Warning: This is an AU fanfiction!
↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
It was still early in the morning, but it was as if there was war going on in the castle. Maids running around with buckets of water and pieces of cleaning cloth, some rushing to go get table cloths, some getting a new set of curtains, and some of them were arranging flowers. Butlers were at the kitchen, making sure the cutleries were clean, and making sure that food preparation was going smoothly.
Soraru walked slowly down the hallways, watching everyone run around, busy with their own respective works. He looked over at the guards standing in their positions. The guards straightened their backs, waiting for Soraru's orders. Soraru only tilted his head slightly upwards, and as if they knew what Soraru meant, the guards immediately moved to another look-out spot.
There were still some troops he needed to teach about self-defense, so he took a step or two faster to the place of arms. The troops were already there, undergoing some training on their own by fighting against each other with wooden weapons.
Soraru walked towards them, picking up a wooden sword on his way, and raised it up above his head before he slashed down at the guard right in front of him. The guard turned towards Soraru in time, but was too shocked at Soraru's sudden attack, and fell onto the ground when the blow landed on his wooden spear. Soraru then adjusted his sword, slipping it right under the spear, and hit it off the guard's hold. The spear dropped on the ground near them with a loud "thunk".
Soraru then pointed his sword straight down at the guard below him, not allowing him to make another move.
"... Soraru-san!" Kashitarou let out a breath, pushing his hair back, sweat rolling down his forehead. He looked up at Soraru with his brown eyes filled with relief the moment he confirmed that he wasn't an enemy. "That wasn't very nice of you!"
"Never let your guard down, Kashitarou. How many times have I told you this?" Soraru whipped his wooden sword down, back at his side. He placed his hand on his hip, sighing at Kashitarou. "It's good that you're quick to reacting at sudden attacks though,"
"What's this? Soraru-san is complimenting me this early in the morning-"
"But you're lacking strength on your arms, Kashitarou," added Soraru as he put out his hand at Kashitarou, offering him a hand to stand back up on his feet. "Work on it,"
"As expected of Soraru-san!" Kashitarou laughed heartily, and took Soraru's hand, gripping onto it firmly, pulling himself up with Soraru's help, not forgetting to go pick his spear up after that. He made his way to Soraru's side, and draped his arm over Soraru's shoulders. "Is it okay for you to be here?"
"Yeah, I have some time to come teach a thing or two to the greens," Soraru said as he took out his pocket watch from his breast pocket, took a quick glance at it before putting it back in again.
"You didn't have to, I could teach them for you," Kashitarou frowned at Soraru, and then as if he remembered something, he called out to the troops to proceed at their training before he got back to Soraru. "You should go take a nap or something, anything at all, as long as you closed your eyes for more than ten seconds,"
Soraru turned to look at Kashitarou. He was upset again, but if he were him, Soraru would be pretty upset too.
He lifted his arm, and it was his turn to drape his arm over Kashitarou's shoulders. Kashitarou was pulled down slightly to Soraru's height, causing him to lose his balance for a second there. He looked at Soraru, and he might have thought Soraru would say 'no', because the next thing Soraru said made him widen his eyes, and caused him to smile widely at him.
"Leave it to me, Soraru-san! You can rest over there if you want!"
"No, I don't think that would be appropriate," Soraru chuckled. He didn't want his troops to see him resting when all of them were working hard here. He retrieved his arm, and patted Kashitarou on the back. "I'll go somewhere else quiet,"
"Do actually try to sleep, okay?"
"I'll try," Soraru said, and this got Kashitarou looking all upset again. "Thank you though, Kashitarou,"
"It's nothing, Soraru-san. We're already like, what, brothers? Since we've known each other for as long as I could remember," Kashitarou reached out to grab the wooden sword out of Soraru's hand, and grinned at Soraru, adding a 'unless you've never thought so about me'.
