Other assassin bodyguard: Hyde
Singer: Yuki of Raphael
Knight: Kazuki of Raphael
Knight: Hiro of Raphael
Knight: Kohta of Pierrot
Boatguy (prince in disguise): Klaha
Mysterious ghost: hide
Dragon: (*sniffles* need a dragon)
Evil Guy: Gackt
Magician: Yukito of Raphael
Dancers: Toshiya (DEG) and Katsura (Baiser)
Gypsies: Members of La’Cryma Christi and Alienne M’arriage(<--or however the hell you spell that ><)
Holy Mission~pt. 1
The sunlight shone through the window of the northeast tower and as sunbeams tend to do, shone directly on Tetsu’s face, waiting for him to open his eyes so that it could make him scream. As it expected (if sunbeams can expect anything), he opened his eyes, screamed a curse as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to scoot away from it. This in turn woke his lover, who was using him as a very comfortable warm pillow.
Hyde moaned as he raised his head and opened his eyes. It was morning already….He was about to move away but Tetsu’s hand gently pushed Hyde’s head back down on his chest. “Tet-chan!”
“It’s not morning. Go back to sleep.”
“What do you mean, it’s not morning?” Hyde asked and looked up at his lover, who’s eyes were closed. “The sun is out. It’s morning.” His voice held the tone of one, who didn’t want to accept the obvious but had no choice but to. He sighed as he moved up and stroked Tetsu’s forehead. He spoke again but this time with some sadness. “You know what that means…”
“Well, to me it’s dark. It’s not morning. It’s dark and you are here with me and we’re in bed. That means it’s not morning.”
Hyde scowled. “And how do you explain the birds singing?”
“’Tis the nightingales.” Tetsu replied, quickly.
“And that beam of sunlight that caught you in the eyes and probably was the reason that you made you scream and turn over, disturbing my sleep?”
“The loyal royal magician practicing his golf swing on the castle battlements like he tends to do.”
Hyde rolled his eyes and stroked the hair out of Tetsu’s face. He admired the pale skin under his hands and the smoothness. He caressed Tetsu’s lips with his fingers and kissed the eyelids. “Nice try, Tet-chan. Yukito doesn’t golf. His predecessor used to. Yukito knows better than to use his powers to shine light all over the place just to practice a silly sport. It is morning. A beautiful one at that…” He said, sadly. Why couldn’t the weather follow his mood and be gloomy? It’d be easier to say goodbye. It felt terrible to say fare well to his love whom he wouldn’t see in three months on a beautiful cheerful day. “Now, wake up.”
“Are you in that in a hurry to get rid of me?” Tetsu asked.
“Bakayarou. If I knew it wouldn’t get me in trouble, I’d tie you here to the bed and never let you out of my sight.”
Tetsu cracked open an eye to look at Hyde. “Oo…I like the sound of that. Just pretend you didn’t know that you’d get in trouble.”
“And have the queen kick my ass?”
“I’ll kiss it better…”
“No. Now wake up and get ready.” Tetsu was about to say something but Hyde hushed him with a finger to his lips. Tetsu smiled and began to suck on Hyde’s finger as he contined, “The faster we get this over with and the faster you get out of here…maybe, the faster you come back.”
Tetsu let go of Hyde’s finger. “Strange logic.” Hyde moved off of him, and draped himself in a robe. Tetsu whined with the loss of a human blanket. Hyde went through the wardrobe and tossed him his clothes. Tight soft black tunic, hose, leather black breeches, and soft black leather boots. Tetsu ducked as one boot ricocheted off the wall and landed on his lap. Hyde knelt at the bottom of the wardrobe and opened a drawer. He took two tan leather pouches and carried it to the bed. He untied the leather strings on each pouch, unrolled it and brushed his hand against each throwing knife, which to untrained eyes, looked exactly like the one next to it.. Tetsu pulled up his breeches and looked over to see what Hyde what was doing. “Mm…..the number thirteen, the eight, the fifteen and the ten.” Hyde nodded and grabbed a long black leather strap with little sheaths in it. He took out the four knives and placed it in the small sheaths. He untied and unrolled the other leather pouch and Tetsu peered over again. These were long knives. “The twelve, seven, nine, eleven and seventeen.” Hyde nodded, took out another leather strap and placed the knives in it.
