December 22, 2012.
First of all, Buon Compleanno Belphegor and Rasiel!
Secondly, WE SURVIVED 12/21/12!
Summary: Long, long ago, where women were still allowed in the newly-born Varia, a young prince and a peasant girl were recruited in the most lethal elimination group in the whole Mafia Underworld. What kind of childhood does the bitter underworld offer to these two children?
WARNING: A Xanxus, Mammon and Squalo-less Varia, a manly Lussuria and a young Levi. Rated T for safety. Oh and an improvised Tyr since he hadn't had a proper physical and psychological description in any internet source.
I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
Kiss a Frog – Prologue
Long, long ago, when Tyr the Sword Emperor was still alive and the Varia has just been born, there lived a small prince with blonde mop hair in the country of Hamret. He was running away from an angry mob with flaming torches and pointy pitchforks. Who could have guessed that this young prince has killed his entire household: from the king, the queen, his brother, to ever single maid and guard. Then he set the castle ablaze. No, he wasn't insane. He's still knows what's wrong or right. He was just bored.
Several miles due south of Hamret is the small village of Pliny. There, a gang of hoodlums has conquered and is swooping for loots they could possibly steal. Many civilians were killed, including the town chief. But a little girl who was on her way back from her trip to the forest shrine came running away from her home. She saw blood everywhere, dead bodies scattered around. What could a little girl do but run away?
And so she did.
Hours of running made the two youngsters reach a not-so-small-but-not-so-big pond. Tired of the midnight exercise, they slept on the opposite side of the small body of water, unknown of each other's presence due to the darkness of the night.
Morning has arrived, yet the sleeping figures were still slumbering. Fatigue was still evident in their fragile muscles. Their low moans of agony were heard by a passerby. His spiky grey hair shimmered under the morning sun's rays. He was old, but it was clear enough to see that the two children he saw were in need of dire help.
'Hmm…Judging from their looks they seem to be wounded or something…' Slowly, he tried to awaken them. First he went to the blonde. He was only a few inches away from the water's edge.
"Little girl, wake up now." The blonde figure immediately sat upright.
"I'm not a girl!" He said, bellowing with all his might. "I'm a prince, just so you know, and I'll accuse you of disrespecting me!" The old man laughed. 'A prince, eh? Hmm, no wonder he has a tiara.'
"Ahh, I'm sorry, I didn't know, your highness." He kneeled down in front of the so-called prince and placed his hand on top of his chest, showing respect to the boy. Their ruckus made the girl stir.
"What's all the noise…? Wh-who are you people?!" Her face dimmed. Afraid, she backed away a couple of steps. They were strangers. Might they be the bad people last night? Have they come to kill her as well?
"What did you do to mom and dad? Why did you…" Tears formed in her eyes and she began to wail loudly. The old man came over to her side and comforted her. The young 'prince' looked at the girl with gusto.
Though his bangs covered most of his face, he can clearly see the weeping girl. Her wavy dirty blonde hair glimmered under the sun's rays; her puffy cheeks were so cute all tinted pink. The way her tears fell from her eyes to her chin marked a river more majestic than the Amazon. Was this love at first sight? He couldn't think. His focus was only on her.
"Now, now, child. Don't be afraid. I'm not here to do you harm." The old man said, patting the girl's head. She wiped away her tears with the back of her palm.
"B-but… last night, mom and dad were…"
"Sssshh. Tell me what happened."
And she did. She told her everything she can remember and it lightened her heart right after.
"Oh… Your town must have been raided by bandits. When those things happen, there's nothing left we could do. I'm sorry for your family, child." He held her closer in his arms, like a father would to his children. "How about you, your highness? What are you doing in a place like this?" He turned to the boy behind him. He was still in a daze, but the word 'highness' reawaken him. For a moment, the boy kept quiet but he told his story.
"I'm a prince in Hamret and last night, I killed everyone in my castle. Then I set it on fire and the peasants ran after me. But I was good in running away. So they didn't catch me. Ushishi~" He playfully twiddled his fingers amongst the glossy grass, wiping away dewdrops. "How about you, mister. How did you get here?" The girl asked in a whisper.
"Me? Well I was just on my way back home—"
"Is it a small peasants' home?" The prince asked, eyeing the man from head to toe. He was wearing a plain white shirt with a little scratch here and there and a pair of velvety pants.
"N-no, but it's a huge castle—"
"A castle?!" Both the children exclaimed. They couldn't believe it. The man is old, and his clothes were so…plain. How can he live in a castle?
