Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Gakuen Alice, the Country of Ōto, and the line Natsume says to the guard (that was from cyropi's Fallen). But hey, I just realized, I do own someone—Cook! He's not in this chapter, but be assured, he will appear. This plot is loosely based on Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.
Written by: Tearless Sonnet
Special Thanks to: PaCho de Nacho for the great title and song suggestions. If I hadn't asked for your amazing help, I wouldn't have written this at all! Thank you!
Running to Stand Still
Dedicated to:
Madeleine Mason
You know me more than I know myself, and I don't mean that in 'stalker-ish' ways.
"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." – Andre Gide
-Tearless Sonnet-
Chapter I – The Kingdom of Alice
Natsume cupped a handful of water and drank thirstily, wiping his sweaty forehead with what was left of the cool water. He scowled at the empty canteen and threw it unceremoniously onto the dry sand, instead looking back at the blueprints on the scarred table in front of him. The bright sun overhead shone unpleasantly and the heat was never more scorching. The raven-haired man sat stiffly in his seat, calculating the blueprints for the nth time.
"Dammit," he muttered to himself, scanning the blueprints with a frown on his face. Obviously, whatever the blueprints showed displeased him. Abandoning his rigid posture, he slumped in his chair, rubbing his temples in stress.
"Things not going as planned, I see." Natsume looked up to see a sandy haired man with slits for eyes grinning at him cheekily. Kitsunume took a seat in front of him and casually tossed him a loaf of bread. Natsume caught it easily and set it aside for later.
"Hell yeah," he said gruffly. He shoved the papers roughly into the other man's hands. "See for yourself." He waited patiently for the other's reaction; Kitsunume's eyebrows creased and his lopsided grin grew into a frown the more he stared insistently at the documents.
"Ah," he said, frowning at the piece of paper without looking up. "You're right. This isn't exactly good news. A huge cave-in by the left branch is never good news, even by my standards. That means it'll take. . .?"
"Around a week to excavate the left wing and probably three more to unearth the rest of the ruins," Natsume replied sourly. He took a bite of the bread and scowled at the blueprint as if it was its fault he wasn't making faster progress. "And there isn't any other way to get through the left wing other than bulldozing our way through, which might jeopardize our chances of getting in if we accidentally take down something that might lead to another, bigger cave-in. Then there's also the precautious way, digging it out by hand, but that's a much slower method. It'll take about a week, working nonstop to clear it out." Natsume grunted, feeling very unhappy with the way things were working out. Kitsunume, apparently not paying any attention to Natsume's explanation, suddenly smirked.
"You mean you don't count this as a way to get through without bulldozing and tough shoveling?" Kitsunume said with an air of triumph as he gestured to an area in the blueprints. "Are you telling me you didn't see this little hidden route near the north wing?" Kitsunume said in mock surprise. Natsume frowned, feeling very nonplussed and grumpy at having not seen this so-called 'way' after careful examination of the proposal. Natsume held out his hand.
"What way?" he said impatiently, "Let me see that." Kitsunume complied, placing the papers into Natsume's hands with a smug look on his face. Natsume unrolled the papers forcefully, staring at the outline again. The more he stared, the more pronounced the scowl playing on his face grew. "What the hell are you talking about? I don't see no 'way'?" he said scornfully. Kitsunume raised an eyebrow and jabbed at a spot on the blueprints. Natsume studied the place he had pointed out for a while, as if refusing to believe Kitsunume was right, and released a heavy sigh—a sigh of defeat. Natsume Hyuuga never liked being wrong.
"Do you see it now?" Kitsunume said mockingly. Natsume glared at him and grudgingly nodded. Kitsunume leaned back into his seat leisurely and folded his arms. "And there—BAM—is your fairy dust. A secret passageway revealed by moi." Kitsunume finished with a clap of his hands for emphasis. Natsume rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah. The fairy godmother come to take me to the ball," he said sarcastically. Kitsunume grinned.
"Yeah, glad you got the gist of it, Cinderella," he said teasingly, and hoisted himself up from the table, "Now that I see my work is done here, I gotta go and check out what in blazes Takimoto is calling me for. Says he found an ancient artifact," at this, Natsume let out a snort, "Yep, you got it. I, for one, think he found an 'ancient artifact' all right. . ." Kitsunume smirked, "Ancient crap. Well, anyway, you better finish that bread—it's the last you'll be getting today. Rations are low," Kitsunume said, slightly vexed, "We'll have to get back to the Kingdom to replenish our stocks in a day or two."
Natsume watched sullenly as Kitsunume stalked off in the opposite direction and disappeared after he turned a corner whilst humming a strange tune. He glanced back at the blueprints looking very tired and stood up, snatching his dark maroon cloak that hung over the back of his chair and draping it over his shoulders carelessly. Natsume rolled up the blueprints and strode off towards the large ruins sunk deep into the sand.
A gigantic monument lay almost completely submerged into the ground, with only the tip of the huge structure standing out from the depths of sand. The large ruins were intricately shaped, a massive dome-like top with explicit carvings of an unknown language that he could not interpret, nor identify. Natsume thought it similar to a mammoth cathedral, or an arena.
A strong wind swept past ungraciously, and Natsume, with a grim expression on his face, clenched his cloak tighter around himself and drew the hood over his head. Specks of dust floated around in midair, some getting into his eyes rather painfully. But this was not uncommon in places like these, where dust and sand dominated over land and sea.
