Note: Crossover with FFIX (quite old game, lol). This one is actually my most favorite game; I know that most people prefer its predecessors but I guess it's because I love fantasy too much. Warning for heavy MikoRei, mild SaruMi, Kuroh/Weismann and Izumo/Seri. For readers who never play this game, please allow me to give a simple explanation of the setting. The story takes place where the world is divided into Terra (the moon) and Gaia (the Earth). People inhabit Gaia, and there are medieval kingdoms in most of the continents. However, in this story, the people are all humans, with varying affinity toward magic. (There are races in original FFIX) Further explanation hopefully will be written in the story if I don't forget, lol.
Crossposted in AO3. To be honest, this was posted there like...weeks ago. Getting on ffnet took a lot of effort and real life was so busy, so I got lazy, sigh...
Disclaimer: None of K project or Final Fantasy IX is mine. =3= Or else, I would be rich right now, lol.
It hurts…
The fragments of memories came into him; the ritual chamber, the chain, the summoning rite, and the sense of exhaustion and void swirling inside him like a raging storm.
…Stop it!
His violet eyes abruptly opened in sudden wake, gasping like a dying fish on the barren land, barely registering the profuse sweat leisurely trickled down from his forehead to the back of his dampened white shirt. He took his moment to catch his breath and found solace in the familiarity of the canopy of his royal bed. Once his palpitating heartbeats had stopped running wildly, he tensed his sore muscles and lifted his hands weakly, floating in the middle air. He sighed in relief at the thought of being able to move again.
Munakata bit his lower lip, recalling the event of last night. As much as he preferred not to remember any of it because the betrayal still felt as bitter as the tang of blood on his tongue, he only heaved a sigh, deciding not to dwell on the past too much. He had no way to rewind the time, but things were not beyond salvage yet. He still had the time and chance to fix things.
The royal prince pushed himself off to sit on the soft cushion and stared to the distant sky through the glass windows. The whiff of white cloud barely covered the majestic golden sun. The beautiful palette of sunset with myriad violet and burning scarlet hues furnished the sky, telling him that he had been sleeping for almost the whole day and in few hours, night would dawn and he would have to return to his duty as a prince of Alexandria Kingdom.
The beauty of the twilight invited him to leave the safety of his bed cover. He dragged his feet lazily as he padded slowly on the soft, royal blue-colored carpet until he stood by the window. From his room, he could see the distant city outside the castle wall as his chamber was located at the highest floor of East Wing tower. Once he pushed open the window with his hands, the cold wind slapped his face, gently stroke his sapphire blue strands. From the city, he could hear the chime of towing bell to alert the children and the citizens that it was almost time to return home. Although the sky was still bright, some of the villagers had burned the fire lantern in front of their house to light up the roads.
The tranquility gave him a reason to grit his teeth and behave as if nothing had happened; like the expected prideful, strong heir of Alexandria.
He was still basking under the golden light of setting sun peacefully by the windowsill when he heard a knock on his door. Munakata frowned; his eyes glinted with cold fury as his shoulders tensed up.
"Prince, are you awake?" A feminine voice could be heard from the other side of the door.
Awashima…
Munakata immediately loosened up and wore his usual smile, "Yes, I am. Come in, Awashima."
In a heartbeat, the door was opened and a blonde lieutenant with her hair tied up into a bun with a diamond pin entered almost too carefully, leaving no sound as she treaded her way in. She immediately closed the door before she lifted her anxious azure eyes to meet the usual violet ones, observing for any hint of pain or sadness from the very man who she had taken an oath to protect with her life. "Please forgive my rudeness. I could not find you last night, and none of the servants seemed to know where you were, so I was worried. And this morning when I found out that you had returned to your chamber, the Royal Magician forbade me from interrupting your rest."
"I'm fine." He lied fluently with a smile that never reached his eyes. "It's just an exhaustion; that's all."
