Author's Note: This is the first story that I actually published in the Vocaloid tag and I hope it's okay. I just love these two Hatsunes together ( may it be familial or romantic ) so when I watched Tangled & Robin Hood for probably the 6th n' 10th time, I decided to put an idea into action~ You may spot one scene that's similar to the movie in this chapter BUT THIS IS IN NO MEANS A TANGLED (or Robin Hood) CROSSOVER, BELIEVE ME. This isn't like highschool cliches also cuz I noticed lots of KuoMiku stories set in modern times ~ Let's go for this description for the time being: It's set in a world where magic exist but is not shared.

Thank you and Enjoy~

VERDIGRIS

Chapter One: Not on the List


"-restore what is lost. Until then—"

The words were cut off by burning debris, floors shaking and thousands of screams circling around.

"You must go! Hurry, before they reach you!"


Several hooves pounded against the hard soil; its sound echoing throughout the forest. Atop the horses rode valiant men in golden brown cloaks printed with a seal from the state, and they were basking themselves under the sun's rays that constantly peeked from the clouds.

A truly adequate afternoon it was. Now, why would such people be aggravated at such a time?

"Stop right there, THIEF!"

"If I halt, then you will be able to catch me Sir." A teal-haired masked male, wearing the same clothing as them- but no more than the age of seventeen replied mischievously whilst brandishing a large crystalline pendant. "I wouldn't want that now would I?"

Taking a quick turn with his horse, he accelerated in speed, thus completely losing the soldiers by camouflaging behind the stumps of trees.

"Good job boy!" He finally spoke the moment they were out of sight and began rubbing his companion's mane. The necklace clinked along his hand's movement and light reflected its many divine crystals. He removed his mask and stared victoriously at the possession. "Beautiful. A pendant such as this would be worth a fortune if exchanged. Enough to offer much food for the-"

BANG.

Something hit him and in that moment; everything went blank.


The next thing he knew, he was tied up in a fat rough bark of an oak (not to mention, the uncomfortable numbness on his head) with the jewel not within his grasp, but… on someone else's. Adjusting his eyes, the male looked up at the said figure, ready to give a death sentence to whoever that person is for embezzling the item which he clearly set his aim on first. However, his 'drive' diminished as he scanned the, surprisingly, female character.

She wore a brownish red cloak, left open, revealing a lavish beryl dress reaching to the grim, delicately laced with bosses of jewels on the belt. Judging from this, she is without a doubt, one of those women from a noble family.

Or so it seemed.

A pair of notably similar aquamarine orbs stared right down at his, almost digging through the insides of his mind. For a moment, a hint of curiosity seeped through them but quickly it exchanged into that of hesitation.

Those set of pools weren't the only thing akin to him but also the girl's teal-colored locks. Long, teal-colored vibrant locks, he must add. And here he thought whatever powerful force that is up in the heavens, must be playing tricks on him; Though, seeing that she was just as surprised as he is, this idea immediately granulated and broke down from its dream. He has NO time to be wondering about what he questioned in the past, now . There is a prize at stake.

"Ehem… If I may, m'lady…"

"…Miquella." She inserted, receding a step away from him."But it is quite revolting to hear so I prefer to be called 'Miku'. What is yours? No use in lying for I know when you do."

"Oh." I never asked for your name though.

He then contemplated. It's strange that this lady did not add her title in the introduction—does it mean that she's hiding it or… she was never a noble to begin with. Therefore, it would not hurt to tell my name --would it?

"Mikuo. Fancy that, having mine almost similar to yours." I won't see you again anyhow. He smiled fleetingly before altering his expression back into a serious one. "As I was saying… Lady Miku, can I have what you're holding right there? And, untying me would certainly be a great help also."

Her eyes shifted to the necklace in hand then back to the male. "…Did you perhaps, steal this, young Sir?"

Taken aback at how straightforward her question was, Mikuo simply smirked. "Does it not seem that way?"

She went silent, evidently pondering about something in her mind. Her fingers clutched the pendant, giving it a tight grasp and not showing any signs of agreeing to set the man free. "If that is so... then it's not right to give this charm to you…." With a flick of her finger, it magically settled around her neck. "I shall hold on to it until we return it to its owner." she chimed promptly.

He blinked, speechless. It took a number of moments before he could even register what he just saw… or what he thought he saw. With lips parting slightly, he managed to blurt out one of his random inklings at the moment.

"Magic..?"

"Why yes. It is." Miku nodded and smiled down at him. "Who are those that can execute them, I wonder…" The girl then began pacing from left to right, thinking of the answer to her question- in which she clearly knew. "We are to hide in secrecy unless someone witnesses our display of magic or have been affected by it. We have no choice but to bribe them to remain silent or by worse, erase their memories~"

The answer was already clear enough like those that lived in tales from far away. "Wizards…" he responded in a monotone voice, altering his gaze and not even fazed by it. Who knew they truly existed? But of course, this didn't quite fascinate him.

"Exactly! Well, I, am not officially one. Until I complete his late majesty's mission, I remain …"

Paying zero attention to her words that followed, the tealette sighed heavily as he reviewed the devious plan he came up for the day. Going in the city proper disguised as one of the guards, sneaking inside corrupt aristocratic grounds in search for a highly valuable item, escaping with a mask on and the stolen accessory in hand, and to lose the chasing men inside the forest route and successfully return to his small hometown. Upon arrival, immediately exchange the gem for capitals to use for food for the people within the current month.

