A/N: My first Akagami no Shirayukihime fanfic. Might be my only one too. I like this series, it was fun to watch the character development of the outliers and also to see the background story of the main characters.
Bright apple red hair with crystal green eyes
Silver-blonde hair with clear blue eyes
Golden blonde and deep blue eyes
Turquoise-green hair and bronze eyes
Deep black hair with golden cat-like eyes
What a fine group they make. You might think them a rag-tag combination but they worked perfectly. It started with the odd friendship between the templar knight turned aide and the reluctant and lonely second prince. The young boy wished he was a commoner so he could have more friends to play with. The teenager had expected to be serving the Crown Prince, instead he was assigned to the younger rebellious one. Something happened between them one night, when the Crown Prince and the templar knight saved the rebellious boy, they slowly built their trust and friendship.
Next came the heir of an earldom. Though female, there was no other heir, and much like her mother, she proved herself extremely capable. Handling herself well, she learned to wield a sword and swore service to the second prince. As she was young, she was headstrong and determined to prove herself. The former templar knight and the heiress slowly became friends over the years that they served as the second prince's aide.
It was many years before the 4th and 5th member of their group came. The young, rebellious boy was gone replaced by a worthy, yet still mischievous, prince. In a forest, one day, while he was escaping the clutches of his aides, he stumbled upon her. Fell upon, was more like it. His eye caught her short but bright red hair and her green eyes met ice blue. Shocked beyond belief, he learned her story. She hated her beautiful red hair all because of a greedy prince. It was sad for him to see anyone hate themselves or part of themselves. Therefore, he told her that red was the color of fate. Unbeknownst to them that their string of fate had untangled from the rest of the world and brought them closer together.
A poisoned apple almost took him away from her as soon as they had met. In her haste to save her newfound friend, she offered herself in exchange of the antidote. But, of course, the blue-eyed prince will not have anyone sacrificing themselves over him. Like a knight in shining armor, he saved the red-haired damsel from a life of imprisonment within the greedy and snobbish prince's clutches. He took her from her country to bring her back to his. And when the time came, her determination managed to prove herself to the Crown Prince and the rest of the royal court. Taking her knowledge of herbs and medicines, she applied and eventually became a court herbalist.
Prior to her success, an assassin was sent after her. A lord of the royal court did not trust her intentions and acted in what he thought was the best way to protect the crown and the princes of Clarines. The assassin was nimble and skilled but he underestimated the red-haired girl's strength and determination. She survived and managed to force the lord to back away from his attempts. The assassin's curiosity was piqued. Golden eyes full of promise and mischief, he swore an oath to serve the second prince. Thus, he became the messenger and let's be honest he did a little spying here and there to keep his master safe.
Months later, when the former assassin had proven himself worthy of his trust, he was assigned as a guard to the young herbalist. Getting to know her, he found that he was falling for her. He didn't like the fact that he realized his feelings for her were wholly unrequited. But he did acknowledge the strong bond between his master and the little miss. Just as well, he wasn't worthy of the young woman… Not when he had many things to hide about his past.
When she was kidnapped while visiting her home country, he couldn't forgive himself. He failed his duty to protect her as his guard. More importantly, he failed to protect the first person he learned to love unconditionally. He left a message for his master to find, they will find her, and he reverted to his old self. Chasing down the kidnappers, he found one of them only to find they lost her as well. Eventually his master found them and he did not like what he found. The young prince telling the former assassin-turned guard would scare the young boy, the court herbalist he found himself fond of. His golden cat-like eyes widened and he smiled at his master, grateful that despite his failure, his master still cares for him. His loyalty to this group of misfits increased and he found that he didn't mind that the kidnapped girl would not return his feelings. He will fiercely protect them both to the best of his abilities because he finally found a family for himself. They care for him despite his sins against them at first. They forgave him and accepted him. And he will make sure that no one else will threaten them once he finds the little miss.
They found her and saved her. With the help of the Crown Prince of Tanbarun and the lions of the mountain, they found the red-haired herbalist. And they also found out that the young miss was the daughter of the head of the lions. No wonder she was so strong, determined, and protective. Still, he felt guilty for his failure to keep her safe. Before joining the others for dinner, she found him and told him that she didn't blame him. Of course, she would know that he blames himself, she was perceptive after all. She told him that no matter what, she still wanted him to be her guard when they visited Tanbarun again. After all, he did promise to take her to the city itself. He smiles, relieved that she still trusted him and that she didn't hate him. What is he thinking? She is Snow White with the red hair, of course she will never hate anyone. She even reached out to the pompous Crown Prince of Tanbarun and helped him change after all.
He likes this little family of his. He will protect it until his dying breath. Mitsuhide Rouen, Lady Kiki Seiran, Prince Zen Wistaria, and Shirayuki. He swears on his life that he will keep them safe and he knows that they will love and accept him for the rest of his life.
A/N: This was kind of written in Obi's POV. I like Obi, I ship him with Shirayuki. But they're not canon. Canon is Zen and Shirayuki and I like them too. I just see Obi as someone who can protect them. He was always a lone wolf. A bit aloof and cold. It all changed when he joined their group, so I think that Obi would consider them his family and will do all he can to protect them.