The beautiful blonde gazed up through her bangs, looking doubtful. Her prince always kept up the unfaltering image of poised, perfect royal successor, and his brilliance and strength helped him to maintain the exterior of invulnerable man without flaw. She had always been worried that one day he would finally fall victim to fatigue with the constant pressures and expectations although he always shrugged her off with a flippant smile, saying that he still had no problem in handling his duty. But this time was different.
She noticed the dark rings under his eyes, which were not there yesterday afternoon and the color of his complexion was awful. Despite his attempt to stand tall, his posture was slightly slouched and her prince barely made useless movement, as if to conserve his energy. If his weariness was simply because he stayed up late doing the piling paper works, the exhaustion should have been gone with the long sleep he had taken. But now he looked as if someone had just drained his life force, and that was why she was anxious.
Her prince was a man of routine, and there was no day passing without him waking up at dawn even if he had stayed awake for the whole night. This was the first time in her life as his bodyguard that Munakata woke up at this late hour with such ghastly complexion. Something grave must have happened, but the blue-haired prince did not even want to talk about it, but she still coaxed him.
"You won't look so horrible from mere lack of sleep." She said sternly, almost reprimanding before she lowered her voice into a soft whisper, avoiding the fake smiling stare. "Or do you not trust me?"
Munakata shifted his eyes guiltily and the smile faltered into a bitter one when the silence fell between them. After a moment, he finally replied, "I'm sorry for always making you worry, Awashima."
Her chest constricted painfully at his hesitance to confide on her and the thought of being powerless to ease her most respected prince and deliberate him from his trouble. But she swallowed her sadness and made a salute gesture to him with straightened back, facing him with a bright smile. "It's my duty. Please allow me to remind you to get ready for your twentieth birthday party, Prince. The party will begin in two hours. I wish you a happy birthday in advance."
He tilted his head and laughed softly to his hand. "I guess I'm getting older today."
"Yes, Prince." She was also laughing, joining him with lighter mood. "Please don't get carried away just because you are eligible for drinking."
"I'll try." He beamed at her before he dragged his feet as he was walking to the mahogany wardrobe to get ready for the party.
The dusk had fallen, and the vast orange sky was replaced by jet black blanket with the glittering diamond-like stars.
The darkness had set in, and the night creature of the forest started to lurk out of their nest for hunt. The eerie squeaks and hoot of night owls echoed in every corner of the forest, with the dense mist roaming on the ground and wet grass. Hidden among the the lush forest, there was a faint yellow light emanating from an airship.
A man was sprawled on the mast for looked-out of the ship, using his arms as his pillow. He stifled a yawn when he heard the sound of chime bell just below from the dock underneath him, telling him the time to get on his feet and gather on the meeting room. He stretched lazily like a languid cat while blinking away his drowsiness. Rubbing the back of his red head, he heaved a sigh before he jumped down the rope stairs almost at ease and began treading down his path to the meeting room.
He passed through several youngsters who had lived like brothers under his wings and greeted him cheerily with worshipping light in their eyes. "Mikoto, are you going for the next mission?"
Mikoto simply shrugged and answered nonchalantly as he kept on walking along the corridor, "Yeah, might as well work to pass the night."
He mused as he was on the way to the meeting chamber. As the leader, he was glad that his members, which were mostly strayed orphans that he had picked up along his travel and work, always respected him and remained loyal to the group like a big family. They might be pirates, but he preferred to think themselves as jack-of-all-trades and thus despite being villains, there were codes the whole members had to follow. Homra members were forbidden to hurt women or children without good reasons, and they weren't allowed to harm other members or betray the group nor do anything reckless that would put the whole group in danger. So far, the rules were so simple and no one had yet broken them, to his delight.
When he was just before his destination, the door was suddenly opened and it nearly bumped his nose. A little girl with silver hair and ruby-colored eyes greeted him first as she had expected him by the door with faint smile. "Mikoto, I heard you coming." Her blood-colored dress rustled as she moved. She was the last and youngest member of Homra he had taken in, when he fortuitously saved her from certain event.