The Alice Kingdom was a peaceful place, with friendly people and beautiful scenery. Though in the midst of a country of sand, they used the little resources they had for the improvement of their country. People lived in modest, small houses built on top of rock plated onto the sand for a firm foundation. The serene kingdom was ruled well by the king and queen, in addition to their young daughter. However, the great ruins the country was very well known for were dangerous to excavate. Natsume and his father first came to the country when he himself was very young, at the age of seven. His father, Satoshi Hyuuga, started the excavation that very well lead to the loss of his life. Though thoroughly depressed at the death of his father, Natsume continued the work that Satoshi would have wanted finished—the unearthing of the Alice Ruins.
Natsume ambled towards the large ruins where the dig had finally come close to completing after so many years. Up close, the gigantic ruins looked bigger than ever. Cracks and dust were embedded into the large structure, almost looking as if it would collapse under the harsh winds and sand. It very well might have, but under the unyielding protection Natsume and his crew provided, there was no way it would subside so soon. Natsume took a lamp replenished with oil and proceeded to climb down a rickety wooden ladder leading into the many hazardous and dark tunnels leading deeper into the ruins.
The lower he descended down the ladder, the darker it grew. If he hadn't had a lamp with him at the time, he wouldn't have been able to see his own hand in front of him. Reaching the end, Natsume jumped and landed smoothly onto the ground. He barely glanced at his surroundings, staring at the blueprints to confirm where this passageway was. And then, he walked. It looked like a maze. Left and right, right and left; one not familiar with these passageways would almost certainly perish, unknowingly lost in the labyrinth of different channels. But Natsume, who had spent more than several years amidst the history and culture rooted deep into every nook and cranny of the ruins, knew the way like the back of his hand, with the map of the structure and the compass his father left him only for precautions if he might ever forget the way, doubtless so it seemed.
Left, right, left, left, right. If it were somebody else, the way would have been impossible to remember. Right, left, right, left, left again. But finally, Natsume stopped in front of a long and narrow corridor shrouded in dust and the unknown. He bit his lip, the temptation to risk it all and creep down the passageway was very appealing, but he knew many would worry if he didn't come back in a few hours. He was only here to confirm the passage, after all. Exploration could wait until they got more rations again.
Reluctantly, Natsume walked back through the many complex tunnels and burrows, greeted soundly by the light and stimulating air above. He set down the old rusty lamp, which had gone out the moment he stepped out of the ruins, and gazed up at the bright orange sky at sunset. Nearly night time, he mused, and retreated back into his tent for an early tuck-in after a good day's work.
*
"Ouch!" Mikan cried, staring bleakly at the trickle of blood on her thumb. Laying down her needle and thread in her sewing basket, she stood up to go to the washroom and rinse off the blood as best she could. The area around the wound had already turned a faint pink and stung a little when she doused it with water and wrapped it tenderly in bandages. She stared proudly at her work, and though she wasn't the medical wizard herself, she thought it very good for her first try. From watching attentively when her maids attended to her wounds, she had learned how to take care of herself, though had not tried it out until now. Wounding herself just to test out her new bandaging skills was foolish, and even before she could wash the blood off yet, her attendants would beat her to it, no problem. At the thought of this, Mikan glanced to and fro as if any of her servants would suddenly pop out of nowhere, scolding her for not letting them take care of her injury.
Mikan walked back to her room and picked up the lovely white handkerchief she had been embroidering. She stared at it dejectedly; the so-called 'flowers' she had intended to stitch looked horribly disfigured, and with the recent pricking of her finger, tiny stains of blood tainted the otherwise clean white handkerchief.
"Princess?" A soft knock on the door nevertheless resounded through the large empty room. Mikan looked over her shoulder at the door nervously and shoved the handkerchief under her pillow, taking out an almost identical one whose flowers looked completely recognizable from her cabinet drawer. It was plainly obvious that it was not she whom had sewn that.
"C-come in!" she called, hastily fixing her position from an Indian sit to what her attendants called a 'proper posture and sitting position as to etiquette'. The door opened and one of her servants, a young woman with a long blond braid draped down her back, appeared by the door.
"Princess, her most royal majesty calls for your attendance at the dining hall," she said, bowing respectively. Mikan nodded and purposely hid her injured finger behind her back.
"For supper, I suppose?" she asked knowingly, without really expecting an answer from the maid. As expected of, the young woman remained silent and departed from the room subsequent to a low bow. Mikan sighed in relief and was finally able to move her hand freely without constraint. She stood up and went to her dresser, where she removed a pair of silk gloves and slipped them on, to hide the bandaged finger. Dusting off imaginary dust on her dress, she stared at herself in the mirror blandly, and then turned to exit through the door.
Mikan departed from her room and set off down the hall to where the dining area was. The long hall was bedecked with portraits of the kings and queens that ruled the Kingdom of Alice during the past generations. Mikan stared at a particularly daunting portrait of the Queen Miyazuki Sato, the twelfth queen of the kingdom, whose protruding nose looked much too big for her face. Then there was also the framed portrait of the King Takaheshi Morinozuka, the ninth king particularly known for his shaggy mustache and feeding the servants who displeased him to his pet snake, Gertrude. Mikan cringed at this portrait, as she had learned things from her lessons about King Morinozuka that she could do very well without.
