A/N: Special special thanks to ElfMaidenOfLight who beta read this story! With her help this story became so much better. Thank you!!

Disclaimer: I do not in any form or fashion own Munto TV, 'aight?

Munto gazed in amazement as Yumemi floated into the air, surprised by the level of control she had to bend and use Akuto. Her lengthy hair swirled around her, along with the red ribbon which tied the strands together, were caught in an invisible current of Akuto. Tentatively she reached towards the barrior that separated both of their worlds. It's cerulean color swirled like an ocean and as Yumemi touched her finger to it's surface it let out a single ripple. Her reflection, which had been faint before, grew more solid as Akuto flew up it's fingertips. A younger version of Yumemi had her arm stretched out in the same fashion as Munto's own, wearing the old school uniform that he had first seen Yumemi in. The white fabric of the dress swirled around her legs and her hair swirled just like the present Yumemi's. Both girls smiled and sinked their hands further into the barrier's surface.

Munto could feel a change in the atmosphere around him. Akuto was streaming towards the point where the two girls touched hands. In that moment he felt like they had finally reached their goal. Both of their worlds were going to be safe. He no longer needed to worry.

It took Munto a second to realize that not everything was perfect. Floating high in the air with the Akuto flowing in streams around him softened his senses. His features were relaxed as he looked upon Yumemi. A smile had slowly begun to take over the features of his usually stoic face. Yet, something wasn't quite right. It took him a second to realize what had begun to happen.

She was slowly disappearing.

Her hand that had touched the division between the two worlds was breaking into crystals of light, and quickly following down her arm. Her green eyes grew wide with surprise, yet not fear. It took only seconds for her entire form to break into millions of beautiful shards, light reflected off of the shards in a startlingly beautiful sight, and the twinkling sound of breaking glass hovered in the air. In no time at all she was gone.

Munto's eyes slowly grew wide. He remembered his parents, sacrificing themselves to help restore Akuto into the world. Millions of beautiful shards flowed into his face and around him, both then and now.

"YUMEMI!" But it was far too late.

The separation exploded as the two worlds slowly merged. Ichiko and Suzume were only beginning to comprehend what they had seen.

"Yumemi!" Ichiko called out frantically. She looked all around in the sky for her friend, desperate to understand what had happened. Suzume still stared at the spot where Yumemi had disappeared, her normal bubbly expression replaced with a vacant mature look, a face which comprehended more than one would expect. All of Ichiko's screams sounded muffled in Munto's ears. He roughly grabbed both of the girls around the waist and started to fly back to his palace. Ichiko started jerking and writhing.

"Take me back! We can't leave Yumemi behind!" she screamed as the wind whipped past all three of their bodies.

Munto ignored her and concentrated on staying in the sky, let alone flying straight. The two worlds were still rediscovering the ways they fit together, and the Akuto in the air was as hectic as the combination of the earths. He tried not to think about the finality with which the glass shards had fallen out of the sky, in place of Yumemi. She had to be out there, somewhere. Maybe on the other side of the two worlds. He would find her in his palace when he came back as the connection was completed. She would smile and tell him happily "Munto, we did it!" He had to hold on to this hope. It was the only thing that kept him flying forward. Yet, somewhere in the back of his mind something whispered, 'You know, stop denying it. You know.'

As the palace came in sight he aimed towards one of the open aired balconies, slowing only to not crash violently into a pillar. Landing roughly he dropped the two girls safely onto the ground and then took off once again to where he could find answers. Many people he passed cheered and thanked him, rejoicing that the flow of Akuto had been restored. He blocked them out of his thoughts.

He threw the throne room door open.

"Ryuely!" he shouted. It bounced off of the walls and reverberated threateningly throughout the room. The woman, who stood on the far side of the space, slowly turned around. Her calm gaze never faltered as she faced her king. His fists were clenched, rage was flowing off of him and his eyes were on fire.

"Yes, Munto-sama?"

"Where is she?!" he screamed at her.

"She has been turned into Akuto to complete the connection between the two worlds. As the girl of destiny, she was the only one who could do this," her purple eyes were steady, yet there was regret buried deep within them.

He slowly advanced towards her. "You didn't tell me this," his hair was rippling as uncontrolled power circled threateningly around him. "Why?!"

"You wouldn't have done it if I had told you what would happen to her. There was no other way-"

"THERE HAD TO HAVE BEEN ANOTHER WAY!" he thundered. The power that had been circling around him shot out like tongues of fire, licking the corners of the room and flailing wildly. Lady Ryuely placed herself as far as she could from the flames, hugging towards the throne chair. She knew that he would react like this, and as much as it hurt her to hurt her king she knew it had been the only way. She had slit her eyes to give Lord Munto the power to save their kingdom, a sacrifice not only for him but for his people. The magical realm had been saved due to several people's sacrifice, and Yumemi-san had to be one of them.

"Munto!" a young girl's voice from the hall called. Ichiko and Suzume burst into the room; Munto turned his murderous glare upon them. "WHERE IS YUMEMI?!" screeched Ichiko. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER?" Her stare was a rival to his own, piercing in their fury and pain.

Staring at her, it took Munto a minute to answer, for he had to accept it himself. His power stopped circling around him and he finally uttered. "She's dead." It didn't sound right on his tongue, so he repeated it a little louder. "She's dead."

Suzume began to cry as Ichiko balled up her fists. "You killed her. YOU KILLED HER! If it wasn't for you and your floating islands she would still be alive! THIS IS ALL YOU FAULT!" she cried out, and then sunk to the floor sobbing.

Her words pierced Munto. His anger that had possessed him just a moment before was scooped out and he felt hollow. It was his fault, wasn't it? He had known that if he had brought her back into his world that she would disappear. Hadn't he seen it; an image of her being swirled into nothingness? How could he have done this to her?