He only smiled back as his hand tousled her hair gently and pushed the door open wider before he got himself inside and locked the door behind him. "So, what is the plan, Izumo?" The room was poorly lit with only several candles to light up the whole chamber. They might be on hiding, but on his opinion, the effort was too much. The forest was more than enough to cover their track and conceal them from suspecting eyes.
A blond, fair-looking man crossed his arms with a map laid in front of him on the table, taking a deep inhale of his cigarette with an amused smirk. "It surprises me that you decide to join us, Mikoto. Why is the change of heart?"
"This guy convinces me," Mikoto pointed on another blond standing just next to him with airy smile, still smiling guiltily at Izumo. "Besides, the mission itself sounds interesting. When would we have another chance to kidnap a royal prince?"
"Well, it's not even that hard to persuade you at the first place, Boss." Tatara laughed dismissively, "I think you will go once you hear about the mission, regardless what I've said to you."
"Don't push your luck, kid." Mikoto warned half-heartedly and the blond just laughed at him.
"Okay, so a client has requested us to abduct Alexandria sole heir and deliver him alive in one piece to the client. Penetrating castle's defense is not an easy feat, especially tonight since they are holding a banquet for the birthday prince. So, if you come with us, I beg you not to act brashly, Mikoto." Izumo threw a pointed look at the golden-eyed man with a stern warning. "You may be the Boss, but I'm the strategist, so let's work along the plan."
Mikoto's silence was the best answer he could get, thus the blond did not push it. He simply averted his attention back to the charted map. "I manage to tip off some of castle guards, so we will sneak in the disguise of a travelling theater troupe, as one of the entertainers in the birthday party. The citizens will mostly gather by the castle ground to see the shows and majority of the guards would be placed on the hot zone, especially around the royal family. It should be easy to get inside; Yata and Tatara should be in charge of distraction team. The real problem is how to retrieve the prince."
"Can't we just knock all of them out and kidnap him then get out of there? It saves a lot of time." Mikoto yawned and earned a sigh from his strategist.
"Rumor says that he is quite well-trained for combat and cold-hearted fighter, which means he will probably well-built. Who will carry him once he is out cold?"
"You, me. Get him inside a sack. We can just drag him."
Tatara blurted out a little laugh while Izumo forced an exhale and whined dramatically, "I will volunteer willingly to carry a girl, but a man is another story."
Mikoto circled around the table, passing through several members of their band until he stood just before Izumo. The blond watched him questioningly before Mikoto rested his hand on his shoulder and smirked devilishly for a good minute before he whirled around on his heel and walked out the room, looking completely amused. "You'll manage. Let's go."
Izumo answered with a scandalized look that earned him a consoling pat on his back from Tatara before he walked out the room with sagged shoulders in defeat.
Mikoto walked briskly toward the command room and soon was followed by his most trusted friends. He grabbed for the internal radio and cleared his throat, "Okay, it's time to move out. Enjoy the trip."
Rikio made a face at the echoed remark from the loudspeakers inside the ship and his face almost turned green immediately, "I prefer Kusanagi on the steer wheel."
A young teen with his scarlet hair grinned at his teammate and slapped his back, "It has been a while since Mikoto drives this ship! It should be an exciting ride!"
"You're lucky, Yata, for rarely get air sickness." When the ship was suddenly shaking violently with the loud whirring engine sound, the blond abruptly lurched forward and dashed to the nearest restroom, leaving Yata who was too thrilled at the thought of heading for Alexandria Kingdom, his old hometown.
It only had been three hours since the party officially began, but it felt like a lifetime for Munakata.
