What Happened In Angel City 

     "Vladimier?" After a bit of deliberating, Runo decided to stay in the tree.

     "I prefer to be called Vice-Minister. And you are Rukamina Runo, correct?" Miley Vladimier tipped his top hat slightly.

     "I only go by Runo. Kucabara calls you Vladimier, so I'll go with that."

     "You say that a wandering bounty worth 100,000 pintas spoke directly to both Jay and the Minister."

     "Do Vice-Ministers normally look at bounty posters?"

     "I control the law enforcement area of Angel City's government. Therefore, I have the authority to overlook your presence if I am given the information I seek."

     "...Hah?"

     The Vice-Minister cleared his throat. "Why were you speaking with Kucabara and Jay?"

     "Jay told you, but somebody didn't listen. You want information? I'll give you information, so go back to the Festival once I'm finished."

     "The Festival does not require my attendance--"

     "Yes or no."

     Vladimier pursed his lips and slowly nodded.

     "Alright then. [take this as a kind of synopsis and clear-up thing, cuz of course everything i make ruru say is right.] First of all, the Navi suddenly decided to take revenge on behalf of the neighboring Blue Riders nine years after you burned their village down. I'm assuming that they'll attack Angel City on the night of the Festival of Angels--tonight--and use the Minister as a hostage. So, the first thing they did was ambush him. Didn't Kake tell you this?"

     "Kake?"

     "A little boy with purple hair, a white bamboo staff, a sack of leather, and a rabbit. He should've come with Kucabara's driver."

     "I am afraid not. I have not heard from either of them."

     Runo slapped his forehead. "That idiot..."

     "Actually--this afternoon there was a report from the edge of town about a coach driver claiming that the Blue Riders had risen from the dead."

     "...Idiot..."

     "More importantly--"

     "Wait, wait, wait. What exactly happened in Angel City?"

     Kake yawned, then fiddled with the ropes tying him. "Ow...Jay? Jay~!"

     "...Who?" Jay slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, wincing at the throbbing in his head. "What..."

     "Ah, what now? It's the second time I've been caught, Kuch is going to yell at me..."

     Jay blinked and shook his head to try to clear it. His hair fell into his eyes, and he suddenly remembered the past events--up to a certain point. "Kake? What happened?"

     "Eehhh, you haven't figured it out yet? They betrayed you! Someone shot you from behind--with a tranquilizer, I guess. They're awesome, I didn't know they existed! But it was scary, you know, cuz I thought you were dead, and I thought I was going to die, too! They took Kucabara without shooting him, and then they were going to shoot me when Imaelka jumped in and saved the day! She's nice. But she still tied me up and put me here, and it hurts!" Kake pointedly raised his two hands and displayed his bound wrists. "Do you know her?"

     "Huh? Well...I used to."

     "Used to?"

     "The Blue Riders and the Navi lived really close to each other--everyone visited each other a lot. Imaelka and I are like childhood friends, I guess."

     Kake pouted. "So you do know her! Why'd you say 'used to,' it's confusing!"

     "I haven't seen her in nine years, and people change. I didn't recognize her until she said my name."

     "But you recognized her, right?"

     "...Yeah..."

     "So you know her." Kake giggled.

     The room was silent for a while. Jay looked around in the darkness, and though there was hardly any light his eyes saw the sealed and empty fireplace, the chairs, the rug on the wooden floor, the walls and ceiling made from animal skin, and the rich curtains covering a window on the far side of the room. Kake was beside him on a chair. Jay took a breath and forced himself to speak, a whisper in the dark. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you..."

     "Eh? Really? What is it?"

     "Remember when you left to tell Mr. Vladimier about the Navi?"

     "Yeah! I went with the coach-driver just like you said."

     "What--what happened in Angel City?"

     "I don't know." He gave an apologetic grin.

     "...Wha?"

     "I never got there. The coach-driver might've, though. See we were walking back to the City, and I could almost see the gate when two or three Navi started shooting at us, and then more started coming, so I yelled 'Jay's a Blue Rider!' and ran back to you guys."

     Something tasted bitter in Jay's mouth. "You yelled what?"

     "Ah, sorry, I thought it might distract the Navi, but who would've known it was true! It would be bad if the coach-driver heard that and believed it. But that's not very probable, is it?"

     "I hope not..." Kake had done that on purpose. There was no question about that.

     "So what're you going to do now?"

     "I--I don't know."

     "Wonder how Kucabara's doing. How about we go see him?"

     "Huh?" 

     "Here. As an apology for giving away your secret, sort of like payment, I'll get you out of here. If you're bringing Kucabara along, though, I'll have to jack the price up a bit. It's part of his escape plan, after all. Ready to hear it?"

     Another condition. Jay hoped it would be the last. "Yes."

     "Shoot the leader of the Navi, would you?"

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Chapter 23

Chapter 25