segaman4

The guards casually stepped outside once it was apparent the humans had understood the message and were fully awake.

“J…Jerren…!” Ami stuttered. Her face flushing the young woman jerked her sheet up to cover herself, “What are you doing in my room?”

“Well that’s actually a funny story,” replied Jerren as he stretched, “You see I was studying and the princess came in…”

“The Princess…?” Ami interrupted, “You mean Ayeka? And what business could the…Princess,” Ami scowled, “possibly have in your room after midnight?”

“Well,” said Jerren obliviously, “the Princess wanted to check to see how I was doing, and we talked and she ended up helping me study for the exams. I studied until…um, oh, about five, but by then the princess was fast asleep and I put her in my bed to sleep…”

“Well I’ll admit that was generous of her,” said Ami reluctantly, “considering she didn’t have to assist you when she has a very tight schedule being the Princess and all. But you could have asked me for help and…wait; why were you sleeping in MY room then?”

Jerren fidgeted a bit and looked a little uncomfortable.

“Well uh, it was late and by that time you were fast asleep and plus she did it of her own free will so who was I to protest, I was getting help for free…” Jerren waffled, trailing off.

“That is not what I asked.” Ami frowned again tugging her sheet. “If I had to guess I think Princess Ayeka has feelings for you and as thick as you can be, even you finally noticed. That is why you slept in my room isn’t it? She IS a princess, and if she has a crush, and you slept in the same room…?”

Jerren laughed a little too enthusiastically.

“Feelings for me…?” Jerren spoke at a higher pitch than normal, “Like she has a crush on me? Don’t be ridiculous. I…I mean, she’s a Princess and she has treated me like her whipping boy…always scolding me when she thinks I’m out of line, and sometimes slapping me in the face when I say something “disrespectful”. Even though she has mellowed a bit during the last 8 months and she started to treat me more like…like a person than her property. Maybe even, say, more like a close friend or…” Jerren suddenly wailed, “OH MY GOSH, Princess Ayeka LIKES me Ami, what am I going to do?”

Ami sighed, exasperated.

“Well it’s best to keep a clear eye on her, her moods are ironically, mercurial at the best of times,” said Ami, “but other than that I suggest you do nothing for now.”

“…and speaking of now; we must report to Emperor Azuza for our first exam, we don’t want to be late…” Ami looked at Jerren and Jerren nodded and looked at Ami.

Ami fumed and pouted and finally lost patience, picking up a brush and hurling it at her friend.

“GET OUT OF MY ROOM SO I CAN CHANGE…!”

Jerren hastily fled from Ami’s room back to his own in which Princess Ayeka was, thankfully, nowhere to be found.

A short time later the pair sat in silence as Azuza placed pads on their desks.

“As you know, today you will be tested. This test is comprised of 200 questions worth about 70% of your final grade.” Azuza smiled grimly.

“70%…?” said Ami, “that is worth about 4 letter grades!”

“Correct,” Replied Azuza, “and failing this test will give you an automatic zero and stifle your chance of becoming nobles in our house!”

“Good thing we studied,” Ami turned to Jerren, “or we would really be in a predicament.”

“Yeah…” gulped Jerren, and added under his breath, “good thing the princess came in when she did.”

“Alright you have 5 hours to complete this exam so pace yourself the best you can, and…” Azuza smirked at them. “Do not fail. You may begin!”

Jerren and Ami picked up their pads and began reading.

Question one. In what year did the first emperor arrive on what would be later called the planet Jurai: A. space calendar year 50,000, B. space calendar year 100,000, C. space calendar 5501, or D. space calendar year 4000?

“Oh that’s easy it’s b!” Jerren chuckled as he circled b and continued. Ami was circling her way up to question 12.

Who are the 4 royal families of Jurai?

“Ah, a simple one; Misaki, Kamiki, Amaki and Tamiki.” Ami smiled.

The test continued.

Jerren circled the last answer and put down his pad, looking at Ami who had finished half an hour earlier. A bell chimed and Azuza pulled out a pad from a pouch in his robes and studied the readout.

“You paced yourselves well, only a little over 4 hours for the both of you to complete the test. And now for the results…” Jerren crossed his fingers and Ami fidgeted nervously.

“Okay girl you first,” said Azuza “your score was…198 out of 200 so you got an overall score of 98% so you pass!” Ami was relieved.

