Cross Worlds (Hiatus)

Chapter 52: "Catch up"

Continuing from the point Riku and Kei separated from Gina and Haruto...

Riku and Kei dash down the halls, Riku following close behind Kei as he leads the way to where the queen should be. "Are you sure you're going to be able to fight her?" Riku asks as he catches up to run alongside Kei.

"What makes you think I wouldn't be able to kill such an evil woman? She murdered my father and pretended to be him for months!" Kei's clearly infuriated by Riku's accusation.

"I understand that, but that's your mom. I don't exactly know what it's like to have a mom, but I'd have a hard time killing anyone. Much less...family, I imagine." Just imagining the possibility of having to turn his blade against Gina, Haruto, or for some awful reason Makou or Reina makes Riku clench his fists so tight they nearly bleed.

"I understand why you would think that way, but I've killed before. There were times where our city came under attack, assassins tried to kidnap my siblings and I or take our lives, even those I once called friends began to turn against me..." Kei's eyes get a touch darker. Riku doesn't have to say anything, after all, Kei already explained most of this to him before.

~Five days prior to the attack, after Riku and Raichi had been stabilized from their rematch~

All of the Teikoki had gathered for a meeting to go over everything necessary for the attack to be a success. Plans, information on the castle and the royals, and of course any information Kei had yet to say himself. This was the day Kei dropped the news to the Teikoki about his mother, the queen.

"W-What..?! How on Earth could someone do something like that? To their lover, their decades-long spouse!" Sumira slams her fists against the table.

"I won't lie, I've been hired to do such things myself before, but to take matters into her own hands... We're dealing with quite a sick woman, aren't we?" Chiyako muses.

Riku was stunned into silence when he heard about how Kei discovered the queen had killed the king in cold blood. She had been acting in his place and hiding his death from the entire city, as well as her entire family. "I don't get it... Why would she kill her husband?"

"I imagine you have some proof?" Artemis cuts right to the chase. Ever since she was honest with Riku about her suspicions toward him and his relationship with the previous leader of the Resistance; Riku Fantasy, she's done little to hide how she truly is. Riku can't help but side-eye her slightly, after all when he first arrived, she was still the kind teacher who taught him to fight; the kind woman who stood by his side and even kissed him to bring him to his senses after Makou and Reina's deaths.

Now, sitting before him, is a strong and mighty leader, who does what it takes to get the job done clearly. A woman who locks her emotions away when it comes to discussing a life or death battle for the Resistance, and the freedom of an entire kingdom. Deep down, Riku only respects her more, but it also makes him weary. After all, they had several private moments where it seemed like their trust was deepening, only for it to all come to a halt when Artemis told Riku that she was the one who ordered Chiyako to test him the way she had. He finds himself wondering what's the truth, what's a lie, and what else she might be hiding.

Artemis catches his eyes, and as their gazes lock, he remembers the way she sobbed into his arms after his fight with Raichi. Her words ring loud in his mind, "Can I please...hug you..?" Followed by his own words in return to her, "For as long as you need... Whenever you need."

Both Riku's and Artemis' turn a faint shade of red, and then Kei speaks up, quickly getting them to focus on the task at hand. "I can try and figure out more about Artemis later... I need to pay attention to this right now."