Wow, sorry for the long delay. I was gaming for a lot so this story was delayed for months, I still hope you guys are still with me though uwu. Thanks for reviews, favorites, and follows, guys! I'll try to write faster just for you!

Chapter 2 : His Home

The trip to Balbadd was least noisy for Kougyoku, if one could call it like that. Or maybe that was just because she stayed inside the cabin most of the time, who knows.

Most of the time, indeed. Kougyoku was by no any means different from normal people when it came to having a limit. She sighed weakly on her bed. Maybe she should stop pondering about what Alibaba had meant by 'something that she could only do in Balbadd' for a moment. Inarguably, it was definitely the most important thing that Alibaba had about Kougyoku, but again, even though the Balbadd's prince was a gentle man, there were just always some mysteries clouding around his adolescent figure.

In the end, maybe that, as well as her boredom of staying in the cabin for too long, that had led her to enjoy some fresh air from the deck.

Unsurprisingly, Alibaba was there all the time. In comparison to Kougyoku, who was still spending her trip in a… guilt trip, Alibaba was savoring his time talking friendlily to anyone he encountered on the ship. Despite how the man had matured, that one positive trait of never changed even for a moment. Even right now, he was chatting with a sailor, laughs were traded around between their conversations.

To be honest, though, she was kinda jealous of that. Up until this point, she still had hard time making friends, where Alibaba could do pretty easily. One more thing that she respected from him.

"Hey, Kougyoku!"

When he suddenly called her name, she reacted indifferent, only mustering small nods. She only got shier when the sailor that had been talking with Alibaba turned his attention at her as well.

"Well then, Sir Alibaba," the sailor bowed a bit, realizing that his presence might disturb the lady's privacy. "I'm going to return to my job. I hope you'll enjoy our service to the fullest."

"Aah," Alibaba quickly responded. "Thank you very much. I will."

Another bow from the burly sailor before the said man left the zone, which triggered Kougyoku's will to approach Alibaba.

"Hey," he leaned his back against the wooden railing of the ship, his hands resting there. "How're you feeling now?"

What should she answer here? 'Perfectly okay'? 'Never been better'? That tone of the blatant lie of her would not work against Alibaba. Instead, she decided to join him in leaning against the railing, only that she was averting her direction to the beautiful blue sea.

"I'm… alright," she forced the answer out, although she already knew that Alibaba could tell that. "I just need some time to adjust, I guess."

"You have all the time in the world."

She could only stare back at him in a slight surprise when he suddenly added soft chuckles into his answer. She needed to rewrite her opinion about him. This man was just a box full of surprise. One time he could be pretty dorky, one time he could be pretty compassionate, and on one other time, he could be very wise. She couldn't tell exactly which the real Alibaba Saluja was.

But there was always but one thing that defined him: his honesty. Whatever he did, he would put all his determination there; whether it was to amuse his friends, to protect his friends, or such. That, perhaps, was the trait that made everyone gathered around him, Kougyoku herself included.

They were both an unwanted child of their own mother, but they were pretty far from similar. He was able to deal with his past way more effective than her. Another point that made her… envied him.

"Alibaba," she called him softly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, fire away."

A quick, gentle, yet short answer— Figures. Kougyoku lifted her neck, watching the sea of cloudless sky instead of the watery one.

"Back there… What did you mean by that?"

This time, instead of a quick answer, Alibaba seemed to be a little puzzled. Hell, he even scratched the back of his shiny golden hair dimwittedly. "Er… 'That'?"

She averted her gaze at the male, narrowing her eyes in disappointment. There, once again, he returned from the 'Gentle Alibaba' into a 'Nitwit Alibaba'.

"Something I could only do in Balbadd."

She was fighting the urge to add 'you imbecile!' as the prefix on her last statement, truth to be told. But luckily for her, she was able to stay polite and modest. So far.