Walking too fast in haste to pass the portrait, Mikan very nearly slipped on the polished marble floor. Thankfully, a small ledge by a wall was available for consistency, and Mikan grasped it desperately before her royal bottom hit the ground. She looked around apprehensively, hoping no one saw that disgraceful fall. Relieved when she saw the entire corridor empty, Mikan sighed and continued on her way.
Large, heavy wooden doors guarded the entrance to the dining room. Mikan grasped the silver knocker and rapped the door with it sharply. A deep voice called from the inside, "Enter!" Mikan rolled her eyes. Her father knew very well that it was her behind the door, but how he enjoyed being professional and what he called 'kingy'. Mikan pushed open the door with slight difficulty and curtsied once she entered the room.
"Mama, Papa," she said jadedly. The dining area looked more like a banquet hall with a long marble table stretching from one wall to the other, complete with ornate cushioned chairs, gold dishes, silverware, and highly polished goblets encrusted with the Alice coat of arms. His highness King Izumi Sakura and her highness Queen Yuka Sakura sat majestically on their thrones, smiling down at their daughter. Mikan gave them a bland smile and was seated by a maid right across the long table from her parents. The distance was somehow tense-inducing.
"Mikan!" King Izumi bellowed happily, "How's my little princess?" Mikan smiled at him in return as she gracefully ate her olive.
"Very good, Papa," she said simply. The queen raised her eyebrow.
"How's your embroidery going, Mikan?" she asked, almost as if she knew of what had happened. Involuntarily, Mikan's bandaged finger twitched slightly, which went unnoticed by Queen Yuka, "Why, my dear, are you wearing gloves at dinner? You wouldn't want to spoil that lovely pair," she said skeptically. Mikan froze for a second, at a loss for what to do.
"But, Mama. These gloves are an old pair, and I—uh, I. . . don't want my hands to get dirtied!" she said breathlessly, thinking up an excuse at the last minute. Yuka smiled.
"I'm glad you're so concerned about your well-being and hygiene, darling, but it would be impolite and very unladylike to eat with your gloves on in the presence of people whom you are very close to." Mikan found this very ironic, in both ways— figuratively and literally. Mikan reluctantly removed one of her gloves, knowing the jig was up. She stared moodily at her other glove, as her mother watched expectantly. And then the brunette released an inaudible sigh and removed the other pair. At first, all was quiet. And then, mother dearest spoke.
"What, I may ask, happened to your finger?" she said quietly, although the question nonetheless was heard by everyone in the room. The maids looked fearful as they stared at her bandaged finger, and Mikan couldn't help but think in her mind, 'What the hell is wrong with all you people? It's just a little cut.' She shrugged a bit and took a small dainty bite of her milk tart.
"I pricked myself on a needle while I was sewing," she said frankly. The queen folded her napkin on her lap and gave her a scrutinizing glance. And again, Mikan couldn't help wondering if she was cursed as a little girl and would fall fast asleep had she only stepped within a five meter radius of a spinning wheel. But did needles count? she wondered skeptically, lost in her fairy tale fantasies.
"Mikan," a stern voice called. Getting her head out of the clouds, Mikan looked at her father inquiringly, "You're sixteen as of the moment, are you not?" She felt glad the subject of her injured finger had moved on, though her mother stared at the bandaged thumb with pursed lips. She nodded, confirming the question.
"Yes, Papa." she replied politely. King Izumi beamed.
"Very good, very good!" he called jovially, "Your dear old dad's got some news for you, hun!" he leant in forward dramatically, though it made no difference to the length of their distance, "You are. . ." he said conspiratorially, "you . . .are. . ." Mikan held her breath, wondering what 'she was'.
"You are. . ."
*
A muffled sob escaped Mikan's lips as she buried her face into her already damp pillow. Married, she thought bitterly. I'm going to get married to some snobby prince at the age of sixteen. Now isn't that dandy? The brunette sat up and stared at herself from across her vanity mirror and cringed at the sight; hair like she had just been through a storm, red puffy eyes, and an equally red, snotty nose. I look like a wreck, she thought to herself as she turned to wash her face off with cold water from the basin. Mopping her face and the last of her tears away, she looked back at the mirror. A little better now, she thought calmly, brushing her long brown locks.
But her mind and heart wouldn't accept the fact that she would be marrying some princey-guy she didn't even know. Screw it all, she thought grumpily. I'll just run away to some far off place and survive on blueberries and pure water from the stream. Then I'll make friends with all the animals in the forest and wait for my true prince to come and rescue me.
How cliché. You're not Snow White, she told herself reprimandingly, get your head out of the clouds! Huffing indignantly, she pulled out a worn iron key that hung on a string tied around her neck and inserted it into the keyhole of her drawer. With a little effort, she managed to twist the rusty old key into the lock and successfully opened the drawer. Inside lay an old brown notebook and pencil that contrasted terribly with her beautifully furnished room. She took them out lovingly and jumped onto her bed (what her mother would say if she had seen that!) and rolled flat on her stomach.
Flipping to a blank page, she wrote:
March 29
Mama is being more uptight than usual today. She and Papa said I was getting married to some snobby prince called Viktor What's-His-Name from the kingdom of Valer. Yuck. Viktor of Valer. Double yuck. I think I'm not going to write anymore because just thinking of my marriage to Viktor of Valer (yuck) is getting me down spirited. I'm going to bed. Goodnight.
