"I wonder where Anri could be…" Mikado sighed loudly, stepping quietly across the diameter of the room. "She's just so much better at hide-and-seek!"
From outside the window shutters, Anri the chameleon blended into a flower pot, quite smug with herself as her tail flickered to match the brown of the pottery.
"I guess I'll just have to give up…HA!" Mikado snapped the shutters open. What met him was a breezy summer day and a few still flower pots.
He sighed. "I guess I was wrong…" There was so much disappointment infused in his voice that Anri instantly felt guilty, and she stepped out into the open.
"Gotcha! I tricked you! Wow!" Mikado laughed, then murmured to himself, "I didn't know I could do that…"
Anri climbed up to his shoulder, plopping down in her natural green colour. Mikado smiled. "So...ten games down, twenty more to go?"
Anri shook her head resolutely, instead choosing to leap off of Mikado's shoulder and point out towards the surrounding trees and rock of the only place Mikado had never been.
Outside.
Mikado sighed, picking Anri up to place her back on his shoulder. "We can't. Mother said not to. And anyways, it's not so bad in here!"
Mikado spun around in a flurry of black hair, beginning his regular day routine by using his hair as a pulley and pulling open all the windows, sunlight streaming in from all directions.
"Seven A.M., the usual morning line up," he sang under his breath as he swept the floors, "Start on the chores and sweep 'till the floor's all clean…"
"Polish and wax, do laundry and mop and shine up. Sweep again and by then it's like…seven fifteen," Mikado sighed, leaning on the stair railing he had just dusted.
He grabbed a few books off the shelf, "And so I'll read a book, or maybe two, or three…"
"I'll add a few new paintings to my gallery," he hummed, finishing the dress of a dancing girl on the wall.
Masaomi spent the rest of the morning attempting to strum the guitar, knit a knobby scarf that was already ten feet long, and fry eggs in a pan with only the heat of the sun. "I'll play guitar and knit and cook and basically just wonder, 'when will my life begin?'"
"Then after lunch it's puzzles and darts and baking," Masaomi hissed as he burn his finger on a pie, or rather, a bubbling black bog in a pie pan.
Mikado groaned as Anri made a check mate again, "Paper maché, a bit of ballet, and chess!"
"Pottery and ventriloquy, candle-making," Mikado smiled as he perfected the one hundred and fifty-sixth candle.
"Then I'll stretch, maybe sketch, take a climb, sew a dress!" He teared up as he pricked his finger on a needle, Anri soothing it with small scaled paws.
"And I'll re-read the books, if I have time to spare," Mikado flipped through 'So You're Stuck In A Tower For All Eternity?' for the millionth time.
"I'll paint the wall some more, I'm sure there's room somewhere," Mikado painted a tiny mouse on a scrap of wall behind the bookshelf.
Mikado sat in the rafters, running a comb through the rivers of black locks that seemed to fill the whole room. "And then I'll brush, and brush, and brush, and brush my hair." He sighed loudly as he finished. "Stuck in the same place I've always been."
"And I'll keep wondering, and wondering, and wondering, and wondering…When will my life begin?"
He looked towards the window, where the sunlight made everything brighter, only furthering Mikado's longing for the outside world.
"Tomorrow night...the lights will appear. Just like they do on my birthday each year." Mikado finished painting the last of his hair on a wall mural, depicting himself sitting on a tree as the floating lights flew gently above him in the night sky. "What is it like out there where they glow? Now that I'm older, mother might just let me go..."
"Wow," Masaomi sighed as he looked beyond the façade of the castle towards the houses and shops and trees sprawled beneath, crawling as far as the water, only connected to the outer world through a long bridge. "I need to get me one of these castles."
"Kida, let's go!" Shizuo growled from beside him, wearing breeches unusually fancy for the occasion. Tom stood beside him, calm and collected, the opposite of the temperamental blonde.
Masaomi sighed. "No rest for the wicked!"
Five minutes later found Masaomi being lowered through a loosened ceiling tile, gliding smoothly towards the object of all their troubles: a gold, jewel-encrusted tiara worth millions, sitting in on a velvet cushion atop a pedestal.
Whole lot of trouble for one measly crown, Masaomi thought as he snatched it up, giving Shizuo a thumbs up.
In front, one guard of many in a circle guarding the tiara sneezed, shattering the silence.
"Ugh. Allergies. Lucky I'm too magnificent to get them~!" Masaomi laughed, watching the guard turn in shocked outrage just as he was pulled back out through the roof.
Almost instantly, the alarm bells started to ring from the security towers around the castle. Masaomi let out a whoop as he leapt easily from rooftop to rooftop, not even pausing to slip on any shingles. As he leapt down towards the ground, he caught the glare of a black horse glaring down at him, mane billowing in the wind like smoke.
Masaomi gave the horse a salute as he slid down the ivy-draped walls, running off across the bridge with Tom and Shizuo, newfound prize in hand and a laugh in the air.
"It's almost time!" Mikado exclaimed to Anri as he paced the room, taking a glance at the clock every few minutes in anticipation. Anri hopped onto his hand, willing him to stop worrying.
"Sorry, Anri. I'm just anxious…What if she says no? What if she gets angry?" Mikado gasped at a realization, then whispered, "What if she takes away my paints?"
Anri wrapped her tail comfortingly around Mikado's pinkie, making him smile just as a voice floated up from the ground.
"Oh, Mikadooo~!" Izaya crooned below. "Let down your hair!"
"He's here! Hide!" Mikado whispered urgently, nudging Anri towards her usual hiding place within a vase in the bookcase.
