A/N: I try to make my chapters longer but it still seems short to me T.T Anyway, here's the next chapter. Thank you for the reviews and faves like always. Don't forget to RxR~
Disclaimer applies.
Chapter Two: The World Outside A Cage
Sakuno stared and stared at her company. Rikkaidai is planning something bad, this guy is from Seigaku, then why doesn't he just inform the king about it? These questions ran through her mind and finally she asked him, "Why are you not-"
She was cut off when Ryoma butted in saying, "We don't have the proof that they're planning something bad. We only overheard two of the higher ups from Rikkaidai talking about it one day when we visited their country. The king won't believe us if we tell them without proof."
Sakuno put on an angry face hearing that Ryoma is doubting the king's willingness to help the country so she countered, "You still would not know until you try. If you had told Tezuka-oniisama then he can be ready if it does happen but you did not that is why he accepted the marriage between me and the Rikkai prince."
"In the end you only care about yourself. You care more about being married to someone you don't know instead of your country. That's why I don't like royalties. They're all so stuck up." Ryoma calmly said with his eyes closed.
Sakuno looked down without answering back. What he said was all true anyway. She only cares more about the marriage she didn't approve of instead of the dangers her country is going through. Ryoma peeked at her with one eye observing her reaction. Suddenly, the door creaked open making Ryoma stand in order to be prepared for enemies.
"Yahoo!" "Sorry to make you wait!"
Ryoma calmed down as he knew who they were. Sakuno stared at the two guys who came in, one with red hair and the other with black.
"Oooh, so this is the princess! This is the first time I've seen someone in royalty." The redhaired answered and introduced himself right after, "I'm Kikumaru Eiji. You can call me Eiji!"
Sakuno found the redhaired as a cheerful person and thought that she might get along well with him. She was about to introduce herself when the blackhaired interrupted.
"Your dress is so nicely made." The black one commented as he whistled. Sakuno slightly backed away feeling a little scared of the guy since his eyes were roaming all over her body. The blackhaired noticed this and placed his hands in front of him in defense saying, "Don't be scared! I won't do anything bad to you! I'm Momoshiro Takeshi, you can call me Momo-chan."
Sakuno calmed down upon hearing it and stood up then bowed as she introduced, "I am the princess of Seigaku kingdom. My name is Ryuzaki Sakuno though you are free to call me what you want."
Momo and Eiji looked at each other and blinked. Momo asked, "Are you sure? Don't you want us calling you princess or something?"
Sakuno shook her head, "It will attract attention. If I remember correctly, you are kidnapping me yes? You need to keep my identity hidden so-"
"Wait, wait, wait, WAIT!" Eiji interrupted, "What do you mean keep your identity hidden? We are kidnapping you and you're helping us hide yourself?"
"She, herself, asked me to kidnap her." Ryoma answered, "To escape her marriage."
Upon hearing him bringing that up again, Sakuno can't help but frown.
"Oh, so it wasn't your choice to be married huh?" Momo said. Sakuno nodded again.
"Hey guys, we need to move. I can see them heading towards us." Eiji informed as he peeked at the window of the shack. Sakuno went near the window to check but couldn't see anyone.
"Kikumaru-san has great eyesight. He can clearly see fast movements and far away things that normal people can't do." Ryoma explained. Sakuno looked at Eiji in amazement as he gave her a 'V' sign.
~xoxoxoxo~
As the group were walking down a grassy path to the next town, Ryoma was leading with Momo following behind. Eiji walked behind Sakuno to see her and make sure she doesn't stray away from the group although...
Ryoma stopped and looked back as he said, "You two are so slow."
Momo stopped as well and looked back seeing Sakuno and Eiji a few blocks away from them. Sakuno and Eiji looked at them. Sakuno stopped to catch her breath as she pulled up her dress to continue walking. Eiji looked at her worriedly.
"Nya, do you want a piggyback ride?"
Sakuno blushed and was about to refuse when Eiji added, "Oh, you should be carried princess style instead!"
Sakuno answered, "I appreciate your offer but no thank you. I do not want to be a burden to you all."
"You're being a burden either way." Ryoma answered. Sakuno stopped and bowed her head feeling sad again.
Momo looked at Ryoma then at Sakuno with a worried expression then said to Ryoma, "Oh come on Echizen, she's a girl and a princess at that so it's just normal that she can't walk over to the next town without tiring herself. I mean the next town is kind of far from Seigaku as well."
