Chapter 34

The sun was about to set and despite their best efforts, they could not find both of them. like a bolt from the blue, they heard an explosion from the woods and thought they might be there. They all ran following the noise. And on the way, Sato slipped on a crooked mud place. But thanks to Takemichi, she survived. The moment she was about to fall, Takemichi grabbed her by the waist and pulled her closer towards him. As their eyes met, their faces turned red together and Takemichi's heart began to beat faster. "Anh...hm." To avoid that awkward atmosphere, he cleared his throat and turned around. They just kept ongoing. On the way, Sato couldn't control her feelings anymore and pulling Takemichi's right hand from behind, said "Gengi, I know Inoue is more than just a friend to you. And that's okay but I want to make my feelings clear to you too. Gengi, I don't want to be your best friend forever...Because I have those kind of feelings for you..." She left as soon as she finished her statement. Takemichi didn't know what to say, he was just bewildered. 

After going a little further, they found Inoue running after Minamoto, the big bunny, and crying like a baby. And suddenly she stopped midway and cried out "Akihiko... please stop... please." He stopped and turned towards her. The sun had already set, suddenly a strong wind began to blow, with a sigh Inoue began to sing a song...

I wasn't born in a castle,

My father isn't a king.

I was just an ordinary girl,

Before I met you.

In that street,

And when you entered my garden,

The flowers of hope rejoiced again.

So, don't blame yourself,

Don't say you are a monster,

don't blame yourself,

Don't say...

(As Inoue began to sing, all remained quite. Akihiko's eyes widened and it seemed as if he was coming back to his original form. Inoue went closer to Akihiko while singing, she touched his face which was too big and terrible for her little hands. But she didn't care about that and kept on singing)

Cause I'm not the beauty,

you are'nt the beast.

I'm your princess,

And you are the prince.

Of my story...

Of my story

Of my sto..ry...

I wasn't like this from the starting,

My life wasn't so colourful.

I was just an empty soul,

Before you stepped into my world.

And when I was scared, you held my hands,

You made me feel like I'm not alone, anymore.

So, don't blame yourself,

Don't say you are a monster,

don't blame yourself,

Don't say...

Cause I'm not the beauty,

you are'nt the beast.

I'm your princess,

And you are the prince.

Of my story...

Of my story

Of my sto..ry...

And Inoue got a little closer to the big bunny Minamoto. Takemichi suddenly shouted " Inoue watch out". As a result, Minamoto lost his temper again, pushing Inoue away by hitting her with his big claws, causing her to fall to the ground, and she got badly injured. "Inoue..." both Takemichi and Hina shouted. He was about to approach her to help her but Mr. Takahashi stopped him saying, "Let her handle him on her own. Only she can bring Akihiko back, don't interfere between them. Just trust her." His words really saddened Takemichi but he was left with no choice but to trust Inoue.

Suddenly thunder started rumbling, dark clouds had covered the whole sky and it started to rain. It was getting difficult for Inoue to get up due to her severe injuries. Even then she did not stop trying to stand on her feet and went deep into the forest to search for Akihiko. She was moving very fast and after a while her eyes finally caught him. The rain stopped, Inoue was tired of the constant running, she fell on her knees to the ground and continued her singing. Hearing her, Akihiko stopped. He was mesmerized by her melodious and trembling voice. Inoue's voice was trembling as she sang while weeping.

I still remember that night,

You fought for me.

Risking your life, 

Even though I couldn't see you.

I know you were always there for me,

Always by my side,  

Whenever I cried.

Then slowly those dark clouds started disappearing due to which the moon was visible. It was midnight, Inoue and the rest of her friends were back to their normal self as the potion had a duration of 3 days. Inoue stopped singing as she lowered her voice, she stood up and went closer to the big bunny Minamoto and started crying while kissing his cheek. Unaware of the fact that it was the night of the Crescent Moon. Her eyes were closed and tears were running down her cheeks and meanwhile...

Cause you are not the beauty,

I'm not the beast.

you're my princess,

And I'm your prince,

Of my story...

The big bunny Minamoto began to sing, which stunned Inoue and a bright light suddenly illuminated the entire area. He started returning to his normal self while singing. Seeing this, Inoue was overwhelmed, and she too joined him in singing. The two held each other's hands and sang and danced under the moonlight. For Inoue it was like a dream come true.

Of my story

Of my sto..ry...

In our story 

And then she ended the song by saying

" So, please come back to me...."

And they kissed each other again. "Akihiko..." Inoue sobbed like a small kid and pulled herself away from his touch. "Ichika...I'm sorry I worried you so much. I never thought you'd come here. You really saved me this time." Minamoto looked straight into her eyes and said, placing both his hands on her cheeks. Before answering him back, Inoue first took off her white hooded robe and gave it to him. Her face turned red from as he was completely naked. And when Akihiko realized this, his face also turned red. He thanked her, putting on the Hoodie. Inoue again confronted him and started complaining angrily."Why did you leave me like this? Why did you erase all my memories? I'll never forgive you for that. I'll never talk to you anymore." she said crossing her arms. "Okay, I know That I don't deserve to be forgiven. I know I've made a big mistake, don't forgive me but don't say you'll never talk to me. It hurts...I can't stay away from you anymore. " Then he confessed his feelings to her. Hearing him, Inoue's eyes enlarged as it was the first time his heart was pounding so loudly for someone. 

