Cross Worlds

Chapter 48: "Eighteen"

Artemis gets rather flustered whenever she sees Riku now. All she can think about when she gets near him is the way his arms felt around her as she cried into his chest. She can't even watch him train from afar without getting embarrassed.

She groans into her pillow as she lays face down in her bed. Now that it's just a couple days until the attack will take place, Artemis herself must also relax so she's fully rested when the time comes. After all, what kind of leader would she be if she didn't follow the rules she placed upon the rest of the resistance?

"I can't be feeling this way right now...I have to mentally prepare myself for the battle to come and the deaths that may follow." She sits up, hugging her pillow to her chest and sighing. "I've kissed him before for crying out loud and that didn't garner such a reaction... So why..?"

His words from that day replay in her mind, "For as long as you need... Whenever you need." Artemis places a hand over her chest and takes a deep breath, clenching it into a fist. "...It's just because he looks exactly like Fumiya..." She narrows her eyes sadly as she recalls when she first met the Riku who once led the resistance. "I torched those feelings long ago... I can't be growing attached to someone again."

Artemis' head perks up as she hears a knock at her door. She quickly stands up and goes to answer, shocked to see both Gina and Haruto standing there. "What is it?"

"We want you to help us with something." Haruto answers with a big grin on his face.

>>>>>>>>>>

"Wow, you look amazing Roco!" Riku says as Roco flaunts about in some brand new armor, made by none other than the materials Riku was able to gather from the slums before the nobles could take anything.

"I've gotta say Riku, with all the materials you provided us on your first day, something tells me you're going to become quite the asset in the future. Imagine all the stuff we could steal from our enemies in the future." Raichi says with a grin on his face.

"I couldn't agree more!" Aseiko says with a grin on her face. Hearing the boy's talking from afar, she came over to chime in. "You're looking pretty good for a guy who just went down a rank a few days ago, Raichi." She snickers.

"Shouldn't you be off motivating the other members for the big fight tomorrow?" Raichi narrows his eyes in annoyance.

"Hey, we're on our five day rest period, that includes resting mentally and emotionally." Aseiko grins.

"I think she'll hype them up plenty when tomorrow actually comes." Riku states as he hits a button on the back of Roco's armor, making it fold in on itself and turn into a normal saddle. Roco coos and rubs his head against Riku's, Riku responding by petting him gently as he takes the saddle off of him.

"True. Are we still attacking in the morning?" Raichi asks.

"Artemis is confident we can win this with minimal loss, so yes. The only real powerhouse is the queen herself, and Kei's siblings. There isn't really anyone who can stop us from bringing them to their knees." Aseiko grins.

Riku narrows his eyes at that thought. "Something tells me it's not gonna be as simple as that..."

"You worried?" Elizabeth asks as she rounds the corner as well. She was helping fit all the animals with armor and artillery, making sure they were combat ready.

"A little. I have a feeling that she's gonna have some major protection and won't go down without a fight." Riku explains.

"Hey, with us Teikoki and Artemis leading the charge, we'll blow all of them away without any problem at all. Keep your head up Riku! Once we're done you can work towards beating Eli, then we can finally fight again." Aseiko grins.