Two weeks had passed sluggishly since the incident in the prince's bedroom, which wasn't nearly as bad as it sounded. I would suggest not using that exact line if you ever retell this story. That was a bad line. Let me rephrase that, please.
It had been two slow weeks since the attempt on the prince's life. The gardener had been fired, replaced by the gardener's apprentice, who was warned of the dangers of taking pot shots at the swans. However, Ino Yamanaka assured the king that she didn't even own a gun and that, unless he meant spitting watermelon seeds (which she wouldn't do either), there was no way she would take pot shots at swans.
Aoko's wound was healing quickly and neatly and so far there was no sign of infection. The relationship between her and the prince, whose cold improved remarkably quickly, did not change much in the following days, and the prince was as unthankful as ever. Though he wouldn't admit it, Aoko noticed that he had her doing less work and only work that could be done one-handed. Somewhere deep inside, Aoko knew that it was an improvement, however small it was.
At this exact moment in time, however, I find it important to skip to a place rather far from the castle. It was, in fact, located just outside of the town. This particular place was where the banished prince and those loyal to him stayed. He was supposed to have left the country, but you know how banished princes are. Right now, the prince was somewhat upset. Itachi Uchiha had lost a handful of his men to some maid. He was not in a good mood.
"If you want something done right," he murmured to himself from his spot in the chair set up in the middle of a dimly lit room that served as the throne room. "You have to do it yourself." He finished. He stood up, his dark eyes flashing in what little light there was. He swept aside his black robes patterned with red clouds, the coat worn by members of his resistance. Then he called his men to his side. Today would be the day. That little prince sitting pretty with his bodyguard would fall.
"Good morning, my lord," Aoko said, as cheerful as ever, as she opened the curtains with one hand. Her right arm was up in a sling. It was rather awkward to open heavy silk curtains with one hand, and the hand that was not your dominant hand at that, but she did it. That day, it was rather dreary no matter how cheerful the maid wishing you good morning was. Water dripped from the roof and rippled down the outside of the window. Luckily, the castle was not a leaky old shack, because then they'd be in trouble.
"'Morning," Sasuke replied distractedly from his spot in the bed, sitting up amongst the fancy pillows. Aoko crossed the room and went to the prince's dresser to collect clothes for him.
"I think I'd like to go riding today," the prince said suddenly. Aoko glanced up, outside, at the gray clouds covering the sky and doubtfully listened to the sound of rainfall.
"Maybe tomorrow, sire," Aoko suggested, putting the clothes over her arm and shutting the drawer. She headed back to the bed and laid the clothes at the foot of the prince's bed.
"I want to visit town," the prince said. Aoko looked up, startled.
"Why, whatever for, my lord?" she asked.
"I'll own it someday," the prince replied. "I want to see what needs changing so that I can plan ahead. I've already got some things on my list, besides banning towel animals, but the list is pretty short and I think it needs to be longer." Aoko watched the prince for a moment in silence.
"All right then," she said. The prince glanced at her. "I'll take you," she said, smiling. "No horses, though, not in town. You'll have to go on foot, because sadly you don't own a carriage. Make sure you dress warmly, then. We wouldn't want you to catch a cold. If you caught a cold, I'd have to do embroidery to pass the time, and to be honest, I'm terrible at it."
Despite himself, the prince laughed.
"Well, I can't sew at all," he pointed out. Aoko headed to the door.
"Neither can I," she said with a wink. She left, shutting the door behind her. Sasuke watched the door for a moment before crawling out of bed and, instead of collecting the clothes at the foot of his bed, knelt and reached under his bedside table. He came up with a little box of some sort and straightened up, sitting on the edge of his bed. He opened the box with a click.
Inside, a glass butterfly pendant sparkled cheerfully in the gray light that streamed through the window. The prince touched the pendant thoughtfully. He had heard from another maid that Aoko's birthday was coming quite soon, and he wanted to be prepared. It wasn't a birthday present, he kept telling himself. Just a little… thank-you for the good work. Shaking his head, he shut the box once more and hid it back underneath the table. It was surprisingly difficult to hide something from a maid, but after careful thought, he had found the one place Aoko didn't clean. He would've hid it in his underwear drawer, but sadly Aoko dug into there, too – every morning without fail.
Finally, the prince began getting dressed, but for some reason he kept glancing out the window. It was like… like something called him, dared him to leave the castle. He was planning on taking a walk anyway, with Aoko or not didn't matter. Rain on his parade didn't matter either. He wasn't scared of something as pitiful as rain.