"Do I have to say it out loud?" Soraru let out a chuckle, amused at his statement. Kashitarou was a great man after all. "You know what you are, Kashitarou,"
"Now go get some rest, will you?" said Kashitarou, seeming happy with Soraru's answer.
Soraru nodded, and left, leaving everything up to Kashitarou, just as he said. He knew Kashitarou was capable at teaching, and if Soraru had to say so himself, he might even be better than him at teaching. He always made sure it was something Kashitarou could handle before giving him tasks, though he did appreciate what Kashitarou did for him. With this much time left, he could probably take a short nap before he was headed back to the princess.
He made his way to the royal garden, looking to see if anyone was around before he stepped into it. He stopped at his feet when he was under the huge oak tree in the garden. With one foot up against the tree trunk, and his hands reaching and latching at the tree branches near him, he pulled himself up, and quickly moved to a larger tree branch.
He sat on it, his back against the tree trunk, shifting in his seat to make sure he was feeling all comfortable for a quick nap. He could have just make do with the ground, but he never liked the idea of leaving his vulnerable self out in the open like that, and napping on the tree sounded better since he could hide behind the leaves, and no one would notice him unless they took their time to look out at the garden.
Soraru crossed his arms over his chest, let one leg hang off the branch, and lowered his head. He closed his eyes, attempting to go to sleep.
A lot had been happening within two days' time, ever since that night when he first met that man, and then going to the same place again, in hopes that he would see him again. What was he, insane? That man was trying to kill his King, and there Soraru was, letting him go again, and again. It made Soraru question his actions repeatedly ever since then.
He had white hair and eyes so red, they resembled blood; and he was beautiful. He wondered if the white in his hair was natural, because when Soraru accidentally fell into awe, and touched a few strands of his hair, they were silky smooth, and nice to touch.
He looked as if he needed help, but he could not say it out loud, as if the word "help" was a taboo to him. He looked as if he hated Soraru, and couldn't seem to trust his words, which Soraru could understand because he would tell him to do the same, but he was glad that he chose to come to him even though it might put him into grave danger.
When he stood beside Soraru, and looked over at the garden, there were sparkles in his eyes, sparkling brighter than any stars he had ever seen when he was out in a dark, abandoned town for a task when he was younger. He could look at him all day if time allowed, and of course, if the man wouldn't stab him in the throat for it.
He kills, but he appreciates life. Soraru knew that by how the man looked at the flowers and trees that were planted in the garden. When he held the flower that he gave him in his hand, he held onto it as if it was the most precious thing at the moment, and Soraru appreciated that part about him. When Soraru told him about the existence of flower languages, it was faint as if he was trying to suppress his expressions from showing, but it was obvious that he was eager to learn more about it. Even though the man disliked Soraru, he would still properly listen to Soraru's meaningless talks, and respond to them.
The man, he was called Mafumafu. Despite being an assassin, he had a name that made him sound soft. Instead of being the one on the offense, Soraru had an impression of him being on the protected side. And Soraru always ended up letting his guard down whenever he was with him. He asked himself many times after that, looking for the reason why, because he had never once let his guard down, not even to the people closest to him. So, why?
The man was a serious one, loyal, faithful, or should Soraru say, forced? He had a feeling he was afraid of something, but what was it, Soraru had no clue. However, he wanted him to know that no matter what might happened, he was going to be fine. He wanted to help him. He never felt this protective to another person other than the princess before, and it was new to him.
Maybe it was because of the way he looks at Soraru sometimes.
He asked him if he could come again. Well, of course, if only he wouldn't kill the King, but Soraru didn't say that. He instead invited him to the ball that was going to be held tonight. Was he stupid? Had his brain malfunction due to the lack of sleep? Maybe.
... And worst of all, he just simply couldn't forget how his name sounded when the man called him.
"...... Soraru-san,"
His voice, echoed again, and again in his mind for a countless times now.