Mikan
*
Natsume growled as he kicked a can violently into the gutter. Today was just not his day. His entire crew had retreated into the kingdom like they were on some damn vacation when they were only here to get rations and reinforcements. Walking through the crowded streets of the Alice Kingdom in a bad mood, he didn't bother to apologize whether he bumped into passerby or not. After all, apologizing just wasn't Natsume's thing.
"Oi! Hyuuga!" a voice called through the denseness of the crowd. Natsume paused for a split second before walking on again, "Hyuuga!" the voice called more urgently. Hearing the squeals and shouts of surprise and annoyance, he could tell that this person was busily pushing his way through the crowd to catch up to him.
Breathing in and out deeply, Kitsunume glared at Natsume through his narrowed eyes, "God! Can't stop a moment to talk, can you, you busybody?" Natsume rolled his eyes and strode forward. Kitsunume, in difficulty, tried to keep up with Natsume's quick pace, and in the process, nearly falling into a clump of bushes.
"Idiot," Natsume said nonchalantly as he expertly wove through the crowd, Kitsunume lagging in each step.
"Says the guy who couldn't find another way into the—sheesh, fine! No need to get all hoity-toity on me now, Sir Glares-a-lot," Kitsunume said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his trousers. Natsume rolled his eyes before giving him an expectant look. Kitsunume raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"Rations," Natsume reminded him crossly, "Tools. Did you get them already or do I have to do everything myself?" Kitsunume grinned.
"I got them, no sweat. But, hey, we've gotta meet the king and queen this afternoon." Natsume, who didn't look like he was paying attention in the slightest, suddenly turned to him sharply.
"What?" he said abruptly, "Why?"
Kitsunume looked at him in exasperation, "They want to know how much progress we're doing, Natsume. Duh." The raven-haired boy glared at him before suddenly turning around a corner. Kitsunume jogged over to him, with a cheeky grin on his face, "Anyway, that's until later. Why don't we go into one of those pubs? I've been longing for some good beer and women lately." Kitsunume said, grinning slyly. Natsume looked at him in disgust.
"You're sick." he said, before smirking at him wickedly, "When you hurl after some stupid hangover tomorrow morning, tell me. That'd be one real good story to tell the crew."
*
The Alice square was a lively place, teeming with people alike. As it was popular, it was also noisy, with merchants selling their merchandise, the music the entertainers were dancing to, encouraged by shouts of approval from the audience, the screams of laughter of children running amok, and the cawing of crows and other birds as they flew down to be greeted with people sprinkling around bread crumbs for them to eat. A large fountain of a beautiful mermaid in a pond littered by many Sakura petals stood in the center of the square, her majestic head looking down upon the merchants and people, upon entertainers dancing and singing, and upon one raven-haired man looking extremely angry.
A red-haired girl selling an curious array of goods approached him, hoping for business. "Good sir!" the young girl cried, amazed by how good-looking the man was, blushed a ripe red as Natsume glanced at her for a split second, "I've got many a things for you to purchase here in my basket. What say you, young gentleman?" Ignoring the girl, Natsume glanced up at the sky anxiously.
"Good s-sir!" the girl squealed in surprise, her long braids quivering slightly, "I-I—" Natsume abruptly stood up from the ledge by the fountain and barked angrily, "You're damn late!" The poor girl jumped in fright, scurrying away to make her fortune elsewhere.
Kitsunume approached him with a sheepish grin on his face, accompanied by his best friend, Kokoro Yome. Koko looked exactly like Kitsunume, with dirty blond hair, a lean figure, yet his eyes were wide open. However, a permanent-looking grin plastered on his face contrastingly complimented Kitsunume's slanted eyes.
Kitsunume and Koko loomed closer to Natsume reluctantly, as if they'd rather be anywhere else than there, facing the young man's wrath. Natsume tapped his foot impatiently on the cold street pavement as they stopped in front of him, fidgeting nervously.
"About damn time!" he growled furiously. Kitsunume and Koko exchanged anxious glances at each other, "Do you know how damn long I had to wait in the damn square?! It was fucking hot, dammit! You were supposed to be here a damn hour ago! Damn you!" he finished, taking a deep breath after a whole lot of colorful vocabulary. Koko grinned and clapped Natsume on the back.
"Chill-ax, man," he said, promptly ignoring Natsume's glare, "Sorry, but, eh. . . Kitsunume here had a little stop-off at the toilet, if you know what I mean." He threw a smirk at his doppelganger, who scowled at him accusingly. Natsume glowered at Kitsunume, his fits clenched tightly. Kitsunume laughed nervously, scratching his head.
"Yeah, well. . . if you gotta go, you gotta go, right? Right, Natsume, ol' buddy, ol' pal o' mine?" Kitsunume said, refusing to stare into Natsume's cold red eyes and playing with the unraveled thread of his trousers. Natsume groaned, raking his hair with his hand. Why the hell did he hire those two anyway? Oh, right. Because they could work without giving a damn.
Natsume sharply turned, walking forward at an alarming pace. Kitsunume and Koko jogged frantically to keep up with him. "Yo! Slow down!" Kitsunume called, "We're not supposed to be at the palace until two anyway! What's the rush?" At this, Natsume stopped abruptly, turning to look at the twins with an aura that spelt M-U-R-D-E-R. The two boys grinned nervously at him, and Kitsunume laughed.
