*Onami*

"Ugh," Nao said, hanging his head back, against the metal container of the trailer transporting us. He fanned himself with his hand to try to cool his body down. His clothes were completely drenched in sweat.

We were the only two being taken to wherever 'The Dragoness' was taking us.

"Want some water?" I asked, offering him some of the water I was given. I didn't have as much need for it as he did, though. For some reason, members of my family did well with the heat. My guess was it had something to do with our sand-based powers and ability to create illusions of a desert.

He smiled, weakly. "Thanks, Onami, you're the greatest," he said, taking the water. He opened his dry lips as he gulped down the water.

"Why not put your lips against it?" I asked.

His already red face somehow managed to turn more crimson. "It's your canteen. It would be unsanitary to put my lips on it is all." He turned away as he handed it back to me.

I lowered my head. "Ohh. Good point. Onami wouldn't want you to get a disease from me."

"Huh? I meant from me."

I glanced up at the sweating boy. "You?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I had a fever not too long ago." He looked down at his leather shoes. "Mama told me not to go out on the day I was kidnapped, actually. She felt I wasn't healthy enough. If only I had listened to her, then I wouldn't be in this situation."

If only I had held on to Yuko and not trusted that man who lied to me. Yuko... hoped she was fine. Knowing her, she might've turned back and went to save Nori. We had agreed that we would save him after reporting to the police.

I sighed. An untold number of days had likely passed since then. Or maybe, only a few had passed. Though, it was only rather recently that the heat here had started to become overbearing.

"Is something on your mind?" Nao asked.

"Onami was just thinking of her own family," I said, sighing.

"Don't worry, we'll escape from here." He smiled.

"What's on your mind?"

He grinned. "I came up with an idea."

I scooted closer to him. "Well, let's hear it."

He cupped a hand around the edge of his mouth. "I was thinking, you could make the stuff that lady wants, but instead use it yourself."

I gasped. "Myself? I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle it." Sure, Mama said that only members of our bloodline can, but the side effects were still bad. Though, Daddy said that they could try to cancel the effects before time was up, but Mama never tried it. Seemed she was too afraid of it.

Considering what became of Kuroshi after he took it, I couldn't blame her.

"No," I said.

He frowned. "Then how can we be saved? If we were still in the capital, it would be easier for Papa to find us. But now we're heading to someplace where even we don't know."

I bit my lower lip In contemplation. He had a point. This might be our only way to escape.

I grimaced. "Fine, but Onami will be the one to take it."

He nodded. "Okay." He placed his head back against the wall of the container. "Hope it'll work. It feels like I'll die here soon."

"Don't worry," I said, patting his slim shoulder. "Onami will try her best to save you."

I took out the hyper-ring that 'The Dragoness' had handed me before transferring us over here. She said inside were prana bottles, should I tire myself out while trying to create the so-called 'sacred wine'.

Out of the ring appeared three small red bottles that looked like the energy drinks that Kuroshi was so fond of drinking.

I opened one of them and sniffed it. Our noses had a way of warning us about dangerous food. Now, if only they could detect liars...

"Here," I said, holding out a tiny bottle to Nao. "This should give you some energy... I think. Not sure if it works for Zionians."

He smiled. "Is that what was inside of it? I got another idea!"

"Hmm?"

"You can make the wine and put it in the ring, that way it will be ready for use."

I scratched my head. "I guess, but it doesn't take long to make it." Well, at least for Mama it didn't.

"That's great!" He stared back at the liquid as he raised it toward his lips, but came to a halt. "Wait, you said you aren't sure if it works for Zionians, but aren't you one yourself?"

"Only in that Onami was born here, but her ancestors hail from another realm."

"Another realm?" He gasped. "Wait, could it be Xeleria?"

I nodded. "Yup. Specifically, the nation of Kyuu Seishin."

"That explains the fluffy ears," he said, raising a hand to touch them. He halted. "Ahh, sorry!"

I leaned forward. "It's okay. Onami will let you pet them."

He held out a twitching finger and poked the top of my right ear. "So fluffy! It's softer than my teddy-bear!" His face flushed even more than before. "Uh... n-not that I still sleep with it. I m-meant the one I had as a little kid."

I laughed. "I have never owned a teddy-bear, but it looks cute."