Alibaba's answer came out a bit later. After around five seconds or so, after the words seemed to be absorbed by his brain, the young male sighed before he rotated on his heels so that he and Kougyoku was now facing the same direction, towards the sea.

"Curious?"

His tone was not that of a teasing one. It was a calm tone, if not a very tender one. This left Kougyoku to answer with the similar frequency, after she let out a quick sigh.

"I do."

"…Well… What can I say about this…" he explained, scratching his neck idly. "It's… You know…"

She waited for him to finish his sentence, tilting her head curiously. Yet, Alibaba appeared to be acting very awkward, as if he was thinking of the right word to express his mind. When he did answer, though, it was something that would become the basis in her life.

"You need to find it out by yourself."

That statement seemed to do magic on her, because she had kinda predicted some sort of answer from him. Didn't stop her from contemplating it, though.

What surprised Kougyoku and even almost made her yelp was when she suddenly felt something warm landed on her head. Unexpectedly, it was his hand. Alibaba was… patting her on her head.

"Don't worry about it, Kougyoku!" his confident grin was plastered on his lips. "You can do it. I just know it!"

At the slightest of his touch, the princess couldn't help but felt her cheeks grew warmer. Seriously, it could get even hotter if not for the small teasing tone in his words. She had to pout slightly at him for the unnecessary pat.

"Alibaba."

The small, adorable scolding from Kougyoku only brought Alibaba to grin wider, as well as ruffling her well-maintained hair playfully, much to the girl's dismay. She didn't approve too highly of this, of course.

For the first time after the war ended, Kougyoku was acting… Kougyoku-ish. She kicked Alibaba on his shin, hard.

…

At the very least, the ship was docking at the Balbadd's port. The hot sun welcomed the new faces, for better or worse. Hundreds of heads quickly find their way to land their steps on Balbadd's hot ground, hoping to achieve the reason of why they arrived in Balbadd as fast as possible.

"Prince Alibaba!"

Alibaba Saluja and Kougyoku Ren both didn't get the chance for such way, apparently. Especially the former.

"It's our prince!"

As soon as the two were going to walk normally, dozens of people had already surrounded them, cheers and applauses were heard no sooner.

"Cheers for the greatest hero of Balbadd!"

"Make way! Make way!"

…Now Alibaba regretted informing his return to Barkak yesterday.

"H-Hey-! P-Please wait a minu—"

Without his consent, Alibaba was quickly… lifted to the air by the crowds. Flabbergasting at his current predicament, the 'hero of Balbadd' tried his best to get back down on the ground. Unfortunately for him, it was for naught. Even begging them to stop didn't save him from this situation.

Even for someone who just had (and was still) going in a deep guilty conscience like her, Kougyoku still couldn't muffle her giggles, although she did try to hide it by bringing her sleeves over her mouth. Such a sight was the most heartwarming event. Despite how Alibaba would definitely turn their compliments down, he was undoubtedly their hero. He was their inspiration.

"K-Kougyoku! H-Help-!"

She purposely ignored his plea as the young male was buoyed up high on the air, still hiding her smile behind the soft clothing around her hand. Deciding that small fiesta like this what was actually Alibaba deserved for being the country's finest leader, Kougyoku instead decided to follow the parade as they bring Alibaba ceremoniously (or unceremoniously, one's mileage may vary) to the castle by walking not far behind.

…

It didn't take too long for them to arrive at the gigantic gate of Balbadd Castle. Hell, it felt even sooner for Alibaba who was being thrown repetitively to the beautiful air by Balbadd's civilian, for he didn't waste any stamina for walking even an inch. Fortunately though, the moment the giant gate was spotted, they dropped the whole fiasco of applauding Alibaba and gently let the young prince to walk the earth again, leaving the prince to sigh on his own.

Kougyoku? She was just following idly behind, sometimes got captured in a small world of her own whenever there was something interesting passing through her vision.

"Jeez," Alibaba scratched his golden mane, letting out yet another sigh. "Those guys never changes."