"Eh, guess I forgot to tell you that, didn't I? Heh, heh. But all's well that ends well, right? Natsume? Natsume?!" Kitsunume said alarmingly as Natsume stalked towards him with an ugly expression on his face.
Natsume's fist came flying out of nowhere to meet Kitsunume's face. . . and stopped a hair's breath from landing a blow that would no doubt knock the poor boy's teeth out. The raven-haired man smirked devilishly, and then hit him lightly on the forehead, "Stupid," he said, before turning away, hands in his pockets, and strode off. Kitsunume and Koko followed, jeering and laughing the whole way there.
"What time is it?" Koko asked, and Kitsunume turned to look at the tall tower clock nearby the central square. The clock was huge and looked old, it's distinct appearance giving it a historical aura; it's face had all the usual numbers from one to twelve, and two hands, one smaller than the other, pointing at the numbers one and six. One thirty. The clock, by far, stood out amongst the sea of small houses.
"Half past one," Kitsunume replied, and then turned to call out to Natsume, who was determined to look as if he didn't know those two, "Hey, Natsume! It's half past one! There's still time left! Let's hit the bar, man!" Natsume paid no heed to his attempts and did not answer. Kitsunume groaned irritably, "Such a sourpuss. . . doesn't know how to have fun. . ." Natsume, with his sharp hearing even through the din of the throng, grinded his teeth together. They just couldn't keep their mouths shut, could they?
"Where are we going anyway?" Koko queried. They had been walking aimlessly around the kingdom for the past few minutes now. Were they going to the castle early or something? Koko nearly tripped over a loose rock, and though he was surprised, the smile glued to his face never wavered. Righting himself up, he grinned mischievously.
"Hey, Natsu-Natsu!" Kitsunume and Koko called in unison. Natsume swiveled around at once and glared at them.
"Do not call me that," he said darkly. The two gave an involuntary shudder, backing away from the boy as he continued to walk on as if nothing happened.
"Scary. . ." Kitsunume mumbled to himself devastatingly, almost falling into another clump of bushes. Thankfully, Koko stopped him just in time.
"Oi, Natsume!" Koko called, "Where are we going anyway?" Natsume glanced at him from over his shoulder disdainfully.
"The palace, you idiots. It doesn't matter if we're early or not." he said rudely, kicking another can out of his path, "And we might as well go right now. Since the possibility of going to a damn pub is zero." Koko and Kitsunume groaned unhappily, reduced to following Natsume to the palace unwillingly.
"What are we gonna tell the king and queen?" Koko asked, not really paying attention as he played with a bright red spinning top he had gotten out of his pocket.
"You're still playing with that? You're such a kid," Natsume said mockingly. "And we're telling them about how the uncovering of the ruins is going, of course. About that passageway and everything. And how it'll take at least. . ." he mulled over the thought for a while and said, "a week. One week to finally uncover the whole thing." Koko nodded absently, tossing the top from one hand to the other.
"C'mon." Natsume said blandly, gesturing to them with his hand without bothering to look over. The trio managed to pass the town square, through the crowd of different people, and out into the open streets. The air was nice and warm, now and then a cool breeze swept past the three young men as they made their way to the home of the king and queen of the Alice Kingdom.
A cart laden with straw drawn by a rouge horse with foam already dribbling in its mouth rattled past them, not a passenger or rider in sight. The horse thrashed and lashed out violently, shaking the wrought cart brutally. People hurried to get out of its way, with expressions of fear and terror etched onto each one of their faces. Natsume Hyuuga watched the scene with blatant indifference, and one never knew what he was thinking.
Natsume only had one choice to make: tame the damn horse so they could move on to the castle or get trampled on by that same horse and never get to unearth the ruins. Obviously, he took the first choice.
He grimaced and expertly jumped onto the horse, pulling onto it's reins to stop it. The horse didn't succumb too easily. It thrashed and shook violently to try and throw Natsume off. With a scowl portrayed on his face at the horse's wild antics, he pulled tightly on the reins and tried to calm down the feral horse. The horse ran into everything, almost running over a little girl had not Natsume feverishly pulled the reins and maneuvered it to turn past her unwillingly. It reared it's hind legs and Natsume rose along with it into the air. Gripping the reins tightly and his feet tucked firmly into the horse's sides, Natsume made sure he was not going to fall off anytime soon.
Koko and Kitsunume watched the scene with unbelieving eyes and open mouths. Apparently, they were too caught up in the shock to help their friend out. Who knew Natsume would go out of his way to rescue some townsfolk by calming the rogue horse? Natsume begged to differ. He wasn't doing this for anybody but himself. He had to get to the palace, the sooner the better. And then he could get back to uncovering the ruins as quickly as possible and check out that passageway. Yes, Natsume didn't do anything for anyone if he couldn't gain anything from it himself.
The horse neighed loudly, again trying to throw its unwelcome rider of its back. Natsume leaned in, gripping the reins tightly and trying to calm down the horse. Where the hell was its original rider? Natsume cursed to himself sullenly. He really couldn't trust anyone else other than himself, could he? After all, only he could live up to his own standards. Natsume tugged viciously onto the reins, and the horse, finding that resisting was futile, did not protest. Natsume had a smugly satisfied look on his face as he slid down the horse as if it was nothing.