Aoko opened an umbrella over the prince's head. Since she only had one arm available, she only had enough arms for one umbrella, which meant that (and this the prince noticed) she didn't have an umbrella for herself. In reply, the prince decided that he could, in fact, hold his own umbrella, and did so.
Startled as the umbrella was snatched out of her hands, Aoko stared at the prince, who refused to meet her eyes as he haughtily faced away from her with the umbrella. Aoko smiled slightly and pulled out a second umbrella, which she opened and held over her own head.
"Straight ahead, milord," she said. "I'll follow your lead, since I have no idea where we're going. Look out for cars and please stay on the sidewalk. It would be somewhat ironic if first you were mistaken for a swan and then you got hit by a car."
"When was I ever mistaken for a swan?" Sasuke scoffed, starting the walk with his shoulders back and his head held high. Aoko splashed after him.
"Well, what do you think the gardener thought you were?" she retorted. "A pigeon?"
"It's over anyway," the prince grumbled. "He's long gone. End of story."
"Right. I'm sorry," Aoko said. She hung her head pitifully.
The walk down the road leading the castle was somewhat quick and very silent except for the sound of their wet footsteps. Once they had made their way down to the town entrance located below the castle, somehow Aoko felt the need to mention something else.
"And no window shopping."
The prince turned to face her.
"I'm not a girl," he said distastefully. "I don't… window shop."
"Even if you saw a puppy?" Aoko challenged slyly.
"Especially if I saw a puppy," the prince said. "Those things just eat and bite and poop and eat some more and get mud on the carpets."
"Huh," Aoko said thoughtfully. "Funny, if I didn't know we were talking about puppies, I'd think you were describing yourself."
The prince shot Aoko a disapproving look, but he was actually having quite a bit of fun. None of his other maids provided such interesting conversation. They just said, 'oh, yes, my lord' and 'of course, Your Highness' and never contributed anything. Of course, Sasuke wasn't too sure that calling him a dog was much better than that.
"You do strike me as more of a cat person," Aoko continued.
"Mud and hairballs," the prince said meaningfully.
"Turtles?"
"About as interesting as a wooden rocking horse is to a thirty five-year-old."
"Talking parrot?"
"I had one once. His name was Chatterbox. I killed him in a state of half-sleep while he was in the middle of singing Beethoven. It was officially labeled an accident."
"Sheesh. Oh, a goldfish – have you ever had a goldfish?"
"He drowned," the prince finished. He looked up at the shop window as they passed by. His gaze lingered for a moment on the dress in the shop, with the thought (which he deemed foolish later) that it would have looked good on Aoko.
"Please tell me I imagined that," Aoko said matter-of-factly. The prince dragged his gaze away from the dress and set them firmly back on his feet.
"I was just thinking mom has one just like it," he grumbled, a lie of course. There were some things that nobody, including Aoko, needed to know. This was one of those things. The prince's hand moved to his pocket, where the little box sat comfortably nestled in the fabric at his hand. He had wanted to give Aoko her birthday present somewhere away from the castle where rumors spread like a cat's paws across a buttered ballroom floor.
If anyone from the castle saw something like that, he'd have his father at his arm giving that wink and nudge that he had gotten from his older brother at the playground when he was little and had realized for the first time that girls were marginally more attractive than a guinea pig (which was the one pet he didn't object to). He had never heard the end of it. Until, of course, his brother was banished and the problem was therefore solved.
"Look out!"
Aoko's umbrella went flying into the air, and Sasuke felt a rush of air before he was slammed to the side and, through the ringing in his ears, heard a warning honk and the sound of rubber against wet cobblestones fade away. There was heavy breathing that he somehow could not ignore right by his ear. He looked up and met the familiar warm blue eyes (how is it even possible for a cold color to be warm? Sasuke wondered) of his maid.
"What are you doing on top of me?" the prince spluttered.
"I thought you might not want to be Prince Pancake," Aoko explained, pushing herself up with one arm. "I… oh…" The prince followed her gaze to the small black velvet box that lay on the sidewalk about a foot away. It was wide open, and bits of colored glass littered the ground near it. Aoko sat up suddenly, crawling off the prince, as her wide eyes stuck to the box.
"Well, happy birthday," the prince said from the ground. So much for that idea. He stood up with a sigh and began brushing himself off, ignoring the light dusting of rain that he got for having no umbrella. He looked down at Aoko, who was still staring at the box on the ground. He sighed once more, but before he could say anything, Aoko's face broke out into a smile. The next thing he knew, Aoko was on her feet, and her arms were around him.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear, as though her birthday present was dangling from her neck and not in shards on the ground.
