Yousei no Kuni

by Yuuki-hiro

Seven

My Lost Paradise 

Kyo twitched his antennas in frustration at his current situation. His beady eyes shone with unshed tears as his tummy gave a low rumble.

I'm hungry!! I'm hungry!! I'm hungry!! I'M HUNGRY!!!!!

"Woo~ Boy, you hungry?"

Kyo shifted himself to pat his forelegs onto Kaoru's chest. He'd never thought he'd be so happy to hear the devil fairy speak!!

"Yeap! Thought so, your tummy rumbled so loud, I thought a thunderstorm was coming!" Kaoru teased the ladybug as he set "Papi" aside to search through his bag to find some food for him.

Kyo was so impatient he scrambled up close to Kaoru's bag.

"Hey, hold on will ya?" Kaoru smiled at the ladybird's attempt to stick its head into his bag.

Gimme food!!

"Okay, okay….geez..." Kaoru finally pulled out the thing he was looking for. When Kyo saw what it was, he was screaming with happiness.

Chyo….chyo…. Chyo Ko Re Toooooo!!!!!

"Thought this might delight you." Kaoru grinned as the ladybird scrambled up his lap to try and nibble the piece of sweet.

I take back what I said about you. You're not a devil. Now gimme the chocolate. Gimme gimme gimme!

It was a joy to see the ladybird chomp happily away at the sweet. Kaoru ruffled "Papi's" hair, slowly drifting back to happy times...

-----

"Nii-san! Nii-san! Hayaku ne~" Shinya whined as he tugged at Kaoru's sleeve.

"Okay, okay….geez..." Kaoru rolled his eyes, but hurried along like Shinya wanted.

"Kaoru, remember don't buy too much. I don't want you two ruining your appetite for dinner." Shinko warned as she lagged behind with a happy Yoshiki in tow.

Kaoru remembered coming out of the sweet shop with an equally happy Shinya, both munching happily at their chocolate sweets.

Their mother was lighting rebuking them for buying too much, but non of the boys, her husband included, were listening as Yoshiki stole a bite of Shinya's chocolate bar, earning him a pouty, watery-eyed younger son.

"Otou-san~!"

Kaoru wondered what was going through his mother's head, seeing her husband running around and dodging his annoyed son who was chasing after him after he stole another bite of the sweet.

"Mou! Otou-san!!!"

-----

"There it is!" Akira pointed towards the moving carriage just in front of them.

"Good, let's- Eh? Totchi!?" Die couldn't seem to finish any of his sentences that day as Toshiya flew past him like a gush of wind.

The boys had split up into several groups to comb through some of the areas Kyo might have ended up at.

Die, Akira and Toshiya were searching through one of those areas when an old owl told them a carriage left that area not long ago, and they had a ladybug with them.

"Maybe that ladybug could be who you're looking for." The owl hooted before she closed her eyes and went back to her nap.

-----

Kaoru snapped out of his trance-like state as he felt they came to a halt. Aiji had woken up by the jolt as well.

"What's going on?" Aiji yawned, rubbing sleep away as he asked in his somnolent sate.

"Dunno, but we'll soon find out." Kaoru mumbled as he got off the carriage.

Kaoru got off and came face to face with three other fairies, all of them seemingly about his age.

The one who stopped them was lanky, had blue hair and looked like a fairy. His other two companions were both redheads and looked like they were pixies.

One of the pixies spoke.

"Sorry, but can you help us?"

"I guess. What can I do you for?"

"Ano, sorry to trouble you but-" The redhead barely got his question out when all of them were startled by a loud shriek.

-----

"KYO!!!!!" Toshiya squealed with delight and brushed past the fairy stranger, hopping onto the carriage and had the ladybug Kyo in his arms as soon as he caught a glimpse of him through the opened carriage door.

Totchi!!!!

Another shriek pierced through their happy but short reunion.

 to be continued~