Well, you guys, This is my next story! Beyond the Horizon! This one has everything: adventure, comedy, drama, romance, and fantasy! Please, if you have any questions comments or concerns, let me know! And tell me how you like it in your comment so i'll know if I should continue, cuz if my readers don't like it, then i don't like it either!
Also, thanks to everyone that read my first story. If it weren't for you guys, i would have never had a reason to finish biggrin
Also, thanks to everyone that read my first story. If it weren't for you guys, i would have never had a reason to finish biggrin
The sun was so beautiful and bright as it rose from the east, letting the gorgeous colors of dawn reflect on the water like a mirror. The wind was cool and crisp as it blew through the teenage boys’ hair; the waters calm and smooth as glass. It was the perfect day to sail. The trio’s boat, Horizon, glided across the sea majestically as Keiji—the tall captain with bright blue eyes, shaggy brown hair, a tan complexion, and a clever grin—stepped out of the cabin, a bright smile lit up on his face.
Akio: Three, two, one—
As if by clockwork, Keiji took his thick, leather-bound, color-faded textbook and slammed it down on the table in front of him.
Keiji: Our next destination—Hitomi.
Mokoto and Akio groaned. Mokoto was even taller than Keiji with slightly long jet black hair that even though it was tied in a small ponytail behind his head, it still hung in his face. He had grey, fierce eyes, pale skin, and a bit of a serious expression. It was very rare to see him smile. Akio was shorter than the two with messed-up dirty blonde hair, playful green eyes, tan skin, and a childish, yet charming face always lit with a smile.
Akio: What is it this time? The jewel of San-Montaine?
He flailed his arms in the air, exaggerating the “excitement” that they had on one of their last trips.
Mokoto: Oh that was a good one. Three days out on the ocean with no water and no food to get to an island and find nothing.
The two young men chuckled as they reminisced upon their old journeys.
Akio: Or the Royal Treasure of Farrah? Now that was fun…
Mokoto: Oh I don’t hafta remember that one. I’ve got the scars to remind me…
Keiji: This one’s different, I promise!
Akio: You say that every time…
Keiji: I know, I know, but I mean it this time. Just hear me out?
The other two boys sighed, and then groaned at the same time.
Both: Fine.
Keiji: Good.
He opened the giant book and began to flip through the tattered, orange pages until he came to a certain one—one decorated with mountains of gold, silver, and treasures beyond ones’ dreams. The page opposite that was headed with a simple picture: three different colored diamonds. One was orange, one was violet, and one was pink, all sparkling and as dazzling as the one before.
Keiji: The Diamonds of Hitomi...
Akio: Here we go again…
Keiji: There are three different-colored diamonds embedded in the wrists of the three most beautiful women in Hitomi under a metallic birthmark…
Akio: Well, so far this one’s better than EVERY OTHER one we’ve done. At least it involves girls…
Mokoto: But what kind of treasure is that? Three diamonds? And they’re stuck in girls’ wrists. That’s just about the most far-fetched—
Keiji: Let me finish!
Akio: Ugh…
Mokoto: Fine…
Keiji: Anyway, the diamonds eventually break free from the skin of the girls and give their hosts supernatural powers, and also the power to conjure a map to the treasure of your wildest dreams, but they only work when the three of them are together…
Mokoto: Heh. I’m sure. If none of your other plans worked, there’s no way this is possible.
Keiji: Come on you guys… It’s worth a try…
Akio: Well, I’m all up for the part about the women…
Mokoto groaned.
Mokoto: Fine, I guess. But just because I’m bored.
Keiji: Awesome!
Mokoto: Just one question- How are we gonna get these girls to cooperate?
Keiji: Erm… Well, you see, we might have to…
Mokoto: Don’t say it.
Keiji: …Kinda sorta...
Mokoto: Don’t say it.
Keiji: …Kidnap them…
Mokoto: You said it.
Mokoto smacked his forehead and leaned up against the wall, letting the bangs of his ponytailed hair brush against his face.
Mokoto: Ugh, Keiji, We are not pirates. We are treasure hunters. We get the money without hurting anyone.
Keiji: Yes, yes I know. We aren’t going to be hurting anyone. We take them, scribble down the map, and let them go.
Akio: Most beautiful girls on Hitomi…
As Akio’s eyes grew abnormally large and shiny at the thought, Keiji and Mokoto just ignored his excitement over the women.
Keiji: Erm…anyway, Are you in?
Mokoto: Ugh… Fine.