"That's going to be me in a minute," the prince wheezed. Aoko let go quickly, laughing.
"I'm sorry, I'm just so… well, I don't know what to say. Thank you so, so much. I'm sure it was very pretty, and I would've worn it right now," she said eagerly, looking back down at the colored glass. "Wow… a present from a prince, huh? I'll never forget this birthday."
Sasuke didn't quite understand. Wasn't it in pieces? Wasn't the present ruined? The beaming smile on Aoko's face was just how he had imagined it, if not better, but why was she smiling if she didn't have anything?
"Well, whatever," the prince grumbled, more in answer to his own questions. "Let's head back to the castle. That was it. And don't you dare tell anyone, okay? I found it lying around and thought you might want it, because I have no use for that kind of junk."
"Thank you, really," Aoko said. The prince met her laughing eyes, and before he could answer, he was encased in another bone-crushing hug. The prince didn't understand that either. It was a one-handed hug! How the heck did she get so much force in a one-handed hug?
"Smile," Aoko whispered. The prince's frown deepened. "You're rich. You're handsome," she continued. "Someday everything you see—"
"Will be mine, I know," the prince interrupted. "What do you mean by that?"
"And you've made someone happy," Aoko said, stepping back and tweaking his nose with light fingers as if he were a little child. "So smile. You've got nothing to frown about. Life is short. Embrace youth, enjoy your freedom."
"Now you sound like Sir Guy," the prince grumbled, but even he had to admit that he maybe smiled a very little bit. Aoko grinned back at him.
"Much better. Now come on; let's head back. I should…"
Aoko stopped suddenly, her smile replaced by a frown. She looked up, over the prince's shoulder. The prince's face broke into a frown as well.
"What's wrong?" he demanded. Aoko was silent for a moment.
"Birds," she murmured.
"What about them?" the prince asked, a terrible sense of foreboding coming over him. Aoko met his eyes, but her eyes were no longer smiling. She looked worried, and… scared.
"There are no birds," she said, her voice no more than a whisper. The prince was about to answer, but suddenly Aoko snatched his arm. The next thing he knew, the prince was being pulled along at an impossible speed, with Aoko's hand tight around his arm. A gunshot followed, breaking into the window and shattering the glass.
"We're lucky there's no one around," Aoko said, panting, as she bit the bandage wrapped around her right arm and yanked with her teeth, unraveling the fabric.
"What are you doing?" the prince demanded, but his eyes were wide in disbelieving understanding.
"My right hand is my dominate hand," Aoko replied as she yanked him down an alleyway. More gunshots followed, ricocheting off of the bricks and garbage can that sat by the entrance. Aoko pushed the prince's head down as another shot rang out. "I use my sword in my right hand," Aoko continued, leaving the alley and pulling the prince down an abandoned street.
"You use what?" the prince asked, startled. In reply, Aoko dropped her right hand and yanked at her skirt. The skirt tore with a loud ripping sound, and the prince turned bright pink before he realized she wore a second skirt, tighter than the first and with knee-length leggings underneath. He didn't know how he could've missed it, but a katana was strapped to her leg. She drew it firmly with her right hand and spun around, sliding to a stop, as she pulled the prince behind her with her left hand.
"Now's not the time for a full explanation, but I can give you a quick one," she said, her eyes darting around expectantly for signs of the enemy. "I was hired by your father to protect you from your older brother. Your life has been in danger for the better part of a few months now. I am a professional; I work for the Guild of Warriors."
"Then you're a ninja?" the prince asked, his eyes wide. Aoko glanced after him, a light smile on her lips.
"I like to think of myself more as a really badass accountant," she replied. "Now go, run! Get back to the castle. Hopefully I can hold them off."
"It's a sword against guns!" the prince said, waving his arms helplessly.
"Have you ever seen Indiana Jones?" Aoko asked, looking away from him.
"Um… maybe," the prince said, confused.
"Well, all he had was a whip. Now get going! Fast! I'll meet you back at the castle," Aoko said. A dark shape appeared at the end of the street, and Aoko cursed. "Just stand back," she warned, pushing him hard and bringing her other hand up to grip the hilt of her katana. "Whatever you do, don't you dare get involved."
"So, so, so," said a familiar cold voice that sent chills up Sasuke's spine and sent his mind into a state of shock. His eyes widened as the red shapes of clouds appeared in the humid air left by that morning's downpour.