The watching people surrounded him with cheers of acclaim and gratitude, but he turned a blind eye upon them all and sent Koko and Kitsunume a look that seemed to say 'Now-that's-all-over-let's-get-going-already'. The two sandy-haired males fixed their facial expressions, Kitsunume closing his mouth and Koko reverting back to his usual smiley face. They trudged over to the Natsume, who, after seeing the two, promptly walked forward.
The weather was unusually warm that day, and Natsume felt himself sweat under the heat of the blistering sun. The two others tailing him felt the same. The passed street after street, where fewer commoners strolled around, which they thought was rather stupid. Why would anyone want to come out and cook in the sun like burnt, shriveled bacon? Oh wait, there was the fact that they were outside as well.
He knew they should have taken a carriage or something, anything, to get out of walking under the terrifyingly hot weather, but Natsume was not fond of taking that jolting, trembling little mode of transportation. It made him sick just to think about it. How nauseous. Scowling threateningly at anyone who dared to look at him, speak to him, heck, breathed his air, he'd make sure to send that person to somewhere far worse than hell. Koko and Kitsunume, aware of the aggravating mood he was in, kept their distance warily.
Fortunately, the home of the Sakura family wasn't too far away now. The three boys jumped across a ditch in their path and proceeded down the lane leading to a splendid castle, complete with tall turrets and even a moat. What the hell, Natsume thought critically, was this some kind of fairytale castle taken out from those stupid story books? Obviously, Natsume Hyuuga did not believe in fairytales of any kind, the git.
Sentries stood guard by the castle gates, tall iron bars with nasty-looking sharp edges at the top, and they were called in to be questioned. Natsume didn't particularly like the look of one of the burly guards who could have been more on the beefy side than not. Throwing him a untrusting glare, Natsume spoke bitingly, annoyed with everything—the heat, the sun, the Earth, and the rest of humanity. Oh well. Typical Natsume.
"We're here to see the king and queen about the progress of the Alice ruins," he drawled blandly. The guard rose a disbelieving eyebrow.
"Right, we get that all the time. Who are you people? We were told to wait for three men, not kids," the guard said haughtily. Natsume swore to curse him to eternity.
"Natsume Hyuuga, Kokoro Yome, Kitsu—" the guard cut him off, waving his hand dispiritedly.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't know how you kids found out about their names, but whatever. Just get in," he said, opening the tall iron gates and shoving the three inside. Natsume's mood couldn't get any darker.
"Oi," Natsume said coolly to the guard as they passed through the gates. "Yeah, you, the pig-faced bastard. Put a sock in it, will you? Oh, right," he said sarcastically, "you can't, being the mental retard you are. I bet there are only three cells in your brain--one to eat, one to sleep, and the other to differentiate food and a pillow." Ooh. BURN.
Kitsunume laughed weakly.
"Well, you can't say he wasn't..." he couldn't think of what to say next. Natsume clenched his fists angrily and his mouth twisted into a thin line. How dare he! How dare that miserable excuse of a man (Natsume thought this part with a slightly bitter tone) act like that in front of them? Damn that bloody prat. Damn him and his descendants. Natsume felt like obliterating anyone and anything that got in his way.
But at the sight of the splendor that was the outer gardens of the castle, his anger was momentarily reduced to a spark of annoyance. The gardens were filled with every kind of flower one could imagine and a large fountain of water sprinkled trickles of water everywhere, a mini rainbow of colors resulting from it. The air seemed different from the life outside the palace gates. Everything was so. . . serene, peaceful. Chirping, delightful birds swooped down once in a while to make their presence known. Their melodic tweets resounded through the Eden-like garden.
Natsume had come to the palace once before with his father to ask for permission to start the excavation, but that was such a long time ago. How could he possibly remember the finery of it all now? But Natsume never allowed himself to lose equanimity. His face showed nothing short of indifference. He had trained himself to be devoid of emotion at all costs. He had to be careful in this world, where anything could happen. This was a game he had no choice but to play and he had no thoughts whatsoever about losing. Emotions displayed carelessly on his face were useless in this game, and if it was useless, he had it disposed of. Doing something so foolish as to wear his heart on his sleeve could be the fatal step that could cause his demise.
"Holy shit, man!" Koko said in amazement, "This place could be the eighth wonder of the world!" Natsume rolled his eyes and walked through a trench covered with vines of beautiful roses leading to the interior of the castle. Koko and Kitsunume looked at it with incredulity painted clearly on their faces. Natsume himself thought the arch very cliché, actually. This was to be typically expected in castles like these.
"C'mon, you bloody gits," Natsume said irritably, gesturing to the two boys who marveled at that damn trench like it was made out of gold. "Let's just get this over with."
Natsume didn't know why he preferred getting back to the ruins to staying in this garden of Eden forever. Well, maybe it was because he was simply raised that way. He had never experienced fine luxury all his life, as he grew up with only his father to rely on. His mother, unfortunately, had past away giving birth to him. His father did his best to raise him as best he could, but things could only go so far without the care of a mother. He had spent all his life going around to different places with his father, but all had not been very lavish.
Yes, because Natsume was independent. And he didn't need anyone, not his mother, not his father, nothing and nobody. And he was okay with that. Perfectly okay.
But wow was this place extravagant. A fifteen-foot ceiling swayed above him and the hallway the three had just entered was lined with roman columns, polished marble floors gleamed, cherry wood and mahogany doors taunted him as he stepped further into the space. This was palace was, indeed, fit for a king.
And so, Koko and Kitsunume broke into an all out frenzy. Oh joy.