The way he stared at the flower he gave him, the way he frowned at him when Soraru says something mean, the way he laughs softly at Soraru's respond to some of his questions, the way he called his name, and the way he looked at him, they were all so adorable to him, they made it so hard for Soraru to stay away.
He had so many questions about this matter, but no matter how much he thought about it through these sleepless nights, he still couldn't manage an answer for any of them. It frustrated him because of how he had always been in his mind since, when he was not in condition to think about anyone else other than the King and the princess.
He never felt so lost about something or he supposed, in this case, someone, before. He didn't know how he was feeling about this Mafumafu, and he was sure it would be quite difficult for him to understand it at such an early stage. But he was certain about one thing; that he wanted to get to know him better. As the King's knight, however, he understood that he couldn't let this go on forever.
They'd both end up going against each other, and it was only a matter of time before that happens.
He fluttered his eyes opened, his hand reaching into his breast pocket again for his pocket watch. It was almost time, he thought as he slipped his pocket watch back in. He pushed himself off the tree trunk, positioned himself on the branch, and jumped down, landing on the ground with a quiet thud, not wanting to make too much of a noise. He then stretched his body a little before rolling his shoulders.
It was time to go back to duty.
-
"Oh, Sorarun! Over here!"
96neko shouted at Soraru from a distance, waving her hands frantically at him as if she really, really wanted Soraru to go to her. It was where he was headed anyway.
Soraru walked towards her, his boots tapping loudly against the stone flooring. When Soraru reached 96neko, she immediately opened the door into Lon's bedchamber, and led him inside.
"What is it, 96neko?" asked Soraru, a little confused at 96neko's intention because she was currently standing in front of the curtains. Soraru decided to stand in a distance to see what she had to explain about herself.
"I need you to take a look at Lon-chan's dress," said 96neko as she pulled at a hand that was poked out from behind the curtains. The hand fought back, slapping 96neko's hands repeatedly, the both pulling at each other, forming tension in between them. "Lon-chan, you know you can't hide in there forever!"
Soraru moved to the curtains, and placed his hands on them then pulled, revealing the princess in a white-coloured silk nightgown with a few gold embroideries at the hem of it, bringing out the sense of royalty in it. Lon flinched when she was suddenly out in the open, and quickly reached out to pull at the curtains to cover up her body.
"Soraru-san!" she exclaimed, a little upset at Soraru's actions.
"Princess, this is no time for you to play hide-and-seek," Soraru lowered his body, so that he could take a better look at her. She was properly given her makeup, and she even had a faint scent of roses on her. She looked ready to go, but something was missing. Soraru put his hand out, and called out, "96neko,"
"Aye, aye, Sir!" she replied, and pulled out some sort of silver thing out of her big pouch, and handed it to Soraru.
He took it then placed the tiara over Lon's head, adjusting it, and taking a step back to look at her before readjusting it again until he was satisfied.
"... There, you're good to go," he let out a breath.
"Thank you, Soraru-san," Lon said with gratitude, reaching up to touch the tiara with her fingertips.
96neko snickered as she admired Lon's appearance, utterly amazed at her own work.
"I bet we'll be having tons of suitors for Lon-chan tomorrow," she grinned from ear-to-ear, humming happily at the thought.
It was going to be a lot more work for the both of them though. 96neko would be busy getting Lon dressed up first thing in the morning, and then she'd have to accompany Lon to greet them, and support Lon if she ran out of things to say. Soraru, on the other hand, would be required to be in the drawing room, just in case there were "persistent" ones.
"You know I never liked these sort of things, 96-chan," Lon frowned, pushing herself out of the curtains. She patted the dusts off her nightgown, and straightened it. 96neko started talking about how exciting it is to see Soraru kick suitors out the doors due to their behaviour, and Lon arguing about how her bottom goes sore from sitting too long in the armchair at the drawing room.