At that, Kougyoku made a small, almost invisible smile as she walked just right beside him, albeit she was still hiding it from Alibaba's vision. "It's a good thing, no?"

"It's not exactly the best thing, nonetheless."

He groaned as he let the more-than-happy guards opened the gate for them, stepping to the castle front yard soon after.

Again, the same cheeriness exploded as soon as the two walked in. As soon as Alibaba was noticed by a servant, dozens of other servants quickly surrounded him. Soon, it was not only servants, but bunch of those military soldiers also joined.

Alibaba's life sucked so hard.

Luckily, there was no lifting-to-the-air involved anywhere in this one, only group hugs. Still, with that many people, Alibaba was overwhelmed. He couldn't even reply, or react to them in general. Truthfully, breathing was getting rather hard for him as well due to excruciating masses around him. All that, at least until they were separating when a special someone walked in personally.

"Young master."

It was Barkak, Balbadd's general. In comparison to the last time Alibaba had seen him, Barkak had changed a bit. There was the slight white lining in Barkak's hair which was not there previously, marking the oldness of the grand general. Still, his façade remained gentle and gallant, welcoming atmosphere surrounded his figure as he spoke. All those features, of course, brought the genuine smile to Alibaba's lips.

"Barkak," a small nod came from Alibaba toward the bigger man. "You look well."

"So are you, young master." Barkak replied his gesture with a gentle bow from his part. "Welcome home. I am sorry for our liability to contain our excitement of seeing you."

"Don't sweat it, now."

He grinned back at the old general, soon engrossed into a heartwarming stare with the said man as he rose. It only took a matter of second before it grew into a full-fledged conversation between them.

She stayed silent, not saying even a single letter. The least she could do here, was knowing her place as a mere guest. Alibaba had done a lot for her, and hence, if he was content with having a chat with his 'family' first before to her, she was more than satisfied as well. She didn't really care much if there was anyone else eyeing her suspiciously, if not at all. For as long as Alibaba had his happiness.

Because that was what friends do, right?

"Ah, right! Come over here, Kougyoku!"

But boy, did he love to call her out of nowhere? Pinged, the young princess quickly raised her attention at the golden haired youth as he grinned and gestured for her to come closer. Kougyoku being Kougyoku, of course, contemplated that for a moment, shy blushes coloring her pure cheeks. Alibaba didn't even try to call her formally. He was being overly plain at addressing her in the middle of the crowds, preferring her position as a friend to a princess.

…Not that she hated it. She was happy, in fact. Still didn't mean that she was all comfortable with dozens of eyes watching her figure being treated by Alibaba as something… special.

Instead, she decided to resort her attention at the cold ground as she walked toward Alibaba, casually trying her best to not to show her shyness too much at the public. God, she felt rather awkward on so many levels like this.

But again, just like how Alibaba acted, the moment she was just beside the young prince and right across Barkak, the old general gave her a honest smile.

"Welcome to Balbadd, Princess Kougyoku."

Maybe she was… underestimating this place. It was not only Alibaba, everyone in Balbadd had the same warmth in their smiles. The smiles were intoxicating and peaceful, even the slightest of their flashes would soothe the rushing heart inside of her.

Sadly, though, she wasn't able to compose herself all that much, and she could only reply Barkak with an awkward nod. "A-Ah, y-yes-"

Fail. She failed so much. Get a grip for yourself, Kougyoku!

"I-I mean-! I-I thank you for the warm welcome-!"

She quickly tried to hide her face by bowing her head down, but of course, her strange stuttering just then would not go unheard by both of them, if not everyone else in general. Alibaba was not helping by giving a faint sneering at her. This was Kougyoku's cue to blush further.

Suddenly, she felt a sudden urge to smack Alibaba on the head. Hard.

"Barkak, I know I shouldn't ask you this, but could you please accompany Kougyoku to the guest room?"

…Or maybe not. He was also the one who dismissed it, so again, she might owe him another one.