"Yes - I know! I have people there that can take care of you. Do you want to live with me?" He let go of the girl, who has stopped crying at last. The blonde boy neared them and, though he can't see it, he knows his eyes were twinkling.
"I do! Can I kill stuff there?"
"What a coincidence! Do you know what my job is?" He asked them playfully. "I'm an assassin." He whispered as silently as possible. The youngsters were baffled.
"COOL! I WANNA BE ONE! ~" Exclaimed the small prince.
"What's an … assassin?" Innocently, the girl asked, tugging the old man's pants.
"An assassin is someone who is paid for killing people. Don't you know that?" The prince answered her, patting her head.
"Th-they kill people?! Then, mister…" Her eyes were trembling with fear. Blankly, she started backing away, away from the murderers in front of her.
"Don't be afraid. I only kill when there is a reward in return; otherwise, I'm just a defenseless puppy." He smirked sarcastically. Why was he giving up so much time over these two youngsters? He doesn't know. Maybe because he misses his childhood? Perhaps. But it doesn't seem so.
The little girl was still in a daze. She was afraid of killing, as she regarded what happened last night. But she needed a home, and this old man offers her one.
When none of the two kids spoke a word for a while, the man introduced himself.
"My name is Tyr." He patted the blonde prince's head and said, "You said you wanna go home with me? Are you up for the challenges of being an assassin, kid?"
"Ushishishi. Of course! I am a prince after all!"
"How about you little girl, will you be coming as well?"
"…If I come with you, does that mean I have to be an assassin too?" she asked, eyes dimmed.
"Hmm… not actually. It's your choice, but I promise my home is one of the safest in the world, if I do say so myself." 'Safe? I wonder though…'
"Okay then. I don't have any place to go… so please take care of me, Mr. Tyr." She bowed politely. Tyr patted her head and carried her. He held out his hand for the young prince. The boy accepted it. "Okay. Let's go."
"I'm Dez Mercie, by the way…" The girl whispered.
"Nice to meet you Dez. How about you, your highness, what's your name?"
"Belphegor. You can just call me Bel." The prince replied.
"Okay then, Dez, meet Bel. Bel, meet Dez."
.:.:.:.:.
"Okay. We're here!" Tyr happily announced as putting down Dez. He stretched up his arms as carrying a girl was heavier than it seems. The youngsters were stumped as their heads shifted upwardly. The front door of Tyr's castle was huge, almost two times as tall as the old man and 5 meters wide. They can clearly see it was a castle, having pointed minarets and full-length windows. The white-washed brick walls were highly intimidating and the ominous aura everything else emitted was scary. It seemed more of a haunted castle, but the occupants were assassins, so it suited them perfectly.
"Uwaaah~" Both of them said in awe.
"Wait till you see inside." He opened the door and it creaked as it did. A red carpeted hallway was revealed and golden furniture was displayed along the way. A knight was standing guard by the entrance and a pretty crystal chandelier was wavering just above.
"Oh, welcome back, boss. How'd the— and who are these two?" A boy with spiky brown hair nonchalantly asked. He just crossed from a room going to the opposite side. He was a teenager, about 13-15 years of age, Bel assumed.
"Ahh, these are our two new recruits, Dez and Bel—"
"That's Prince Bel to you." Bel corrected, his tiara tilted.
"Err, right. And Prince Bel. I found them on my way back. The 'prince' assassinated his own family last night and this little girl's hometown was attacked by nomadic bandits. They said they wanted to join our family." Tyr explained as more members gathered in front of them.
"Oh, boss, but they're too young." One female said.
"No, I didn't mean it that way. They just need a place to call home right now. Teaching them to kill will come in later. Besides, Dez is not in favor of becoming an assassin." Tyr again explained, taking off his boots and giving it to the brown head boy.
"Lussuria, can you bring this to my office?" The brown head boy nodded and quickly received the pair of boots. "Oh, and call Marina Ylutide as well."
"And Leviathan," he pointed to a guy behind a girl in the first row, "take off your piercings. You're too young to wear them." He ordered and the boy named Leviathan bowed, apologizing.
Soon after, Tyr led the two new recruits to the dining hall where breakfast was just about to be served. He sat at his throne and the prince and the peasant sat opposite to each other on the chairs nearest the boss.
"Dez, Bel," He said as the long dining table was almost filled with people, "Welcome to the Varia, the world's number one assassination group."
I think the Prologue went well XD
Reviews are welcome. And Happy Birthday again to the two Princes!