"Princess, it's time," Soraru cut in after looking over at the building where the ballroom was. Guests were gradually flooding in through the doors, and more and more carriages were already stopping by the sidewalk outside the castle. "We mustn't be late,"
"You're right, we mustn't," Lon put her hand out, and Soraru naturally took it. He let her hand rest on the crook of his arm, and courted her to their destination, the ballroom.
-
The party tonight was supposed to be a celebration of something, but frankly, Soraru hadn't a single idea of what they were celebrating for since things had been a little hectic for him recently to even bother. The King said it was fine for everyone to drink until they dropped today, so the guards were let off duty, and allowed to drink to their hearts content outside of the ballroom as long as they do not cause trouble to the guests.
And even Soraru was in his formal clothing for the party, out of his dirty shirt and breeches, but still stuck with the pair of noisy shoes.
But, just in case, Soraru still kept a dagger or two with him, and of course, still had a few guards on watch. He'd have to reward them afterwards for their good effort.
People didn't seem to recognise him as the royal knight due to the change of appearance, and he had been overwhelmed by a ton of mothers introducing him to their lovely daughters who might or might not be their first time out in the season. Soraru only smiled at them, greeting each and every one of them politely, and treated them the way they should be treated, just like a gentleman would. The only thing he didn't know was that it might have brought him even more unwanted attention.
A nice, old lady came up to Soraru's side with a young lady in a pink nightgown, and asked Soraru to dance with her granddaughter because it was her first season out, and she was nervous. Soraru was hesitant at first, but he couldn't bring himself to turn down the lovely old lady, and turned towards her granddaughter with his hand out. The music changed into one perfect for Waltz just in time.
"May I have this dance with you?" Soraru asked, bowing slightly at the lady in front of him.
The lady nodded, and took his hand shyly, letting Soraru guide her to the middle of the ballroom. He held her hand, and stretched their arms out. He had one hand on her back to support her as he led the dance, making sure it was fun and pleasurable for her. The music came to end, and Soraru stopped on his feet, and let go of her before he took a step back, and bowed. She lifted her gown, and gave him a tiny curtsy.
"You were really good at dancing," complimented Soraru when he went back to the lady's side, and placed her hand on the crook of his arms so that he could guide her back to her grandmother. He made sure he walked slowly to keep up with the lady's walking pace.
"No, Sir Soraru was the one who was good at leading," she shook her head, lowering her head at their feet.
"I'm sure that's not true," said Soraru with a smile. He took her hand, and passed her to her grandmother. Her grandmother thanked him for agreeing to dance with her granddaughter, and she was happy to see that she was having a great time with Soraru in the middle of the ballroom. Soraru shook his head, and told her that it was his pleasure to have had the opportunity to dance with her.
"You're such a great young man,"
"You flatter me," Soraru smiled.
Soraru gave them one last bow before he took his leave.
"I hope you have a great season,"
Soraru then quickly moved and stood at the corner of the ballroom, where he would not gain too much attention, and most importantly, everything was within his field of vision. The princess was surrounded by men, as always, all trying to entertain her. But 96neko was with her, so she should be fine. The King was busy greeting his guests, entertaining them, and Soraru had Kashitarou follow him with a green named Sou, to allow him to learn a thing or two because they had the responsibility in protecting their King.
He crossed his arms, and leaned up against the walls, watching intently at everyone until he saw a young man grabbing onto the princess' arm, attempting to get her out alone with him. Of course Lon refused, she was forced to smile as she did, so it might have not been intimidating enough, because the man was still pulling at her.
96neko tried to stop him, but the other men pushed her away because they didn't think it was fair for the man to have her for his own. She fell on her bottom, and now she was falling back behind the crowd.
He heard Lon call his name, even though it was just a whisper.
Soraru pushed himself off the wall, and walked towards them. He put out his arm, and placed it in between the princess and the rude man. He pushed him aside, and grabbed onto the collar of his coat.
"Back off,"
The crowd started finding Soraru's action absurd. Feeling upset at how they were being treated, they attempted to voice out but Soraru ignored them.