"You should feel no bad, my prince," Barkak bowed in pleasure at Alibaba. "Your wish is always my command."

The third prince looked at the older man in awe for a bit before he let out with a sigh of relief. While it was not exactly a bad thing, he just couldn't escape this special treatment, could he? He then shrugged a bit as he dropped his goods gently on the pavement before he turned around to approach to Kougyoku, in which the said girl tilted her head questioningly in response.

"Kougyoku, please have a good rest and enjoy your time here," he smiled. "I'll meet you later by the dining room for lunch, okay?"

She said nothing but her eyes already spilled her entire curiosity at him.

What are you going to do, Alibaba?

Miraculously, the golden haired prince seemed to be able to read her gaze.

"I need to go somewhere first."

Again, her gaze said everything. Where? Can I come with-

She let her question unfinished when she noticed that his expression was different than how it should be. His smile, for once, seemed to be rather dry and empty.

"Somewhere I need to check personally," he smiled at her, rather bitterly. "All by myself."

Biting her lower lip apologetically, she gave him a swift nod in return. She shouldn't question him further.

With that, Alibaba walked past Kougyoku outside of the castle yard. Her ruby spheres stared at him longingly for a while before she walked to the separate destination, following Barkak.

…

It didn't take her too long to settle to her assigned room. The place was not exactly big, but the furniture was designed beautifully and neat and it made her comfortable already. It was different from her own room back in Kou or Sindria, but she somehow could already feel that this room was going to be comfy on its own level.

Still, the crimson haired princess stayed still by the end of the bed, sitting idly as she stared at the beautiful sun through the open window. It was almost time for lunch, but she didn't feel like going. Or at the very least, not by herself.

She wanted to walk with him. Her friend. Her savior. It was merely a simple thing like walking together, but it would make her very happy. She knew that she was asking too much, but…

Kougyoku let out a tired sigh before she rose from the bed. She really needed to stop being such a spoiled little girl now. Brushing her long skirt for a moment, she then started her beeline toward the door, only to get interrupted by loud knocks before her door.

"Kougyoku, you're here?"

It was Alibaba's voice. A voice that she somehow longed for. Of course, overwhelmed by her feelings to see him, she quickly opened the door.

And before it, Alibaba stood there like a dork, his hand scratching his shiny yellow hair awkwardly. Again, she felt that she still had long, long path before she could tell which one the true Alibaba was.

"Er, sorry," he nervously stated. "I forgot that you might not know where the dining room is. I'm here to show you where it is… I guess?"

She felt like giving him a hard kick on his shin once again for his dorkiness, but she did nothing of sort. Instead, she only stared at his amber eyes wordlessly, lost in her thought.

"Kougyoku?"

She could question about where he had gone before, but there was another important question that she should ask first.

"…Alibaba, may I have a moment?"

He blinked inquisitively, but before he could do anything to express his curiosity, the young princess of Kou had already yanked his arm and pulled him back to the room, closing the door swiftly soon. She then pushed the still-surprised Alibaba and trapped him between herself and the door, her eyes never left his amber ones. If any, it was getting more intensified as time passed.

Kougyoku might not be able to tell Alibaba, but it worked the other way around as well. He was so lost at words of what the hell were she trying to pull at him.

"K-Kougyoku…?" Considering how he was a normal, hormonal young man and how… embarrassing the position he was currently in, Alibaba was starting to blush furiously. "W-what is it?"

Out of sudden, her ruby eyes left his and she pulled back, although her expression stayed serious. Before Alibaba could question her previous action, she was already moving her arm to pull the thick needle on her hair.

"Alibaba, I want you to keep this."

It was her metal vessel, her Djinn. She was giving it to him.

Every surprise that Alibaba had kept until that point exploded. At first, he thought she was joking, but when his eyes scanned her firm and unyielding eyes, he could easily tell she was dead serious.