“That is a relief!” Ami sighed relaxing.

“Now it is your turn boy,” said Azuza reading the statistics. Sweat ran down Jerren’s face and he bit his lip nervously as the silence stretched out.

“You…you got 199 out of 200!” Azuza stammered completely shocked, “Giving you an overall score of 99% so you…passed this class!”

“I…passed…?” said Jerren numbly.

Ami walked over beaming joyfully.

“Good job Jerren, you…”

“WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Jerren jumped on his desk startling Ami, and did a jig of happiness.

“I passed! I passed! Thank you PRINCESS! Thank you! I actually did even better than Ami!”

Ami laughed and let her friend have his moment.

After a while Jerren calmed down and looked at Ami sheepishly grinning as he climbed down off his desk.

“Sorry about that Ami,” he apologized “I didn’t mean to say that!”

“Forget about it,” Ami grinned and punched his arm, “you really earned it this time, and I’m very proud of you.”

“Well that concludes my involvement,” Azuza smiled happily, “The next test is all Misaki’s responsibility…”

“Yes your highness!” Jerren and Ami said in unison, grinning.

After lunch Jerren and Ami were ordered to report to Misaki.

Walking out into the familiar training grounds the lively pair were taken aback by the drastic changes that had taken place. Where there was once a comfortable but rigorous obstacle course and fitness training area, they now walked out into a fully fledged battle arena.

Misaki stood in the center waiting impatiently for them.

“Alright children,” Misaki tapped her foot, “your final test today will be a battle between the two of you using the techniques and abilities you have developed over the last year. If you put on a good show, and demonstrate you have mastered the forms, then…you pass!”

“A one on one battle between me and Jerren…?” Ami looked at her friend quizzically, “Well that sounds like an interesting challenge. I would love to test the full extent of my abilities…in a friendly competition of course.”

“So what you’re saying is; I have to face Ami in a battle in order to pass?” said Jerren scratching his head.

“Yes that is exactly what I mean,” replied Misaki with a smile, “and it will be especially entertaining for me…so ready your positions and face each other.” Jerren and Ami did as instructed and stared each other down.

“Ready, set and…GO!” Misaki snapped her fingers.

Jerren swept out the Light Hawk Sword and activated it.

Ami sighed, unimpressed.

“Ah, Jerren, such obvious tactics…I really wish you weren’t so predictable, but I have something to counter that sword of yours.” Ami then formed a sword out of a shimmering ice crystal and pointed it at Jerren.

“Ooh…” Misaki clasped her hands excitedly.

“So…you managed to make your own sword,” Jerren grinned, “I would be impressed if I thought ice could possibly stand up to the Light Hawk Sword.”

“Don’t you worry; you will be surprised at how strong it really is…” Ami stepped into a ready position.

Jerren and Ami charged at each other and their swords clashed together in a shower of sparks and glittering ice particles. Ami’s ice crystal sword was undamaged after the exchange of blows just as Ami had warned.

“I guess you weren’t bluffing!” Jerren twirled and countered a wild swing from Ami. “The Light Hawk Sword can’t seem to cut through it but I can use my super strength to add power to my attacks.” Jerren sent blow after pulverizing blow onto Ami’s sword. Ami gasped as Jerren threw in an overhead swing that brought their blades together with his full weight and strength pushing her down. The crystal sword cracked under the pressure and shattered sending Ami sprawling to the floor.”

“Humph, had enough?” Jerren asked as he looked down on Ami.

Ami pursed her lips together as though she was about to whistle and a thick icy fog spewed from between her lips. The mist spread quickly and in seconds she was obscured from view.

Jerren stepped back in surprise as the mist covered his legs, his chest and then was everywhere.

“So you made a fog to blind me…that’s pretty clever,” Jerren whirled in the fog, “but still useless. The sword enhances my senses as well!”

“There you are…I have you now!” He leapt and kicked, his foot sending his target flying back. The mist cleared a little as Jerren approached his fallen opponent and saw an ice statue shattered on the ground.

“A trick…? Where is she?” Jerren nervously spun around trying to spy his friend. Ami flew through the air with her newly formed Ice sword. It clashed with his blade until Jerren overpowered her and sent her crashing to the ground. But this time as she hit the floor her body shattered into ice crystals.