Ryoma grunted as he continued to walk on. Momo looked back at Sakuno apologetically before following Ryoma.
"Should I carry you?" Eiji asked once again.
"No, I shall walk." Sakuno answered determinedly.
~xoxoxoxo~
Setting: Town of Shitenhouji
Once they reached the town, Sakuno forgot all about the pain on her feet when she saw her surroundings. There were stalls and people all around. It was a lively place. This was the first time she's gone outside the palace. Well not really. When she left the palace, Ryoma was carrying her and she only looked at him while blushing, not really minding her surroundings so this was the first time she gets to observe the outside world.
She cheerfully looked around, sometimes stopping by in front of stalls to see the items being sold there. Ryoma ignored her loitering and continued on with Momo following. Her sightseeing was stopped when Eiji tapped her on the shoulder wearing a worried look with a sweatdrop on his head.
"You're attracting too much attention, Sakuno-chan. Especially your dress." Eiji warned. It would be bad if someone would recognize that Sakuno was a princess.
Sakuno made an 'O' mouth and nodded sadly. Even though she's already outside of the palace for the first time, she still feels trapped as she can't freely do what she wants to do. Eiji sympathetically looked at her. Judging by her expression, he could tell that she really wanted to explore more.
Eiji and Sakuno were about to continue on when they heard a voice, "You are a princess am I correct?"
Eiji turned his head towards the voice in caution while Sakuno immediately answered in a cheerful tone that made Eiji lose his guard, "Yes I am! How did you know?"
"Stupid! Why did you say that?" Eiji scolded Sakuno as Sakuno blushed and bowed her head realizing that she just said a taboo word.
"It's alright. I'm not an enemy nor an ally. I know that you are part of the famous thieves and that you kidnapped this princess."
Eiji shouted, "Who are you? How do you know all those?"
"I'm just a fortuneteller. My name is Chitose Senri." Chitose smiled at them.
"Wow! You are pretty accurate for a fortuneteller." Sakuno exclaimed in admiration. Eiji sighed. Even though the fortuneteller was right, she shouldn't have said it.
Chitose laughed heartily, "I get that a lot." Then he bowed low and added, "Are you headed to an inn? You can freely rest in our place though. It will be an honor to serve the princess."
"That is a nice-" Sakuno was once again cut off by Eiji.
"No thank you. Our friends might have already rented an inn. It would be a waste so excuse us." Eiji said as he dragged Sakuno by the hand.
"It is not like we do not trust you Chitose-san!" Sakuno slightly shouted as Eiji dragged him.
Eiji thought with a tired look, 'Heck no! I don't trust him in the slightest. Why are you so thickheaded?'
~xoxoxoxo~
Eiji and Sakuno finally reached the inn without any disturbances and found Ryoma and Momo waiting for them in front. Momo noticed them and looked at them worriedly with a sweatdrop. Sakuno and Eiji found this confusing but when they saw Ryoma's glare at them, they could understand what Momo's worrying about.
"What took you two so long?" Ryoma asked with death seeping in every word.
Eiji sweatdropped, "U-Uhhhh, W-We, Uhm..."
Eiji got surprised when Sakuno suddenly bowed beside him, "It is all my fault. Please do not punish Kikumaru-san. It was because I kept roaming around that we were late. I am very sorry."
Ryoma placed his glare on her that made her flinch then he said, "I'll forget this but if it happens again, I will punish you."
Sakuno wore a frightened expression and nodded slowly. Ryoma went inside the inn leaving the trio outside.
"Sakuno-chan, you shouldn't have said that. It wasn't you fault at all." Eiji said trying to cheer her up.
"Don't worry Ryuzaki-chan. Echizen is actually a nice guy." Momo tried as well. Sakuno noticed this and smiled. Momo and Eiji felt satisfied with that smile and proceeded to go in the inn.
~xoxoxoxo~
While heading towards their room, Momo mentioned, "I'm sorry. Even though we're thieves, we don't actually steal money and we don't sell the stuff we steal so we have little budget that's why we only rented one room."
Sakuno blinked, "I-I have to sleep with you three?" Eiji and Momo nodded.
"In one room with you three?" She asked again to make sure and Eiji and Momo nodded again. After a moment, she blushed beet red.
"Ah! But we won't do any weird stuff on you!" Momo said making Eiji smack him on the head.
"Stupid! You're making her even more scared!" He scolded.
"I was trying to make her less scared!" Momo complained.
"You're doing the opposite!"