Munakata stifled a yawn politely as he sat on one of the chairs located on the highest balcony of the palace; the reserved spot with best view to greet the incoming citizens, who had come for his birthday. Despite the extreme level of ecstatic excitement coming from the people around the castle, he actually wished for nothing but a peaceful moment of sleep. He still had not recovered well and this public banquet seemed to last longer than midnight. He already felt exhausted mentally at the prospect of staying up late. In his opinion, the party was too extravagant for a birthday celebration, even if the tradition dictated otherwise, that twentieth meant the turning point of reaching adulthood and it was expected for the royal successor to celebrate his birthday as grandiose as possible.
He glanced to the King, who was sitting in the middle of the veranda. He was quite engrossed on the play about star-crossed lovers by a travelling troupe. The prince sighed in relief that at least there was nothing different about him, just a normal doting single parent.
Munakata tried to refocus his attention to the little fictional drama on the stage that was built on castle's vast garden below the balcony. Fiction was not his cup of tea that he preferred poems and puzzles over romantic novels written by someone's wild dreams. Boredom soon fell upon him that he involuntarily kept sighing softly and rested his chin on his propped hand, wondering if he should just make an excuse to get away from this stretching torment. But it would be rude, both to his parent and the coming guests since the party was held just for him.
"If you're bored, you should just excuse yourself, you know."
The prince flinched and glanced up to find the standing guard not far behind his seat, telling him with his usual smug face. He could not resist a smile creeping up to his lips, "I don't expect to see you here, Captain Fushimi. Thought you would prefer to be stationed somewhere else but here."
The young Captain clicked his tongue and shifted his eyes, glaring at the distant black sky, which was brightened up with endless fireworks. "I did request it. General Awashima rejected it."
"Well, I feel safer that you're here."
"If I may comment, in another two hours, you would die from boredom and I can't do anything about it."
He chuckled and took a deep inhale, "And that will earn you a deadly glare from General. Guess I should retire myself."
Fushimi rolled his eyes, although he could see transparent relief from the young guard to be dismissed earlier from duty for the whole night. Munakata turned around to face the King Alexandria, his father, who was currently quite occupied with the show.
"Forgive my interruption, Father. I would like to retire for tonight, if I may."
His father who shared the same sapphire color of his hair, shifted to face him with indifference as he answered, "That's rude actually since this party is for you. But you can go if you want."
Munakata winced inwardly at the cold eyes on him although he kept smiling politely upfront. His father used to be a normal, loving parent that sometimes he felt awkward at his free way in showering affection to his sole heir. For a man who had gone through so much loss, his father was able to bring his children up on his own quite well. Never once he blamed the death of the Queen due to complication during labor on Munakata's birth. Even when he lost his first son, Munakata's brother due to epidemic illness when Munakata was still a clueless child, he cried and lamented for days, but he stood strong afterward for the sake of his only living son and his people.
On full moons, he occasionally saw his father stared at the bright obsidian sky melancholically, saying that it reminded him of his late wife. Feeling worried, Munakata once told him that he gave his consent quite willingly for the King to take another Queen's hand to marriage, but he just refused, saying that he did not need another life partner unless Munakata needed a maternal figure. The young prince quickly shook his head. His father was the only parent he needed and would always be. He was perfect with his entire flaw as a father figure.
But recently something changed, and so was the eerie atmosphere lingering inside the palace. He felt bad premonition, but he could not pinpoint where or what had gone wrong, until last night.
The king seemed like not himself recently, especially so when a strange magician had visited their country. Out of the blue moon, a travelling magician visited their countries when an epidemic illness was spread like a wildfire among the villagers, claiming many deaths among his people. The stranger looked young and child-like with amber eyes and white hairs that they did not believe in what he was capable of at first. He asked for an audience with the King and shared his knowledge of medicine and the illness was eradicated. Afterward, the King took him in as the Royal Magician and counseled him in matter of magical power, especially in the method of defending against the threat of war from neighbor countries.