“So you can also make clones of yourself out of ice too huh?” said Jerren recovering his balance. “You’ve been hiding stuff from me while we were training?”

“A little bit,” Ami’s voice echoed through the fog, Jerren spun, trying unsuccessfully to locate the source, “I did a little personal training on my own time. I need a few aces up my sleeve, it’s only good strategy.”

Piercing the mist, bubbles shot towards Jerren and he dodged. The fog whirled in front of him and he raised his sword to parry until he felt a shiver of cold around his neck as he felt the edge of Ami’s blade touch his exposed throat as it slid into position from behind him.

“Got’cha…!” Her voice whispered into his ear.

“W…What? How are you behind me when you shot bubbles in front of me?”

The mist lifted slowly as the pair stood frozen in place.

“It was simple really, I already knew the fog would only last about two minutes, so I made clones in the mists to divert your attention, then when the time was right, caught you where you least expected me.”

Three more ice clones stood around the pair with ice swords pointed at Jerren. Misaki chuckled.

“Nice trick, but I’m afraid you lose!” Clamping his chin down onto the blade, Jerren braced himself and sent out a shockwave that pulverized the clones and sword and sent Ami flying backwards. Ami quickly stumbled to her feet and brushed herself off.

“That’s some power you’ve got in your arsenal. You seem even stronger than when we faced Kagato.” Jerren grinned as Ami raised her hands in a sign of mock surrender. “But I’m a lot stronger myself!” Ami shut her eyes, concentrating, her open hands curled into fists and then her fingers uncurled again as liquid flew from her hands in waves. “SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!”

Jerren was flung back by the force of the waves, impacting hard against a wall. Curling her fingers into a fist the water solidified freezing him in a block of ice.

“N…nice one Ami,” Jerren chattered through the cold, “but still f…futile…I can break out of this easily.”

Flexing his muscles Jerren suddenly contracted and then expanded, shattering the ice into shards, spraying them all over the room. Falling to the ground Jerren immediately charged at Ami. His friend prepared to unleash her next attack…

“Stop…!” Misaki commanded, stepping between them. The pair halted mid attack and waited for Misaki to continue.

“You two put on an entertaining show,” Misaki clapped, “Your form wasn’t perfect, but you have mastered it and shown that in time it can only improve. You both pass. Congratulations.”

Jerren and Ami leaped for joy as Misaki walked away.

“Finally we get our reward,” said Jerren grinning broadly, “I’m so excited.”

“Yes…” replied Ami hugging her friend, “I’m a bit excited myself; we’ll finally get what we worked so hard for.

Next morning Jerren and Ami watched nervously from their seats as the last of Lord Azuzas’ entourage filed onto his ship. The doors closed and the vessel lifted smoothly from the ground, leisurely gliding through Jurai’s atmosphere and into space. In a matter of hours the Mikagami loomed before them; inside Lady Seto, and her attendants Harada and Minaho waited patiently for the vessels to dock. Seto sat drinking a cup of saki upon her throne while elegantly fanning herself as all the functionaries of Azuza’s court entered the chamber.

“Well daughter, time is up…how did the humans do?”

“They have excelled in Jurian martial arts Mother; their skill is equal to the rank of an elite infantry soldier…though of course, there is always room for improvement…!”

“As well my lady, their study of Jurais culture and history has progressed apace at an equal level!” Azusa cut in proudly.

“Interesting…!” Seto smiled, “Ami, the Jurain Empress that saved the empire from the monster Yugi over 3,500 years ago, to whom do I refer?”

“Oh that’s easy,” said Ami, “that was Empress Hinase. She imprisoned the rogue mutant during the 27th year of her reign and banished it deep into space.”

“Very informative,” Seto nodded. “Jerren…? What engines power Jurain royal ships?”

“They are powered by the royal trees which are the heart and soul of the ship. Bonded to a partner for life the tree also has the power to generate light hawk wings like the sword I wield.”

“Excellent…!” Seto remarked amicably, “I officially declare that the conditions have been met and the rewards promised have thus been earned. They are now to be given, in full, to the humans known as Jerren and Ami.”

Jerren and Ami rejoiced as they heard Lady Seto’s proclamation.

“Finally…no more sleeping in those dusty dorms…!” Jerren said excitedly.

“Yes and now we have power and influence on Jurai from the Misaki house. We can even command their royal guards!” Ami thought out loud.

