The Bounty Hunter

November 3rd, 2089

Vivian’s POV

It’s my last day here in Japan, having stayed for the Hayashi gala and paid my diplomatic dues with the Japanese government.  Aoife was behaving rather strangely last night, becoming unusually flustered when I pressed her about the guy she was with.  I didn’t get a good look at him, but he felt familiar.  I also met Chairman Hayashi, the host of the party and the head of the largest corporation in Japan.  That was an experience I could do without.  I have met many of his kind before:  vicious, conniving snakes who would betray anyone in a heartbeat if it meant advancing their own interests.  I pity his family, Mr. Cross and Mrs. Cross seem like very nice people.

This past month has been a goldmine of information.  Reiji has been extremely helpful in getting an understanding about magic, and the demon attack revealed the true nature of our adversary.  Father has managed to get Council of Nine approval to start an international task force dedicated to the annihilation of Pandemonium.  Currently he plans on disbanding my task force and turning over all relevant information, but once I present him with my discoveries relating to magic I hope that he’ll simply reassign the task force into researching the paranormal.

“Beverly, please get the car around.  I would like to say good-bye to some… friends I have made during my stay here.”  “Right away, Princess.”  Reiji, Koji, Kiyoshi and Aito have been fun to hang around with.  I guess the shock of demons and magic being real has mitigated the shock of me being a princess.  It’s been a refreshing change, being treated like a regular girl.  I have especially enjoyed being around Reiji.  He’s always making me laugh, and he’s just so darn cute.  Most teenage boys get flustered around me due to my appearance, but Reiji has not once been shaken.  Somehow, I feel a little disappointed at that.

I fully intend to keep in touch with Reiji, but I still would like to say good-bye in person.  It is a Saturday, so he should be home right now.  Fufufu, let’s surprise him.  That’s what friends do with each other right?  Traffic was light, so we made good time.  I headed over to the front door and knocked, just like I did upon our first meeting.  I waited slightly off to the side, just in case Reiji was sprinting somewhere again.  The door opened and my world stopped.  A pair of piercing green eyes were staring at me with an unreadable emotion, framed in a chiseled face with dark brown hair.  I’ve searched for my mystery man for months, using the resources of an entire nation, without success.  And yet here he is, standing in front of me within arm’s reach due to chance.

I was truly dumbfounded, unable to react to the sudden discovery of my savior from that ball so many months ago.  The man recovered first.  “Yo.  It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?”  The casualness of his response snapped me out of my daze.  He was as attractive as I imagined him to be, but strangely enough I did not feel the heat of infatuation after finally seeing him.  No, whatever crush I had was eclipsed by my gratitude.  Gratitude for saving my life and gratitude for helping me figure out my purpose.  And so I did something that I’ve been wanting to do since he left.  I stepped forward, hugged him tightly, and softly said “Thank you for saving me.”

Terra’s POV

Yeah, so I’ve gone and done it.  I’ve revealed myself to the girl I saved at the royal ball back when I was trying to sabotage Project Redemption.  She also happens to be the Crown Princess, a fact I learned when Reiji yelled at me for abandoning him with her when I first saw her.  Originally, I planned on avoiding her until she left, but my failure to deal with Pandemonium has changed things.  I need resources, particularly intel, in order to deal with Pandemonium.  Princess Vivian is uniquely qualified to provide those things.  She somehow has already discovered the existence of magic and she’s been the only person who has had some success at being a thorn in Pandemonium’s side.

Reiji, the Princess, and I are sitting in Reiji’s living room.  His parents are out for the day, giving us the opportunity to talk.  I talked about magic, how the Princess and I met before, and about my relationship with Reiji.  I pointedly avoided any mention of the other world and the girls.  Reiji was currently sitting with his head in his hands, and an extremely exasperated look on his face.  “I know you love flags, but really Minato?  You’re the mysterious stranger Vivian was always talking about?  What were you even doing there in the first place?”  “Don’t worry about it.”  I replied, choosing to change the conversation before I had to tread upon one of my two darkest secrets.

“Minato, why did you choose to reveal yourself to me?”  Vivian asked.  “Simple, I need a global intelligence apparatus to be able to track down Dante.  You already know of magic and you owe me, so I’ve decided to try and partner with you.”  “Were you the one who assisted us when we were attacked in the park?”  “Yes.”  Vivian was taking this all calmly, likely having used up her life’s quota of surprise with the revelation of magic and demons existing.  “I can’t promise anything before talking to my father, however I will do my utmost to help regardless.”

“But before we go any further, I want to know what you were doing yesterday with Aoife.”  I scoffed at that.  “Nothing, I was forced to accompany her by my family.”  I ignored Reiji’s muttered “Seriously, how many more girls is Minato going to get?”  Vivian was quiet for a moment, before saying “Be careful of your grandfather, he is not the type you should trust.”  *Sigh* “Yeah, but he’s family nonetheless.  He deserves a chance.”

Vivian left soon after that, leaving her personal contact number to both me and Reiji.  I noticed that she and Reiji were getting along rather well.  “So, you seem rather close to the Princess.” I remarked slyly.  Reiji blushed shyly at my comment.  “I guess so.”  “She seems good for you.  You haven’t been so legitimately cheerful since the concert.”  I acted nonchalant, but in reality I had all my senses focused to the utmost on Reiji.  He’s been getting better since the attack, but he’s developed a tendency to fake like he’s completely recovered.  I want to poke him where it’s tender to evaluate how much he’s really healed.

Reiji smiled at my question, clearly perceiving my real intentions.  “The scar will always be there, but I think I have overcome it.  Considering how much healing magic you’ve been casting on me, I’m surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.”  He giggled at my poker face.  “Yeah, you think I wouldn’t realize that you were involved when mysterious lights would appear in my dreams and ward away the nightmares?  Especially when Aito, Koji, and Kiyoshi mentioned seeing similar lights that block their nightmares as well?”  I continued maintaining my neutral expression.  “I don’t know anything about that.”  Reiji waved off that statement “Sure, sure, you massive tsundere.”

An amicable silence fell between us as we sat there.  “Minato?”  “Yeah?”  “Do you think you could train me to fight?”  “…Why do you ask?”  “Hikari mentioned it.  Pandemonium is still out there, ruining other lives and causing sorrow to spread.  I never want to be in another situation where I can’t protect those I care about.”  I looked at Reiji’s determined face and decided to agree.  “Fine.  But prepare for hell.  You need to show me your determination in order to improve.”  I had an evil smile on my face as I started planning on how to best torture, ahem, train Reiji. 

“Umm, Minato?  I don’t want to interrupt whatever… this is, but you’re making a rather scary face…”