The White Knight.
What belongs to Laem will stay in Laem's soil. Blood, body, and mind. It doesn't matter that we are not Laem Empire anymore. We are still Laemian, proud children of Goddess Scheherazade.
-Laemian, two years after the Atomic Whiteness.-
It's dark.
Who was he kidding, though, of course it was dark. Stupid.
"Ryrrion Ashtare...!"
A sudden jolt of thunder woke him up from his morning stupor. He cried, pleading for mercy. Robed garments fluttered across the halls as they greet each other with useless, mundane greetings. He looked up from the table he passed out on the previous night.
"Good morning, dear one." A man with mismatched eyes greeted him, his wand already at the ready, as if fearing that he would suddenly lash out.
He gasps and shrieks in fear. "Now, now, that is not a proper way to greet your caretaker, yes? Come now, sweet one. Don't do that." He curled into a ball, clutching his head to his knees. "Ryrrion Ashtare..." Another jolt of thunder spiked his neck, earning a howl of pain from the pained little boy.
"L-Larhish Molares, Saige!" He cried out amidst of his own tears.
"Ah, dear one! How sweet of you to say a morning greeting in native Katalgo! I will reward you with something, okay?"
"Rie... Rie, Saige, Rie...! Rease!"
"I love you too, sweet one."
And then every cells within his body burned.
"Sweet Cheshire? Am I scratching you wrong somewhere?"
He woke up panting, and Uni was rather glad that he didn't wake up screaming. His brown eyes flitted around wildly in the throne room, where their Emperor sat across the room smiling to a bunch of morons trying to suck up his ass.
"Oh Uni, it's just you." He said, rolling his eyes. "Don't fucking call me 'sweet', it's just creepy."
An understanding smile rose from her lips as she nodded to her brother's most beloved cat. Cheshire. Sweet Cheshire. Sweet, beloved Cheshire who had given her brother everything he'd ever desire. The one who breaks through each and every wall Uni had always known to be 'boundaries' of this life.
Cheshire made them all seem like it was just a needle in a haystack. It blends so easily that you won't ever get it.
Stupid Uni, she remembered him saying as he skewered the very woman who had scorned her birth outside of the Giglio Nero soil. Who says that it's impossible to kill the Empress? Look, I'm doing it so easily.
Uni and Byakuran were blood-siblings. They were both scorned in the court for being born from the Emperor's mistress, a free woman who was a lowly magician hailing from Heliohapt, a small village at the end of Laem continent. Uni was the fourth imperial princess before Byakuran ordered Cheshire to kill the Empress and the other imperial prince and princesses.
She'd never seen him looking so vulnerable before. Never with the sheer panic his face seemed to display. Uni's heart pounded a little louder, clearly nervous. She had never seen anything that the little cat wouldn't be able to handle and she certainly hoped that it would stay like that.
"Cheshire?" Uni called once more, this time a little louder. The brown-haired cat took a deep breath and looked around once more with a calm and reassured look on his face. Uni smiled. "Is there something going on in your pretty little head?" She asked as the cat put his head back on Uni's lap with a smile on his face.
"How important do you think this meeting is?" He asked, but before Uni could answer, he already stood up and walked towards the Emperor's throne with light steps.
Lowly ruffian citizens of Daroth in far south of Laem scowled at the White Knight, but Uni could only laugh when the small, petite, and harmless-looking Cheshire taunted them all with his mere laugh.
"Dear Cheshire, love..." Byakuran began, obviously amused with his cat's behavior. "As much as I would want to humor you, love, I have to listen to this people. It is a matter of no importance, but it's still needed to be heard." Uni giggled when the Darothens spluttered like stupid schoolboys at the Emperor's statement.
The White Knight laughed even louder. "What is it that they're afraid of? Vindice?" Oh, here comes trouble. She knew how much Cheshire hated them. The Vindice were the main regent of Katalgo, the place where Byakuran had found him with no memories of himself. All he remembered was pain and suffering, Uni recalled.
