A/N: Class, work…Sorry guys it's taking so long to get updates. I'm really trying. This chapter is a bit different ten most, but crucial to the story line. This is all about Reisho, and how he got to be where he is today. Mind you, he's six years older than Michiru, and eight older than Haruka. Just for clarification.
Disclaimer: I do not own either of these gorgeous ladies. However, Reisho, that demon, is my own creation.
20 Years Earlier.
A small boy, no more than ten years old sat on a bakery's roof, his eyes glued to the rack of fresh bread that the baker had pulled from the oven. He licked his lips as he inhaled the smell of fresh bread, his stomach giving a lurch. He hung by his knees from a wooden pole that stuck from the light brown building. His tongue protruding from between his teeth as he reached towards a rack of the bread, his fingers groping the air, until he finally seized a loaf. He smiled wide as he climbed back onto the roof holding, almost triumphantly, a loaf of freshly baked honey bread, the pride of Miranda.
The scrawny young kid wore what appeared to be a dirty tunic and a pair of tattered breeches, but upon closer inspection, the dirty tunic turned out to be a discarded pillowcase from the palace. He held the bread tightly against his chest possessively as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, finally coming to rest in a small stall-like structure with cloth for walls. He smiled widely as he gobbled the bread down, falling asleep afterwards, his hunger satiated for a small while.
He continued his fight for survival, having been on his own for nearly three years, his parents dying of the avian flu plague that infected the wind planet. He, for some reason, had been spared, and had taken to the streets, stealing food for his livelihood. He had never been caught, until, one fateful day.
He had spied a fresh fruit vendor, filled to the brim with fresh melons, apples, and oranges from the northern colonies of Uranus, and exotic fruits from the planet of Neptune, Uranus' best trading partner. He felt his mouth salivate at the thought of a fresh Neptunian goindi (a small fruit much like a cross between a pineapple and a pomegranate.) He snuck over, hiding behind a vendor's cart who was selling "priceless Plutonian artifacts", and eyed the fruit, his eyes lustful. He started forward, the sand causing his black hair to look almost light brown, and began to run, grabbing the burnt orangish-fruit, and began to run away happily, a strong hand catching him by the pillowcase.
"Now, where do you think you're going, lad?" the man who had grabbed him had a booming voice, and wore the navy blue armor of the Uranian army. The small boy dropped the goindi, it rolling through the crowded streets and stomped into the dirt. He turned his eyes towards the soldier, glaring at him. He squirmed.
"Ye'll let me down, ye hear!?" he yelled, causing the soldier to chuckle. This only angered the boy. "What ye laughing at? Eh?! I's nothing for ye to laugh at, so ye best set me down all nice like and let me be," this only caused the soldier to chuckle harder still.
"What's your name, lad?" the boy stiffened in his hand, the man setting him down, yet keeping one hand on his shoulder, keeping him from sprinting away. The dirty kid looked at him for a moment before deciding to answer.
"Reisho, sir. Takata Reisho, son of Takata Yosi and Jun," he fell silent, a stinging sensation finding it's way into his eyes. He blinked repeatedly, trying to force the tears away from the mention of his parents. The months he had spent on the cold, heartlss streets of Miranda had taught him several lessons. One: show no weakness. Two: no one is more important than yourself, and your own wants and desires. The soldier bent down, making it so he wasn't towering over the lanky child.
"How old are you, lad? No more than eight, I'd say…" his voice was soft as he studied Reisho's attire. "How long have you been wandering the streets?" he smiled at him, ruffling his hair as young Reisho smiled trustingly at him.
"I'm ten, now. My birthday was last week," he beamed. The soldier laughed once again, beginning to walk down the street, the young boy chattering away. "Hey, wait a second…what's ye name, soldier-man?"
"I'm Kazuo, my lad. Head of the lower guard," he smiled. The boy stopped for a moment, looking at him, almost puzzled. The guard questioned him again. "Where's your parents? Instead of stealing that goindi, you should have asked for the money to buy it…"
"They died, in plague, soldier-man. I didn't wanna be sent to no home for kids without parents, so I ran. I live on the streets for three years," he nodded, asserting his point, seeming quite pleased with himself. Kazuo studied him for a moment.
"Well, because of those plagues, the king started a program, to help boys such as yourself," he entered a side street, leading the boy to his home, which was nothing much, his wife out at the market with the kids. Reisho sat down.
"A program? What kinda program, soldier-man?" he spun on the small stool in front of a wood workers table. Kazuo sat down at the weather beaten table.
"You enter the palace as a servant, and when you turn 17, you enter the army. Unless, you want to enter the officers training, then, you enter now, and you will train to be a knight. And, you will be knighted when you are 17. Savvy?" Kazuo lit a pipe, while Reisho thought for a moment.
"You mean, one day, I could wear armor like yours?" he beamed at the set of gorgeous blue armor. Kazuo chuckled.
"Of course, boy. Though, you may get to wear the silver armor worn by the knights if you so choose," he puffed a bit on the ivory pipe. Reisho looked at him for a moment.