Keiji: Brilliant. Okay, here’s the plan- Today is the princess’s birthday. They’ll be having a big celebration for her out in the courtyard, and all of the townspeople will be there. We just have to examine the crowds until we find three shiny birthmarks.
Akio: So, basically we get to go babe-hunting?
Keiji: Yes.
Keiji spoke flatly.
Akio: I think my heart just stopped…
Keiji: Anyway…. Once we find all three, we watch them go home. Then we come back to the ship and wait till very late at night. And then, we kinda hafta…
Mokoto: Kidnap them.
Keiji: Yes.
Mokoto: And how do you plan to do that? They’re girls. They’ve been taught to struggle in these kinds of situations…
Keiji: And that’s what these are for.
He held out a handful of what looked like small purple beads.
Keiji: They’re like smoke pellets, except instead of letting out smoke, they let out knock-out gas.
Mokoto: So we’re gonna knock them out, scare them to death, and then pray that they cooperate enough to the point where we can get our map?
Keiji: Yes, but then once we get the map, we let them go with no harm done in the process. That’s it.
Mokoto: You do realize how much these girls are going to hate us anyway, right?
Keiji: Oh well. We’re gonna let them free. After this, we don’t ever have to see them ever again.
Hitomi was a beautiful island- tropical, tranquil, full of life and always bustling, especially tonight. It was princess Yume’s birthday. The whole town was strung with streamers and paper lanterns, letting the whole city glow with the setting sun. Every face was smiling as the crowds stared up at the balcony of the palace, where the stout, white-haired king stood next to his only daughter, whose bright hazel eyes lit the city with their beauty, whose fair skin was as smooth and perfect as the skies, whose vivid wine-colored locks curled and weaved down her back as they blew with the breeze, and whose sweet smile was enough to cause anyone to smile back. Her tall, muscular older brother with his harsh brown eyes and greasy blonde hair stood behind her, guarding her like a hawk. If there was anyone in the world that ever tried to hurt his sister, you could tell they’d get a beating from this guy.
Keiji sat atop a grocery stand with a pair of binoculars, scanning the crowd for anything shining on their wrist that wasn’t a bracelet or a watch (though he’d made the mistake a few times before.) Mokoto sat on the ledge of a bridge connecting two building across a street below them, a pair of binoculars fixed to his eyes as well. Akio was standing in the second-story window of the town inn. Judging by how fast he was moving his binoculars and the huge smile on his face, his two friends could tell that he was paying little attention to the mission and more attention to the fact that he was surrounded by beautiful women.
King Daisuke: Such a beautiful night, as it always is on my daughter Yume’s birthday.
The crowd roared with applause until their king held up his arms, motioning them to cease.
King Daisuke: Today she is eighteen. My goodness the years have flown by… She’s a beautiful woman now…
Yume: Now, father…
The girl smiled, patting her father on his back.
King Daisuke: Thank you all for coming out tonight to celebrate this happy occasion! This marks the beginning of her last year in this country. Soon she will be married to the prince of another nation, leaving the proud people of Hitomi without a princess.
As the crowd sighed in sadness, Keiji saw the smile vanish from the poor girl’s face and her head began to hang.
King Daisuke: But we will not be sad. Though we will miss our princess dearly, we will know that she is off to a better life.
The crowd clapped this time, making what seemed to be a smile appear on Yume’s face, though Keiji could tell that deep inside she was crying.
King Daisuke: But we don’t need to worry about that now! Today is a day of celebration! Eat, drink, and enjoy the evening!
The crowd roared, making Yume smile her fake smile once again.
Akio: (Oh my god… Girls… Ladies… Women… So beautiful…)
He scanned through the crowd, stopping every once and a while to examine a different woman. At the moment, he was checking out a tall, curvy brunette.
Akio: (It’s like Christmas….but better…..)
He continued scanning, still smiling, until his eyes caught a certain young lady.
Akio: Wow…
Akio moved the binoculars away from his face and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. This was no ordinary girl. She was tall and thin, with wavy blonde hair down to her hips, green eyes that seemed brighter than the sun itself, tan skin as smooth as the golden satin gown draped upon it, and a smile that would cause any man to make a double-take. Akio was trying his hardest not to stare, though he was obviously not trying hard enough.
Akio: This girl is not like other women…
He smiled as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. He felt his heart skip a beat for two reasons- 1) that was REALLY hot. 2) When she moved her arm like that to do so, there was a certain glint on her arm- one not from a bracelet or a watch. He looked closer at her arm- there was what appeared to be a thin strip of orange metal in the shape of a tiny octagon.
