Third person POV
It's been a few days ever since the war. Meaning, a few days ever since the gradually ending chaos.

But, unfortunately for Clarines, Neil had gone missing ever since typing him up and giving him to a few Clarines soldiers. The soldiers with the broken boy were found dead afterwards with slit throats. The trail of footsteps on the snow had only led to a mysterious end with no trace left.

Currently now, the gang alongside with Akuma or um Kiroyuki are currently at the border of Tanbarun. Oddly enough, Prince Raji and Sakaki has joined Zen and the others with a small travel.

The sun is setting quite quickly, getting sleepy little by little, ready for the night to take over for its retirement. For the night is slowly taking over of this advantage...
—————

"... tch! I'm sick and tired of traveling and traveling and traveling in this darn carriage over and over!" Akuma grumbled, resting her head on her palm while looking out the window she sat next to.

"Eheh." Shirayuki chuckled neevously, not sure how to respond to that.

Flashback
"Z-zen! Ryu! Obi! Everyone! You're alright! Thank goodness!" Shirayuki bolted up from her duty, throwing the clipboard she was holding onto the ground.

"Shirayuki!" Zen called out, overly joyed.

"I-I'm so glad you're alright!" The red haired girl cried, embracing the one she loves in her arms.

"I'm glad to see you're alright too Shirayuki. Thank you for taking care of the soldiers." Zen smiled warmly, relieved.

"N-no prob... lem?" Shirayuki's emerald eyes diverted over to behind Zen, seeing many unfamiliar faces and a somewhat familiar face.

"W... K... Kiroyuki? You're okay! Who are those men? Are... are you alri-" Shirayuki breathed out, feeling her tears whelm out even more.

'Why are Kiroyuki's eyes red? Weren't they blue? What happened to Kiroyuki? What horrors did she-'

"Sorry to break it to you, but I'm not Kiroyuki..." The red eyed girl said.

"Eh?" Shirayuki confusingly said. "I-I am sorry umm-"

"My name is not Kiroyuki but Akuma. The original owner to this body."

"Huh?" Shirayuki was perplexed. Original owner? Owner of a body? Shirayuki was uncertain if she was hearing things.

"And these four idiots here are my sacred warriors. Kuroiryuu, Rosso, Vert, And Gorm. They are warriors alongside with the soul of myself you see before you." Akuma said, pointing to each one of the warriors.

"Soul?" Shirayuki questioned.

"It's a long story eheh!" Rosso chuckled nervously.

"Ryu, Obi, And Zen told me about you. You're also a court herbalist of Clarines alongside with Ryu. It is also true that your hair is bright red. It is with utmost a honor to meet you." Akuma bowed, secretly seeing Gorm and Vert clap their hands.

"Um. Well. Akuma. It is also lovely to meet you. You have gorgeous eyes." Shirayuki said, smiling with acceptance.

"Pppftt! I can't hold it! Bwhahaha! I can't believe Lady Akuma is actually acting all lady like!" Vert yelled, laughing and laughing like a bear's roar.

"Tch! Hey Vert! Both you and Gorm made me do this you fools!"

"???" Shirayuki stared at the colorful group, confused in general.

"OWWW!" Both Gorm and Vert laid on the ground, defeated.

"That's what you two deserve." Akuma scoffed, making everyone sweat drop. "Anyways. The Kiroyuki you knew was just a replacement for me for many years. I am the original soul of this body and was replaced due to a tragic event of a young age yada yada. So in short, I am a cursed princess of generations of Hyoushou who is born of chaos."

"Um well-"

"I shall explain the whole story to you Shirayuki." Hanayuki said, waking forth. "I'll be accompanying you guys until Clarines exits the country. But until then, I would also love to chat."

"Sounds good to me!" Shirayuki smiled.
—————

'That was quite the shock that this girl is no longer Kiroyuki... Her presence is so powerful and strong like. Akuma's admirable despite the chaos at the castle... I don't know how the atmosphere was still cheerful that time when it was right after something so tragic.'

"Shirayuki?" Ryu called out.

"Y-yes?!" Shirayuki shouted, off guard.

"Pft!" Akuma almost snorted.

"S-sorry. You looked like you were asleep, but we've stopped at an abandoned house to rest in for the night." Ryu said.

"What about the army and soldiers?" Shirayuki questioned.

"They'll be traveling further towards Clarines so that the soldiers can be... treated of their wounds. Zen decided for us seven of us to stay the night somewhere since it's sundown." Akuma explained, one leg over the other, making her look mature in some view.

"Oh okay. Thank you." The three exited the carriage and went towards the large house in front of them.

"Hmm." Akuma saw the remaining luggage that could not be carried by Mitsuhide's full hands, deciding that Ryu And Shirayuki can walk ahead.

Picking up the last and large luggage, Akuma caught Mitsuhide's attention.

