The Cloak of Invisibility.

Hitsuki panned over his surroundings, but all he saw was Hanahoshi and Sol giggling and trying to hold back their laughter.

“What's wrong??” Hitsuki asked.

“Have you… ever…” Hanahoshi struggled to hold her laughter. “Rode a… carriage?”

“Does your carriage not have freaking springs??” Hitsuki said.

“Sorry, I couldn’t give you the pleasure of a smooth ride.” Hanahoshi pouted. “This is my best and favorite carriage.”

Hitsuki sighed. “After all that has happened, I don’t expect a smooth ride while I am with you. It gave me ptsd, you know?”

“What are you, a veteran soldier?” Sol interrupted. “I am sorry, soldier. But it seems like we have reached the royal capital.”

“The heck???” Hitsuki yelled in confusion. “This fast?”

Hanahoshi smiled. “That’s the power of magic, after all!”

Hitsuki stared at Sol with eyes of a sparkling cat. “Is there any way I can go to the Kingdom of Mage, for investigation purposes?”

Sol wasn’t sold on his pleas. “If you happen to love the idea of getting your head chopped off and served to dogs, then I can show you the way. It would be my utmost pleasure.”

Hitsuki cried jokingly. “Why do you have to be so mean?”

“Kindness isn’t my area of expertise,” Sol said. “Especially to vampires.”

*****

Hanahoshi dragged Hitsuki outside the carriage, showing him the bustling town square. The sky held five suns up its horizon, and the people were basking under them, praising the good day they had been blessed with.

“A blessed day for you, my friend!” A stranger joyfully exclaimed, shaking Hitsuki’s hand. “Where are you arriving from, traveller?”

“Eh?” Hitsuki stuttered at the sudden gesture. “Do I look like a traveller?”

The stranger twisted his mustache. “The clothes you are wearing certainly do look foreign- Oh!”

He immediately backed off, keeping his smile intact. “My apologies! How truly have I been rude to the people of Her Majesty!! I hope I will be pardoned for my wrongdoings!!”

“Eh!?” Hitsuki was at a loss. He looked around for Hanahoshi and Sol, but he couldn’t find them.

“Wrongdoings indeed. But you might be pardoned if you act as if you met no one.” A sweet voice whispered from under his ear. “We don’t want to be interrupted.”

He didn’t notice that the voice of Sol was this sweet close to his ear. She was wearing a grey cloak with the hood up. He felt another warmth of touch on his shoulder and saw Hanahoshi to his other side.

“Where have you guys been??” Hitsuki exclaimed.

“Sorry, sorry!” Hanahoshi pleaded. “We forgot you can’t see us with our invisibility cloak on!!”

Sol sighed. “The cloak of invisibility only shows its wearer when the wearer touches someone or talks to someone.”

“And we came here to find you one!” Hanahoshi exclaimed. “Oh, I am so excited!”

“Princess Hanahoshi, we won’t be going near the dress section, and I won’t let you either,” Sol said.

“Why do you have to be so mean?” Hanahoshi pouted. “Hmph. I won’t be responsible for leading Mr. Hitsuki then! Take him for yourself!”

She went away pouting, and suddenly, Hitsuki saw her vanish into thin air.

Now it was only Sol and Hitsuki in the open street, amid the joyful crowd.

“Why do we have to buy a cloak?” Hitsuki asked. “Shouldn’t the royal guards have a few to spare?”

“I guess you don’t know anything about the country.” Sol sighed. “The Kingdom of Lizrab is at war. A war of conquest. Naturally, the state armory is near empty. All the invisibility cloaks it had were nothing but torn rags.”

“The princess is way ahead of us,” Sol added. “We need to catch up. Come, follow me.”

Sol held Hitsuki’s hand without a second thought, removing her milky white gloves and tucking them under her belt. Her hands were soft and moist, and it was warm.

Hitsuki’s face flushed out, but Sol seemed unhinged.

