A/N: I know, I know, I still have other stories to finish but I've been thinking of this plot for a long, long, LONG time now. I have a lot of plots I want to write about too. Geez, if only I wasn't a lazy person. I got this plot from Final Fantasy 9 and Himegimi to Sanbiki no Kemono. RxR~

Note: Surprise, surprise, another alternate universe.

Disclaimer applies.

The Princess and the Thief

Chapter One: The Beginning of Everything

Setting: Kingdom of Seigaku

The Kingdom of Seigaku is a very prosperous kingdom. Many other kingdoms wanted to conquer this kingdom but the guards here are very skilled that's why it's still unconquerable. But right at this moment, it is one of those rare days that this kingdom is in panic. Guards, maids, royalties and other people ran around the whole kingdom. And the reason they were doing that?

Inside the palace, one of the royal guards, Kaidoh Kaoru, approached the king's loyal adviser, Inui Sadaharu.

"Inui-san! The princess is-!" Kaidoh was cut off when Inui spoke, "She was captured. Am I correct?"

Kaidoh blinked then glared at Inui, "If you knew she was going to be captured, why did you not make an effort to protect her?"

Inui pushed his glasses upward and answered, "I did warn the princess and even stood guard next to her. But it was her own decision to be captured."

Kaidoh stared at Inui in shock. It was her decision to be captured? Who, in their right mind would do that?

Earlier...

The princess sadly combed her long, flowing hair in front of the mirror. She stopped and placed her comb down then sighed.

'What should I do?' Ryuzaki Sakuno, 16 years old, sighed.

She was the princess of the kingdom with her cousin, Tezuka Kunimitsu, as the king. Both their parents died protecting the kingdom successfully when one kingdom waged war against their kingdom and that incident made Tezuka take over. It was an incident that happened a long time ago and most people already forgot about it.

Knock Knock

Sakuno turned her head towards the door and with a soft voice she answered, "Come in." Inui came in and bowed before the princess.

"Do you have something to report to me?" Sakuno asked politely.

Inui stood straight and said, "Princess, we received a notice from a concerned citizen that some evil people are planning to kidnap you. We also heard from them that the people trying to kidnap you are very skilled in that job. They never fail to take anything they want to so allow me to stay here and watch over you."

Sakuno has her mouth open slightly in shock that people are planning to kidnap her. This is the first time that it happened. Usually, they would just wage war over the kingdom to conquer it. Could it be that they changed strategies and decided to kidnap someone as hostage in exchange for the kingdom?

"It is alright with me but, I was planning to change my clothes. Could you stand guard outside for awhile?" Sakuno meekly said with a slight blush on her face. Inui understood and excused himself.

Even though Sakuno is a princess, she never asked the maids to help her change into her dress. She did it all on her own. She felt bad for the maids' workload in cleaning the whole, humongous palace so she wanted to at least lessen their work and rest more to avoid fatigue.

When she was only in her underwear, the huge window in her room that leads to the terrace opened. She shivered at the cold wind that came in and she turned towards the window. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw a person standing at the terrace. She grabbed her dress and attempted to cover her half-naked body at the person.

"W-Who goes there?" Sakuno asked with a shaky voice.

The person came in and it was shown to be a guy about her age with black hair with greenish highlights. Sakuno found the guy handsome and what attracts her the most was the guy's golden eyes.

"I came here to kidnap you." The guy smirked as he bowed to Sakuno.

Sakuno stepped back a little and said, "C-Could I change into my dress first? I-I am kind of cold."

The guy blinked at Sakuno and snickered. Sakuno blushed out of embarrassment.

"Is there something funny with what I said?" Sakuno asked as she pouted.

"Do you have no sense of danger? Is there any sane person that would ask a thing like that to a kidnapper?" The guy asked as he smirked. Nevertheless, he walked back outside at the terrace and with his back against her he added, "Change quickly."

Sakuno blushed redder in embarrassment. Just then, Inui knocked on the door asking if she was done changing.

"I-I am not done changing yet. Please do not come in." Sakuno said. After Inui said he understood, Sakuno quickly changed into her dress all the while taking a glance at the guy outside the terrace when she gets the chance.

When she finished changing, she stood still and watched the guy closely.

"You are a pretty nice guy to be a kidnapper." Sakuno said. The guy turned around to look at her and answered, "We have a reason."

Sakuno fiddled with her dress and asked, "We?"

"I have others with me." The guy answered. He took a step forward and said, "And you, you're very weird you know."

Sakuno looked up at him confusedly. The guy inched closer, "Normally, you were supposed to scream and shout for help the very moment I came in this room but you didn't. Why is that?"