Without another word he flew out of the room into the sunlight, heading for a place to be alone. Lady Ryuely watched his form fade in the distance, expression heavy from having to deceive her king.

***

Munto watched the clouds float underneath him; his cape swirled around in the air as his legs hung off of the side of the cliff he sat on. His eyes were flat as he stared down upon the cities and towns of this new world. He hadn't gone to a single meeting between Lower World officials and Heavenly ones. Lady Ryuely, who had taken his place in these meetings, had yet to try and persuade him to take up his duties. He knew that she didn't want to confront him.

Another cloud floated by.

He tried very hard not to remember her. Yet, even without the help of her memories embedded inside his mind, he thought of her. Mismatched memories would flash, some his own while others were hers. He could almost taste the flavor of her memories, sweet with a floral sting. He saw the sky, from her point of view, with strange floating islands, half hidden by the clouds. The pink umbrella she carried soon was set back into place and she looked down at her feet, trying to ignore the visions only she could see. Suddenly the scene shifted, and it was his burnt memory which showed her face as she pulled back in fear as he exploded into her world for the first time. He hadn't noticed before how she had cowered in front of him, scared by his presence. Now he saw his own face through her eyes, sharp and imposing, determined to receive her help at any cost. At the time he did not know this cost was her life.

She had been able to save him. She broke through the barrier between their two worlds and got to him before his body had been completely absorbed into the Akuto. Why, then, could the king of the magic kingdom not save a girl's life? He grimaced in pain.

So many of her memories filled his head, yet they could not fill the hole she had left behind. Pale memories of her were nowhere near equal to her touch, her soft hand in his, her confident smile shining up at him.

Another memory flashed before his eyes. The one that had been repeated the most. It was tinged sickeningly with longing and regret. 'The one I should protect is already here.' Her eyes widened in surprise, and then looked down in embarrassment. He had gotten so close to telling her everything right then and there, he shouldn't have cared that her friends were standing right there or that the heavens were crumbling around them. He clenched his fists. He distinctly remembered thinking 'I can tell her at another time.' His stomach twisted violently and he steadied himself with his hand against the rock. His skin was pale and pasty, with a sheen of cold sweat over it. He always felt nauseous when he thought about this missed chance, sick with regret.

There was a sound behind him as he finally noticed the footsteps that were approaching him on his perch. He thought for a second that it was Rui, coming to yell at him again. His thin patience had already been blown several times over with Munto's behavior. The footsteps were too soft however. He looked up and saw the small imp-like form of Irita approaching him. He sighed and returned to gaze back down at the Earth.

She sat down beside him and stayed silent for a long time. Munto had almost forgotten about her when she finally spoke.

"Do you want to know the thing I miss most about Gass?" she started in a small voice. He looked over to her. She sat grasping her knees, head resting on them. She gazed out over the world with the same flat expression as him. "Other than him just being here, of course," she uttered a small sound that could have been interpreted as a laugh. "I miss his voice. He wasn't the world's biggest talker, but I loved the sound of his voice. 'Good morning Gass-suuu!' I'd say and he would just look at me and softly say 'Morning'," her high-pitched voice attempted Gass's deep baritone with little success.

Munto did not want this conversation to be happening. He had been able to put Gass's death in the back of his mind with his focus on Yumemi's. He couldn't bear the two at the same time. Irita continued, ignoring him.

"I..." she paused, uncertain, and then took a shaky breath, "I loved him. I think he knew too, but didn't say anything about it. I don't blame him; he was much older than I am. He probably thought it was just a crush." Her voice was starting to choke up. Munto wished that she would get to her point, or just leave. "But there's one thing I'm happy about. He didn't die in vain. He was able to kill Gridori and protect us."

"Because sacrifice is everything, isn't it?" Munto muttered bitterly under his breath. Either Irita didn't hear him or she ignored him.

"And if he hadn't sacrificed himself, he was dying anyway," she hiccupped while trying to hold back tears, "Because he let you pass through to the other world. It's almost like he had to, right? Without him, both worlds would have been destroyed. It…doesn't make it hurt any less though…" she whispered at the end as she finally succumbed to her tears. She curled tighter together and buried her face in her knees.

Munto stared at her. He grimaced as he realized that he was not the only one to feel the way he was feeling. 'I should probably try to comfort her…' She started to bawl into her knees, making her words muffled.

"If only I could have stopped him! How many times did I call out his name, and he didn't listen to me?! I could've- I could've," she started to cry harder, soaking the material on her knees with tears.

"You could not have done anything. Gass was going to do what he thought he should, I tried to stop him too. We both didn't realize what was going to happen to him. It's not your fault." He then froze, realizing that he wasn't really talking about Gass.

He hadn't known what was going to happen to her. If he had, he would have stopped it. Whether or not she had been the key to save his world, he would have found a way to save them both. But he hadn't known. He let her float up and seal the two worlds together without knowing what would happen to her. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't. This knowledge hit him square in the chest causing him to lose his breath for a moment. Irita was right, it didn't hurt any less, but he didn't hate himself as much anymore.

"Irita," he turned fully to her, putting a supporting hand on her back, "It really was not your fault. You just have to realize it."

She picked up her head and wiped her reddened eyes, still hiccupping. She nodded, but he knew it would still take more time for her. He stood up and offered a hand to help her up as well. She accepted and they both started slowly walking back to the palace.

Munto took a deep breath, tried to ignore the biting pain in his chest, and asked, "Do you want to know what I miss the most about Yumemi?" She stared at the ground, but nodded. It would hurt, he knew, but he also knew that he had to remember Yumemi without shutting down. It would hurt less each time he talked about her, all he had to do was take the first step.

A/N: I hope you liked it! Reviews are greatly appreciated!