"What do you reckon we should do, dearest?" Byakuran asked, crossing his legs on top of the other with a contemplating smile on his face. The White Knight grinned even wider.
"I think it's time for you to have a new continent, Byakuran."
Excitement.
Uni could feel excitement bubbling in her stomach as she saw that expression upon the Knight's face. His maddened expression had captivated both Uni and Byakuran. Not just because the way his lips seemed to curl up into a sadistic smile, or how his eyes were wide with sheer and utter confidence. No. But because the previous two times Cheshire had shown this kind of expression were the two times he had come home, bloodied and dying, with new continents for them to rule.
"Dear love, you have never failed me." Byakuran smirked, his eyes fixed on Uni, who smiled in return. "Yes, Cheshire. You are our one and only White Knight. And fail us, you will never do." She walked pass the ruffians with a warm, childlike smile on her face.
"I will send orders to Giotto immediately, precious cat. Which lands are you setting your eyes upon?"
Cheshire's grin faded into a smirk as he settled his wide doe-like eyes on the ruffians. "Run back home and tell those bastard magicians in Katalgo. Tell them that the White Knight and his Nuts will come and obliterate their home, so they should have the barriers up and wash their necks. Ahahahahaha!"
A maddened laughter sounded in the throne halls of the Calendula Castle as the ruffians of Laem ran back to their homeland.
Takeshi Yamamoto had always been the grinning idiot who fitted in with everyone else. In the military school, he was the most popular. He excelled in his battleship, everybody wanted to be his friend, and now he was serving the only Knighthood in the entire Holy Millefiore Empire as the one and only vassal of the war god himself. Everybody worshipped him.
But... that wasn't the case back when he was in his homeland.
Yamamoto had always kept it his own little secret. After all, you just aren't Laemian if you despise anything of the Laem soil. It was an oath that was never written. What belongs to Laem will stay in Laem's soil. Blood, body, and mind. It doesn't matter that we are not Laem Empire anymore. We are still Laemian, proud children of Goddess Scheherazade. Yamamoto always thought that it was ridiculous.
Everyone (and he really meant everyone) in Laem always had something in common, and that is the fact that they worship their Empress with all their heart and soul. His father was indifferent to that fact, he respected Lady Scheherazade Nerva, but he was never a crazed fanatic loyal follower of her. It was a fact that Yamamoto was always grateful of.
"Why are you guys so obsessed with her anyway?" Yamamoto had sounded the question at the third grade of grade school. It resulted with him being chased all around the Mron Nerva for asking a horridly stupid and insulting question regarding our most beloved Lady Scheherazade
From that day onwards, Yamamoto was shunned. Casted away. Avoided by everyone. But he honestly didn't care. Why? Because he will never ever believe that Empress Scheherazade Nerva was a Goddess sent from heaven to illuminate the path of the Laem Empire.
That was the very reason why he had convinced his father to move to Giglio Nero. He had heard of the Holy Millefiore Empire. They say that it was a country of uneducated savages who had a lazybum for an Emperor, and yet was extraordinarily rich and resourceful. And then he left, never to return again...
...until now.
The City of Mron Nerva had changed a lot since the last time he ran around it. It used to be packed, full of people glancing towards the coliseum or the Parthenon, Lady Empress' castle. Now, it was desolate and lonely. Although people were bustling, it just didn't have the same spark as before.
If any migrated Laemian returned to this soil, they must've been wailing in tears about how they wished their Lady Empress was here to return everything to how it was before. Hell, Yamamoto just knew that people still pray to her every day before they go to sleep. It didn't matter though, not to him. He will just go to the coliseum, drop off his and His Excellency's application form in the annual battleship tournament, and then leave.
But fate didn't seem to agree with him as he saw three of his former classmates blocking his entrance to the coliseum.
"Ehhh what's with the white uniform, Yamamoto?" Mochida Sturluson, son of a traitor who made peace with the Holy Millefiore Empire and become the town's regent, said condescendingly. "Yeah, dickhead, what's with the white uniform?" The buffy girl amidst them laughed.