Meeting a so-called 'wizard' was not on the list.

"Are you listening?" A voice froze his train of thought. Glancing up, the girl's face was only mere inches away from his and in an attempt to jerk away, the male banged his head against the trunk, wincing laboriously as it overlapped the earlier numbness.

"Oh my! I'm very sorry." She frantically placed both hands above Mikuo and concentrated as a white mist slowly surrounded his hem. On the contrary, Mikuo kept his eyes shut the whole interval, thinking that she was casting a curse on him but indistinctly peeked- just ONCE-on what was happening. "Do wait here." She then said and footsteps distancing themselves from him were heard.

After a span of time, he felt the ropes loosen with the sense of pain now gone. Still seeing no sign of the girl, he abruptly stood up and decided to search for his means of transportation—his horse. However, he remained unmoved from his spot, finding it hard to even take a step forward.

"What in the world…?" The rustling of bushes caught his attention. Picking up a fallen branch at a close distance, though it probably wouldn't do much but who knows, he cynically held it as a 'weapon' in front of him—ready for whatever … thing that'll come out.

A tinge of teal slipped through a color of white and strangely he heard the familiar nay. The 'thing' then emerged and made its way completely out of the bundles of green shrubs. "Look, Sir~! I found your companion. Such a lovely brown horse now isn't he?" Miku chimed whilst rubbing the animal's mane and giggled as it clucked a hoof of satisfaction.

His mouth opened to speak but he shuts it. After dropping the futile weapon to the ground, he then attempted to approach them.

The only problem is; he can't.

"Listen here you…"

"Hm~ I forgot to tell you I cast a spell on your shoes."-cut off a nonchalant Miku. "You might not wait during the time I was looking for your horse, you see." She turned to the said creature and smiled as if wanting a backup for her answer. "Prancer went into hiding when you fainted after I threw a pebble at you…"

"WAIT. HOLD ON…" Mikuo raised a hand, face somewhat annoyed. How come you know my horse's name? "First off, Prancer was not just a wild guess of yours, yes? And secondly, if you claim that you threw a 'pebble' at me, then why did that make me faint? It was more like a pot full of cement or two bricks plastered together or a chunk of thick wood!"

The girl sunk her head and began fiddling with her fingers. "I a-apologize. Very well. It wasn't a pebble then but… a medium-sized rock… yes. The rest of the weight was probably created by amount of magic exerted. You were rather far away where it hit you, too. And time is an affecting factor as well. More guards were coming and were getting closer at your point of standing…"

He blinked. "What?" More?
That he didn't know.

Miku raised her chin with certitude and proceeded, "Yes. I was coursing through the forest when a group of men roughly entered, that's why I levitated. It was quite exciting to watch so I followed to see how things will turn out. When you came to a safe spot and was too busy gaping at the necklace, you didn't notice their other patch. At first, I thought that they were the ones at wrong and you might get captured, that's why I decided to warn you but… I never expected you to faint. That caused a problem. It was your horse that noticed me first. Wizards posses certain abilities like teleportation and deciphering the language of animals. I instructed Prancer to hide while I transport you away from the herd of men. But then, I realized you stole something of value from them, I then explained why I revealed my name and what I am but you hit your head on that tree, I healed you, then here we are right now~!" She huffed for she said that all in one go.

And now...

SILENCE as he let those words sink in in.

Wizard's ability, she said. Though the argument seemed quite far-fetched, the purpose of it won Mikuo over from his previous disbelief. But not completely. "I see…" He finally said after a while and rubbed the back of his neck. "Thank…you, I suppose…" He purposely lowered his voice on this remark though and diverted his eyes away from the female.

Miku's heart made a light skip when she noticed his rather shy gratitude but nevertheless returned a warm: "You're welcome~"

Hearing this, Mikuo peeked up at her before shaking his head and proceeded to strip off his disguise and immediately fondled with the buttons of the next layer.

"E-Eh?! What are you doing?!" The female quickly turned her back as Mikuo—now topless—crouched down to untie the boots.

"Changing." He whistled for his horse to approach him and began to rummage through a pouch saddled around it. Taking out a plain white buccaneer shirt, he decided to test his theory of pulling away his feet from the static footwear.

His right foot stepped out and felt the earth before releasing the left from the other boot. Two feet - check. One step to walk... and-

Success! He chuckled as he did a brief walk around Nicolas.

Upon noticing the captive moving again, Miku turned and pointed accusingly at him, but alas!- her words came out in many surprised stutters.

"A spell on the legs would've been better, don't you think?" The male wore the shirt, tucked in his very own shoes and climbed up his horse in one very swift motion. "You can do whatever you want with the necklace." I'll find another target instead. He covered himself with a grey merchant's cloak and smirked.

"Ah? Are you leaving? But if you tell—"

"I have no interest at all in doing so." He deadpanned. "And, just so you know… I see no point in bribing me either. All the other people who claimed to have met a wizard that gave them money, got locked up in a prison cell or—was labeled as lunatics and whatnot. Again, you can do whatever you want with that necklace. Farewell." After that, he quickly rode off into the distance. Miku, dazed as she watched his retreating form getting smaller, snaps out and-

"W-Wait! Don't go! I still need to take you with me! Sire?!"

Truly, he was not listening to a word she said before.


Chapter 2 Progress: 30 %
MOTIVATION is one of the keys to sucess~

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