Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the characters related to it. They all belong to Konomi Takeshi. Also, I do not own Fire Emblem or any of the elements from the series.
Rating: T for implied adult themes in certain chapters. K for the rest.
Author's Note: So I wanted to reply to reviews yesterday, but was all lagging and it was convinced the reviews didn't even exist in the first place. Silly.
And I wanted to post the next chapter with this one 'cause they're both kind of short... until I uploaded it and went "Omg, that's really too short!". *insert delay as I extend it a bit*
*thumbs up for reviews* Please enjoy :)
Part 1 - Chapter 8 - Marauders
Words didn't come close to explaining the satisfaction of a lock clicking open. Especially when it was due to something other than its original key. Pushing the door forward carefully, a older boy peered into the darkness and paused, listening for any signs of movement.
When he deemed it was safe, he lit a small torch and carefully checked for traps and protections. He found none and shut the door behind him before walking to a collection of treasure chests. Smirking, he pulled the lid of one of them and started to fill the bag he had brought with him with gold and other expensive looking treasure. He never took more than a bag's worth of treasure each time he broke in somewhere - he enjoyed the thrill of getting into places he shouldn't be more than settling down with the wealth he could have accumulated and having a quiet life.
Although sometimes he wished that he had somewhere to stay for a while with people that cared about him. His life only contained loneliness coupled with misery and frustration. His experience growing up was on the streets, fighting for food and trying to find safe places to stay, wasn't the ideal childhood by any means. One night out of curiosity, he tried his hand at stealing and found that he was particularly adept at it. It also meant he didn't end up physically hurting other people or hurt himself.
As luck turned his way, he ended up finding a group of marauders that pillaged a village sometime later on the east coast of Fudomine. After proving his worth to them, they took him on board their ship and he spent the days developing his skills as a thief and as a fighter with their guidance. They mostly stuck to villages and other ships, but one day, they found themselves at a castle when they needed to stop for supplies. It was too tempting - they crafted a plan to get in and obtain enough riches for a few years of relaxation.
Things started off well and they had made it all the way to the treasure room without incident. Kirihara was left outside since he served as the person to help push each of them up the wall. He waited idly, a bit aggravated that he wasn't able to go in with them. They promised him the next castle though, so he was looking forward to that. He would show them how fast he would be getting in and out unharmed.
Hours passed and they still did not return. He started to feel concerned and anxious - they never took that long on a mission. After heatedly debating with his conscience, he boasted up the courage and scaled the wall himself, able to find ways to cling to the small nooks and crannies on the otherwise smooth wall. As he found his way into the castle and into the treasure room with ease, he wondered what was so hard about breaking into a castle.
The piles of gold, expensive objects, jewels, and crowns that met his eyes overwhelmed him. Never had he ever seen so much wealth in his life and it was all there for his taking. He shoved as much of it into his bag that he could have - still mesmerized by the sight. At the same time, he felt a bit sickened by all of the greed that the nobles and aristocrats had - outraged at the fact that they experienced a life of comfort while people like him were left to fend for themselves with nobody to help them.
As he left the room and started heading out, wondering if he just happened to miss his band of thieves, he heard some voices down at the end of the hall, and he quickly hid behind a suit of armor and held his breath. It would have been unwise to get caught, but he wanted to hear what they were talking about, and it didn't look like they were going to approach his area.
After spending some time making sense of the conversation he was hearing, he figured out that his comrades had been captured and were going to be killed in the morning. He felt angered as the few soldiers were making fun of their captives and laughing about their impending doom like they were mere livestock. He found that he was unable to think clearly - the vicious animalistic side taking him over as he found himself hurtling down the hall, pulling out his dagger and taking wild slashes at them. He hit his mark with each swipe - all four soldiers lay dead on the ground with gashing wounds at the neck.
He had never killed anyone before - just injured them. A small part of him felt terrible for taking a life, but was immediately covered up with a pitiless cackle of victory. His voice echoed down the hall and he took off with a grin before the other soldiers were able to make it to the source of the noise. Once he was in the woods, safe from danger, the adrenaline drained out of him and he was able to think logically again. He struggled to remember what took over him and caused him to behave the way he did, but his memory was hazy - almost as if something else had taken him over. However, what was done was done, and there was nothing he could do about it.
From that moment, Kirihara Akaya vowed to work alone and to only steal from castles and noble residences. He was upset he lost the only group of people who had accepted him - that came as close to friends that he could have. He wasn't sure if he could bear losing another person close to him. As for stealing from the rich, it was his way of exacting revenge for the lives that were filled with desperation and hopelessness.
Back to the present situation, Kirihara had finally filled his bag of loot and escaped quickly, careful to not leave any signs that would identify him as the culprit. Another successful mission to add to his streak and food to eat the next day. He had enough to get him a few nights at an inn even and he found himself grinning in anticipation. The rest of the money that he didn't need would be left at a church to give to the poor - it was his way of easing of mind for the crimes he had committed.