Running to the window, Mikado looped his hair on the hook above and waited for Izaya to step on before starting to pull, a routine that he had perfected over the years. When Izaya stepped in, Mikado let go of his hair and let out a sigh. No matter how many times he did this, he never seemed to get stronger!
"Were you waiting for me, Mikado?" Izaya smiled, canines glinting as he patted the boy on the head and set his basket down on a nearby table, already cramped with the candles Mikado had made that morning.
"Um…yes! Actually, I have something to ask, and –"
"– first, let's comb your hair. Then you can tell me all about it," Izaya smirked. Mikado nodded hesitantly, then ran to grab a chair, stool, and comb, plopping his mother on the couch then sitting and starting to sing.
"Flower, gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine," Mikado sang quickly, Izaya glaring at the back of the boy's head before quickly beginning to comb through the strands that were already glowing a bright white. "Heal what has been hurt, change the fate's design. Save what once was lost, bring back what once was mine!"
If Mikado had turned around just then, he would've seen Izaya lose the grey in his hair and wrinkles around his face, the signs that set in after a day of being away from Mikado's hair. He set the comb down and planted his trademark smile on his face.
"And what did you have to tell me, Mikado?" He grinned at the boy's nervous demeanour. The teen was still caught under his thumb.
"U-Um…as you know, tomorrow is…my birthday!" Mikado blurted. "And I'm turning eighteen."
"Yes. Little Mikado-chan is still a child in my eyes," Izaya cooed, patting Mikado on the cheek with cold fingers.
"Right." Mikado took his mother's hand in his own. "So…t-there's only one thing I really want for my birthday…well what I've wanted for every birthday for the past fifteen years." He mumbled the last part, looking over to Anri whose head was poking out of the vase, urging him forward.
"Mm-hmm?" Izaya replied absentmindedly, peering over at the basket where he knew a new slice of otoro was waiting for him.
"I…I want to see the floating lights!" Mikado burst out, before covering his mouth, a blush painting his cheeks.
Izaya's smile froze on his face. He turned to Mikado slowly. "Oh, really?"
"U-Uhm, yes. I watch them every year a-and…" he flinched at Izaya's smile, the one that was slowly starting to look dangerous. "…and I know they're not stars b-because I've charted them right here!" Mikado climbed atop stool and pulled away a curtain over a portion of the wall showing the movement of the constellations throughout the year.
"T-They always show up on my birthday too, and…Ithinkthey'remeantforme!" Mikado cried all out quickly, eyes shut tight ready for rebuffing.
He listened for Izaya's footsteps as he walked close, then felt the man's hand on his forehead. His voice had an undertone of malevolence that Mikado didn't catch as he murmured, "Oh, Mikado, I can't let you do that~!"
"But –"
"Poor Mikado who can't even cook, going out into the big wide world? Never," Izaya cooed as Mikado opened his eyes and looked up at him.
"…But I've been learning how to protect myself, see?" Mikado held a book in front of his face, 'Combat For Dummies'. Izaya just laughed.
"Maybe someday, Mikado," Izaya lied.
"But…I really think I'm ready to –"
"You know why we stay up in this tower," Izaya started to croon.
"I know but –!"
"That's right, to keep you safe and sound!" Izaya grinned, standing melodramatically at the window with his hand to his forehead like a worried housewife before tugging the curtains shut. "Guess I always knew this day was coming, knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest…Soon, but not yet!"
"But –"
"Shh!" Izaya put his finger to Mikado's lips. "Trust me, pet. Mother knows best!"
All light was gone as Izaya slammed the wall to shut the ceiling windows. Even to this day, Mikado couldn't figure out how he did it. He lit one of his many candles in the darkness. "Mother knows best, listen to your mother. It's a scary world out there!" Izaya jumped out, Mikado letting out a yelp at his glinting red eyes.
"Mother knows best. One way or another, something will go wrong, I swear! Ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand, cannibals and snakes…the plague!" Izaya slinked around Mikado in the darkness, enjoying the effect of his singing reverberating against the walls, making it seem as if his voice was coming from everywhere at once.
"Also large bugs, men with pointy teeth, and –"
"Stop!" Mikado cried out, huddled on the ground and wrapped within a cocoon of his own hair. Izaya smirked, tossing away the rest of the verses of his song (And it was good one too! He thought with a tickle of irritation).
"I'm just saying 'cause I wuv you! Mother understands, mother's here to help you, all I have is one request!"
"Yes?" Mikado asked with a trembling voice and tears gathered at the corners of his eyes.
"Don't ever ask to leave this tower again," Izaya glared.
Mikado nodded, eyes wide as he quivered. Izaya pressed a quick peck to the boy's forehead.
"Don't forget it! You'll regret it. Mother knows best!"
"I'll be back tomorrow!" Izaya grinned up at Mikado as he lowered his mother to the ground out the window.
"I'll be here…waiting," Mikado sighed, waving his mother goodbye as she stepped out past the willows.
Anri could only try to comfort him with a pat to the cheek as he turned away from the window.
AN: This story's considerably sparser than my others in terms of word count…
And yes, this is gonna be semi-realistic, so the singing will be addressed later. Also, if you don't care to read lyrics, you can read the actions between them, because they aren't all carbon copies from the movie. I try to stick to characterization, so parts will be changed where it doesn't match the character. Though the whole plot of the movie will generally be the same.
If you follow my other stories, starting now they'll be sparser in updates because of a couple other projects I'm starting.
Enjoyed? Reviews would be supermegafoxyawesomehot! :D