Sakuno took a step back and answered, "I do not know. Maybe something is telling me that I should not."

"Hn." The guy said as he took another step forward. Sakuno matched her pace with him and took a step backward but gasped when she hit the wall.

"C-Could I know the reason why you are planning to kidnap me?" Sakuno hesitantly asked. She pressed her back against the wall hoping that the wall would break down and she could take another step backward to keep her distance from the guy in front of her.

The guy took a step forward and answered, "I could tell you the reason but, this is really not the place for it. I assure you though, we don't plan to hurt you."

Sakuno looked up as the guy was just a foot away from her. She blushed at their close proximity and bowed her head, avoiding the guy's gaze.

"W-Will you really not hurt me?" Sakuno stuttered as she closed her eyes.

"Yeah."

Sakuno looked up at the guy and declared, "T-Then, I ask of you to kidnap me!"

The guy widened his eyes in shock and blinked. He muttered a small, "Huh?"

Inui heard the princess' shout of declaration and quickly opened the door to her room only to find Sakuno being carried bridal style by a guy with black hair with greenish highlights standing on the terrace about to jump down.

"Princess!" Inui shouted as he ran towards them but he was met with the guy's smirk before he completely jumped down the terrace with the princess.

End of Flashback

~xoxoxoxo~

The guy quickly hid in an alley after they got out the palace and he gently put down the princess. While they were running, he grabbed a coat with a hood from a stall in a marketplace. He made Sakuno wear that very same coat and made her wear the hood.

"It's only natural to hide your face." He said and stared at Sakuno's dress, 'Her dress stands out too much.' He thought and sighed.

Sakuno blinked and looked at the direction where he was staring which is her dress. Then he heard him mutter, "Oh well, whatever."

He grabbed Sakuno's hands and continued running. Sakuno watched her companion's face as they ran. She admired the serious face he was wearing. She saw sweat trickle down from his forehead down to his cheek. For some reason, she wanted to wipe it off with a handkerchief.

Suddenly, she tripped. The guy caught her in time and they both stopped.

"I am sorry. I-I am really not used to running." Sakuno blushed as she explained.

"Well, you are a princess. We're already near though. Try harder." He said as they continued running again.

Finally, they both stopped in front of a shack. The guy opened the door and it creaked as a welcome to them. He then threw the coat he was wearing on the side and sat down on the floor. Sakuno removed her hood and didn't take a step once she entered the shack. She looked around her observing the shack they were in. It was the first time in her entire life that she saw a house like this.

The guy with her watched Sakuno's actions closely. He said, "The others will come later. You can sit on my coat if you feel disgusted sitting on the floor."

Sakuno quickly turned to face her companion and followed his advice. She awkwardly sat on his coat. Every now and then she would fidget. She wasn't really used to this kind of sitting position.

"Ah, I forgot to ask. May I know your name?" Sakuno asked.

The guy stared at her for awhile before answering, "Echizen Ryoma."

"Oh, It is nice to meet you Echizen-san." Sakuno greeted as she bowed.

"It's like you're calling my father." Ryoma complained. Sakuno looked back up and answered, "Then, can I have your permission to call you Ryoma-kun?"

"Call me whatever you want." Ryoma answered as he closed his eyes and looked away. Sakuno looked down and thought that Ryoma thinks she's a bother to him.

"It's my turn to ask the questions." Ryoma suddenly said.

Sakuno looked back up at Ryoma with a questioning face.

"Why did you ask me to kidnap you?" Ryoma asked as he looked back at Sakuno with his stoic expression.

Sakuno frowned as soon as she remembered. She played around with the frills on her dress as she answered, "Tezuka-oniisama wants me to get married to Rikkaidai Kingdom's prince as a way to unite our kingdoms and make it easier for us to defend our kingdom from others. But I do not really want to get married. I have not even met their prince."

"So you asked me to kidnap you so you could escape marriage?" Ryoma asked and then added, "That's kind of selfish of you. To make your kingdom panic because you were kidnapped only to escape marriage."

Sakuno frowned even more and bowed her head in embarrassment.

"I don't mind though. It makes my job a whole lot easier." Ryoma said as he closed his eyes and leaned on the wall.

"Uhm, may I know the reason you are kidnapping me?" Sakuno asked.

Ryoma opened his eyes. He looked straight at Sakuno with a smirk on his face that made Sakuno blush and stare at him.

"Rikkaidai is planning something evil to Seigaku and we kidnapped you to stop the joining of the kingdoms. Believe it or not, our group is from Seigaku." He explained.

End of Chapter