"You haven't? Then once we're out of here, I'll show you mine!" he said, flashing me a grin.

"Onami will like that."

He laughed. "It's cute how you say your name sometimes instead of 'I.'"

I blushed. "It's not." I grumbled. "Anyway, I better return to work."

I turned away from him and closed my eyes, and followed up by pressing the tips of my fingers together. Next, I took several deep breaths and tried to call upon the energy deep within my magicum organum. Unlike most other mages, the Kyuu Hyaku— the clan that ruled over Kyuu Seishin in ancient times and still does to this day—had crystalline cores like those of beasts.

According to Mama, the crystal cores were likely tied to the Nine Sacred Beasts that gifted the founders with their prana. After all, the only other beings with crystal magicum organum were beasts with powerful magic. Likewise, it was from them that we got our animal traits, setting us apart from nearly the rest of the Xelerians.

Once the energy had risen toward my chest, I split it into two—one half for each arm. Each half was to meet again at the tip of my fingers.

While I might never had tried making the wine myself, I still knew a bit about how to make it from having watched Mama.

What was surprising was that after Mama's death, Kuroshi never asked me to make the wine in her place. Perhaps, seeing what it had done to him caused him to realize it wasn't something to mess around with.

I took another deep breath to try to regain my focus. Mama said that this required a lot of concentration, especially the third part. One needed to have a clear mind.

How Mama did it so fast was actually surprising after trying it myself...

I cupped my hands as energy was done gathering between my palms.

"Woah," Nao said.

"O'miki," I chanted. I opened my eyes as soon as I felt something cool on them, like cold water. In my cupped hands was now a white liquid with a metallic shimmer to it, just like the one Mama made.

"Is that the wine?" Nao asked.

I nodded.

Though, I had no way to test its effects... Mama said that at first the effects were short, but the side-effects would kick in sooner. It was best to save it for later.

I glanced at the empty glass bottle next to Nao. If it wasn't translucent then I would've poured it into it.

"My canteen," I said. "Bring it over to me, please."

"Got it," he said, crawling over to my canteen which had moved over to the opposite side of the truck.

I glanced at the liquid uneasily as it swooshed around in my hands from the motion of the truck. "Please hurry."

He sped up his pace and stretched his arm out to the canteen. "Got it!" He turned around slowly and then rushed over to me. He opened it and held it out. "Go on, pour it in."

I shifted my hands to form an ovoid instead of a bowl-shape, then I proceeded to slowly pour the liquid into the canteen.

Nao smiled as soon as I was done pouring as much of the stuff as I could.

"Yay! It worked!" he said. He snuffed the stuff. "Odd, it doesn't smell like any wine I've seen. Then again, this is magical wine, not grape wine."

I took several deep breath and pressed my head against the floor of the container.

"You okay?"

I tried to open my lips, but my mouth was dry. It was as if they had been drained of their water content. I had never felt this way before, not even when we went several days without drinking anything.

Nao closed the canteen and attached it to his belt then crawled over toward something. The boy was an odd one. A moment ago, he was claiming to be on the verge of death, and now he was moving more energetically. Or were the effects of that prana drink just that good. Wait... my drinks... I noticed that they weren't where I had left them.

I was an idiot for just letting them out like that...

"Here," Nao said as he returned. In his hands were the other two bottles. It was fortunate that they hadn't shattered.

My hand twitched as I tried to reach out for them.

Nao grabbed me by my left shoulder and pulled me up. "Open your mouth, I'll pour it in."

I tried to move my lips, but it proved impossible. I barely had enough energy to keep myself conscious.

"Sorry for doing this..." Nao put his fingers against my lips and forced my mouth open. He slowly poured the shimmering ruby liquid into my mouth. It tasted like pomegranate. Once the bottle was empty, he removed his fingers from me. "Feeling better."

I coughed a little and nodded. "A bit." I reached out for the last bottle. "Onami might need that one too."

He smiled and handed it to me. "Guess you can drink it without my help."

I snickered and nodded. I opened it up and threw my head back, jugging the stuff down.

"Seems making the wine is harder than you initially made it look."

I cleared my mouth. "Even I underestimated how difficult it is. I might not have enough energy to make another."