"It's my military uniform, Sturluson, haha. Can I go through? My Excellency does not like to be kept waiting." It was the sheer truth. The last time he made His Excellency wait before they flew back to Magnostadt a few weeks ago, he had been forced to drive Nuts (which had no automatic control at all) back to Calendula Castle for the entire day and got kicked in the nuts as well by the White Knight.
"Your Excellency?" Mochida repeated, sounding five thousand times more annoying. "Are you serving the White Reaper now, unbeliever?!" Mochida spat on the ground, his two lackeys did the same thing while laughing. They ranted and ranted about how sinful Yamamoto was. And if he was sinful, he won't be blessed to ride his battleship and he won't be able to win against anybody.
Rolling his eyes, Yamamoto was tempted to just leave them until he heard something that greatly offended him.
"-that little shit, the White Reapers, I bet he's just a little brat who had no faith. Who chose a bloodstained flower as an insignia anyway? It's just fucking stu-!"
Yamamoto's eyes flickered angrily, a huge grin plastered on his face as his sword made contact with Mochida's throat. "I don't care if you insult me." Yamamoto said cheerfully. "I don't care if you call me unbeliever, which is the most berating thing a Laemian could ever hear. I don't care..." His grin faltered into a look of absolute anger. "But if you dare to insult His Excellency the White Knight and the Bloody White Orchid insignia... I will kill you and burn your corpse to seven hells before I spike your head in front of Lady Empress' grave, a reminder that you die a sinner."
"YOU are the fucking sinner!"
"Oh no..." Yamamoto said as he made a very thin slice on top of Mochida's throat. "You insulted my god. And thus, you are the sinner."
A frightened girly scream echoed through the coliseum, reaching certain light ears which belonged to the Master Pilot of Laem Empire, former mechanic of Calendula Hangar before retiring to the very prestigious position. The first Laemian to ever migrate to the Giglio Nero continent for a Neroish friend who was in need of his service...
"Oh my, I would have thought that after Giotto promoted him, Takeshi-kun would be calmer than before. Seems to me that I was wrong..."
It was a fine summer day in the Laem continent, Ugetsu Asari hummed.
Seriously, if Giotto hadn't known about Verde's tale of eternal unrequited love with the royal mistress Luce Rayspia, he would have thought that the scientist was in love with the White Knight of their Empire.
The things the green-headed professor would do for the crazy pilot were sometimes too out of the box to the point that Verde actually blown the box. If Giotto admitted the fact that he and the Emperor was the only people in the entire Empire to be able to tolerate Kozato's madness, he wasn't completely wrong. Because Verde didn't tolerate the White Knight's madness, he accommodated it.
Whenever Kozato kicked open Giotto's door, the blond will always be apprehended, annoyed, and asking to gods above what exactly had he done in his previous life to deserve such a calamity that was Kozato. But whenever Kozato kicked down Verde's door, the greenhead would look up from his empty sketchpad and ask what kind of explosion did he wish to occur.
Just like today earlier, when His Majesty the Emperor ordered Giotto to plan along a surprise invasion to Katalgo, Verde had been present in the throne hall as well. When it was announced that Kozato would be the one to launch the attack all by himself with only his unit as the main frontier, the little prick had latched on to Verde's shoulder, asking the greenheaded professor to make him a 'new toy'.
And then by sunset, here he was in the testing grounds, along with the White Knight and the Mad Professor. It would have been little more bearable if Yamamoto was here, but the kid was off drinking tea and exchanging polite Laemian jokes with Ugetsu, that was for sure. Giotto kind of wished to board a ship or ask for a court magician to teleport him to Mron Nerva.
"It's a laser beam again." Verde said as he gently stroke the metallic sword-like contraption. "Tested it with solid orichalcos-made box, went through it like a butter. I haven't tested it to a magic barrier, but I think-"
Kozato took the contraption and ordered the passing magician to stand in front of him. "I think that is not a good idea, Kozato-"
"Shut up, Minister."