The Royal Magician, named Yashiro Isana, appeared quite docile and weak, as if he was incapable of hurting a fly. His voice was sultry and polite, but Munakata could not stop getting chills every time he spoke or got near him. Whenever the man watched him, occasionally he caught him staring at Munakata with the eyes of predator that made him quite wary of the latter. It seemed like there was a lot of coincidence that benefitted the magician that Munakata began to have his suspicion, but he could never act on it because the king felt deeply indebted for Isana's achievement. Slowly he began to notice the change in his father and he started to worry about the calamity that would follow.
The King was no longer passionate and benevolent ruler that he lately rewrote the rules that burdened the citizens, such as taxes and military compulsory laws. He rarely listened to the ministry suggestions, but counseled the Royal Magician in every affair of the country. Worst of all, he no longer looked at him with infinite parental love. Instead his eyes were cold and hollow like the beads of dolls' eyes. Munakata speculated that he was put under the spell, but he had no way of proving it.
Munakata was quiet for a moment, watching at his father who had returned his attention back to the play on the stage before he sighed and stood up from his seat. He whirled around on his heel and walked inside the palace with Captain Fushimi tagging along, leaving behind the merriment at the outside. They walked in silence through the empty hallways and the winding stairs until Munakata finally stood before the door of his bed chamber.
"You're dismissed," The prince said conclusively as his hand was on the doorknob. "No need to guard in front of my room. You can get some rest now."
"I've been ordered to protect you for the whole day. Now you are at legitimate age as an heir, there is high possibility that someone would aim for your life." Fushimi argued. As much as he wanted to be free from such tedious task, including guarding a prince who actually was older and stronger than he was but he would always make certain to complete his assignment without flaw. His work ethic simply could not allow petty mistakes.
Munakata gave his best charming smile before he slipped into the room with his hands on the door, "Then, you would be more productive if you join the patrolling security team on parade site if you are so determined to keep working."
Fushimi cringed at the thought of patrolling the whole night and pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose awkwardly, "I'll take my early leave."
The blue-haired prince smiled victoriously and closed the door behind him. "Good night, Captain Fushimi."
"I have no idea how they can wear this uniform every single damn day." Mikoto scowled as he straightened the military uniform. Izumo gave an apologetic smile at the unconscious royal knights who had been stripped down into nothing but underwear and tied up into the corner of the empty storeroom. He put on the uniform, layers by layers, white shirts, black vest, blue trench coat, belt and the sword. Mikoto had given up on wearing such stifling uniform to his taste that he loosened up his collar carelessly and tossed aside the sword on the floor. It was not as if the metal could do him any good, he decided, as he did not know how to wield one anyway.
Most of the room in the palace had been abandoned empty as the servants mostly left their posts to join the festive outside that it was a child play for them to slip in with such minimal security. As soon as the ship had landed on the palace garden, they used the shade of darkness to veil their presence while the diversion team had changed to the troupe's costumes. Izumo had prepared the blueprint of the palace ahead as well that it did not take long for them to sneak in and wander around the palace. Since the party was large-scaled, most of the knights had been dispatched to guard along the palace perimeter. Consequently, the inner palace was left almost barren and unguarded.
"So where are we going?"
Izumo unrolled the blueprint on his pocket and studied it for a moment, "We are on the east tower. The prince's chamber is on this tower, but right now he must be on the main tower where the grand balcony is to watch the festival. The safest way is to kidnap him when he returns back to his chamber. The security guards would probably come with him, but the number will be less than the guards posted on the balcony right now. We should probably hide inside his room until he returns."
Mikoto rolled his eyes and grunted in low growl, already running along the flight of stairs to the highest floor of the tower with sour look, "It will take hours."
The blond sloppily folded the blueprint and followed the red-haired leader with a weak laugh, "What do you expect? Kidnapping a royal successor is never meant to be easy, Mikoto."