"Inoue...Inoue..." Takemichi, Sato and everyone else followed the bright light in search of Inoue. And they were surprised to see her and the prince standing next to each other holding hands. They were surprised to see them like this but were happy too. Hina jumped on Inoue and hugged her very tightly, she yelled at her for behaving so stupidly  and moving on her own without taking anyone's help, Sato did the same. Takemichi turned to Minamoto and said, "I'm glad you're okay..." It was as if he was being forced to say those words. The prince hugged him tightly, shaking his head he replied "Yeah, thanks to you all".

"Okay now stop crying like a baby, we haven't finished our fight yet. You remember that, right? I helped Inoue bring you back for that reason only and nothing else." "Oh... Ta..ke.. Mi..chi-kun, I didn't know you were this shy". He said teasing him like his old self. "You jerk you'll never change." And he pushed him away. Everything was back to normal as before. Fuji also arrived saying, "I'm glad you're both safe. Minamoto-kun I'm glad you're back to your old self." Minamoto didn't remember him, so he looked at him suspiciously and asked, "Who are you?". "Ah, Minamoto-kun, you too. I'm Fuji, Fuji Amuro, you taught me proper back flips in our Pe period. You can't forget me like that." He sobbed. "Oh, really I forgot about that, sorry" he said, rubbing his neck. Because of which he gave an emotionless expression. Minamoto looked at Mr. Takahashi who was standing quietly near a huge tree smiling at him. And seeing him, he nodded his head and smiled back. It was morning, and they all returned to the mansion with their happy faces. 

The people of Bunnyland were surprised to see all of them in human form. So, they started blaming them saying that it was all their fault, because of them once again their world was devastated. They screamed angrily "You betrayed us. It is because of you that our homes and places have been ruined again. We will not leave you alone anymore. Screw you all. You have to pay for your sins. " They even cursed them. Seeing them like this, Inoue and her friends were horrified, Minamoto was about to say something and meanwhile, "it's true that they deceived us by disguising themselves as rabbits".

A familiar deep woman's voice said from behind. It was Queen Yua, she was walking with the support of Melissa and her sister Kara, Granny Chio was also with them. They were all amazed to see her in that condition, including Minamoto. "But they are not the cause of this mess, it's Kabuto...that evil guy caused all of this. He was a Chinchilla." "Chinchilla?" They were all shocked to hear that word.

"Chinchillas were the ones who caused so much trouble to all of us in the past and their clan was annihilated because of their crimes. Said one of the citizens of the Bunny kingdom. "Yes, it is true that he came here to avenge his clan. Therefore, it is not the fault of humans. They saved us from his evil trap, they saved us from dying. You all should be thankful to them." Queen Yua was able to convince the people of Bunnyland that humans were not the reason behind all their losses. After listening to the queen, they all apologized for falsely accusing them. And thanked them for their efforts.

"Mommy, she's that big sis who saved me from the big rabbit..." The same girl Inoue had previously saved from the evil Akihiko, came forward pulling her mother's hand. Her mother also expressed her gratitude to Inoue for saving her kid. Then she patted the little girl's head and said "I'm glad you're okay...um?" She didn't know her name so she stopped in the middle while speaking. "Mola, my name is Mola." The girl said " Yes, Mola Chan." She smiled and repeated her name with her. 

Minamoto was quite surprised to see his mother's behavior. Inoue looked at him and said "Akihiko there is still someone you need to talk to." She took him to his mother by pulling his hand. And after dropping him near queen Yua, she swiftly fled. "Akihiko..." His mother took his name softly as she saw him. This came as a surprise to Minamoto as he had never heard his mother taking take his name. So, softly at least once for the past 7 years.

Melissa and Miss Kara did not want to interfere between them, so they made the queen sit on the stairs in such a way that she would not have much trouble sitting. Then the two of them went to their new friends talking among themselves, the queen asked her son whether he was well or not, to which he replied nodding. "I'm glad you're fine..." She responded.

"Why are you behaving so strangely? I know how much you hate humans and...me too. Akihiko asked, looking at her suspiciously. "Because...now I know that girl Inoue was never at fault. Your turning into a monster that day was a part of Kabuto's plan." She said, looking away. She couldn't see eye to eye with the prince as she was very ashamed of her sins. Akihiko remembered the day he accidentally killed his own father. So, he got down on his knees, while holding his mother's hands and looking down at the floor, he apologized to her for that day. Hearing this, the queen wept bitterly and then said, "You don't have to apologize for the things you never did." He didn't understand her statement so he looked at her in surprise and asked, "What do you mean by that?" 

"I know it was Kabuto who secretly poisoned your father after he interacted with you and got hurt. Even it was him who manipulated the king's mind, to provoke your anger so that you could hurt your own father with your own hands and become the cause of his death." The prince knew nothing about poison, but he did know that it was Kabuto who did it. He had used his father to incite his anger that day. Both of them cried while embracing each other. The queen even apologized to him for neglecting him for 7 years and also for attempting to kill his love.