A/N: Greetings to anyone who might be reading this! Well sorry for the really slow update, what with school and going to korea and stuff, I managed to squeeze this one out :3 just warning you guys I might be really slow and on updating after this, like REALLY. On another note, this chap is going to be one of many turning points of the story so I hope youll enjoy and thank you all for the support ! ^_^

His bed was floating.

He was sure of that. When Akihiko had woken up suddenly in the middle of the night he had felt the strange sensation coming from the room. The absence of gravity was one thing, but when he had looked out of the window, he had seen in what could only be called 'the universe'.

His eyes widened in awe as he stared out, the stars, planets and constellations sparkling bright out of the black abyss of outer space.

'What the fuck?' was what he thought until he eventually noticed something that was bugging him at the side of his mind. He looked down and saw that his hands and legs were tied up by vines and he flinched when one of the thorns pricked his skin.

He had his fill of weird dreams, but this was by far the most peculiar one.

"Usami Akihiko."

He whipped his head back at the cold voice that had said his name, but as he did, he gasped when he felt the vines around him circling his neck and body, the thorns digging through his skin, making his blood flow freely from the bed. His eyesight became vague as he tried to see the figure standing across his bed. All he could see though was the glowing green eyes of the stranger and that he/she had long hair, the cold voice rang again as the vines around him tightened making him gasp in pain.

"Thief, liar, murderer."

His ears barely registered to the sound of the footsteps of the unknown person coming closer to his bed,

"What right have you to read my book?" it hissed.

Akihiko didn't really think he was breathing anymore, the vines and thorns around his neck and body was so tight now that he wouldn't be surprised if the bed was already drenched in blood.

He panted heavily when he felt a crushing weight fall on top of his chest making the bed creak loudly in complaint. Then suddenly the voice cackled deafeningly,

"Oh my! What do we have here!" it squealed, "Looks like fate, really loves to play with you Usami-san~~"

He sighed in relieve when he felt the vines slowly released him. But then he shivered when a whispered voice drifted through his ear, printing itself into his mind that he doubt he would ever forget it.

"Tell me, Akihiko, wasn't one of your victims a 'Takahashi' also?"

She gasped, jumping up from the bed, sweat trickling down her back. She whipped her head back at the window beside her and faced the dark forest night outside. 'So it was just a dream huh?'

She could still remember though, how wet her dress was when that woman had cried on her, the anguish in the woman's voice as she howled for forgiveness to her even though Risa-chan didn't know what the woman had done wrong to her, never mind knowing the woman herself. She trembled as she remembered the strangers' words resounding through her head,

'IM SORRY! IM SORRY! PLEASE FORGIVE ME! IT WAS ALL MY FAULT! PLEASE! PLEASE I DIDN'T MEAN TO!'

She was scared, nothing like this had ever happened to her. In her life, what she had imagined and what seemed as always would be was her, Misaki, the forest, and the little cottage they lived in. What does this mean?

She lay back at the mattress, hoping that after she closed her eyes, the mysterious woman wouldn't visit her again.

The brunette was walking slowly heading to his room, his face tired and sleepy, when suddenly he had heard loud noises coming from the guest room.

'Usagi-san?'

He hadn't expected anything when he came to open that door. But the loud piercing scream that came after proved otherwise.

Misaki was at the floor staring at the location where the bed was. He barely registered the loud gasp of Risa-chan when she came bounding here as she heard Misaki's scream.

"Mister Rabbit?!" she cried. But she didn't move, just standing still in front of him, her mouth gaping at him.

A small chuckle came after that, and then his low, deep voice spoke up, "It's alright. I'm not the only one like this."

I was having so much fun chatting with the merman and Kisa that I didn't even notice that it had already turned dark. Yukina was friendly, it was odd that the rest of the sirens left him out, but i guess being mute makes a lot of difference here. Kisa was pretty upset about that, I could see that he really cared for the golden finned siren. I left them to talk with themselves when night came, didn't want to ruin their private time now do I?