"Oh! Thank you for helping me out Akuma!" Mitsuhide's eyes lit up, smiling.

"It's not like I wanted to! I just needed a small workout for my arms! That's all!" Akuma grumbled quite loudly, walking ahead of Mitsuhide.

"She's quite stubborn and easily embarrassed from what I see." Obi said, coming up behind Mitsuhide.

"Woah! Obi! You gave me a fright!"
—————

"This place could use some light." Kiki said after examining the house with Mitsuhide.

"Yeah. Unfortunately, the light source (electricity) is broken. I can't really fix it since there aren't tools suitable to fix it too." Mitsuhide sweat dropped.

"Seems reasonable to not fix it though since it's only one night." Obi commented.

"Oh. Almost forgot." Akuma disappeared from the main room, catching the attention of everyone.

"Here." Akuma threw a box of matches at Obi.

"Where'd you find these?" Mitsuhide asked.

"I found them you fool." Akuma replied.

"Well, I'll go light them up around the house then. It'll last us three of hours at most." Mitsuhide and Kiki left, dispersing into the hallway after lighting a couple of candles in the main room.

Silence

"I think I'll retire to bed then. It's getting late." Shirayuki said, getting up.

"I'll escort you then. I'm also done for the day." Zen got up and went towards Shirayuki.

"Good night you three." Zen said.

"See you in the morning! Night!" Shirayuki said.

They both disappeared into the hallway, chatting and catching up some more.

Silence

"So... Who wants a hug from me?" Obi randomly asked.

"You disgusting bastard." Akuma glared at Obi, disgusted.

"Hey hey! I was just joking! Right Ryu?"

"U-um Yeah?" Ryu put down the book he was reading, unsure of what Obi had just said.

"See! Ryu is my backup buddy! He never lies!" Obi said, throwing his arm around Ryu, chuckling.

"Honestly idiot, it sounded more questionable that agreeable to me." Akuma scoffed, dominating the whole entire couch, laying down comfortably.

"Hmm. Well I'm going to check the surroundings around the house. Night kiddos." Obi said, smirking and exiting the room. Leaving the two young ones in the main room. Alone.

Silence

"... Hey kid." Akuma called out.

"Me?" Ryu asked confused.

"Yeah you, you idiot. Who else would I be talking to?" Akuma scoffed, rolling her red eyes.

"Well... A-aren't we the s-same age?" Ryu asked, slightly bringing his collar above his mouth.

"You're twelve, right?"

Ryu nodded his head.

"Sorry to break it to you kiddo, but I'm older than you by two years by the way." Akima yawned.

"W-w-wait, what?! I-I thought you were eleven?!" Ryu's face flushed red.

"Hm? Kiroyuki's age is not my age! She put into this body after I was born for some years you know!" Akuma shouted, throwing a pillow at Ryu which he had not caught.

"S-sorry! I didn't know! Honestly!" Ryu hid behind the pillow that was thrown at him.

*drip drop drip*

"Oh... It's raining." Ryu commented.

'Just like that day..." Akuma thought grimly.

"I wonder... Why aren't you trembling every second within my presence after war with me just a few days ago? Why don't you resent me? Aren't I a monster? A demon?" Akuma tucked in her knees to her chest, staring at the ground.

"I-"

"Never mind. I'm going to bed." Akuma swiftly got up, walking away.

"U-um! G-ood night!" Ryu exclaimed.

"... Night." Akuma whispered.

*lightning*

"Eek!" Ryu jumped, frightened from the sudden surprise.

"... I should go to sleep too..."

Heading into his room, shared with Obi, he entered the room. Yawning, Ryu undressed and changed into loose clothing suitable for sleep.

'I wonder when's Obi is coming back...'

One hour later
Ryu slowly opened his eyes, yawning.

Seeing how it was still dark in the room and outside, he concluded that he had slept for not long.

"Oh... Obi is back." Seeing the sleeping male on the opposite bed, Ryu shrugged it off and snuggled himself back to sleep.

Two hours later
*thunk thunk*

"... Huh?" Ryu yawned, rubbing his eyes and slowly getting up. He yawned some more and looked around the room.

"Where's-"

*slam*

"Ah! W-w-what was t-that?" He breathed out, jumping out of bed from a fearful reaction.

*step step step step*

Footsteps. Footsteps that were quiet yet powerful to were it was sounded. Footsteps that walked past Ryu's and the missing Obi's door.

"S-should I check it out? No-no! That's a b-bad idea!" He convinced himself.

"But what if it's a bandit and no one knows because they're asleep from exhaustion! I-I should check it out..." Ryu convinced himself once again.

Slowly and quietly, Ryu exited the room with a small creak of the door hinges.

*drip drip drip*

It was still raining and raining heavily like cats and dogs. How surprisingly things can be heard despite the rain and thunder.

*lightning*

"!" Ryu froze, feeling his body turn cold.

A shadow... A small shadow of a child illuminated the room.