"Shut up," Natsume said before they had a chance to open their mouths. The two glared at him huffily, then stared at the hallway in wonder.
"Where were we supposed to go again?" Koko asked, breaking the spell first as he looked around for some sign to lead them to the throne room or whatever. Natsume's eyebrows creased as he thought. Yes, where were they supposed to go? Everything was strange and unfamiliar, the numerous doors that seemed to yell at him 'Over here! Over here!' didn't do much help at all.
Thankfully, a servant clad in scarlet robes carrying a silver tray laden with food passed by. Natsume perked up, calling for his her attention, "Oi, you there!" The servant girl turned to him, then flushed a brilliant red.
"Y-yes?" she stuttered, her tray trembling slightly in her hands. Natsume cautiously watched the silver tea pot if it would fall over any minute. After all, he didn't want to be drenched with piping hot tea. Who would?
"We're here to see the king and queen. Where are they?" he asked bluntly. The girl pointed a quivering finger to one of the doors to their right.
"The throne room, sir," she said. Natsume nodded and gestured for Koko and Kitsunume to follow him to that door. Koko grinned.
"The poor girl. You shouldn't have scared her so much, Natsume," he said jokingly, laughing. Kitsunume joined in as well, and their laughter rang throughout the hall.
"Whatever," said Natsume irritably as he opened the mahogany doors leading into what he presumed was the throne room, or the visitors room, or whatever the hell that room was.
The bright lights blinded him for a moment, and he blinked bemusedly before gazing around the room. Well. How very. . . royal. The room wasn't considerably large, but ornate enough to be rightfully called the 'throne room'. A mammoth-sized crystal chandelier hung overhead in the center of the room, red draped curtains covered the large windows, some chairs laden with velvet cushions littered around the area, and a towering ceiling above. Two thrones stood on a few stairs at the back of the room, looking more flamboyant and lavish then the others. On those two thrones sat the king and queen of the Alice Kingdom. The place had a certain air to it, like a sacred temple or some strict library.
Natsume swallowed thickly, but nevertheless walked forward portraying every possible display of confidence as his shoes clacked smartly against the marble floor. Koko and Kitsunume followed a little less boldly, lagging behind him reluctantly. Anyone could guess who the leader was between the three without batting an eyelash.
The two beings who sat upon the thrones stared at the incoming three with dignified silence. Natsume bowed, but kept his eyes on them as he bent forward respectfully. Koko and Kitsunume hasted to do the same, dipping downwards a little too quickly. Natsume straightened up again gazing at the two with a scrutinizing eye. King Izumi and Queen Yuka Sakura—both undeniably beautiful people. Natsume half expected some lazy old fatty with a beard to match his belly seated on the throne munching on a turkey leg with that Saint Nicholas image and a 'ho, ho, ho', with the beloved queen an old bat that had a stick thrust somewhere up her bum—and he says he doesn't believe in fairytales?
"State your name and business," said the king courteously.
"I'm Natsume Hyuuga, and they're Kokoro Yome and Kitsunume. We come in the name of informing you of the progress of the excavation commencing." Natsume's eyes quickly darted around the area, searching for an escape route; one on the right side of the room and one on the other. This was a rather odd habit of his, but he couldn't help it. He always liked to be on his guard.
"Well, boy," said the king quirking a brow at them expectantly, "get on with it then."
Natsume licked his dry lips and nodded, "Yes. . . your highness," he added although slightly reluctantly. He never did get used to such matters as 'courtesy' and 'respect'; it was something he had learned to live without for the past six years, and suddenly being in the need for it now didn't mean it would trigger all his past lessons to mind so quickly, "The excavation's going well. It'll take a week at the most to clear the whole thing up. As expected, the ruins visible are only the tips of the actual structure, but we were able to dig through almost everything. We just have to check through the passageway and gain access through the center of the ruin, then it'll be easiest to unravel the whole of it." That was the second longest Natsume had ever said in his life.
"Jolly well done," King Izumi approved, as the smile reaching the corners of his eyes grew. The queen had remained silent the whole time the conversation took place, "That all then?" he queried. Natsume nodded.
King Izumi motioned Natsume forward with a twinkle in his eye. Natsume, curious, approached him apprehensively. Izumi leaned in and whispered into his ear, "You'll do fine, old boy. Just like your father," Izumi smiled at him, "He would've been so proud." Natsume stared at him unblinkingly, astonished as to how the king knew his father. King Izumi sat up straight again and clapped Natsume on the back, "You'll do great things, you will. Just you wait."
*
A few days had passed since the meeting with the Sakuras, and it was back to work again. Natsume had pushed the crew to its extent until Kitsunume, tired and grumpy, yelled at him feverishly to let them 'take a bloody break' or they might as well 'pack their bags and leave him to do all the damn work himself'. Needless to say, Natsume did not pay heed to this threat and by no means did Kitsunume and the rest leave.
It was late in the afternoon one day when Natsume and a few of his crew went through the maze that was the ruins without any hesitation, and proceeded to where the passageway was. Finally. He was finally going to get inside that passageway and see what the center of the ruins. He was sure that the central had to be something special. After researching of the country's past, he deducted what could and couldn't be in there.
He walked through the tunnel. It gave off a dreary, forbidden fairytale atmosphere, and the walls of the small enclosure looked like they were going to close in on him at any moment. Ignoring this claustrophobic feeling in his gut, Natsume guided the crew through the tunnel with the help of the lamp.