He kept running along the spiraling stairs above, already feeling his leg muscles protesting with every stair he climbed up. From the periphery of his vision, Izumo had slacked behind him, panting hard and stopping once in a while to catch with his breath. Mikoto smirked at him and kept moving forward until his feet finally reached the highest floor of the tower and was about to turn around to wait for his friend when suddenly from the hallway on his left, he saw a flight of a shadow. Mikoto did not have enough time to react, and the shadow had crashed to him, leaving him and the unknown figure to collide and sprawl on the floor.
Mikoto heard a voice in worry called for him, probably Izumo's and an annoyed groan from the shadow that had hit him and now was on top of him, carelessly sitting on him with his/her heavy weight. The red-haired man rubbed the back of his bumped head as he was thrown to the floor while squint his eyes to see his assailant. His eyes were widened to meet the glinting mauve orbs, as bright as amethysts, glaring at him irritably.
"State your name, knight. Have you forgotten the rules that it is forbidden for you to run along the hallway if it is not for emergency?" The stranger's hood fell down and it revealed the color of vast sea. Only then Mikoto realized that he had bumped into a man with a ferocious beauty in rival to a mythical beast and mesmerizing dark blue-colored hair.
He snapped out of his reverie when Izumo gasped and shouted at him as he was climbing the last flight of stairs, "Mikoto, he's the prince! Get him!"
Mikoto impulsively reached out to grab the stranger in haste while lying on the floor, but the latter was quick to his feet that the blue-haired prince already leapt off and kept some distance between them, watching at him warily.
"Who are you? How dare you to sneak into the palace?" The Alexandria prince pulled out the sword under the jet black cloak and unsheathed it to point it at Mikoto as the latter lifted off the floor. "I'm in hurry. I would suggest you to surrender so not to waste my time."
Izumo halted, watching in horror at their target pointing his sword on his friend. Their plan was supposed to be flawless, but he did not consider the possibility that the prince would leave the festival few hours earlier than expected. His plan was supposed to attack the prince when he was vulnerable and unprepared, but it seemed that Lady Luck did not reside with them. While he did not doubt Mikoto's combat ability, but he had heard the rumor of the prince's exceptional skill in swordplay and battle field. If they were about to fight each other, it would take too much time and caused too much commotion for a peaceful abduction.
"Can't do that," Mikoto smirked before he lunged forward to thrust his fist, aiming for the prince's abdomen. However, before the hit could connect, his knuckle was blocked by the sword sheath and he swiftly moved aside just in time before the merciless blade could cut his arm off. Mikoto could feel his blood boiling with excitement. It had been a while since he had a good fight and a strong opponent, in par with his level. If he had enough time, he would gladly indulge himself in such intense battle. However, time was a luxury he did not have, thus he was trying to focus on knocking his opponent out and complete the mission. "You're the target, after all."
The prince pushed his eyeglasses up to the bridge of his nose without leaving his eyes on Mikoto, threatening in a low voice, "An assassin? What an insolent fool. Who employs you?"
"You'll know once you come with us peacefully." Mikoto dashed forward and threw punches in lightning speed. It almost appeared as if he managed to corner the prince as their target maintained the defensive position and pushed the latter backward to the hallway, but the leader of Homra noticed that the prince was simply studying his moves and waiting for an opening. Suddenly the glint in the prince's eyes changed like a hawk, and Mikoto instinctively jumped backward and kept his distance. If it was an amateur, he would already lose his head. In such fleeting moment, the Alexandria heir had wounded his upper arm, although superficially since he managed to avoid the counter attack just in time. But the blood seeped and stained the stolen uniform with a torn on the arm sleeve from the slash.
Mikoto sighed at the throbbing pain from the wound and smirked at the prince, waiting for him to strike. But he did not expect when the latter took a deep inhale and scoffed.
"I don't have time for this."
Before Mikoto could expect it, the prince had sheathed back his word and put on the hood again. His target swiftly turned around and ran to the other direction of the hallway. After a good two seconds in surprise, Mikoto and Izumo started the chase, scowling at their entirely ruined plan.