The little kid's eyes widened as he shot the laser beam to the magician. A faint orange spark burst out violently, surrounding the kid from harm. The thing was about barriers was the fact that it was so protective about their magician, after all.
But it went through the barrier, and through the magician's chest as well. Kozato clapped his hands, along with Verde who showed a smug yet satisfied smile. "I love you, Verde!" He said as he hugged the greenhead scientist, who only smiled.
Giotto looked at the corpse of the poor magician, who lay there dying with shocked expression across his face. He hoped Katalgo's shields were stronger than that.
"Minister... sir, please, my lord, medics..."
Then the Minister turned away from the dying magician, his brows furrowed and a frown marred his face. He hated it, but if it was what it takes to win this war...
So be it.
"My Lord, please go back to your chambers, sir, I will have a potion brewed for you. You haven't gotten a decent sleep since Alejandro Fortress fell down and I am very wor-"
"Gokudera-kun, please, I am all right. I just have an unpleasant dream, that's all."
The two high members of the Vindice Kingdom walked through the dark corridors of Vendicare Palace. They were both garbed in their nightgowns, which fluttered on the floor in a soft voice that was barely audible to the ears.
Gokudera the Court Elementalist of Vindice Kingdom was about to ask a question that plagued his mind, but the Crown Prince shook his head and nod once, a signal for I will tell you later.
They walked towards the enormous veranda that overlooked the gleaming Namivoru city. The city that never sleeps really fitted the capital of their city. Always so beautiful. Always so sparkly. Always so... enchanting.
"What is it that you dream of, my lord?" Gokudera asked as he watched the Crown Prince sat on the railings, overlooking the golden-colored Namivoru. A soft sigh escaped from the brunet's lips as he looked upwards, to the ever glowing moon.
"He is screaming my name, Gokudera-kun." The Crown Prince said with a sad smile on his face. "He shouts for my help. He pleads me of my assistance. And yet, I..." There was a breeze to fill the comfortable silence between the two childhood friends. "Natsuhiko-sama..." Gokudera treaded gently, softly, with a breathy whisper of his lord's name. Gokudera hadn't called him with his name ever since he was made the military commander, after all.
"I dream of him almost every night, my friend..." He smiled painfully. "It all comes back to haunt me. Why? Why did I let him go to Katalgo alone? I... I didn't expect that-"
"I know, Natsuhiko-sama, I know. I know that you don't expect Mukuro to ambush him like that."
"Gokudera-kun, I... I miss my brother. I miss him so much..." Tears were now threatening to fall from his future king's face. Gokudera put his arms on the prince's slender waist and put his head on the boy's shoulder blade. "I know, my lord, I know..."
"Oh, Tsunayoshi... my love, my one and only brother, my everything. I miss you."
And Gokudera knew. He knew better than anyone.
Native Katalgo Tongue:
Larhish Molares - Praise to Molares. (Molares is a solar deity in Kalogo- a religion in Katalgo)
Saige - Sage, Professor
Rie - No
Rease - Please
Unbeliever: A derogatory term used by the Laemians to insult another Laemian. It is a common belief/religion in the Laem Continent that worships the Lady Empress Scheherazade Nerva in life and death. All Laemians believe that they are children of Lady Scheherazade. An Unbeliever is someone who doesn't believe in the Scheherazade as a goddess, he or she are thought to not be a children of Scheherazade and will be immediately treated as a traitor, outcast, and in extreme cases, outlaws. No real law has been made about this, not before or after her death.
Next: The Knighthood are leaving for Katalgo. The exalted prince and his magician comes to intervene. A huge explosion occur in the borders, leaving everything to Imperial Princess Uni to clean up the mess.
A/N: In case everybody hasn't noticed yet... even though Giotto's side is the main protagonists of this story, the Millefiore is actually the villain of this universe. That's why everyone in the Millefiore side are darker than their canonical counterpart.