Soraru grabbed Lon's hands gently in his, examining her thoroughly to see if she was hurt. She shook her head at him, telling him that she was fine, as if she knew what he was doing even though he said nothing. But Soraru knew it was a lie because she was rubbing her wrist a little after the man let go of her.
The rude man tried to grab Lon away from Soraru, but Soraru caught his hand by the wrist before he could even touch another hair on Lon. He strengthened his grip on the man's wrist, and twisted upwards, causing the man to whine in pain.
"I don't like repeating myself," Soraru's voice came out flat and cold, his eyes glaring daggers at each and every one of them. He let go of the man, and looked around at the crowd, waiting to see if there was anyone else who wanted to try disrespecting the princess again.
The crowd around Lon immediately went silent. Lon pulled at Soraru's sleeves, and he looked down at her to see her mouth a word of gratitude at him which he only nodded to.
He led her to where 96neko was. She was still on her bottom, and Soraru helped pull her up on her feet then told her to see Lon to the side room for a breather from her pursuers, not forgetting to praise her for her attempt at protecting Lon. 96neko only smiled and nodded, and pulled Lon along with her as they left the room. She knew she needed to tend to Lon first, the jokes could come later.
"D-Do you know who am I?! How dare you hurt the Duke of-"
Soraru scowled down at him, who was on the ground, whining pathetically at what Soraru did to him, loudly revealing his position in the current society.
The Duke? So what about it? Soraru didn't see any obligation to enlighten him. He hurt his princess, so he paid him back with the equal amount of pain, well, maybe a little more than that.
The man let out a pathetic cry under Soraru's glare, the people around him was trying to pick him up, but he was too scared to even stand on his feet. Soraru turned his back to him, and walked away. He needed to look for Kashitarou.
When he found him, he patted his shoulder, gaining Kashitarou's attention.
"What's wrong, Soraru-san?" he blinked at Soraru, a little surprised.
"I need you to go to the princess," Soraru pointed at the room beside the ball room where the ladies would fix their makeup and dress. "I'll take over,"
"But you're supposed to be having fun! You should be talking to a few ladies, drinking some good wine!" Kashitarou complained, disagreeing with Soraru with all his might. He then looked over at the green beside him. "Sou-kun is capable at protecting the King while I'm with the princess. Isn't that right, Sou-kun?"
"M-Me? I guess...?" the young lad was confused, shocked, surprised, and scared. How was Soraru supposed to leave the King to him alone when he didn't even have the confidence in his answer? He was a green, young and inexperienced, and Soraru was not in the wrong minds to be agreeing with Kashitarou's suggestion.
"I am the King's Knight, Kashitarou. Where the King goes, I go," Soraru stared into Kashitarou's eyes seriously, then he pushed him on the back, making Kashitarou tumble forward. "Go to the princess, now. No time shall be wasted,"
"... I hate it when you use that tone on me, Soraru-san," Kashitarou pouted, and Soraru reached up to ruffle up his the back of his head, messing up and destroying the structure of his self-proclaimed-as-cool hairstyle. Kashitarou tried to catch Soraru's hand, but he was definitely doing a miserable job at it. "Hey! Stop that! I may still be on duty, but I still intend to look cool in the ladies' eyes!"
"Breakfast is on me tomorrow,"
"You better give me two extra pieces of buns or I will come back to you for more!"
"I'll give you five more, how about that?"
"Now, now, that might be a little too much for Itou Kashitarou, Soraru-san," it was annoying how Kashitarou referred to himself as a third-person as he moved his finger from the left and then to the right, but funny at the same time. And Soraru said it because he knew fully well that Kashitarou would not be able to finish it in the first place.
"You could just keep it in your pouch, and have it as a snack after training with the greens," Soraru shrugged. Who would let this offer slide though? Not Kashitarou, of course, even though he won't be able to finish it. This was important, so it needed to be stated twice. But he didn't want the food to go to waste after all, so he gave him another suggestion. "Or you could just share it with the others,"
"You're right! You're a genius, Soraru-san!" Kashitarou then stepped out towards where Lon was. He looked back at Soraru, and grinned. "I'll be off now! Try not to be too hard on Sou-kun!"