The moon was full tonight and brightened up the stone trail in the garden.
Fushimi stifled a yawn as he flipped open the pocket watch to see the needle pointed at ten, telling him that it was almost midnight that he should return to the dorm early since the prince had dismissed him. He was crossing along the empty garden leisurely, which connected between the east tower and the main building when he heard a faint cracking sound from distant. He paused for a moment, listening cautiously for the sign of intruders when the sound actually got closer. He lifted his head with a frown, only to gawk in surprise as he saw a stranger with the black cloak, barely noticeable in the darkness of the night, ran and leapt on the rooftop of the building, escaping from the royal knights he did not recognize behind him.
However, for a second, he saw the cloaked stranger stared down at him with such familiar violet eyes in surprise before he kept on leaping to the next rooftop. Fushimi pinched his forehead tiredly and clicked his tongue. After a moment of silence, he started pursuing them while scowling irately, "Can't you stay put just for tonight!?"
Munakata nimbly leapt off the gap between roofs. The castle was his playground that he was too familiar every crook of it. If it was just a normal palace guard, he would have lost them. But his assassin seemed to be on different level that he could hear the heavy footsteps not far from behind him. He clicked his tongue with a low scowl, cursing his bad luck to be chased in such important night. Dying on such beautiful night was not an option though, he thought.
However, he finally reached the dead end of the East tower, his feet was already on the border of the tower wall, with hundred meters away from the ground. Just one little push and he would fall from the height and meet his demise. Nevertheless, it would not differ much, considering with his assassin already coming up to him, getting ready to take out his life.
Munakata turned around while keeping his balance carefully to face Mikoto, who already smirked at the sight of him being cornered. The gust of wind slapped him and his cloak, as if trying to push him over and fall, but his feet kept a steady standing.
"You can't run away anymore. Now, if you would come down from there and give yourself up quietly…"
The sight of Mikoto irked him, treating him as if he was an easy prey to hunt. He snapped with a glare, "Don't be ridiculous. If I have to choose my way of death, I would prefer to fall from here than to be done by your dirty hands, Mr. Assassin."
"What? Who would kill-"
But Mikoto could not even finish his line. His target had whirled around with his back on Mikoto and leapt off the edge of the tower. Izumo, who had been following Mikoto, watched in incredulous horror and gasped loudly. Mikoto abruptly rushed to the edge of the wall and hovered over to witness the fate of his target, while fearing the worst that they had failed the mission.
However, the sight surprised him. He was not even certain whether he should feel relieved or being humiliated for feeling worried for a second. The Alexandria prince had slid down to the tower across theirs using the thick flag rope that dangled between the poles of the towers. Munakata released the hand grip on the rope, took off his gloves and tossed them to the ground. He inspected his hands for a while for any skin scrap. It was more than obvious that the blue-haired prince had prepared his escape route in advance, considering the equipment he had set up beforehand. When he saw that everything went well, he lifted his head up, giving a victorious smirk to his pursuer before he continued running away from Mikoto.
Mikoto growled, tasting the insult in full blow and his blood boiled to win the chasing game. He barely registered that Izumo had suggested pulling back first and revising their plan when Mikoto took off the belt he had stolen from the guard and fastened it to his hands.
"Mikoto!?" Izumo exclaimed in surprise, when his friend followed the prince, climbing the wall and standing at the edge of it. The next moment, Mikoto had kicked off from the edge and slid down to the next tower, using the belt as a strap as he hurtled down the rope. The night wind was cold against his skin, but he did not even feel it with the exhilaration of this new game. His eyes were set on the back of certain mouse on the run. He stumbled a bit as he landed on the ground of next tower, but he did not waste any second to run after his target.
Izumo suppressed a frustrated yell and turned around to find an alternative route. He was not going to get himself killed just for one job. "Damn it, he probably doesn't think it as a mission anymore!"