“A moment of your time young nobles,” Seto gestured to the pair as Misaki, Azuza and his retinue filed from the chamber. “I have an assignment for the both of you. It would seem that General Daluma, a rather notorious pirate,” Lady Seto’s eyes narrowed and her tone grew cold spitting the word ‘pirate’, “has escaped from prison and reunited with a few of his former crew members to loot the planet Beta where they quite foolishly plan to begin raiding the outlying colonies. I want you to go with Captain Seina Yamada to take back control of the planet and eliminate these miscreants.”

“Yes my lady.” Jerren and Ami said in unison.

“You may begin in the morning, in the meantime Azuza and Misaki will show you to your new home. A small summer palace in the lower foothills as I recall…”

“We have a palace?” Jerren exclaimed, “Now that is cool!”

“It was built while you were training and was finally completed last month.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Ami smiled and clapped before her face fell, “but I must ask you a serious question my lady…!”

“What is on your mind my child,” Seto said, sipping her saki. “Do not be afraid to speak candidly with me dear.”

“Well…,” said Ami tentatively, “It’s about the people of Mercury…?”

“What about them?” Seto looked bored, “Is there anything in particular you wished to ask me about these people.”

“I certainly would,” stated Ami firmly, “my question to you is why did you send your army to attack Mercury a year ago when they never posed a threat to you?”

Seto remained silent for a while, Minaho and Harada exchanged sharp glances. Seto then sipped some more of her saki and after her cup was empty, she put it down.

“Oh you poor little girl,” Seto raised herself from her throne and walked over to Ami placing her hand on the young woman’s shoulder, “I understand why you feel conflicted; it must have seemed so random to you and you want answers…”

Ami looked up to the tall woman and met her gaze.

“I am sorry to say, that this information is classified!”

“What…classified?” Ami mumbled in confusion. “What do you mean by classified?”

“Like I said, it is classified dear,” said Seto turning away, “Only select individuals are privy to the reason behind our attack on Mercury, and I am afraid that you do not qualify to be put in the loop, as it were!”

“B…but we’re nobles in the Misaki house now!” Ami protested, “Doesn’t that give us the clearance to…”

“That’s enough Ami,” Jerren interrupted, “let’s just go ok?”

Ami looked at Jerren in concern.

“Jerren…I…!” she stammered.

“We’re new here,” said Jerren, “maybe down the road Lady Seto will reveal the reason to us. We’ve got a palace to check out…so let’s go.” Ami looked at Seto and then back at Jerren.

“Oh alright then,” Ami sighed, “I guess I must be patient about things. I just hope they’re alright.”

“They are;” said Seto, “Even though they are slaves, the people of Mercury are being treated fairly and kindly by the citizens of Jurai, so do not concern yourself with such matters…if you so desire I will send you an update on them from time to time, fair enough?”

“Yeah that sounds fair,” said Ami, “because for a while I thought you might be treating them badly.”

“We might be a little rough my dear, but we are most considerate of our slaves wellbeing.”

Everyone then teleported out of the Mikagami and Minaho turned to Seto.

“That girl is a bit too nosy Milady!” she said softly.

“A little,” Seto replied as she fanned herself, “but it is a natural curiosity and one easily distracted from its point, she and her friend were caught in the crossfire while Mercury was being pacified after all.” Seto’s fan snapped shut and pointed at Minaho. “Nevertheless…they must never find out the secret behind the attack on Mercury. If they did they would rebel against us and expose our plans to the entire galaxy showing the people who we really are; not the heroic, beneficent rulers they have come to know but the reality…! We would surely be punished by the Master for such a foolish lapse, and deservedly so. If they ever begin to suspect…” Seto paused, looking pointedly at Minaho who nodded grimly.

“What news from the Tamiki and Kamiki house?”

“Oh them,” replied Harada with a weary, frustrated sigh, “Tamiki is a den of secrets and misinformation, we have yet to even determine their full number, and as for the Amiki family; you can forget it, we have not heard from them in over 700 years. It is like they ceased to exist.”

Minaho scratched her head.

“They are both so secretive, it is most suspicious my lady.”

“They might be planning something,” said Seto, “Minaho, be a dear and discover what they are up to! Discretion being the word, mind you.”

“It will be done my lady,” said Minaho bowing, “I will contact a few of our deep cover agents to begin making quiet inquiry.”