Tetsu had managed to get into most of his clothes and hopped around the room pulling on his boots. Finally, he got them on and moved toward Hyde, who carefully strapped the leather around his lover’s body. There was a knock on the door. “Come in!” Hyde said as he took another leather strap, this one full of tiny vials and wrapped it around Tetsu’s waist. Four servants came in and took Tetsu’s saddlebags. “Matte!!” Hyde yelled out. The servants froze as Tetsu tied up the pouches and shoved them in one of the bags. “You may take them down now.” The servants bowed their heads in respect and disappeared down to the stables with them. Hyde sighed and sat on the bed and looked up at Tetsu. A man in black stood there and looked at him then smiled. “His Majesty’s Assassin.”
“Hyde. Don’t say that. I’m not his assassin until I am standing there and he’s commanding me.” He smiled and Hyde bit his lip. “Hyde…you have to get ready too. You’re his Highness’s Assassin…Hyde, what’s wrong?”
“You! You’re what’s wrong. You’ll be gone for six months!!” Tetsu moved to the wardrobe and picked out Hyde’s own uniform while Hyde ranted. He hated it. He knew that it was necessary for the Queen to meet with the King of a different country, to confirm their engagement and create an alliance, but he didn’t want it to take his Tetsu away. “We’ve never been apart for more than three days!! We are a team!!” he stood up and paced around the room with Tetsu trailed after him. “We’ve been a team ever since we were three!! Even before we went to the royal school to be assassins!!!” Hyde kept pacing as Tetsu undid Hyde’s robe. A furious naked Hyde went on, “I know that it’s necessary for you to go because, well, you are who you are and I know that it’s necessary for the Queen to go.” He struggled into the tunic that Tetsu draped him in. “But why can’t I go with you?”
“We’ve been through this. You are needed here with Hiron and Seiji to protect as well as serve Prince Miyu and Princess Nene.” Tetsu tackled Hyde to the bed and managed to put some pants on him. Hyde squirmed as Tetsu did so. “Now….get some clothes on and then we can go downstairs, have some breakfast and you can give me my proper send off.”
“I thought I did that last night.”
Tetsu smirked as he took out Hyde’s own weapons. “You know what I mean.”
Two hours later, a small crowd gathered around the stables to see off the royal party. The Queen held his reigns tightly as he sat gracefully on his white horse and pretended to listen to his son’s lecturing. A few feet away from him, a seemingly young girl on a white horse sat, wearing almost the same thing as the Queen but tailored down and played nervously with her blue curls. He/she looked uncomfortable with the hairstyle that her/his queen made her wear but knew better than to mention it. A young man in white and blue livery stood next to her, chewing on his liprings. His hair was dark long and curled, making him look like a girl but when he spoke it was clear that he was a young man, who was very worried.
“M-chan!! I hope you’re listening! Don’t be stubborn!! If something happens, don’t be stupid and think you can handle everything!! And watch your language!! You don’t sound very ladylike when you start swearing because things don’t go your way.” The other rolled her/his eyes and sighed. “Don’t act that way! I want you to come home safely!!”
Hyde took a look at those two and allowed himself a small smile. He wasn’t the only one worried about saying his farewells to his loved on. A few feet away from those two sat a taller slender looking woman with the same uniform sat comfortably on her horse but instead of her lover scolding her like her colleague, the young man in the same white and blue livery held her hand. They said nothing but instead communicated through body language. Hyde followed Tetsu and watched as the other man mounted his horse and Hyde sighed. Tetsu gave a small smile and then suddenly both reached forward to kiss each other. They separated after a long while and Tetsu stroked Hyde’s cheek and stared into his eyes. “As the young knight Kazuki is telling his love, don’t be stubborn and don’t think you can handle everything by yourself. And don’t be afraid to ask for help or be afraid to accept it when it is offered. It’s okay to be scared and it’s okay to cry.”