"Such a persistent guy!" Munakata shouted angrily when he heard a presence running after him. He leapt off to the next roof swiftly, "who is hiring you!?"
"If you stop for a moment," Mikoto took a deep inhale as he panted, "I'll tell you." His golden eyes glinted with excitement. He had always thought that the royal members were probably weaklings with their luxury lifestyle that they were not supposed to be this swift and tough. However, this Alexandria prince was quite a challenge as he was more than capable in running like a deer and he intrigued him. Mikoto had to exert his best ability to chase him.
"And get myself killed? No, thank you." Munakata slid down the roof and jumped to the hallway underneath it, and started running to the nearby exit, panting heavily. He was not feeling well to begin with and now the exhaustion from recent exertion started to abate him greatly. However, before he could reach out for the door handle, a strong arm had encircled around his neck and pulled him back from his only exit. Munakata attempted to wriggle his way out, but Mikoto had already fastened his other arm around Munakata's waist to keep him still. The grip only tightened as he flailed around, that eventually Munakata ceased his retaliation as his limbs felt weak with lack of oxygen with Mikoto's arm constricted his windpipe.
"Stop it, I don't want to harm you." Mikoto whispered in chiding voice next to Munakata's ear. "If you promise not to run away and listen to me, I will release my grip." A flash of doubt were on Munakata's eyes, but he kept still as if complying with Mikoto's demand.
Mikoto loosened his arms slowly, but Munakata had scooted away from him as quick as possible, sitting on the floor while coughing with a tear brimming on the edge of his eyes. His captor watched him carefully, but he did not make any gesture with intention to kill and it confused him.
"Aren't you trying to kill me?" Munakata tried, with cracking voice.
"I never said that I'm going to kill you." Mikoto took several steps closer before he squatted before the prince.
Munakata narrowed his eyes dangerously, "…What do you want?"
"Well, a client asked me to kidnap you, alive and well. So, if you oblige, we will not harm you in anyway." Mikoto grinned carelessly, expecting a horrified look from his prey.
However, to his astonish, Munakata only laughed with an amused look. "Well, Mr. Kidnapper, it's your lucky day." He shot up and dusted off his pants and his black cloak with easy smile. Mikoto could not help but to gaze up in adoration at the sight before him. The moon hung high behind the prince, and when the royal heir took off his hood, the ivory light fell on his hair like an angelic halo. "What a coincidence, I need you to take me away from here."
Mikoto replied, dumbfounded, "What?"
Munakata snorted in annoyance as he repeated coldly, "Take me away from here, you dolt. I don't like saying the same thing twice."
"Is that how you ask help from people?" The amber eyes glowered at violet ones.
The royal prince only sighed and shrugged, "Will you do me a favor or not? If not, I have a getaway to do. I don't have all night to negotiate with you."
Mikoto lifted himself off the ground with a scoff and bowed with a teasing smirk, "Then, Your Highness, shall I lead the way?"
Munakata wrinkled his nose and went past Mikoto nonchalantly, "so what's your plan to escape from here after kidnapping me?"
"I got an airship to get us away from here, if you don't get air sickness easily." Mikoto trotted behind him. "It's parked near the stage show."
Munakata stopped momentarily and turned to face Mikoto as pieces came together in his mind, "Don't tell me that you are disguised as one of the travelling troupes."
"Well, we are." Mikoto answered with a questioning look. "Why?"
The royal prince shrugged, "No, I find it baffling that the security guards easily let you pass, without confirming your background. Apparently, we have to stricken the protocol."
"If they did that, you probably wouldn't have a free ride on our ship tonight."
Munakata was silent for a moment, pondering before he replied with a smile to Mikoto, "I guess you have a point there."
To be continued...
The ones who have played FF9 probably have a big picture on how the story goes. For FF IX fans, I apologize in advance since I might ruin FF awesome plot into…a messy plot…XD;; Will try my best to update before new year. :p