I do not own Durarara!
On with the Story!
Kida skipped through the village, loving the feel of the dirt road under his sandals. Mikado followed at a more sedated pace.
Glancing back at his mute friend, Kida sighed. Mikado kept looking around at the scenery as though he hardly ever went outside. Given that he worked wonders with weaving sandals, though, the villagers didn't question his inability to talk, or figure out basic commodities.
Kida slowed down and waited for Mikado. Glancing at him, Mikado nodded to show he was okay.
They had only been wandering down to the village for a few days every month from the mountains, and the villagers were okay with the boys random coming and going. The mute kid and Kida were well known for being well kept kids, who rarely caused trouble.
Also, the shoes Mikado made were awesome. Some of the older craftsmen were trying to teach the mute how to harvest bamboo and make trinkets, but so far, all Mikado could make were hats and flutes.
They laughed and sold his mishaps as something else. Mikado would always turn red when he failed at something, and one time he looked ready to cry.
"Aw, shut up and quite whining. No one gets it right the first time. Just keep going, cause that's all you got, mute." The gruffness of the villagers actually seemed to perk Mikado right up.
Which would remind the villagers out of the blue that Mikado was mute, not stupid. And Kida wasn't stupid either.
The villagers shrugged their shoulders and figured that the boys must have learned to read from a traveling priest and went back among their lives.
Mikado picked up his pace and walked with Kida, gazing out across the fields, at the lone draft oxen that was borrowed among the families that could afford it to plow their fields. Kida sighed.
"You know, someone someday is going to figure out that maybe there's another reason why you act like the world is so wonderful."
Mikado glared at him.
Kida shivered.
"I'm just saying. And besides, don't you think someone will notice that even though you turn your work in on time, and play proper, that your hands are getting rough, or that your nails," Kida gingerly lifted Mikado's right hand, "are actually too nice for labor?"
Mikado hung his head, before quietly lifting his hand out of Kida's grasp and walking on.
"It's just, I'm getting worried."
Mikado nodded. Then he raised his head, and gently ran his fingers against Kida's cheek.
Kida smiled.
"I know."
The two of them kept walking until they reached the store where Kida set up the stall and Mikado watched the people. A few people stopped by and picked up the shoes Mikado had made for them. The afternoon passed with Kida skipping off to the well for a few drinks to bring back, and Mikado finishing off a parasol made out of tightly woven straw and paint.
Well, it wasn't quite a parasol that one operated normally. The eaves were set up to lock in their up position, and could be dismembered one by one to lie flat. It required time and effort, but it was the closest Mikado could do without proper silk and thread.
"My, my isn't that pretty. How much for it?"
Mikado glanced up. He hadn't seen the man before, and he smelled. Most people would ignore it, but Mikado fought to keep his nose from wrankling.
He shook his head, and indicated the seat next to him, before miming that he couldn't talk, holding a hand over his mouth.
"Ah, that's okay. I'll just wait for Masaomi Kida to be back."
The man's grin was wide and friendly, but his voice was too low to carry to the stalls right next to Mikado.
"So, any particular reason why the emperor's son is playing peasant?"
Mikado felt his hand drift to his weapon, a writing stylus that he kept in his satchel.
"Now, now, let's not be hasty. You can't say anything, and randomly attacking an honest traveler doesn't look good." Mikado froze up.
If Heiwajima-san wasn't so noticeable, he should have brought his protector along, regardless. Mikado held the man's red eyes as his mind spun on how to get out of here. He never sensed the man approaching, and Kida was still walking down the street, yet to turn to the corner. No one in the village would come to his rescue.
Mikado watched as the man observed his handiwork. "You know, if anyone were to look at your hands the way I look at your work, they would notice that you are too refined for common life. I bet Kida had to teach you how to feed yourself before he even agreed to letting you out of the palace."
Mikado glowered at the man. That was exactly what happened. But no matter what happened, Kida couldn't destroy Mikado's way of talking. If he ever opened his mouth, not only would the perfect teeth give him away, but his way of aristocratic speaking would do him in.
"But I see your vassal is almost back, so I'll see you around." The man walked away, leaving a few coins for the whistle the he had picked out. Mikado watched him go, before sweeping the coins into the purse and realizing that the man had paid him in foreign currency.
Not from his country, smelled like he hadn't bathed in days, was touching all of his wares…Mikado jerked back in alarm, nearly whimpering as he wondered if his wares were now poisoned.
Not that it mattered to him. He couldn't stand the thought of a food tester being killed, so he trained himself up. But Kida was still vulnerable to many poisons.
Extending his senses, Mikado blessed the table to purify its contents. If the man had done anything, now the danger was gone.
Exhaling quietly, Mikado examined the strange coins. He had never seen anything like it before.