“I hope that you remember those very words, sir,” Hyde returned and Tetsu smiled.
“One more thing.”
“And what’s that?”
“I love you,” Tetsu whispered, kissed Hyde’s forehead and moved back to settle easily in his saddle. Hyde smiled at him and mouthed the same words back to him.
“Are you done?!” The Queen asked in a ticked off tone. The Prince fell silent and the Princess tried not to laugh. “I thank you for your concern, Miyu but I’ll be fine. Anyone who thinks to attack the Assassin Queen has another thing coming. And this isn’t really a diplomatic trip more of a….” There was a pause and if the Queen wasn’t wearing so much make up, everyone would’ve seen the blush. Instead, he looked slightly uncomfortable as he gestured with a lacy glove, “Romantic….interlude.” He coughed and went on, “In any case, daughter in law.” The Princess looked up. “Take care of my son and Miyu, take care of the country. I will leave Hyde, Yukito, Kazuki, Hiro and Kohta. That should be more than enough to keep you out of trouble.”
“Fa--Mother…you make me sound like a six year old, who can’t keep himself out of trouble!” Miyu replied and Mana gave him a rather evil look. “It’s true!! I’m a married man, a crown prince!! I think I know what I’m doing by now.”
“Ahh! You think. You do not know.” Mana reached out and poked his son’s forehead. “Until you know, you are to be supervised by those six.” Miyu scowled and Mana softened. “I’m not saying this to be mean, Miyu, but it is true. Thinking does nothing. If you know what you are doing, you will have confidence. Others will pick up on that and believe you. When you know what you are doing and others know that you know what you are doing, then no one will mess with you. And when people do mess with you, you will teach them a lesson, now won’t you?” Miyu nodded. “Now, be good while I’m away.”
“Hai.”
“I’ll see you in three months.”
“Hai.”
“Tetsu!!” Mana called and the assassin left Hyde’s side to join his queen. “We’ll be off. Ja mata ne.” He spurred his horse into a light walk with the others following him. Tetsu gave a small smile to Hyde, who watched him with dread entering his heart. M-chan turned and gave Kazuki a smile, a wink with a mouthed, “Ja mata ne?” S-chan cast a mournful look at Kohta and rode beside M-chan behind their queen. Four other knights left with them. Hyde and the others watched until the blue and white banner of the Queen’s procession was no longer seen and then headed back into the castle with a heavy heart.
“Hyde-san,” Kazuki said as he walked near the assassin. Hyde looked up. “I know that I shouldn’t be saying this right now….but….” Kazuki tugged on one of the earrings on his left ear. He swallowed as if about to say something but could on gesture in a loss of words. Kohta stood next to him and nodded. He understood and patted Kazuki’s shoulder. He was much older than Kazuki and had probably gone through worse then saying good bye to a loved one but still he understood.
Hyde understood, too. “I know…” he said in a soft voice. “I know. But there’s nothing we can do about it. I always have a feeling of dread when Tetsu leaves me but I know he’ll be fine.” I hope.
Kazuki nodded. “But this is the first time that M-chan’s left the castle ever since he…I mean, she—“
Hyde smiled at the both of them. “I know that M-chan and S-chan aren’t girls, so don’t worry about it. They can take care of themselves. They’ve been with the Queen for so long, the training and the instincts are bound to rub off.”
Kohta finally spoke, “But S-chan comes from a family who are thieves, not assassins. He can’t steal his way out of something…”
“You never know…he could steal the knife off of someone and kill him then leave…don’t tell me he’s never stolen anything off of you during your time together.”
Kohta smiled with a slightly embarrassed tinge. “He stole the belt off my pants once, but he made up for it.”
Kazuki laughed, “I’m sure.”
“Well, everything will be fine.” Hyde reaffirmed. “I’m sure of it. I mean, what could happen to the Queen and Tetsu? They’re two of the best.”
Two months passed by uneventfully and Hyde marked each day off with glee and impatience. Fortunately, for his sanity, Tetsu wrote him twice every week.
