82 The Prince Awakens

"Your Highness... Wake up..."

He slowly rose up from the cold white marbled floor to follow the familiar voice that was calling him. It took some time to adjust his eyes because everything was so white. When he finally did, he found himself in some brightly-lit vacant room that had no doors or windows. He was wearing an impeccable white suit, quite a contrast to his dark hair and maybe too white for his liking.

"Master Yoh..."

There was only one person in Kasai who was old-school enough to call him that.

"Amidamaru..."

He turned around to face the source of the voice. The Kasai warrior stood in front of him in full armor. The prince only saw him once in that attire when his father commissioned an artist to paint his portrait. His painting was displayed in the Hallway of Heroes along with the portraits of Kasai's greatest swordsmen.

"You overslept again..." His eyes were frowning.

"I'm sorry..." the prince grinned at him sheepishly.

"It's time for you to go back. They need you..."

"Is Kasai in trouble?" Prince Yoh looked anxious.

Amidamaru nodded then turned around to leave. "Take care of the Harusame..." A doorway appeared at the end of the room.

"Wait, when can we see each other again?" The Kasai prince asked.

The white-haired warrior paused from walking. "Not too soon I hope..." He passed through the door which vanished afterwards.

"Die!" Someone screamed from afar.

Prince Yoh ran towards the direction of the enraged voice.

"Anna! "

The blond princess stopped on her tracks and pointed the sword at the person in front of her.

Prince Ren had his arms spread out to block her attack on the King of Kaminari. He had outrun her to reach his father in time.

"Get out of the way... Why are you protecting him?" She gripped the hilt of the Harusame tightly. Her hands were shaking as she pointed the tip of the sword on his chest.

"I'm not. I'm protecting you from what you are about to do. There's no going back once you kill a person. This is not who you are, Anna..." the Kaminari prince reminded her.

"Anna... I know I have done horrible things... But I regret all of them... I beg for your forgiveness... " King Yuan pleaded from behind his son.

"Shut up!" The blond girl screamed "My parents were shown no mercy! Why should I bestow it to you?!"

"You have every reason to be angry... I am, too. I will make this right, I promise.. Lower down your sword..." Prince Ren placed his hand over the edge of the blade.

The Kouku princess did not heed his request. She lowered her head as angry tears streamed down her cheeks but she never lowered the weapon.

"Anna..." Someone whispered her name on her ear and suddenly wrapped his arms around her so that they both held the Harusame.

"Yoh...?"

The blond girl removed her grasp of the sword to cover her mouth. She turned around to face the boy whowho she thought had left her forever.

With her hands free of the sword, the boy immediately dropped the weapon on the floor so that he could pull her towards him in a tight embrace.

She couldn't believe it. By some miracle from the Great Spirit, her Yoh was back from the dead. She placed her hand over his chest to feel his heart beat.

"You're alive..."

"Everything is going to be alright, Anna..." He kissed her forehead and let her weep on his shoulders. "I'm here."

The look of shock on Prince Ren's face was replaced with hurt as he watched the couple hold on to each other's arms. He wouldn't blame Anna if she would choose the Kasai prince over him.

A promise was a promise though. He picked up the Harusame and pointed it at King Yuan's throat.

"Yoh!" King Horokeu ran to his friend. "I'm so glad you're alive! We all thought you were gone! Your father... though... " The Kouri king nodded towards the direction of the throne.

"I will be back." The Asakura prince squeezed Princess Anna's hand before rushing to his family.

The blond girl then saw her fiancé pointing the sword at his father.

"I, Prince Ren Tao, sentenced you to exile for the crimes you committed against the Kyouyama royal family and the Kouku people. You will never set foot on the Four Kingdoms again."

King Yuan obediently took off his crown and placed it on his son's head. He knelt down and kissed the boy's hand.

"Please be a better king than me, Ren."