Lady Seto nodded.

“Very good…you may go!” She said as she stared into the stars.

About 34 minutes later back on Jurai, Azuza and Misaki was showing Jeremy and Ami their brand new palace. “Wow take a look at this,” Jeremy gaped in astonishment, “It’s like the 8th wonder of the world!”

“Don’t you mean the 8th wonder of the galxay,” Ami corrected while starting to chuckle.

The palace was was a mixture of gold and silver as a gigantic tree peaked out through the highest recesses of the roofing. Braches extended from the walls, suggesting the building had been built around it. There were also paintings of the Lighthawk Sword on the outside walls. Everyone went inside, where Jeremy and Ami went silent at the size of the grounds.

“My goodness, the size of this place,” Ami breathed astonished, “It’s boundaries seem to have no limit!”

“I agree,” replied Jeremy ,”This place is the size of a football field!”

Azuza and misaki shown them to the living room where Jeremy and Ami could not find the words to describe what they were seeing. The entire room including the walls and furniture and floor were plastered with pure gold and it was 30 feet in width and 80 feet in height. After showing off the living room, Azuza and Misaki continued the tour which Jeremy and Ami drinking in the mind-bending sights surrounding them.

“Here are the rooms that were built in most recently,” Azuza explained as he guided them through the hallway, “The rooms I’m showing you are the guess rooms.”

“Well”, said Ami, “there are a quite of a number of guest rooms, by my estimate I would say about 11.”

“Close,” corrected Misaki, “actually 12 were built in.”

“Well that is quite a lot,” Ami replied. They all look very elegant and majestic. Whoever designed them had a great sense of creativity and free expression. Misaki and Azuza then showed them the the bathrooms. The palace had a total of 13.

“Look at all those bathroom,” conjectured Jeremy, “Well, we defiantly won’t be complaining about finding one when its time to do our business. Also, we won’t have to share one, either.”

“Yes,” agreed Ami, “but why does it have to have 13? If I was the architect, I would have recommended up to only four.”

“True,” said Jeremy, “but then again, why are there 13 guestrooms?”

“You do have a point there,” replied Ami, “but I do wonder what the kitchen looks like.”

“Not yet,” Azuza interrupted, “we haven’t shown you your master bedroom yet!”

They showed Jeremy and Ami the master bedroom. When they all entered, Jeremy and Ami’s jaws dropped. They remained speechless as they saw the entire extremity of the room.

“This room…,” Jeremy stammered, “It’s…”

“I know,” Ami said as she finished Jeremy’s sentences, “It’s huge, very huge!”

The master bedroom was about 400 feet in length, 300 feet in height and 600 feet in width. There were separate beds also, one black and blue one for Jeremy, and one pink one for Ami. The room was adorned with velvet tapestries woven with shades of purple,green and blue.

Azuza and Misaki then showed them to the kitchen which was even bigger than the master bedroom. It was 600 feet in length, 500 feet in height, and 300 feet in width.

“My goodness! This kitchen is the size of any restaurant franchise back home,” Ami said in a stunned voice.

“Yeah, I’m with you with that,” replied Jeremy, “I don’t really know what to say about this though except that is huge.”

They saw hundreds of cooks, some that were Mercurians, preparing meals nonstop. Jeremy and Ami took a whiff of the food and were rubbing there stomachs.

“Oh my goodness, the food smells exquisite,” Ami sighed dreamily as she took another whiff.

“I wonder what there cooking,” wondered Jeremy, “chicken, fish, cake!”

“Or maybe there rice dumplings, or maybe shrimp, I can’t beat it! It’s making me hungry!”

“There’s one more thing we need to show you, boy and girl and that is… your own hot spring!,” Azuza squealed.

“Our own hot spring?” Jeremy and Ami said in unison, “Yes!”

They sprinted outside and showed them there hot spring. The hot spring was the size of a wide pool and there was tons of steam coming up.

“Finally, a place to relax my body inside,” Ami beamed, “This is a dream come true.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t mind taking a bath in that,” said Jeremy, “It looks pretty cool.”

“Well that’s the end of the tour,” Misaki announced, “so we’ll be seeing you later. We have a meeting with the Holy Council of Jurai.” They teleported out of the area leaving Jeremy and Ami to talk among themselves.

To be continued……….