Akio’s heart skipped a beat. What he had just seen was the most beautiful being in the world, and now her fate was sealed.
Akio: (Oh…Oh that’s great… Now I have to kidnap her?)
He shook his head. Now he felt bad.
Akio: (She’s not gonna get hurt… I just need to remember that…)
He sighed shamefully as he looked over to Keiji, signaling that he had found the first.
Mokoto looked over to Akio, seeing him not smiling—for once—as he signaled to Keiji, pointing to the girl with the orange diamond. She was very striking. He kinda felt sorry for her… This night might leave a scar on her forever… But he just shrugged.
Mokoto: (Oh well…)
He sighed and put down his binoculars to rub his eyes for a moment.
Mokoto: (This one’s on Keiji’s conscience…)
His hand still over his face, he raised an eyebrow for a moment as he felt a tugging on his pocket. He dropped his hand and turned to his left to see a thin, black-haired, amethyst-eyed woman with dirt on her cheeks and wearing a ripped black dress--and she was pulling his wallet out from his pants. He didn’t speak but instead grabbed her hand without moving his head before she made her getaway.
Mokoto: Ah ah ah. I don’t think so.
He turned to see her face- she was gorgeous. It was such a sad thing to see a poor teenager who has to pickpocket to get anything to eat with such a pretty face. She looked up at him, knowing that she was caught but trying to beg for mercy with her vivid violet eyes.
Mokoto: (Wait a minute…)
He shifted his finger over her wrist, feeling a small, hardened part that didn’t match the rest of her skin’s texture.
Mokoto: What have we here?
He moved his finger and looked at her hand to see a metal streak of purple. She just kept still, waiting…waiting…until…
Amaya: Well, thank you sir for your generous donation to the Amaya Tachikawa charity fund!
She jerked her hand away and sped off, before he could hardly react.
Amaya: Have a nice day!
She called back to him, not turning her head, but waving her hand in the air as a sign of goodbye.
Mokoto: Hm. Erm… Hey Keiji… I found her! And she took my wallet…
A bead of sweat ran down his face as he waved to Keiji with the news.
The sun was hidden now by the blanket of dark blue sky that laid over the town. However, though the day was done, people still crowded the streets as they chatted and laughed amongst themselves. Though everyone else was having a grand time, Keiji was more frustrated than ever.
Keiji: (One left… Ugh… I’ve looked around this whole crowd over and over and I can’t find anyone else…)
He chuckled.
Keiji: (At least I didn’t get robbed…)
He moved the binoculars over the crowd once again, still seeing no one out of the ordinary. The sun had set and he was beginning to grow tired of this—he was beginning to lose hope. Other than the two his friends had already seen, Keiji had only been coming across average-looking girls. None outstandingly beautiful—compared to the rest anyway; Hitomi was famous for three things: beautiful beaches, beautiful sunsets, and beautiful women. No wonder Akio was so excited to be here…
Keiji: (I don’t get it… I’ve looked at everyone. Compared to those other two girls, everyone looks plain. Everyone except…)
His heart fell into the pit of his stomach. He turned his binoculars up to the palace balcony. The king had left, Yume’s brother had left. The only person that remained was her, leaning up against the balcony railing, her beautiful hair blowing calmly with the breeze as the stars shone down upon her eyes, lighting them up like the paper lanterns lit upon the town. Those eyes—they were so sad. Your eyes are not meant to look like that on your birthday—Keiji knew it.
She sighed and looked down at everyone below her, everyone laughing and celebrating. This was her party and she was the only one who wasn’t enjoying herself… She paced around the balcony a few times, playing with her gloves—Keiji could tell that they were itchy—as she walked. Finally she just took them off and threw them into the room behind the balcony. Then he saw it: the very thing that made his heart drop even further. A metallic pink octagon laid on her wrist, glittering in the moonlight with her eyes.
Keiji nearly dropped his binoculars; though instead just put them down.
Keiji: Oh my god… I’m targeting the princess…
-PREVIEW!-
Mikona: Puu! I'm here to help Starlite give a preview for her next chapter!
Wow, Yume does look pretty sad for a princess on her birthday. Hopefully Keiji can step in and make her feel better! Or will he make her feel worse?
Next time on Beyond the Horizon! Chapter 2, "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."
Mikona can't wait!
Mikona: Puu! I'm here to help Starlite give a preview for her next chapter!
Wow, Yume does look pretty sad for a princess on her birthday. Hopefully Keiji can step in and make her feel better! Or will he make her feel worse?
Next time on Beyond the Horizon! Chapter 2, "It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you."
Mikona can't wait!
