Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or The Beauty and the Beast.
Summary: After leaving her country, bounty hunter Sakura seeks any chance to gain money and finds the perfect opportunity when her eyes fall on a wanted poster of the legendary beast of the land. The monster is mentioned as one that tyrannises the wood's inhabitants and people: and who could be better suited for this job than Sakura? [Medieval Fantasy AU]
Side note: Do you know how many Plot bunnies I have for this pairing (Asasaku)? I desperately need to write them down :'D. The Beauty and the Beast (one of my favourite fairy tales) was significant for this fanfiction; I had this idea in my head which was based on the classical fairy tale but as always I wanted to approach it in a different way. Nonetheless this story still has elements of The Beauty and the Beast.
Story focus on Asasaku/Asakiku (with female Japan), side pairings are PruHun and AmeViet.
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure
Warnings: Contains language, minor violence, badass females and a certain frustrated Brit.
English is not my first language, so sorry if there are any mistakes or misunderstandings :S.
"Not all those who wander are lost."― J.R.R. Tolkien
"I bet you were afraid."
"O-oh no, I was not!"
"Then why did you not enter the woods?"
Elizabeta rolled her eyes; she had witnessed this silly talk for ten minutes now. Of course it was a conversation between drunken men, and she did not mean to interrupt them – it was her job to serve them drinks and receive money for working in the pub. So she had to endure such talks every day, especially in the latest of the night.
"Excuse me, Miss, what are they talking about?"
Eliza averted her eyes towards the man who sat by the bar. The moment he had entered the establishment, she had suspected him to be different from the other guests. He had remained extremely calm, sipping slowly on his drink, not once taking his dark coat and hood off. Some dark strands of his dark hair stuck on his cheekbones – the only part of the face Eliza could clearly see. The only information she was certain of was that this man was a stranger and not an inhabitant of the village.
"The legendary cursed woods. Many men think they could enter it to prove their courage . . . or to convince everyone from their manliness, whatever they think would impress us women."
The man lifted his face, his scarf hiding his chin – but his eyes were a clear brown and Eliza knew from that moment on that this man in front of her was no man at all.
"Cursed woods?" the black-haired woman asked, noticing Eliza's blinking eyes, knowing fully well that her real gender had been discovered.
". . . Indeed," Eliza pursed her lips, "Why are you even interested in this tale?"
The hooded woman tilted her head, before taking another gulp of her drink. Eliza, who rather talked with her than listening to her clients' enlightening conversation, decided to explain the legendary tale to the curious female.
"It is said that those woods are enchanted. The deeper the forest, the more dangerous the area becomes. According to the legend there is a mansion in which a giant animal, a beast, is taking shelter. It is tyrannising the woods, killing humans or eating them alive. Some even say it is a great castle."
"Oh . . . sounds interesting."
Eliza observed the woman again, her question was formed in a soft voice and the woman seemed smaller than the brunette herself – but with the cloak and hood, her form did not reveal her true identity.
"It is, I am not quite certain if there is even a mansion or castle, because unlike those twats," she turned her head towards the speaking – and clearly drunk – party, "I had already entered the woods and discovered no anomalies such as beasts, ghosts, monsters or witches; only an annoying white-haired man who likes to brag in front of his brother whenever I pass them. Either way, some people live at the entry of the forest and claim that everything is as normal as it should be – with the exception of the aforementioned man."
"Of course," her conversation partner chuckled lightly, a noise that was too soft and feminine to sound like that of a man. "And that man is not enchanted in?"
"Oh Lord no, he thinks the Ladies are enchanted by his looks . . . but no."
Silence followed after their chuckling, before the barmaid decided to speak again.
"If you want, I can give you room for the night," Eliza suggested before the brunette whispered as she leant forward towards her client, "It is not save at times like these for a girl." Despite her feeling that the hooded woman was capable of defending herself, Eliza instinctually wanted to protect the female stranger from drunken men.
"Oh it would be delightful to remain here," she answered, "but believe me I know very well how dangerous the outside world is."
This brought a smile to Eliza's lips, "By the way, the name is Elizabeta, but I prefer Eliza." The mysterious woman nodded before introducing herself as Sakura, but wanted to be called Kura whenever they were in public.