Sakuno watched the scene in front of her and giggled making Eiji and Momo turn their heads towards her.
"I trust you." Sakuno smiled at them. Eiji and Momo smiled back as they went in their room.
The room has one bed yet they found Ryoma lying on the floor. Sakuno found this weird and asked, "Why are you not sleeping on the bed?"
"It's your bed." He answered.
Eiji and Momo grinned at this and they excused themselves saying, "We'll gather info in this town. You and the princess had a rough day so take a rest here. Bye!" and left in a hurry thinking they would make up and get to know each other when leaving them alone.
Ryoma and Sakuno blinked at the door the two left in. Silence followed.
Ryoma was the first to break the silence saying, "Don't you get tired standing like that?"
Sakuno looked up at Ryoma and realized she never moved from her spot. She nervously laughed and sat down on her bed. Then she saw a reddish orange light outside the window covered by the curtains. She headed towards it and peeked on the window. She closed her eyes as soon as she saw the light and opened them slowly and gasped at the amazing view.
It was a beautiful sunset. She watched in amazement as Ryoma observed her.
"You haven't seen a sunset before?" He asked. Sakuno turned towards Ryoma and nodded sadly, "I have read about it in books but have never seen it as the palace walls are tall. It is really pretty." She answered as she looked back at the view.
Ryoma stood and walked towards Sakuno to watch the sunset beside her. Sakuno looked to her side and saw Ryoma intently watching the sunset. She smiled and looked back at the sunset as well.
The peaceful moment was interrupted as the door burst open and out came Momo and Eiji. Ryoma and Sakuno instantly turned their heads toward them. Momo and Eiji were panting as if they just ran all the way.
"We found another one! It's located at the temple of Shitenhouji!" They chorused.
Ryoma ran towards them all the while telling Sakuno to stay there and to not go outside.
"I-I want to come as well!" Sakuno said.
"No, it's dangerous. Stay here. We can't afford getting our hostage killed." Ryoma said before closing the door leaving Sakuno alone wearing a frown.
'Just because I am a princess they would not let me go with them. I want to go outside and admire the town.' Sakuno sadly thought as she plopped down on the bed.
'And what did they mean 'another one'? They are thieves right? Maybe they were going to steal something.'
She continued to lie down on her bed thinking of them then immediately sat up while saying, "I finally get to come out of the palace! I do not want to stay like a bird trapped in a cage."
She ran out of the room and asked the innkeeper for some scissors and sewing materials. After she got the items she needed, she ran back to their room and stood in front of the mirror. Grabbing her scissors, her hand shook out of nervousness but put on a determined face and cut her hair short. She locked the door and covered the window with curtains as she removed her dress and removed the frills and laces on it. She modified it into a simple dress that makes her look like a commoner. Looking at herself in the mirror one more time, she became satisfied as she doesn't recognize herself anymore. She looked completely different from before.
With one last look at herself, she ran outside the room and out the inn to explore and know more about the outside world.
~xoxoxoxo~
Sakuno walked around happily as she observed the stalls and the lively people around. One item on a stall caught her eye and she went towards it to observe. The shopkeeper asked, "Do you want that lovely necklace?"
Sakuno nodded and held it gently in her hands as she observed the fine details of the necklace. It was a sparkling sapphire.
"You have a good eye, my lady, for that necklace when in direct contact with the sun, will shine a bright rainbow. It's very rare." The shopkeeper said. Sakuno admired the necklace even more and asked, "Can I really have it?"
"If you would pay for it of course."
"Pay?" Sakuno blinked.
"It's a rare item so it would cost a lot. Looking at you, it seems you don't know much about the outside world. If you don't have money to pay for it..." The shopkeeper observed Sakuno from top to toe and said darkly, "...you could pay using your body."
The shopkeeper's hands went nearer and nearer to Sakuno with her just standing there not knowing what he meant with what he said. Before the shopkeeper touched her, someone appeared and kicked him on the face. Sakuno gasped and looked at the person who just came.
It was a guy who seems to be the same age as her with messy locks of red hair. His eyes reminded her of Ryoma's only with a different color. She snapped out of her thoughts as she noticed the guy heading towards her.
"Why didn't you just run away from him?" The guy asked.
Sakuno blinked, "W-Why do I have to run?" she asked. The guy blinked.