Three months passed.
He had received letters from Tetsu along the way but couldn’t write back because according to Tetsu, they had not reached their destination yet. The last letter he got from Tetsu was three weeks ago, which was odd because he usually got one every week. The last letter stated that Tetsu was afraid. He was afraid that they might have gotten lost because the last time they traveled to the King’s country, it hadn’t taken this long. He also explained that they couldn’t be lost because M-chan and S-chan had traveled this route many times and so had the knights. Hyde was beginning to get worried.
He reread the letter for the twentieth time that day and paced the room, trying to quell the feeling of dread in his heart. He was being stupid. Tetsu and the others would be fine. He was just paranoid. Right. He sat on the bed. The feeling would just not go away. He closed his eyes to calm himself and accidentally fell asleep.
In his mind’s eye, he saw Tetsu and the others stumbling around the dark forest at night. The Queen was no longer wearing his expensive long gowns but his short combat dresses, the ones that were designed to tear away easily but still leave the wearer enough cloth to cover them. S-chan and M-chan wore the same, two of the knights that had been with the party were dead. They all looked tired, dirty, and M-chan had blood running from the corner of his mouth. Tetsu had blood all over him but Hyde didn’t panic, he knew none of that was Tetsu’s. The Queen had murder in his eyes. There was a scream and S-chan was reaching out for M-chan’s hand, but they couldn’t reach. The darkness took away the pretty young man before the others could do more than run toward him. There was an explosion, another scream of terror, evil laughter and a dark shape flitting among the trees….with Tetsu in its sights. It crept closer. Closer. And was upon Tetsu, who’s eyes widened and the last thing he screamed was Hyde’s name.
Pain.
Blood.
Darkness.
Hyde sat up on the bed, tears streaming down his cheeks, screaming Tetsu’s name. Just then an urgent knock came at the door. Before Hyde could say they could come in, the door slammed open with a very frantic servant behind it, two very upset knights and livid loyal royal magician. “Hyde-san!!”
“Tetsu.” Was all that he could say. The others blinked at him and stared but Kohta got over it first and grabbed the message out of the man’s hands and ran toward Hyde. Hyde took it shakily and began to read it. “Farmers say that there were screams in the night near the Black Dragon Hills. When they got there they found….they found…” Hyde dropped the note, tears streaming from his eyes, gulping. “He’s not dead. I know he’s not dead. He can’t be dead. He will not leave me here alone!!!”
“Hyde!!” Yukito yelled, but the assassin ranted on.
“He’s not dead.” Hyde moved toward his wardrobe, grabbed his saddlebags and began packing. “There were no bodies except for the two dead knights that were there. I will find him even if I have to go through hell and back to. He promised to come back!! He will not go back on his promise!!!”
“This is insane, Hyde!! You can’t—“ Kohta began but the other man interrupted him.
“You’re so willing to give up? You’re willing to admit to yourself that you’ll never see S-chan again? That you’ll never hold him against you ever again?” Kohta looked stunned. “I don’t know about you,” Hyde snapped, “But I’m not willing to give up so easily.” He went on, not really knowing what he was saying as he tossed various things into his bags. “There are many reasons why I’m doing this. My queen is missing, my love is missing and this is for the good of us all. Mana was a good queen and this alliance was necessary. He was in love with that King for Christ’s sakes.”
“Hyde…You don’t even know who did this.” Yukito said weakly.
“I have my suspicions. I don’t fucking care who did this!! I just want my Tetsu back!! I’ll deal with whoever did this later!!”
Kazuki looked up from his place on the floor where he had sunk and said softly. “They all think it’s Gackt. They think he did it. He hasn’t said anything about it and you know how he is when someone accuses him of something. He responds in three days or less and something as big as this, he would’ve responded about it in an hour. He hasn’t done so. I don’t want to think ill of others, please understand that. I’m a knight. I believe in chivalry. But….” He took a deep breath. “Gackt almost killed Emiru when he found out that Emiru couldn’t win over the Prince’s hand in marriage. He might have done it.” Hyde tied up his long hair, half listening to Kazuki’s theories. “The Princess’s father, King Kozi and his brother, King Yu~ki are talking about war. We can’t afford to get caught in the cross fire, Hyde.”