After she had worded her intention of accepting Eliza's invitation to stay over the night, the woman stood on her feet – her cloak moving a bit and giving Eliza the perfect view of the weapons the stranger was carrying underneath her warm attire.
The brunette bartender raised a brow before smirking at her new houseguest; she wished she would own such a collection of armoury but still questioned why the petite female was in possession of such weapons – she certainly did not need more than two to defend herself.
"Well we need another one who would be courageous enough to enter it and find the monster!" someone of the men exclaimed loudly before wielding a piece of paper in his hands. The atmosphere grew more joyous afterwards and Eliza huffed; those men certainly had their way of amusing themselves.
"M-Miss? Can I hang it here?"
Eliza stared at the asking man, who was eager to fix the aforementioned paper on the wall. Nonetheless the young lad was frightened by the fierce brunette barmaid and decided to ask her politely: She only nodded, a short gesture which indicated that he should be quicker in his actions.
"These men . . . ," Eliza mumbled before changing the topic again, "I do not often let people sleep here, but . . ." The brunette's words slowed before she quietened completely. Her guest was not listening but starring at the hanging announcement on the wall; it was a wanted-poster that displayed a possible image of the beast from the legend, the barmaid had only spoken of some minutes ago. Without wasting time, the hooded female grabbed the paper and folded it before stuffing it neatly in her side bag. A blush adorned Sakura's face as she looked back at Eliza. She was ashamed to have been discovered and to have not listened to the brunette's words. "Please excuse my rudeness," the dark-haired spoke, bowing in front of Eliza.
She shook her head, claiming that there was no apology needed; she now knew who or what the mysterious woman was: a bounty hunter.
"If you really wish to find the beast for the sake of money, then I can lead you to the entry of the forest," Eliza declared as she was showing the hunter her guestroom.
"It would be a great help, but I do not want to burden you in any kind," Sakura replied, "You have been very friendly and I cannot be more thankful for your hospitality."
Eliza was not familiar with words of apology, appreciation or gentleness. The barmaid was used to ruthless drunken men who tended to believe that handsomeness was their middle name after having consumed more than one glass of alcohol. Still, the female was curious of the bounty hunter's intention of receiving the money – there had to be a story behind it.
"You are welcome . . . Tomorrow morning, I will take you to the woods, but I cannot promise you that there will be any magic, beast or mansion. If there would be, then I would have already claimed that grand house to be mine."
Sakura laid awake the rest of the evening, thinking what will await her in the forest. Of course, she was a professional bounty huntress that had made many experiences on her mission with her deceased mentor, but never before had she faced a situation where magic was used. She was not even certain if she believed in supernatural occurrences, but after she had seen the amount she would receive for killing the forest's monster, the dark-haired wanted to take part in that mission. It was a chance – she was almost broke and needed the reward.
"You will succeed," she whispered in an assuring tone. A sigh escaped her lips as she turned to the side, her warm brown eyes opened and caught the bracelet on the wooden table in the room – a gift from her mentor and father figure Yao Wang who had died five years ago. Having lost her parents at a young age, he and Lien had found her on the streets. They had been the family she had always craved to have.
Their mentor had taught them the way of fighting; the world had been cruel with them and their only chance of receiving money was the hunting of wanted persons – it was not the noblest occupation, but one that helped them to survive. Their success made them famous among the criminals who feared the skilled group.
As Yao died, Lien decided to pause in her activities while Sakura distracted herself with continuing her job.
Since the King's guard had enforced their army and decided to make stricter controls in their home country, Sakura was forced to leave. Many bounty hunters were losing their jobs or crossing another land for the sake of surviving.
While Lien was staying at their home, the huntress was always sending her money and writing – although it were only a few words – her; telling Lien that she was fine, although the youngest was aware of the hard job.
At that thought, Sakura eyed the wanted poster again. Horns adorned the creatures head and the face hidden by scales. The only features of the monstrous face were the eyes, as green as the forest. But she could not trust that sketch – if no one had seen the beast before, how could they know about their appearance?
"I will write her," she suddenly whispered, leaving her bed to fetch a piece of paper and a quill to inform her sister figure of the beast she would hunt.
[A/N: Japan is a badass bounty hunter in this story ;) Just one small piece of information: both sisters write each other, but only know the basics of writing and reading: they had learned the way of fighting and not the way of writing poems. And yes, the mentioned white-haired man is Gilbert ;) ]