Then again, the farthest he had traveled in fifteen years was down the mountain from a family resort to a village deep in the heart of his country.
Kida pulled up to the booth, handing Mikado his bamboo cup. Mikado set his cup down, then pulled Kida down as well. He silently handed him the currency.
Kida froze.
Then he quietly murmured, "I think that's enough for today. I need to get you back behind wards, now. Even if this is random-" A scream cut him off.
Bandits.
Some were on horseback, cutting down the villagers, and stampeding towards the village. Kida immediately leapt up.
"Women and children underground! Do we have any tools that can be weapons, a way to cut them off? Damnit!"
Kida swore at their delayed response. Grabbing Mikado, he seized the other villagers nearby and started hearding them away.
"They can't have circled the village already! If they burn it, you just rebuild. GO!"
Now the people were grabbing food and children, running the other way. The fields covered three entrances to the village, with the shaded mountain behind it. The people fled up the mountain.
The dense vegetation would slow the horses down, and even now some village youths were breaking apart, grabbing long bamboos and knocking the bandits off, sending the horses in a panic out of the village.
Mikado wondered if the confusion was to cover up someone kidnapping him. It wasn't that Mikado was self-centered, but this was too perfect. First a foreign enemy, then a raid when the country was peaceful, and food for once was a stable commodity.
Mikado shadowed Kida through the fight. So far, no one had come close to touching them. Kida blindly reached back and grabbed Mikado, before diving into the mountain path and dragging them to safety.
They found the rest of the village in a clearing, taking a head count. The village was ransacked, but thankfully not burned, and bandits had left by evening.
"Wouldn't they stay for a chance of shelter at night? Or are they scared that the villagers will kill them in their sleep?" Kida wondered out loud.
"At any rate, we should stay here and post guards. If they don't come back in the morning, it should be safe to go back."
The village elder leveled a gaze at Kida.
"You know an awful lot for a kid who randomly comes down the mountain."
Kida shrugged. "My brother left to serve in the army. I saw the palace from time to time, now I just live out here and wonder if I'm going to follow my big brother."
The village elder nodded, before walking around and getting the others ready for bed. Mikado clutched Kida.
"Don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you." Kida hugged Mikado, before finding a soft patch of dirt for them to relax on.
The bandits found them in the morning. The villagers formed a circle against the bandits, the men providing a shield for the woman. Mikado peeked over Kida's shoulder to see if the bandits were natives to his country.
Those were definitely his people. Why were they doing this?
"Ah, sorry about the mess last night. You see, we're here for something very precious. It's worth more than your whole village."
The smelly man from before…Mikado felt his insides lurch as his mind immediately supplemented himself as the 'very precious' item the bandit leader was talking about. He told himself to get a grip, that maybe there was something else going on…
No. His brain refused to accept that anything else could be more important than him. Weeks spent mingling in the village, watching people live, and he still thought he was above them.
That he was some sort of protector who ruled over them. Mikado bit his lip. He tried so hard to see the value in the village, to see them move forward, to watch the life that kept going, but all he could think of in the end was how important he was.
Mikado felt like a failure. He had just wanted to be able to understand the world outside the palace courtyard. To see what the world was like. But all he saw was a small village.
Was the world bigger than that? Were foreign countries even real? Why were the bandits looking for him? Could he even value a single human life?
Kida gently pushed Mikado back behind him.
"And we have no trouble killing everyone here and going about our way to collect the very precious something. So, stand aside, and we'll make the killings quick."
Should he give himself up to save them? But that wouldn't guarantee that the bandits wouldn't kill the villagers to ensure their silence. And besides, if he went with them, he could endanger the entire nation.
The people worshipped his family next to kami themselves. Some even believed that his family was descended from a god that loved all humans equally.
But he bled the same as Kida, the same as the villagers yesterday. Dodging under Kida's arm, Mikado ran forward and stood between the bandits and the villagers.
I want a way to settle this peacefully…
"Ha! You actually thought to come out and spare us the trouble, Mi~ka~do~?"
Mikado glared at him.
[Summon Beast]
The dragon that came down to Mikado in a strike of lightning did not look happy at all. Mikado stroked the dragon behind the deer antlers, rubbing his hands through the fur.
"I wish to introduce you to the Guardian of this region. He is a venerable dragon, and has been worshipped by the villagers for generations. I order you bandits to leave and never return, for Dragon-sama here has the authority to destroy you. Correct, Rai-sama?"
The dragon rumbled.
Mikado walked over to Kida.
"It's time to go. Thank you all for taking care of us!"
And just like that, the two boys were gone in a puff of wind.
Mikado languished on his couch, feeling the difference between his many silk robes and the simple cotton garbs that he had worn. Kida sat on the floor next to him, scowling something terrible.