And off he went.
Soraru turned to look back at Sou, who was holding onto his spear tightly against his chest but his eyes were filled with a different sort of determination, as if he had arranged his thoughts and was clearer about what he was doing here.
"Sou, was it?"
"Yes Sir, my name is Sou,"
"Stay near the King, and never let him out of your sights," Soraru said. He was sure Sou knew about it, but a little pressure on the lad wouldn't hurt. "Immediately go into the defense stance when you see potential danger, am I clear?"
"Yes Sir!"
He definitely sounded more confident than he did just now for his voice came out loud and clear. Soraru nodded at him, impressed at his sudden change, and then walked to the King, standing by his side. He was looking around, until he caught something at the corner of his eye. He turned around, facing the veranda where there were a few people conversing over their wine glasses.
Soraru was sure he saw something. He wanted to go there, but leaving the King and Sou alone didn't sound like a good idea, so he couldn't. He stared at the direction for quite some time, gaining a look of confusion from Sou.
"Is something a matter, Sir Soraru?" asked Sou.
"... No, it's nothing,"
Or so he hoped.
Lon was back at the ballroom together with 96neko after that, and continued enlightening guests together with her father. The ball slowly came to an end, and guests were leaving one after another, gradually emptying out the ballroom. And now that they were all gone, Lon let out a heavy sigh.
"Lon-chan, are you okay?"
"My head hurts when I think about what was going to come at me tomorrow..."
"Would you want me to turn them all away then?"
"No, that would not be very nice of me," Lon shook her head, and smiled at 96neko's attentiveness. "I'll be fine,"
Kashitarou came back to the King, and Soraru told him to see the King back to his bedchamber. He left the ballroom together with Sou. The maids and butlers were almost done with their tasks due to their efficiency. Well, the castle did have a number of servants after all.
Soraru walked towards the veranda, looking out at the night sky. He could barely see the stars, and the moon was hidden behind the clouds. It was rather windy tonight, colder than the night before. 96neko came over, and pulled at the hinges of the glazed door to close them back up.
"It's cold outside tonight, Sorarun," 96neko stood by his side after she pulled a little at the curtains, but it was just enough for Soraru to still be able to look out at the sky. "I don't want you catching a cold,"
"Thank you, 96neko," said Soraru, his tone a little quiet.
"... Is something wrong, Sorarun?" she asked, somewhat worried about Soraru because he did not counter her words with things like, 'I don't need you to worry about me,' and it was not normal. She turned to look at what Soraru was staring at, and then back at him. "Were you expecting someone tonight?"
Soraru did not say a thing, but lowered his head.
"Sorarun?"
"96neko, it's time to get the princess back to her bedchamber,"
"... I understand,"
She might not seem like it, but she was a smart and quick to realise something. She backed off, and decided not to pry. Soraru nodded at her, and watched her leave with Lon. The other servants left after clearing up, lowering their bodies at Soraru, and greeted him goodnight as they carried dirty table clothes and cleaning tools in their hands.
The ballroom was now empty, and it seemed huge now that there was no one here. He turned to the glazed door to the veranda again, and opened it, not bothering to move the curtains. Soraru walked out into it, until he stood behind the stone railings.
If he said he wasn't expecting someone, it would be a lie. He didn't want him to turn up after all at one point when the ball was still going on because he was worried that things would go wrong, and he would end up having to choose, to choose to kill or not to kill.
He turned around, and looked up.
Soraru smiled unconsciously at what he saw.
"Took you long enough," said Mafumafu.
There he was, sitting on the roof with his legs kicking lightly in the air.
TBC
A/N: It's already April. I said I would update on Twitter on the 1st of April, so I did, and here it is.