"Who wears the gold armor? I saw a man wearing it once. I wanted a set, and he had a blue sword. I didn't know swords could be blue!" he had begun to ramble in his excitement, which caused the jolly Kazuo to laugh once again.
"The general of the entire Uranian forces wears the gold armor, and carries the blue sword. A very famous sword-maker made that sword, and only the general can carry it," he packed the white instrument he held with more tobacco, and struck a match.
"Well, then I'm gonna be general someday! You wait and see!"
"No, not now you won't," he moved from the table to a recliner in the corner. Reisho stared at him.
"Why do you say that, soldier-man? I will be. I'mma be the best soldier they ever sees! You watch!"
"No, but you don't understand. It'd be different, if Princess Haruka hadn't been born," he relaxed, kicking off his boots.
"Why does it matter if some princess was born, eh? She's a girl," he moved, taking a small piece of candy from the table, thinking Kazuo hadn't seen him.
"Yeah, she is a girl, but, because Queen Serenity, our fair queen of this Solar System, dubbed her Haruka, she is to be the first female general in nearly two millennia."
"I dun get it. How can a girl be general, eh?"
"I'm not sure, lad. I just know it's tradition for the Uranian princess with the name Haruka to be a knight, and to be a general. Queen Serenity is wise beyond her years, and she chooses the names for the royal families. If this girl is Haruka...she will lead our planet to greatness," he puffed happily on his pipe, unaware of what the future held.
"Well…then I'll marry her! She can stay at home, and have babies, and I'll be general," he shouted, moving to stand on the table, his arm outstretched as if he were brandishing a sword. Kazuo shooed him from the table.
"You have ambition, my lad, just like a true Uranian should," he laughed, and then continued to tell the boy the legend of Uranus and Neptune, Reisho looking on in wonder.
4 Years Later
He had entered the knight training the followed day after meeting Kazuo, who had become much like his father figure. However, the young, rather eager knight-in-training was very bored with his latest assignment: baby-sitting duty. He had went to the practice ring that morning, only to be told by his captain that he was told to watch the young Princess Haruka and the young Princess Michiru play, to make sure they didn't cause harm to each other. He groaned, watching the two girls playing "damsel-in-distress", which was the blonde haired princess' favorite game.
Young Princess Haruka had long blonde hair that waved in the breeze, wearing a small suit of blue armor, with gold detailing, and a long golden cape. He laughed when she rode out on a stick horse, coming to "save" the young Michiru from a stuffed pink bear who was bent on eating her. They grew bored quickly with the vile teddy, moving on to having a red otter as the villain, and finally, a purple hippopotamus. Reisho, with his shaggy black hair and his growing body was in awe of the young Haruka, and her valiant behavior, even from such a young age. She knew how knights should behave, and would pull out the small chair for Michiru when they sat down for their tea, brought in by her nanny. They giggled, chatting about their mommy's and daddy's, and other things that six and eight year olds would talk about.
Michiru spent several days at Miranda palace, sleeping in Haruka's bed, the two of them giggling into the night. Reisho was placed on babysitting duty each day after the girls said they liked him best, that the other boy had been "grumpy" as they put it. The final day of Michiru and her families visit, they asked the young trainee to be their villain. He agreed, and they both giggled, going to find a sheet in which to drape around his body. Reisho placed his knights helm on, shielding his eyes, and would kidnap Michiru, laughing manically.
"You best come find her, Lady Haruka, or I'm going to make her mine!" he shouted, slipping far into character. Michiru was hiding in a closet, her eyes on the young blonde girl, who came over, clutching a tiny sword to her chest.
"You won'ts touch her, Reisho!" she shouted, jumped after him with the toy sword. Reisho parried her attacks with a broom, and knocked her to the ground. He went to apologize, the blonde shoving her sword at his throat. He stopped for a moment, and knocked the sword away, pointing it at her chest, his eyes narrowing. Haruka's eyes followed the broom up to his hand, her grey eyes meeting his dark brown ones. "You lets me up…" her voice was demanding, and cool. His eyes narrowed more, the young blonde girl making him feel threatened for some unknown reason.
"I'm going to kill your parents, Lady Haruka…and then…I'm going to take away your pride, and everything there is to you. After I'm done ripping your heart to shreds, I'm going to do that same to your little friend," his voice was dangerous sounding, but he instantly straightened up, and backed away, dropping the broom to help Haruka up. The princess was shaking some, but giggled, going to find Michiru.
Michiru emerged from the closet, laughing with the blonde. Reisho looked at her as she walked over to him.
"Would you be the hero or the villain Reisho?" she questioned. Her voice was as clear as a bell, her tiny blue dress perfect. He laughed softly.
"I'd be a villain in disguise, little one. I'd make the world love me…and then, I would attack when they least expected it," he stood back up when Michiru's father walked into the room. He waved to her as the two princess' ran from the room, the King or Uranus and Neptune shaking their heads, laughing to one another.
What the young Reisho didn't realize, or, if he did, it was the most cleverly laid plot in probably the history of the world. What he had done, was plant the seed of the downfall of the fall of Uranus.