Strangely, when I was walking back to the ship, I didn't see any other of the crew lingering around the beach or working at the ship. It was eerily quiet. Just moments ago they were sprawled around the rocks and beach, flirting (or trying to) with the mermaids (and merman's too...), now only the silent breeze and the occasionally soft splash from the sirens under the waves accompanied me. I had to admit i was a bit nervous creeping back at the ship. The wood that i swore was stable before this, creaked under the pressure of my weight. The night breeze made my kimono sway lazily with the wind and i shivered as the cold air hit my face, tickling the tips of my hair at my cheeks. There wasn't anybody around, Takano too apparently. I was a bit relieved about that actually; I wasn't really ready to strike up another conversation with him right then. It didn't really feel like the right time. I stood there at the deck for a while, staring at the glaring white moon, its circular shape shining down upon the ship. A full moon huh? It was beautiful. Stars surrounded the bright silver globe, scattered around as constellations and stray meteors. The last time i had seen this scenery was when-

"Onodera! Fancy meeting you here!~"

My breath hitched when i heard the cry somewhere behind me, but i sighed in relieve when i noticed it was just Shinobu. I smiled at him uncertainly but he only stared at me in return.

"Shinobu...where's the others?"

The blonde boy shrugged his shoulders as he strode beside me his face set in a curious stare. I stared right back at him and noticed that there was a slight difference from when I had last seen the boy. To start with, his eyes. I swore they were bright blue before, but now it was plain obvious that it was in fact grey. Silver to be precise. It was mesmerising the way those orbs glittered just like the full moon in front of us. The other thing was his regal manner. The normal white shirt he wore somehow looked intimidating on him, and I also noticed that he seemed taller than me even though then, compared to the others he was a bit on the downside. The current smirk painted on his face wasn't helping at all and I wondered if i had misjudged him when I first met him. We were quiet for a while, both of us just staring at the moon, when suddenly shinobu laughed out of the blue, throwing his head back and holding his stomach. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was giggling as if he was finding something extremely hilarious. I could only watch him in confusion; stepping back a little afraid that shinobu had (or always did?) finally lost his marbles.

"Shinobu?" I said slowly, not sure what the boy was going to do next. His laughter eventually died down and he panted heavily and said back, "I'm sorry, it's just...I found out something really obvious, I can't help but laugh."

I stared at him in bewilderment before he suddenly reached out his hands upwards, to the sky. His eyes glued to his fingers, as if they were touching the stars. I followed his gaze, thinking there might be something up there when Shinobu said, "They're so far away..."

But then his voice rang again,

"The world is full of idiots."

He faced me, though his eyes seemed to be looking far away. A place only which he could see. He smiled quietly and continued, "It's too bad that I myself fell in love with one."

What the hell? I don't understand him at all! What exactly is he trying to say?

"You're an idiot too Onodera."

"WHA-!"

"And so is the captain."shinobu wrinkled his nose and said, "in fact, I think the whole crew is one big blithering idiot."

"Except for me of course." He said, smirking.

I could only look at him incredulously. Waiting for his words to make sense and wishing that he would fucking stop speaking in riddles.

"Onodera, do you think that you being here is a coincidence?"

Huh? What does he want me to say?, "Err...yeah?" I said slowly.

"No." Shinobu shook his head, his face scowling, "The universe is not that lazy, Onodera."

He looked down at the sea and I heard him mutter, "Somebody is pulling the strings here, and I think I know who..."

I stared at him in puzzlement, mainly because of his strange behaviour and partly because his eyes looks like it's flickering from blue to grey. Suddenly, he turned around and jabbed his index finger at my chest. My eyes widened in surprise as i backed away from the sudden movement.

"Onodera."

His face was grim, his eyes boring holes at my face.

"Youre heart right now is like an egg sitting on top of a rhinoceros horn." his face was stern as he continued, "one more mere push would send it tumbling to its doom."

"Why are you saying this to me?" I whispered in confusion.

The blonde boy frowned at me and said, "To protect you of course." Then he suddenly raised his voice saying, "Onodera Ritsu, heed my warning and stay away from the one you call 'Takano Masamune'. If you treasure your heart then it is wise for you to stay clear from that man, he will only bring you pain and suffering in the future."

