Chapter Three.
Hiro-nii, can't you hurry up? Geez, such a turtle..."
"Tsuki-chan, it's not easy carrying all this up a tree, you know."
"Your fault, not mine. I offered to help but you refused."
The six-year old boy sighed when the five-year old girl stuck his tongue out at him before retreating inside their tree house. He tugged at the bag slung over his shoulder and continued his way up. After what seemed like an eternity, the boy reached the entrance and hauled himself with extreme effort. He lay panting on the floor of their tree house for a few minutes. Man, was he tired...
Suddenly, a glass of grape juice was was placed beside him. The girl sat beside it and poked his face with her finger. She giggled when he looked at her with an annoyed expression.
"Good work today, Hiro-nii." She flashed him a thumbs-up and a cheeky grin. "Keep it up!"
He opened his mouth to retort when he heard voices below them.
"Hime-sama, your father is looking for you!"
The girl froze, horrified. "Hide, Hiro-nii! Don't let them see you!"
Too late. A man with dark glasses and suit appeared at the doorway of their hideout. His gaze fell on the gray-haired boy who was frozen behind the little girl.
"You again. I see you haven't learned your lesson." He approached the two kids. "I'll make sure you'll remember it this time."
Rough hands grabbed the boy's shoulders, taking him away from the little girl. He struggled but to no avail. Another man had climbed up to their treehouse and was restraining his friend, who was screaming her lungs out.
"HIRO-NII!" She was calling his name. The man grabbed him again when he tried to run to her. He saw her eyes widen in fear. "LET GO OF HIM! LET GOOO!" Her last word faded in his ears as the man holding her took her away. He could still hear her screaming even though he can no longer see her. "DON'T HURT HIRO-NII! PLEASE! DON'T —DON'T HURT HIM..."
Tears fell from his eyes. After all this, even though she knows that she'll be getting a beating from his father upon her return to their house, she was pleading for his safety. Instead of hers.
'Tsuki-chan..."
It was the last time the two friends saw each other.
The boy cried, completely forgetting the man still in the treehouse with them. A dark chuckle brought him to his senses. The man approached him, a wicked smile on his lips.
It was the boy's turn to scream.
"Report."
Akashi Seito sat at his desk, ready to listen. A young girl, the same age as his son, stood before him, still dressed in her school uniform. It's almost two months since she started being Seijuurou's bodyguard.
"Nothing suspicious so far. Though intel says they'll be making their move soon. Still unsure who the target is, though instinct tells me it's gonna be your turn. I've already given your bodyguards a heads-up. Seijuro will be fine with me."
"Thank you for the good work. You can go."
The girl bowed low before leaving. The door slammed shut, leaving the older Akashi alone once again in his vast study. His gaze locked momentarily on the only painting in the room. It was of a sakura tree in full bloom, a red bird on its branch, the silhouette of Mt. Fuji in the background. He pushed away from the table and went to stand beside the floor-length glass windows. Crimson eyes looked at the afternoon sky, an unreadable expression in them.
"Soon," he whispered. "Soon."
For the nth time that night, Akashi smiled and greeted another of his father's business partners.
"Good evening, Kobayashi-san."
"Such a fine young man!" He heard the woman say. Her eyes took in all his features, though she did look puzzled at his mismatched eyes. 'Definitely an Akashi.'
The party had reached its climax, and the guests were now dancing or simply socializing (read: making business proposals) with their fellow guests over goblets of wine. The Akashi heir sighed as he felt a slight headache coming on. Around his table, he listened as they smooth-talked one another to form mergers and alliances with them. The redhead was relieved that their company don't need those things. How unfortunate it would be for the one forcefully engaged to him. It somehow sickens him how this people can do that to their children — using them as political tools. His head throbbedd. And to think that he still has school and practice tomorrow, not to mention that they are preparing for the school festival as well.
He excused himself from the table and went out to the balcony of the huge pavillion. Illuminated by the light of the full moon, Akashi could see that it is overlooking a huge privet maze with a small pond and fountain at the center. He was still gazing at the scenery when he heard something drop behind him.
"You're supposed to be inside."
Akashi was caught unaware. He turned and saw Mizuki behind him. He could only make out her face and hair, the rest of her body was concealed by the darkness where she stood.
"I merely took a breath of fresh air." He replied, turning his back to her and looking at the view below him once again. Ten minutes later, he moved to head back inside when Mizuki stopped him.
"Don't touch anything on your table. I'll be there shortly to deal with the problem."
Akashi almost told her that she has no right to order him around, but the logical part of him says that this is for his own good and it is her job to keep him safe. So he merely nodded, not asking for an explanation although her words puzzled him.
'She's cryptic as always'.
The young heir made his way to his group slowly, taking his time to greet guests that he haven't able to welcome in person earlier. When he finally sat back down at his table, he wondered what Mizuki meant when she said that she'll deal with the problem herself. Putting that aside, he focused on the first part of her warning.
"Akashi-san, the waiters had made their rounds presenting a new kind of wine to the guests. We took the liberty of getting some for you, if you don't mind. It was actually good — you better taste it."
He looked at the speaker. It was Kazuto-san, head of a mining company under the Akashi Corp. At his gaze, the man fidgeted a little. Even at his age, Akashi can intimidate older people even by just looking at them. His heterochromia just made it more effective.
He was yet to reply to Kazuto-san when all his tablemates looked at something behind him. He followed suit and was greeted by the sight of a beautiful lady in a white and gold evening gown.