"It's impossible, Kougyoku. That Djinn is yours and-"

"I beg of you, Alibaba," she quickly tugged one of his arm without his consent, passing the hairpin to him. "Please."

Obviously, Alibaba would stick to his original answer to refuse her request. After all, even though he had his hand on her metal vessel, her Djinn would not obey him. A Djinn had but one definite master, and for this one certain Vinea, Kougyoku was its master.

His objection was left unsaid when he noticed her sudden change of expression.

She was crying.

"I-I've… had enough…" Her crystal tears fell like rain to the floor. "I… don't want to hurt anyone anymore…"

Alibaba froze on his spot, unable to even open his mouth to form a reaction. Especially when her head fell upon his hand, now starting to wet it.

"…Please, Alibaba. Please…"

He… couldn't do anything else but obey her request at this point.

"Alright."

This wasn't supposed to happen, but as soon as he voiced his answer, Kougyoku turned her face at him, smiling brightly like a sun, as if she had found a resolution to keep on living, which was probably literally true.

Inwardly, he let out a small sight. Well, if he could get rid of Kougyoku's crying face, it was worth it.

"Thank you, Alibaba! Thank you so much!"

"…Only on one condition, however," he quickly interjected her burst, much to his own dismay, since he generally hated to burst people's balloon. Kougyoku herself gave an 'Eh?' along with a small headtilt as Alibaba finished his sentence. "This is still yours. I am only keeping it for you. Your hairpin will be in my room and you're free to grab it anytime you want even without my permission."

From his words, she could understand what he was aiming for. Since it was a win-win condition, she gave him a slight nod of affirmation.

"…Very well, I agree to your terms."

"Then, it's a deal. Also- "

Not even waiting for Kougyoku's response, his arm quickly moved to her cheek, gently wiping the trails of tears from it. The Kou princess was a little surprised by his sudden touch, but she did nothing much but stare back at Alibaba while shade of reds were coloring her pure cheeks.

"-There, you absolutely look better when you smile, Kougyoku."

Her heart quickly skipped a beat.

If she hadn't blushed hard before, this was definitely the moment where her cheeks were practically flooding with reds. And when Alibaba added THAT smile of him into the fray? Kougyoku's heart felt like exploding.

Up until now, she never really noticed it. But up this close, his eyes were beautiful and he was so good-looking. Although maybe he was still not as handsome as Sinbad…

…There was something in her heart that argued with that, however. Right now, Alibaba might be in par with Sinbad in the terms of appearance.

Or maybe he was even more handsome than Sinbad.

"Kougyoku?"

His question brought her out of her trance. Sadly, the blushes on her face were not disappearing all that fast. She gasped in horror, still trying her best to dismiss the blushes on her cheeks. Oh, Solomon… She was embarrassed enough now. The only worse thing that could happen here was letting him notice this current color of her face.

This was a desperate time for her, and desperate time always called for desperate measure.

"T-Then let us have our lunch, Alibaba!"

She quickly broke the ice by (once again) forcefully yanking his arm and dragging him back outside of her room, with Alibaba yelping in surprise. He had to admit already: He didn't even have the slightest idea how she could turn so hyper after crying like that.

"K-Kougyoku, wait a minute-! Do you even know where the dining-"

"M-Mister Barkak pointed it to me already!"

"G-Good thing, then. B-But could you please stop pulling me like that?"

She left him with no further response, much to the Balbadd's prince chagrin. She kept dragging him along with her, and he was trying his best to keep his balance on, or at the very least, to not to fall with his face first to the floor.

On the other hand, Kougyoku was overlooking his discomfort. She was too busy fighting this new feeling that kept beating inside her heart. She knew that denying this feeling was useless, for it would only grow stronger as time passed and no matter how much she denied it… In the end, she knew that it was always a possibility ever since she decided to follow him. It was still faint, but it was happening.

Kougyoku Ren was falling in love with Alibaba Saluja.

Dohohoho, let's play this slow.