Slowly stepping back, Ryu tripped backwards.

"A-ahhh!" Falling onto his back, Ryu grunted. He felt what he tripped on and felt that it was the book he was previously reading.

'No way! Now I will be found by that child!"

"Little boyyy!" A female's voice rang out, but only the figure was revealed to the light.

Ryu's blood went cold.

"A-ah... MONSTERR!" Ryu screamed, feeling goosebumps all over his body.

"GAHHH! DID SOMEONE SAY MONSTER!?" A rather high pitched voice of a male escaped into the room, causing Ryu to come down slightly.

"Huh?" Ryu slowly but surely went towards the candle and lifted it to walk towards the voice of a male(?).

"KYAAAH...... Ha?" The voice screamed as the light got closer, but gradually stopped seeing Ryu.

"Prince Raji?!" Ryu exclaimed, jaw dropping and his cold blood slowly warming.

"You! Ummm."

"R-ryu..." He sweat dropped.

"T-that's r-right! I k-knew t-there wasn't a g-ghost or a-an-anything! Aha! Aha!" Prince Raji said, snapping his fingers with a trembling voice.

"Y-yeah... I guess-"

"Who the hell are you two calling a monster?"

A hand jumped onto both Prince Raji's and Ryu's shoulder, causing them to scream and push the "ghost" down to the ground.

"AHHHHH! GHOSSSSTTT! MONSTERR! AHH-" Both Raji and Ryu ran into the wall, dropping the candle and loosing their only light.

"Grrr..."

"G-gyahhkun! What do we do little um- Ryu!?" Prince Raji was pouring a stream of tears.

"Stop yelling is the first thing!" Ryu shouted back.

"YOU FUCKING DUMBASSES ARE CALLING ME A GHOST AND MONSTER!?"

*punch* *punch*

"OWW!" Both Raji and Ryu exclaimed.

*flicker*

A single match flickered, being led to another candle and revealing a face.

"P-pr-princess Akuma/ A-Akuma!?"

"You damn bastards sure have some guts calling me a monster and such! You know how much I wanted to throw you guys over my back onto the cold hard ground?!" Akuma's eyebrows twitched, clearly seeing a vein popping out from the candle's light.

"S-s-sorry!" They both bowed.

"Geez! You fools are so easily frightened!"

"Huh?" Ryu said.

"You two are so annoying! I wonder how-"

"Give me your heart young child~! Hehe~!"

*gasp*

"AHHH!" Raji and Ryu screamed, but Raji's scream was so high that you can clearly tell who was who.

Akuma's eyes widened, immediately grabbing the cold hand on her shoulder.

"DIE YOU FUCKING PIG!" Akuma twisted that arm slightly, flipping the leg of the male and throwing him to the ground.

"Gahhh!"

The candle dropped, but did not loose its flame.

"NOW! WHO THE F-... You've got to be kidding me?!" Akuma screeched.

"Obi?!" Raji and Ryu gasped, dropping to their knees.

"I... cant feel my back or anything..."

"DIE YOU BASTARD!" Akuma yelled, slapping him.

"What's going on!?" Zen's voice can be heard and the four can see multiple candle lights coming towards them.

"What commotion are you guys creating?!" Mitsuhide shouted.

"Prince Raji?" Sakaki's voice rang out.

"Is everyone alright?" Shirayuki asked concerned.

"Care to explain yourself?" Kiki asked, sword in hand.

"I heard some commotion downstairs so I went to investigate. These two assholes called me a monster and such, screaming. This bastard on the ground because he tried scaring me-us and ended up getting thrown." Akuma explained.

"I... still can't feel anything..." Obi commented.

"I'll help treat it." Shirayuki said.

"I-I'll also help too." Ryu said, assisting Shirayuki.

"T-thank you..." Obi bashfully said. Embarrassed of what has happened.

"Sakaki... Please help me escort to my room..." Raji weakly stood up.

"I apologize for my master's stupid actions." Sakaki bowed, apologizing.

"Hey!"

*timeskip*

"Ugh! I can't wait to actually get some sleep! My back aches!" Obi exclaimed, making sure his pillow is fluffy enough.

"*sigh* I hope that I can sleep."

"Haha. You will. Night squirt!"

"Night."

*timeskip to the morning*

"Hmm... Has anyone seen my book?" Ryu asked.

"No. Sorry." Shirayuki replied.

"Hmm... Oh well. I'll just get another one." Ryu sighed, walking out of the house.

"Let's move out!" Zen said, having everyone move on within a carriage or on horse.

"... Little boy~!"

A/N
So, this wasn't a super duper scary thing of a chapter, but it was just something small for Halloween. Hope you guys enjoyed it!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 🎃👻 Hope you guys have a great Halloween even if you don't celebrate it! Hope you guys get enough candy too! Bai bai~!

10/29/17
10/31/17 (published)

(Unedited)