Stay away? From takano? Why? I mean I'm already avoiding him but isn't causing pain and suffering a little bit too harsh?

I frowned at him and said, "Shinobu, who exactly are you?"

He raised his eyebrows at me before answering, "Oh I am called by many names but I never tell anyone my real name, except Miyagi of course." He looked at me thoughtfully before continuing, "I guess I can tell you what I do though."

He smiled at me before walking away and saying, "My job is raising the dead back to life."

I watched him silently as his black leather shoes thumped the wooden floor. 'That was weird.' I thought while turning my way to head back to Takano's room. I hate to admit it but I was worried. What shinobu said about Takano was still circling my mind. Why would he say that about Takano? Was it really a warning? Was Takano hiding something from me? Nevertheless I had to know what it was. I stared at the wooden door of the captain's quarters, taking a deep breath before raising my hand to knock on it.

"Uhm, Takano-san?" I said after knocking the door carefully.

It took a while and some quiet rustlings from inside until i heard him say, "Ritsu?"

"Er, can i go inside?"

Oh god this is embarrassing...

A minute passed by and then,

"No."

Huh? Now this was no doubt the strangest thing that happened tonight. I hadn't known Takano for long but surely he won't just push me away?

"Takano?", I tried again.

The reply came quicker this time, "Ritsu, if you want to find somewhere to sleep, go sleep with the cabin boy."

Hah, sleep with shinobu after what just happened? Things couldn't get more awkward than that. Besides his behaviour was just too strange for me to just ignore it. But i know that when he makes a decision he never backs away from it so it looks like i have to force my way in.

"Takano I'm getting in okay?"

I pushed the doorknob not surprised when I found it locked tight. Well, learning how to pick locks was one of my specialties too.

"Ritsu?! What the hell are you doing?! Get out!"

What in the world? Just what is he hiding in there?

The lock clicked as I pocketed my hair pin back in my kimono and slowly turned the door open inside. It was weird that Takano wasn't at the other side of the door, i mean if he wanted to stop me from coming in why didn't he just pushed the door close?

"I'm coming in..."

"RITSU I TOLD YOU TO GE-"

"..."

The silence was so long that it felt like centuries before my brain could comprehend what i was seeing with my own two eyes. Time seemed to stop until I was sure that I could even feel the lightest dust touch the ground.

Then,

"Ritsu...I knew I should've told you sooner..." a heavy sigh from him.

A soft thump as he took one step towards me.

"No..."

A short intake of breath as he realised what I had whispered.

"Ritsu, I'm sorry..."

I may have stated this before but the only window in that room was the one across the bed. Moonlight was now streaming from it, making apparent the dust particles floating around the room. The white ray travelled down, down, down to the figure which was 'Takano'. The light pooled down on him, showing me that it was in fact NOT Takano.

My eyes widened as I step back and I could feel my lungs constricting because of the extended time I have hold my breath.

Another step taken towards me and I gasped as the smell of rotting flesh hit me.

"Ritsu, the reason I didn't come all those years was not because I didn't care."

'No...'

Tears was flowing down my face but I barely noticed it as Takano suddenly reached his hand out to stroke my cheek.

"Ritsu..."

I didn't want to hear it. I covered my ears tightly; squeezing my eyes shut not wanting to hear what he has to say next, whimpering as I felt my whole body shake until I wished it would stop altogether.

"No, no, no, no..." I whispered, feeling my knees shaking in horror.

I flinched when his fingers touched my skin. Stroking my face slowly and brushing away the tears that flowed endlessly down.

It wasn't warm. It felt cold. Like metal. Sticking at my skin and I winced at the sharp points of the hand.

Because there was no skin.

There was only bones. My vision was blurry but I could still make out the dark holes on his face where his beautiful golden eyes should've been. The bones shining white in the moonlight. The walking skeleton looked eerie as it seemed to smile at me softly.

My heart was banging in my chest echoing through my ears, making me panic as the only thing I heard was my heart beating and not his.

I don't want to hear it.

It is not true.

I refuse to accept it.

No no no no no no no no no no no no NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO N-

"I'm dead."