"He was..." Gouenji said as he unpacked the luggage on his horse, patting its head slightly. "But he decided to take a short cut." An amusing chuckle accompanied that statement.

"Ah… I guess it has been quite a while." Shindou said with knowing smile. He then cast a look at a certain garden a few blocks away from the hall and quiet nervous laugh was heard.

"But he's not going to be happy with me this time…"

~At the palace Healing Centre...~

"Ouch!"

"Stay still…"

"B-b-but…"

Fuyuka smiled before patting the young boy's head a bit, making the brunet blush in embarrassment. "You should be more careful next time Tenma. This is even worst than you coming back from training." She sighed a bit when she took a closer look to a bruise on his bare chest.

"S-Sorry for troubling you…" Tenma barely whispered out timidly, making the woman smile again.

"It's ok, it's my job as the royal nurse. But I'm not sure if he is going to be pleased with this though..."

Knowing too well whom the nurse was talking about, the brunet averted his eyes to the floor, trying to hide the red color that was decorating his entire expression. He then started stuttering out incomprehensible denials, making the woman giggle in amusement.
"He's coming back today isn't he? In fact I just heard the howling sound a while ago. Why didn't you go with the prince to see him?"

"Because he's going to be mad, I know… T-that's why I come to you…" The brunet said with a pleading voice.

"I understand. But even if I treat them now, these scar aren't going away that fast you know."

"E-Eh!? But-but t-t-t-then-"

However, before the boy could even finish panicking, the smack sound of the door opening startled both of them. He instinctively turned to spot a recognizable figure: Another boy, with distinctive dark blue hair that rose up tall, together with a high ponytail at the top, mounted firmly at the entrance. His golden eyes were as piercing as blades and filled with confidence. His body bore traits of a young male, but it always stood so tall and firmly with such sense of pride that it gave out a strong aura, one that would stand out even among those of adults.

Tenma's face suddenly fell pale when he immediately recognized his friend.

"H-hi…" He stuttered weakly, but jumped when he spotted annoyance in the intense gaze the other was directing at him.

He knew that look too well. He knew this person too well...

This,

He thought

is not going to be good…

"...Tsurugi."

Meanwhile, at somewhere distant...

Inside the deep cave that lied steadily within the mist of the forest, rumbling noises and sounds of heavy steps could be heard echoing their ways out through the entrance.

"So he wasn't here after all~"

A husky voice was heard as a woman with long black hair and golden eyes walked out of the dark cave. Following her were two other men. One of them had a huge and firm body that was at least twice the woman's height and ten times her weight. Most of the loud noises, undoubtedly, were coming from him with his heavy and clumsy movements. The other one with long red hair, on the other hand, was thin and quiet. His feet barely made any sound as they swept through the ground. Both of them had the same color in their eyes as the woman.

"Maybe the wild animal has eaten him?" The enormous man guessed with a low voice, and immediately received a glare from his female companion. "You idiot! What animal in their right minds would eat him?" She snapped at him, making the gigantic man took a step back and lowered his head. His reactions, however, gave him a direct smack in the head.

"What kind of reaction was that? Are you a hunter or not!?"

"I-I…"

"God…! You can't even answer that decently. What a meat bag…!" The woman grumbled in annoyance.

"Stop it." The thin man finally voiced, hushing both of his companion. "This is a waste of time… We're supposed to be looking for him."

"Easier said than done… This is the last place in our list already." The woman remarked, throwing a piece of old paper to the ground. On it were several destinations and every one of them were crossed out.

"There's no place else for us to look anymore. Maybe he really is dead~" Her voice turned to that of a high-pitched one again at the pleasure of imagining someone's death.

"Are you sure about that?" Another voice suddenly joined in making the woman flinch in surprise. The huge man also jumped a little when he spotted someone leaning against the trunk of the tree. The mysterious figure was small and had a body of a young boy. His expression was hidden under the shadow of the forest. The only thing that could be seen from his face was the golden color in his eyes.

"How long have you been here?" The red hair man asked calmly. But the question was ignored by the mysterious boy.

"Something is under your feet…" He stated suggestively, without even looking at the man.

The man's eyes widened a bit before turning his attention to his foot. He lifted it away and spotted a leaf crushed underneath. He looked up at the boy questioningly but only received a knowing glance in return. A moment passed before he realized it, a small red mark, almost undetectable by eyes, hidden under the crinkled plant. A small chuckle came through his lips.

"So he was here…"

He said as he examined the small blood mark.

"Yes…"

A few feet away, the small figure snickered too as he juggled up and down something shiny in his hand. Only when the thin man knit his eyes brow together did he realize what it was… a medal, one of the royal families. A sly smile came to the mysterious boy's face.

"And he wasn't alone..."

Ok, some new characters finally showed themselves! YAY! And there was a hint of Kyouten here too! I know it was faint, and there's not much of our main couple this time, but I'll get to that real soon. Promise!

Thank you for reading, hope you guys enjoy that (and I didn't get too sloppy). And please leave your reviews ok! See you next time! ;)