"Funny," the voice continued. "I thought you said you'd never get involved with girls, Sasuke-chan. Adorable as always, I see. You still haven't lost all your baby fat."
"Itachi Uchiha," Aoko called. "By the royal decree of April 23rd, you are banished to the Land of Rice Paddies for an attempt on the king's life. By coming back to Konoha, you have been sentenced to death. I am authorized to take your life. Do you understand?"
"I didn't ask you," Itachi said coolly. "I was talking to my brother. We're having a very nice little reunion. Please stay out of this."
Aoko's hand tightened on the hilt.
"Do you understand?" she repeated, gritting her teeth. Itachi didn't reply. Before the prince even realized what was happening, Aoko was off with a splash, her sword held at the ready, flying across the ground towards Itachi. Itachi brought a knife up to meet her katana. There was a clang as the blades met.
"I guess I'll just have to take care of you first," Itachi murmured, pulling his sword away. In a flash, he disappeared and reappeared across the street. Aoko's ear twitched as the very faint sound of a gun cocking met her ears. She dove aside just as there was an explosion where she had been standing only moments before. She charged at Itachi, and the prince's eyes could not follow the speed of the two blades as the blurs of shape fought.
They broke apart once more, Aoko whirling to a stop. She looked down at her arm, the one that had been injured weeks before. The wound had reopened from a long slice across her skin from Itachi's blade. He smiled slightly at this, and then frowned as a handful of his hair fluttered to the ground. Blood dripped down his forehead.
"Touché," Itachi murmured, wiping his hand across his forehead. Aoko smiled.
"Seems we're equally matched," she said.
"Wrong," Itachi replied. "You see, I have my men."
Aoko whipped around as shadows detached themselves from the sides of the building behind Sasuke. The prince whipped around as the two men crept up on him. Within moments, Aoko had appeared back at his side, her sword held in her left hand and her right holding the prince protectively.
"What a way to spend a birthday," Aoko said wryly. "Your older brother is a real party pooper, huh? Oh, well."
"Father will have your head," Sasuke warned, his hands balling into fists as he glowered at his older brother. Itachi shrugged.
"Every story has to have a bad guy," he said.
"Yes, but does he have to be so cute?" Aoko asked aloud. "I mean, would it be too much to ask to have some old man to fight? It'd be a mite easier then, I daresay, rather than having to kill an attractive young man."
"Pay attention," Sasuke snapped.
"Easy for you to say," Aoko retorted. "I'll bet you've never had this problem. To mar or not to mar, that is the question…" Without warning, she shot forward, leaving Sasuke momentarily unprotected, and brought her sword around full-force into Itachi's. He wasn't fast enough, and he had to duck rather than block it. Aoko responded with a roundhouse kick that landed neatly at his chin and sent him flying. "To mar," she said cheerfully. Then she was back at Sasuke's side, with her sword in the chest of the man who had begun to attack.
"You need to get back to the castle, my lord," Aoko said, turning to the young prince as she straightened up and the man slid off her sword. The prince was staring in horror at the bloodied katana. "Once you get back to the castle, the guards can protect you," Aoko continued, talking while she took down another man. "I can't hold them off for forever while protecting you. You'll need to—"
Sasuke whirled around. Itachi was up and heading straight for him, his weapon at the ready. Aoko yanked Sasuke out of the way and brought her sword up to meet Itachi's, but this time it was her turn to be caught off guard. Her sword spun out of her hands. Without a choice, she ducked under Itachi, pulling Sasuke with her, pushed the prince to the side, and dove for her sword.
As she was coming up, sword in hand, there was a twanging sound, followed shortly by the tearing sound of cloth. The prince was frozen on his knees where he had fallen, his eyes wide. He saw the arrow make contact with her flesh, he saw the blood drip from her mouth, and he saw her fall in slow motion to the ground. His mind was blank. He could no longer fathom what happened in front of him. It has to be a dream, he thought. There's no way it can be real. He fell to his knees, into the water, as though following her descent.
She hit the ground with a splash, and the prince felt the cold ripples from the puddle reach his knees. His eyes stayed locked on his best friend who lay broken on the ground, her eyes vacant. Her mouth was open in a silent scream, and the feathered shaft of the arrow was just level with the ground. Her arm dangled limply at her side, her hand still tightly closed around her katana as her fingers trembled slightly, whether because of the pain or because of postmortem muscle spasms, the prince could not tell.