"Kida-kun, I know that it's your job to protect me, but in turn, it's my job to protect the people. If I ever rule, I wish to do so with my trusted advisors and my heart in the right place. I know you are terribly angry with me for endangering myself."
"Exactly! You should never have to endanger yourself! If I had waited you out, then you would stay in here, never to be hurt!"
"Kida!"
The blond vassal quieted at the angry tone. Mikado forced himself to finish standing, taking deep breaths after his sharp tone.
"I am sorry. But I wished to protect everyone, even the bandits. I wished to see the outside world, so that I may value it more. You have done nothing wrong, Kida. I thank you."
Kida shivered. Then, he raised his eyes to look Mikado in the face, before daring to look into Mikado's eyes.
The blue eyes were calm and sincere. Knowing that he could very well be killed for looking into Mikado's face when they were in public, Kida held Mikado's gaze until he forgot what they were arguing over.
"…You know I would never let you out if I thought I could not protect you. Just please do not leave my side like that again."
"I am unable to promise you that, Kida-kun. It is you that must stay by my side."
Why does Kida bow before me? Why does he kiss my hand, and swear to follow me always? Why do all these people throw themselves at my feet for a chance to make me happy?
Mikado smiled and hugged Kida, before leaving to speak with his father. Kida trailed after him, always two steps behind him, reading his every movement.
Once they reached the inner courtyard, Kida stayed at the door as Mikado walked him. His father was tending the garden.
Placing the clips on the bench, he motioned for Mikado to come closer.
"A dragon told yourmother that you had been in the village. I told her that I would have you brought home safely. Do you realize that those people died because you left, Mikado?"
"Of course, Father."
"However, you are a very kind soul. This has caused me to enter a more lasting contract. I wish for you to meet someone, just as important
to you as Kida, Heiwajima, and your bride-to-be. I wish you to meet your assassin."
Mikado felt the world tilt before righting itself.
"Father, I-"
"Not against our own state, of course. The other countries are very real, and do wish to overthrow our country of Ikebukuro. I merely want you to know that they are not so honorable when it comes to what they want. I fear that already, one of the leaders son has his eye on you as a prize, if you will."
Mikado held his head high. He was not going to bend to some person who thought he was a trinket.
"The day will come where you shall rule, and I will be but a memory."
"Father, that day is long off yet. I've barely made puberty, and I do not wish to lose you."
His father laid a hand on his shoulder, before pulling him into a hug.
"I know. But you are a strong, caring ruler. You've set out, and now there is nowhere for you to go but forward."
Smiling, his father departed with the clippings. Mikado closed his eyes and felt the warmth of the sun against his face.
"My, my if it isn't my new master. I see that our 'very precious' something has come home after all."
Mikado slowly turned, before opening his eyes. In the fur coat and smelling faintly of soap, stood the bandit leader.
"My name is-"
"Orihara Izaya, and it was rude of you not to introduce yourself the first time." Mikado's frosty gaze pinned the assassin where he stood. "I expect nothing except your best."
"Ah, my best is to kill whomever you say to kill."
"And when I say do not kill?" Mikado held his gaze on the man, and watched as the man stood up from his bow and shrugged part of his jacket off in a nonchalant, non-threatening way.
"Then I don't kill."
His grin was wide and open. "Except that the same rule that applies to your vassal and protector applies to me. If I think that they are dangerous to you, I will kill them with no regret."
"I understand. I will be retiring now."
"Ah, you do understand I'm another shadow for you, right?"
Mikado gave Orihara-san a blank stare. "And that would mean?"
"That I'm with you even if you don't realize it." With the cryptic message, the assassin actually skipped about.
Mikado retired, ignoring the servants that bathed and oiled him, whispering about how their emperor's hands were becoming worn.
He went to bed, and fell asleep shortly.
He woke up to Shizuo yelling about damn fleas and clinging and their jumping.
"Kida-kun! What on earth?" His disheveled state as he ran into the main chamber from his bedroom gained the attention of all three males.
Realizing that the aloof prince persona he worked so hard to maintain was shattered in less than fifteen seconds, Mikado ran a hand through his hair.
"Exactly what is going on here?"
His assassin grinned.
"We're just falling in love."
A/N: I should not read ALIVE before writing stories. All those suicides and freaky powers nearly uprooted the plot. Man, but that was originally ended with the dramatic revealing of Izaya as his personal assassin. But somehow the nine page story turned into this. If I hadn't had it in my head for so long, I wouldn't even be posting this.
Oh, and cookies for anyone who realizes that Izaya means their falling in love with the 'real'Mikado, who runs around trying to help people. Snicker doodles, chocolate chip, or oatmeal, cause those are the only kind I can actually make.