“Aren’t you supposed to be a grown man? And you are flustered by this?” Sol asked.

“You know, your hands are like my mother’s,” Hitsuki said. “And you might not know this, but you have a beautiful voice.”

Sol remained silent for a moment. She led Hitsuki through the crowd.

“Thats a new way to compliment someone.” Sol smiled a bit, but it was hidden under her hood.

“Thanks-”

“But compliments won’t save you from getting your head chopped off if you can’t find the assassins, Mr. Detective.” Sol teased.

“Oh, shut up! Don’t ruin the mood!”

“Was there a mood going on in the first place? I don’t think so.” Sol replied.

*****

“Welcome to the Shop of Magic Cloaks!!” An old man came from the shadows, holding his oil lamp in front of his face. “Oh My!! How blessed am I! For the Princess Hanahoshi herself had come to buy herself!”

Hanahoshi smiled. “Thanks for your work, Mr. Manto. Your cloaks have been a great help to us and our army.”

“Yes, that I can see.” He looked at Hanahoshi and Sol’s cloaks with judgmental eyes. “Those cloaks have been serving their purpose well.”

From the corner of his eye, he could see a figure of a man standing behind Sol. He was holding Sol’s hand and wearing peculiar clothes that he had never seen before.

But his eyes caught a glimpse of the man’s eyes and hair, and he instantly backed off. His feet trembled as he fell to his knees.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Manto,” Sol said. “He is not a vampire, I can assure you.”

“But…” Manto hesitated. “He looks…”

“Mr. Manto, he saved my life,” Hanahoshi added. “I am sure this man here means no harm; you can rest easy. Look, he even has the approval of Her Highness Chiyoshi.”

She pointed at the emblem that Hitsuki wore on his collar.

“If you say so, princess.” Manto still kept his distance from him. “Now then, what shall I do for you? I believe the next installment of cloaks isn’t due till next month.”

“Thats not the problem, Mr. Manto. We came here for a special purchase.” Hanahoshi said. “It’s for this man, Mr. Hitsuki.”

While Hanahoshi managed the sales, Hitsuki pressed Sol’s hand lightly.

“Why is he so scared of me, but the stranger above wasn’t?” Hitsuki asked.

“That’s because you walked under the sun unscathed. For normal people, thats enough of a confirmation, for no lunaris can survive the sun.” Sol replied. “But for people who saw you for the first time under the alleyways… well, for them, you are no less than a vampire.”

“Then why are we in the alleys in the first place??” Hitsuki finally showed his first sign of panic. “I feel claustrophobic and creeped out!!”

“The cloak of invisibility isn’t for the normal people to buy, thats why.”

Hitsuki still tucked up under Sol, scared. “I am getting ptsd from the atmosphere. It feels like that forest… what am I gonna encounter now, a six-foot jumping spider??”

*****

Hanahoshi suddenly ran towards them with glittering eyes after scanning the crates of goods. She held one on Hitsuki’s chest, while Manto, Sol, and she scanned him from top to bottom.

“This one fits him completely,” Sol said.

“This is perfect.” Hanahoshi agreed.

“I never knew a clock this perfect was sitting under my goods. The gentleman’s clothes, though foreign, match the cloak. Or you could say the other way around!”

The expenses would be filled in by the treasury later. They took Hitsuki’s cloak and left the underground.

Hitsuki took a deep breath once under the basking light. “It feels good outside!!”

He stretched his body. The smell of the new cloak was strong as he inhaled.

“Now, where are we going?” Hitsuki asked.

But then he saw Hanahoshi’s face suddenly go down. Her heart ached, and guilt entrapped her body. She couldn’t get her voice out.

Sol whispered to his ear. “She said she was going to meet the family of the royal guards who died protecting her in the forest of spirits. Then she will take you to the state library.”

The faces of the burnt soldiers flashed in Hitsuki’s mind. He could feel the same pain she was going through.