The prince was numb. He could feel nothing, think nothing. All he could do was watch, standing frozen. She had given her life for him, for the person who had made her life miserable. How could he forget that? How could he ever forgive himself, now that she was gone because of him? Feeling returned to his limbs, and he paid no mind to the tears that coursed down his face as he crawled on his hands and knees, trembling, to her side.
He looked up at his brother, who held a crossbow in his hands. Somehow Itachi had planned this, just how it had played out. Somehow he had had a concealed weapon all along, something with enough force at point-blank range to kill with one well-placed blow. Sasuke set his jaw, trembling with rage.
"Fine," he said with barely contained anger and obvious contempt. "It seems I'll have to take out this garbage myself. Prepare yourself, brother."
"Oh?" Itachi asked as he dropped the crossbow and pulled out his own sword. The wooden weapon clattered to the ground as the blade glinted in the gray light. "You really think you can now, or have you forgotten all those times I beat you in swordplay in the courtyard? You always have been worthless, you know – nothing more than a little child who went crying to his mother whenever he was disarmed."
"Those were games," Sasuke retorted. He looked back down at Aoko's hand, and then reached for her sword, gently releasing her cold fingers from the hilt. He stood up to face his brother, Aoko's sword in his hands. "Where are your men now, I wonder?" he sneered.
"They have their orders," Itachi replied. "I told them to leave you alone. I wanted to take care of you myself. Your kind of scum is only slightly better than some commoner scum, as that of a peasant maid."
"She wasn't actually a maid, you know," Sasuke pointed out. "Maybe she was the duchess's third cousin once removed. Everybody's an illegitimate noble these days."
Itachi quirked a smile.
"I see she rubbed off on you somewhat," he said. "You were never so witty."
"I was seven," Sasuke snarled. His grip tightened on the sword. "Enough talk. I've wanted to do this for a while now."
"What, die by the hand of your older brother?" Itachi teased, holding his arms wide. "Come to my arms, brother! I'll give you the first hit on the house. You'll need it."
In reply, Sasuke charged. He would wipe that smile right off of his brother's face.
Their blades met.
"What happened to a free hit?" Sasuke asked indignantly. His brother's teeth glinted as he smiled, his sword held casually with one hand to block Sasuke's two-handed strike.
"I changed my mind," he said, and his other hand appeared.
Sasuke felt arms around his chest, and the next thing he knew, a knife flashed under his nose as he was pulled backward. He heard the labored breathing by his ear, he could feel the weight of his savior struggling to stay upright, and he knew who it was before he even turned around.
"Please let me handle this, my lord," she whispered. "This… is my job. I get paid for this, believe it or not. You need to… to get back to the castle as quickly as possible."
"And leave you? Of course not," Sasuke snapped, shaking her off. "I'll take care of this, and you get back to the castle and get the doctor!"
"It's nice of you to suggest it," Aoko replied, putting a hand on his shoulder to hold him back. "But I don't think… that you could, even if you… if you tried." She coughed and put a hand to her mouth as she doubled over in pain, blood slipping through her fingers.
"In a movie I'd just stand here until you finished," Itachi said from the sidelines. "Sadly, this is reality. I don't need to tell you to prepare yourself, so—"
"Shut up, you bastard," Aoko growled. Her hand, slippery with her own blood, grasped Sasuke's and the sword was slipped from his hand. Sasuke looked up at her in horror as she pulled him back behind herself with her arm, in the same position she had been moments before she had fallen.
"I am a prince, you know," Itachi spat, holding his own sword high.
"Yeah," Aoko said in mock agreement. "You're a prince, and I'm the sun goddess."
She dove forward unsteadily and their swords met once more. Her eyes were somewhat dull, and she was trying to focus even though her vision was failing her.
"Fire style," Itachi said. Aoko broke away and leaped over Sasuke, pinning him to the ground, as a burst of flames singed her clothing just a little too close for comfort. Flames in the rain, Aoko thought somewhat distantly. How ironic.
"Okay," Aoko said finally, getting unsteadily to her feet and swaying slightly. "I guess… it's only fair if I get to do some cool stuff too, so… here goes."
She smiled somewhat sadly. "Take care of yourself, my lord," she murmured. Sasuke looked up at her quickly, but he could only see her back. "Smile," she continued. "You're rich, you're handsome. Someday… soon… everything you see will be yours."
Like lightning, she raced forward, and somehow Sasuke knew that this was the last time. There was a flash of light, and Sasuke covered his eyes as he was momentarily blinded. In the flash of light, he could've sworn he saw an angel smiling down at him before everything just as suddenly went black.