Then he laughed out loud saying, "You're such a weird girl!" He rubbed the tears out of his eyes from laughing too much. He took a deep breath to calm down then introduced himself, "I'm Tooyama Kintarou. Yoroshiku, yoroshiku!" He grabbed her hands and shook them continuously.
"I-I am Ryuzaki Sakuno." Sakuno immediately answered forgetting to fake her name out of the fast events. Kintarou stopped shaking her hand and asked, "Eh? Isn't that the name of a princess?"
Sakuno gasped as she realized, "I-Is it? I did not know that."
Kintarou looked at Sakuno suspiciously making Sakuno back away a little. Kintarou then mentioned, "You speak so weirdly."
Sakuno muttered a small, "What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know if it's just me but people usually say 'I'm' instead of 'I am'. Then earlier you said 'did not' when you could've just easily shortened it into 'didn't'." Kintarou explained as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he thought.
"Is that how the outside world works?" Sakuno asked innocently. Kintarou widely opened his eyes, "How the outside world works? What language are you speaking? This is only a town. Outside this town there are more places out there. More countries out of those places and out of those countries are more planets in the universe and out of the universe there are more other universe!" Kintarou shouted excitedly making people passing by laugh at him.
Sakuno listened to every word he said in amazement. She didn't know that there are still more worlds out there and not just this one.
"Anyway, you're very weird. Also, it's almost nighttime so it's quite dangerous for a weird girl like you to walk home alone. Where do you stay? I'll walk you home." He offered.
"I-It is fine. I can-"
"It's." Kintarou repeated. Sakuno blinked.
"I-It's fine." She repeated. Kintarou nodded in satisfaction.
"And no! I'll walk you home."
"But, I want to explore more." Sakuno muttered lowly. Kintarou looked up at the sky and said, "Then I'll accompany you!"
Sakuno smiled a bright one and looked at Kintarou thankfully.
~xoxoxoxo~
It was already dark by the time they got tired walking around. They decided to rest on one of the benches.
"Thank you so much for accompanying me today Tooyama-san." Sakuno said.
Kintarou snorted in disgust as he said, "Just call me Kin-chan. Calling me by my last name and even adding a honorific is so long and a waste of breath."
"A-Alright then, K-Kin-chan." Sakuno meekly said as she blushed and looked down.
"By the way, won't your parents worry with you staying late at night outside?" Kintarou asked. Sakuno frowned as she said, "My parents passed away already."
Kintarou widened his eyes and clapped his hands and bowed to her apologizing over and over again.
"It's fine. You don't need to apologize." Sakuno said.
Kintarou sat up straight and smiled, "Your way of speaking looks more normal now. Just moments ago, you were speaking like you were royalty."
"Really? I really improved?" Sakuno asked as she neared her face to Kintarou's. Kintarou backed away with a blush and nodded shyly.
"I'm so glad! This way I won't burden them anymore in hiding myself." Sakuno said.
"Hiding yourself?" Kintarou asked in confusion. Sakuno gasped and immediately said, "I-It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
Before Kintarou could ask any further, they heard running footsteps towards them. The footsteps stopped in front of them and Sakuno stood up muttering, "Ryoma-kun."
Ryoma grabbed her arm and Sakuno felt a little pain by his strong pull. Kintarou stood up in shock and also because of seeing Sakuno in pain.
"Didn't I tell you that shouldn't go outside? What did you think we felt when we returned seeing you weren't there?" Ryoma shouted at Sakuno making tears fall out of her eyes. Momo and Eiji worriedly looked at them as Momo butted in, "Hey Echizen, we found her already and she's unharmed so let's just go back."
"No! What if something happened to her? Then all we've done is for nothing! You don't think of your situation at all you know!" Ryoma continued shouting as he poured all his anger on her.
"I-It hurts. Ryoma-kun..." Sakuno mumbled. Kintarou decided to talk, "Let go of her! You're hurting her dumb ass!"
Ryoma let go of Sakuno and punched Kintarou on the face making him fall on the ground, "You have nothing to do with this so just shut up."
Kintarou stood up and countered the punch, "I have something to do with this! She's my friend and I don't like seeing my friend in pain!"
Ryoma was about to punch Kintarou again but Momo held him back, "That's enough, Echizen! Calm down. She's safe and that's all that matters. Let's just go rest now."
Momo dragged Ryoma to head towards the inn while Eiji placed his arm around Sakuno to lead her back. Sakuno turned to look at the worried Kintarou saying, "Farewell... I mean see ya." giving him one last smile before disappearing into the darkness.
End of Chapter