“It’s all just talk. When they start doing is when we start worrying.”
“What’s with this we shit?” Yukito asked. “You’re the only one going on this inane trip. This isn’t like the tales, Hyde!! You can’t just go into danger, looking for Tetsu and expect to find him all by yourself!! You’ll get killed!!”
“Just like any other day,” Hyde replied. “And I’m bloody well aware that this isn’t like the tales but stranger things have happened. And I’m saying we because I don’t expect to be able to do this alone. I need help.”
“Well, don’t—“ Yukito began but Kazuki interrupted him.
“I’ll go.”
Yukito stared down at him. “Are you out of your mind, too?” Kazuki nodded and Yukito threw up his hands. “Well, whatever!! Your funeral!”
“I hope it’s a good one,” Kazuki said quietly. Yukito glared at him.
“I’ll go, too.” Kohta voiced. Yukito stared at him.
“Not you too!! We need you here! At the palace! We were instructed by the queen to stay here and look after Miyu!!” “Nene’s got him under lock and key.” Hyde replied. “I think she knows what she’s doing as well as he. We should however tell them that we’re going so they won’t worry.”
“They will say no.” Yukito said.
“No, they won’t. Yukito, what are you so afraid of?” Hyde asked. Yukito was speechless. He squirmed and then sighed. “You know….we could use a good skeptic and magician on this trek.”
“Isn’t that an oxymoron of some kind?” Kazuki asked. Yukito shook his head and Kazuki looked up at his friend. “C’mon, Yukito. Are you with us or are you gonna stay here and do nothing?”
“I guess I’ll go. I can’t have the three of you going off and breaking your fool necks. Someone has to look after you.”
Hyde nodded with a dark look in his eyes that made Kohta shiver. “Good. Now all we have to do is tell the Prince and Princess.”
“Are you insane?!” Miyu demanded.
Hyde looked his Prince in the eye and replied, calmly. “Quite, your highness.” He kneeled at the foot of the Prince’s chair with the other kneeling behind him and went on. “We feel that this is the only way.”
“There are other ways,” Nene said slowly. Miyu looked at her. “This is the most perilous and the most insane thing to do but this may be the best way.” She said and looked murderous for a second. “I don’t know who did this, but I trust Hyde and the others would be brave and smart enough to find the Queen, Hiron and Seiji, S-chan, M-chan and His Majesty’s assassin.”
Hyde smiled gratefully at her before turning his attention back to Miyu. “If you sent a huge army out there to scour the countryside, you will find nothing, your highness. But if you send just us, the four of us—secretly—I’m sure we could uncover more than you could ever dream of.”
Miyu sat there quietly in thought then said, “So…..you’re saying that if I send you secretly and I pretend not to care about my father being kidnapped and somehow, manage to keep my father-in-law and my uncle appeased and try to keep them away from the idea of war—then you’ll be able to find my father and our friends without too much trouble?”
Hyde nodded and Miyu looked upset. “Insanity…”
Nene reached over and patted her husband’s hand. “No, my love. Brilliance. Let them go. We will hold everything together by a thread as we have been doing for the past few months.”
Hyde smiled again. “Do I have your blessing, your Highness?”
Nene reached out and touched Hyde’s head. “You have my blessing.”
Miyu reached out as well and touched Hyde’s head as well. “You have my blessing as well.”
“Now go,” Nene said. “Save my mother—“ She smirked, “Father….my brothers, and your loves. Save our country.”
“Hyde,” Miyu continued, “You are on a holy mission to keep our countries from war and preventing millions from dying. Do it quickly. Find out who did this. Hayaku.”
Hyde and the others bowed their heads to them and stood. They took three steps back then turned and left.
It has begun.
*********
So how was it? Not too painful I hope? Well, anyways....comments/requests for a certain band to be in it and death threats can be sent
here
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To part 2