Nao stared at the canteen attached to his belt. "Seems like we'll need to rely on this first try then. When do you think we should use it?"

"As soon as we arrive to town. Based on the heat, we're probably in a desert."

"That makes sense."

If it weren't me using it, then I would've executed our escape plan now, but that would've resulted in issues.

****

[Hours Later]

Nao shivered from the cold. It must've been night now.

I scooted closer to him and wrapped my tail around his body.

"So soft and warm," he said, hugging it. Seeing him snuggle against it reminded me of when Yu-yu and I used to snuggle up on Papa's tail when we were little kids.

I wish I could be outside, to see the stars. Papa had promised me that we would see them together as soon as we got out of captivity, but that day never came, and it never would.

Suddenly, the trailer door clicked open, causing Nao to stand up.

I gulped. We had arrived to our destination a lot faster than even I had expected.

A black-haired man dressed in all black and wearing shades walked into the truck. Though, at least from the view I was getting, we didn't seem to have stopped at a town. It was all desert for as far as my eyes could see, and I had pretty good eyes.

Nao put his arms around me and glared at the man.

"Don't try to put up resistance kid. The Boss told me to check on you to see if you've made her the thing she asked for."

I tried to keep myself from staring at the canteen.

"No, we haven't," I said.

He snickered. "The Boss isn't the only one who can tell if one is lying." He took a single step forward and then appeared directly in front of me, clenching my hair in his hands.

This guy was skilled. Even the wine might not be enough for us to overtake him.

"Let her go!" Nao yelled, standing up.

"Buzz off, kid!" he said, waving his hand.

Nao screamed as a gust blew him out of the trailer and into the desert sands.

"Nao!"

"Worry about yourself, little girl. Tell me, where is the liquid or I'll cut your face real pretty," he said as he formed a knife out of darkness. "And trust me, I'm not a very good artist, so I might make a few errors."

I gulped. "I... I'm not sure if it's good enough for her."

"Ahh, is that so?" he said, pressing the edge against my face, but not deep enough to cut it. "In that case, allow me to be the judge of that. Now, where is it?"

I gulped. "Y-you threw it away."

He raised his eyebrows. "What? Wait." He turned outside and gasped. Standing by the entrance of the trailer was Nao. On his lips were traces of silver liquid.

"No..." I murmured in horror.

"I'm sorry, Onami. I can't let this guy have it. We're going to escape now," he said, dashing toward us.

The man grunted in pain as Nao crushed his left hand and snatched his knife.

"Don't hurt Onami, or I'll hurt you," he said, slapping the guy. A hole was torn into the trailer.

"Wow..." I said, in disbelief. "You sent that guy flying who knows how far."

Nao smiled at me. "Let's get out now. He might have a buddy or two."

I smiled and stood up. Okay.

Suddenly, Nao's eyes widened. They quickly became bloodshot. He gripped his chest. "Ona...mi... run..."

"W-what's wrong?" I glanced at the hole. Was it that guy's doing? Or... was it the wine's effects finally kicking in.

He collapsed to his knees. "I... don't think... I can hold it back much longer..."

"You kids, stop right there!" another man said. He was accompanied by a woman.

"What did you kids do to Dalton?" the woman asked.

Nao glanced up at her. "Get out of... Onami's way... Now!" He dashed forward and grabbed a piece of shrapnel from the torn trailer wall and threw it at the lady, slicing her head off.

I cupped my hands over my mouth. If it weren't for lack of having eaten, I would've thrown up by now.

The man gritted his teeth. "What are you?"

Nao snickered. "I... am your worst nightmare," he said, flashing him a slasher smile. He dashed forward, kicking the man into the desert.

"Nao..." I said, inching closer to him. "Y-you okay."

He gripped his head. "Onami... run... while you still can."

I stepped toward him. "I... can't leave you like this. Plus, once the effects wear off, you'll be stranded here, alone."

He forced a smile. "Then... get help." He collapsed to his knees. "Just, get away. Be-before I... before I kill you too!" he yelled, tears in his eyes.

I gripped my hands together. I wrapped my arms around him. "It might not be that easy. My sister and I thought that running away together would be easy, but that didn't turn out to be the case. So, I'm staying with you!"