A small bright light in the distance signaled them that the opening was near. At the sight of this, they trudged a bit faster through the passage and was soon entering into a large chamber. It smelled musty and damp, like it had just rained, which was highly unusual for a country this humid. The walls of granite were dusted with yellow powder, imposing upon them fiercely. Three openings in the wall were positioned a few feet from each other, beckoning to him. Natsume touched the wall with his index finger, examining the powder that came off on his finger. Wiping it away on his trousers, he gestured to the others.
"Make the necessary preparations; we're going to investigate those three breaches," he directed, pointing at each of the notches in turn. The rest of his crew nodded zealously and scuttled off. Natsume couldn't help but roll his eyes at their antics. How pathetic.
"We're gonna search through those three openings tomorrow, mate. Not today. I repeat, not today." Natsume glanced over his shoulder at Koko, who grinned at him as usual. Koko moved to stand beside him as they overlooked the chamber, "This is it, huh?" he asked. Natsume's crimson eyes froze for a second, and then he nodded.
"Just a week left until the whole thing is done," Koko continued, the smile on his lips not wavering for a second. Natsume nodded coldly, his heart clenching at the thought of all of it being finished. No more ruins for him to unearth, no more excitement in discovering new channels, new passageways, new chambers, no more. . . excavating. But at least he would have finally accomplished it—his father's dying wish.
"Hn." Koko laughed, clapping Natsume on the back.
"C'mon mate, that all you can say?" Natsume grunted, shoving his hand off and rolled his eyes. Sometimes, Koko could get a little annoying. "Ha! Cat got your tongue? Or are you just suffering from PMS?" Okay, scratch that, he was so damn infuriating that Natsume would just love to wring his neck. He shot him a glare, and then folded his arms across his chest, surveying the chamber with a critical eye.
"Okay, okay," Koko said, laughing as he put his hands up in surrender, "No need to get your knickers in a twist."
Natsume grimaced before scowling at him again. "Sod off."
The two examined the chamber, none of them speaking. Natsume was glad of the silence, Koko reluctantly not opening his mouth lest Natsume blow a gasket.
Koko slipped out a pocket watch from within his jacket and checked it briefly, then put it back in again. "We were supposed to be out of here an hour ago," he remarked idly. Natsume, who looked deep in thought, did not respond. Koko's smile slipped slightly, "I said, we were supposed to be out of here an hour ago."
Natsume, disgruntled, frowned at him. "I heard you the first time." Koko smirked.
"Yeah, well, you didn't seem to react to my voice the first time, did you?" The sandy-haired young man abruptly turned on his heel and walked back into the dark tunnel, a lamp in hand, "I'll go ahead."
Natsume did not watch to see him go, nor did he notice the rest of the crew leave along with Koko. He just stood in the dark and silence, taking it all in. By the time he had bothered to check his own watch, it was past six. Muttering incoherent curses under his breath, he swiveled to meet the darkness of the tunnel, and stopped suddenly, as he noticed something that he hadn't noticed before.
A strange carving in the floor. How could he have been so stupid as to have missed this? He crouched and stared at the sign engraved into the ground, his lamp enlightening the form. It was a sign he had not known of; nothing in the country's history books had ever mentioned it before. It was an odd sort of emblem; a large ring encircling an open scroll in the beak of a crow. The crow's wings were open wide as it overlooked a sea ablaze with flames.
Natsume, curiosity overwhelming his insides, leant in and touched the marking. Bad choice, Hyuuga.
The insignia immediately alighted with a fierce, smoldering heat and light that it momentarily blinded Natsume as he struggled to regain his composure. A whirlwind of emotions and thoughts ran through his head as if an alarm had gone off at the slightest hint of danger. Everything seemed to bright, he couldn't bear to open his eyes. But he had to. He had to keep conscious, who knew what could happen if he had fainted like some weak sissy? Natsume had a standard set of protocol, rule number one was to never admit defeat. Rule two was to never show his weak side to anyone, ever. And he was determined not to break any of those rules.
Wrenching his hand away from the marking, he hastened to escape from the ruins. The possibility that it might blow up was very high, so he whizzed past tunnel to tunnel and climbed up the rickety ladder. And what he saw when he reached the top made his heart drop faster than anything that had ever happened in his life. And let me tell you now, Natsume had been through a damn lot of things, but this sight just so happened to be the one that took the spot.
Hello! Thank you for reading the first chapter of 'Running to Stand Still'. I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as well. If you have any questions for me relating to myself personally or to the story, please don't hesitate to ask. But I'm warning you all now, no spoilers will be given. I noticed the similarity to 'Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle' by CLAMP, but by all means, I do not intend to copy the whole storyline. How the plot will unfold will turn out in its time.
I know that the concept of the tale does not seem very, how do I put it. . . Asian? It practically screams 'English' from the dialogue and their clothes. No mention of a yukata or a kimono will be featured here, I assure you. Nor will Mikan be calling Natsume with an attached suffix such as 'kun' or 'san'. I suppose this is the result of staying up late reading Harry Potter.
Please stay tuned for the next chapter of the story and do take the time to review. I'd love to hear your critiques and constructive criticism on my story, so I'd really appreciate it if you wouldn't mind leaving a little something to remind me that people actually read my work and want to know what happens next.
Signed,
Tearless Sonnet