"What a beautiful lady!" One of them said in a hushed tone. "I wonder who she is..."
"She's a half-breed, must be one of the reasons why she doesn't look familiar."
The girl went straight to their table, a small smile on her lips. She bowed politely to the guests and said, "Good evening. I'm Cera Milfeulle. I'm sorry for the interuption but I would like to borrow Akashi-san for a while to have a word with him."
Golden eyes clashed with red and gold.
Akashi stood up and took her hand before bowing to the guests and muttering a small apology, saying he'll be back. As they disappeared into the crowd, everyone missed the way Kazuto clenched his hands angrily under the table while he eyed the untouched wine goblet meant for the redhead.
Except for a certain chartreusette.
"Green suits you better." The redhead said silently to his now blonde companion as they went somewhere far from his enemy.
"Can't expose myself like that." Her face was blank again, done with her small act. They stopped at a vacant table at the corner of the room. To Akashi's amusement, the girl motioned for a waiter and ordered a pizza. When the man said that it was not available, the girl told him to tell the cook to make one. When the waiter tried to protest, he found himself pinned by golden eyes. He bowed asking for forgiveness and told her that it will be ready in ten minutes. He was practically trembling when he left to head for the kitchen.
Akashi chuckled, his headache from earlier starting to fade away. Mizuki raised an eyebrow at his mirth.
"You scared him."
"He's stubborn."
"Hmmm." Akashi agreed. "...so this is what you mean by saying you'll be there shortly?"
"They are making their move already. It's better if you're nearby."
"How about my father?"
"He has his own bodyguards. They have been warned." She spotted the waiter weaving his way through the mass of people, carrying her order on a silver tray. Hands shaking, he placed it on their table and swiftly hightailed it out of there.
Unfortunately, the waiter has forgotten to include anp extra set of utensils for Akashi. The redhead didn't seem to notice. He was busy looking at the dancefloor, amused at the sight of someone or another.
Suddenly, the smell of pizza seemed to be closer to him. He turned to his table and found himself face-to-face with a pizza slice on a fork, courtesy of Mizuki. She was reaching across the table and offering said food to him.
"He forgot about you."
Akashi was not exactly hungry. Also, sharing utensils is frowned upon in the upper class of society, even if you're married or what. He should've refused her offer, but something about the gesture reminded him of his early years, back when his kind mother was still alive. Throwing etiquette out the window, he leaned and took the pizza in his mouth.
The two took turns eating the pizza until there were only two slices left, when the first scream came.
"Silencers," he heard Mizuki mutter. "Come." She stood up and pulled Akashi up as well.
And with that, the two ran across the room that was now in full chaos, through the mass of people who were now running for their safety as well. As they ran, Mizuki requested something from him.
"Can you trust me?"
"I'm afraid there aren't too many options..."
He saw her pull a gun and handed it to him without fuss, before pulling another one for herself. She was shooting even if they were on the move, and Akashi was impressed with her accuracy.
"Duck!" And Akashi did.
That's how they managed to make it to the balcony unscathed. The girl would say something which the redhead in tow would follow mindlessly. The pavillion which was a place of merrymaking just minutes before now turned into a sea of crimson and fallen bodies.
"And now we jump."
And they did. Mizuki stood behind him, arms round his waist, and without warning, she threw themselves over the edge of the terrace.
"Ugh..." Akashi shook his head to clear them of dizziness. Was this girl insane? He stood up, and offered his hand to the girl. She looked a bit shaken. 'Not that I'm not heavy to begin with,' he sighed. She had been the one to cushion their fall, yet not a grunt nor a whimper of pain came from her. Suddenly, he felt guilty. Again. Of all people who can serve as my bodyguard, why does it have to be a girl?
"We're not letting you off this easy... BRATS!"
Akashi's eyes widened as a man emerged from the bushes beside him. His gun was already aimed at his heart. His eyes saw everything in slow motion as the man grinned sadistically as he pulled the trigger. He saw a flash of blonde, heard the sound of metal whizzing through the air, felt something warm and wet splatter on his cheek, heard the sickening sound of torn flesh followed by a pained cry, and then a heavy thud as something heavy fell to the ground.
"Let's get out of here." Mizuki hissed, making the world to turn in its normal pace. Her hand clutched tightly at her shoulder, blood seeping through her wound and through her fingers, staining her white gown in drops of red.
"Let's tend to your wound first." Akashi blurted out, actually concerned at the amount of blood that flowed from her wound. At this rate, she'll die of blood loss.
"Later when we arrived at a secure place." Her voice was steady — nothing's changed, even her face was blank as ever. Just how much pain can she hold in?
With a shake of her head, her blonde wig came off, revealing her long green tresses. She took a step towards the direction of the parking lot when a ripping sound was heard. A firm hand on her arm held her in place.
"I said no."
The redhead had ripped off the hems of his shirt and used them to bandage her wound. He worked on her arm as gently as he could, taking care that he doesn't jostle her too much. Through the entire process, Mizuki hadn't spoken a single word. She just stood there, frozen on her feet. Her eyes snapped back to attention when Akashi told her that he was done and that they can now leave. Akashi watched from the corner of his eyes as she stared at her now bandaged arm. Her hand absently patted the knot, as if unsure of what to do with it, and then she shook her head lightly. But what surprised him was when she quietly muttered a word that made him smile unconsciously.
"Arigatō."