"But you'll die," Nao said, shaking.

"I won't die! You've held back from attacking me all this time! You're not like the others who have taken the wine! You're stronger than them! Your will is greater than theirs!"

Nao reached his hands out and wrapped them around me. He continued to cry and shake from trying to contain the overwhelming desire to destroy.

***

['Present']

"It's fine," I said, staring directly into Kohri's blue eyes as we stood together in the forest. "If any situation called upon it, it's this one. Try to get my sister and the others to safety in under ten minutes. Any longer than that and I'll be completely drained."

Kohri smiled and nodded. "Yeah. You stay safe too." He gasped as he dashed in front of me, holding out his hands to form a barrier of ice.

The barrier shattered in an instant as a beam of concentrated heat energy shot through it.

Kohri grimaced as the bullet of heat nicked his cheek.

"Kohri!"

"What are you two love-birds planning?" Mr. Itou asked as he raised his sword into the air. His lips curled into a toothy smirk. "Not that it matters." He held out his hand toward me. "I'll start off with you."

Kohri grunted and lurched himself at him, swinging his hammer down. "Get away from her."

Mr. Itou jumped back, but Kohri followed up by appearing in front of him like how Nao had against our kidnappers.

I took deep breath and pressed my fingers together. I repeated the same process from all those years ago, step by step until I arrived at the last one.

I took another deep breath.

"O'miki!" I yelled. In my hands appeared the same mercury-looking liquid that Nao had drank.

I raised my hands toward my mouth and sipped the otherworldly liquid. Even though some liked to call my special ability the 'wine of the gods', it didn't taste divine at all. It was about ten times worse than cough medicine.

Mr. Itou snickered as he avoided the furious Kohri's hammer. "Is that all you've got? No wonder you refuse to call yourself a Seven-Hill these days."

"Shut up!" Kohri screamed as his aura intensified. He was burning up his energy too rapidly. At this rate, he wouldn't last for much longer.

I rose my left hand as I felt my body surge with power. Was this how Nao felt before the madness of the wine had taken over?

I held my hand toward him and shot a beam of golden light at the Prime Minister.

Mr. Itou dodged the attack rather than blocking it like he had Kohri's hammer previously. He watched with interest as the trees behind him grew taller and thicker.

"With that much power, I was sure it was an attack of destructive capabilities," the prime minister said, laughing.

I smiled as I stepped closer. "Who said that it isn't?"

He gasped as golden roots shot out of the ground and curled around him.

"Your biggest mistake was taking me lightly, Prime Minister Itou!" I yelled as I formed a fist. "This is for my sister and her friends!"

I punched him in the stomach but he disappeared in a burst of black smoke.

"Where has he gone off to?" I asked myself, glancing at my surroundings.

I have to find him soon, before the side-effects of this technique kick in. But where could he have warped to?

I gasped as it hit me.

Yuko!

I dashed toward her location, but just as I arrived, a shockwave blew away the thick fog covering this part of the forest to reveal Kohri and Mr. Itou locked in combat again.

"Running away, huh?" Kohri asked as a new wave of fog merged.

Mr. Itou snickered. "Who said I was?"

"Sis!" Yuko yelled as soon as she noticed me. She started to run toward me.

"Wait, stay near Kohri!" I yelled as the fog blurred my vision once more. "I'll come and get you!"

I rushed over to where I had seen her standing.

"Wahh!" Yuko cried as I wrapped my arms around her.

I laughed. "Silly Yu-yu! It's me, Onami."

She beamed and hugged me tightly. "Onami! Yuko's so happy that her big sis is here!"

"Don't worry, Yu-yu. While I couldn't do much to protect you all those years ago, I now can!" I said, glancing over my shoulder as Mr. Itou appeared out of the fog.

"Sis!" Yuko yelled, jumping. She gasped as she noticed Mr. Itou's sword hadn't made contact with me. Instead, it was being held back by a barrier.

I snickered. "What did I just say, Yu-yu? With this power, I will defend you and your friends." Just like how Nao protected me all those years ago!

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^_^. I'm going to try to get something written (might be Ep. 36 or a 35.5 continuing on the story of Onami and Nao's escape) in time to publish by Jan 15th, 2020 to mark the half-year anniversary of this book :)**