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The first snow fell that November as he climbed into the carriage, minding his own steps as he pulled the long fabric of his gown away from his steps. He watched as a person followed him next, taking off his large hat as he took a seat just on the opposite side of him, eyes piercing with ill intentions against the dimmed carriage, shooting right to a pair of hazel eyes that kept their silence as the man himself told the driver to start the journey. With symphonic hoofs, the horses started the ride, their feet gracing across the ground that had started to color white from the falling snow.Akihito watched the man that watched him back, his mouth stayed in a grim line as if not intending to say a word. So when the man suddenly opened his mouth to speak, it took the blond quite a surprise, “I suppose you have known your purpose here,” his voice was quiet, rough, with a little bit of malice that laced his voice like poisoned honey, “then I guess I don’t really have anything to say. You know your job.”The blond gave him his silence as his answer, and the man only let out a silent chuckle before reaching out behind him to pull a knife, its blade shining sharply under the light that tried to illuminate it away. He then proceeded on handing the weapon to his companion, eyes dark and sharp as he said, “You have time until midnight. By then, I would like to have the prince dead,” as the blond received the knife, the man leaned closer to him—his voice got quieter, as if he wanted to tell a secret, “I want his heart in my hands.”With that, the man leaned back against his seat, his mouth curling upwards just a bit in a triumph smirk of pride and satisfaction. Akihito couldn’t care less; he just hid the knife underneath his gown and turned his head towards the rounded, small window—watching as the cold snow fell and dressed the ground they passed.Every person was born with a purpose. Some were born to be useful; some just not. Including him.It wasn’t his fault that he was born an assassin. He was born to kill—he was destined to murder. He was fated to rob people of their beloved ones, of their people. Well, maybe, some of his targets were bad people (he just hoped or/and assumed they were), but still; murders were murders, and he stained his hands with death and guilt daily.His parents were professional assassins, and what were their purposes other than teaching their kids the exact things they knew to find a living? They killed, and they were proud of it. So, the first time Akihito killed a rabbit at the age of five, they cried in joy.On the other hand, he didn’t know whether he should be overjoyed or not by this path of life. He knew this was wrong, that this could bite him back in the afterlife, knew there were sin and heavens and hells and guilts, but what else could he do? He had been living this life for longer than he’d ever realized, he couldn’t get away with it. Not with people knowing about the majestic ‘assassin family’ and started paying him to kill for them.Including this man, whose names and backgrounds remained unknown to him. It was a part of the deal; no names or identities exchanged while the mission is on board. He killed, he got paid, and then they were off—no ties or attachment whatsoever. He believed that that was the sweetest part of the deal; at least he could feel like a normal human again once he was off the job.He was forcefully pushed out of his musings as the carriage pulled to a stop, the sudden tremble that went throughout the vehicle surprised him more than he’d preferred. It didn’t take long for the driver to pull the door handle and cued him out, his hand available in the air for him to take. Akihito did just that—once again minding his overbearing gown as he walked down the short steps to the ground.Once the door was closed, he turned around to face to the man for the last time that night, exchanging silent agreement before taking off his own way, up the many stairs that led him to the grand ball of the night. The place was crowded, and simply reek of riches and greedy royalties; he almost got sick to his stomach at the sight. No wonder his client had insisted on him wearing a formal gown—it was this kind of ball. But why a gown? That thought once occurred through his mind, but he simply dismissed it as he walked further inside, intending to find his target and just get this done and over with and retired for the night.He waltzed through the crowds, trying to ignore any kind of socialization people seemed to try to get him into often. He had never actually seen his target—hell, he was never into politics and anything that related to that—but he was given simple clues:Black hair and golden eyes.Surely, anyone did not have those traits.Akihito let out a brief sigh as he neared one of the largest pillar in the ball room, intending on hiding himself in the shadows as he waited on the grand arrival of the prince himself.It fortunately didn’t take long, however, for the hosts of the party to come out and present themselves—the royal family.Every action was halted upon their arrival, every pairs of eyes ran towards the balcony above their heads to finally welcome their hosts. Akihito watched as slowly, every member of the kingdom revealed themselves to view, each one of them was simply rich of charisma it made him wonder for a second just where he had been all this time to not recognize even one member of the royalties.He slowly walked towards the lighter parts of the area, trying to recognize each faces that came out from the grand red curtain above. Surely, the first person who came out was the King, his hair a bit grey reflecting his age but his eyes stayed sharp, the glint that passed through his golden eyes reminded him wholly of a giant eagle watching its prey; his smile charming and simply winning the hearts of his people.He was soon followed by an old-looking woman that was no doubt the Queen. She lack the predator eyes but her face just oozed with dripping kindness and wisdom; her smile calming away the most anxious of hearts, her stance just like the most loving mother the country could ever have. She walked gracefully to stand beside her husband, her eyes looking down at the sea of people like a mother would towards her newborn child. Akihito couldn’t help but feel a surge of warmth that ran through his spine as he looked at her.And finally, the last but not the least expected, was his target, who walked just as gracefully as the rest of his family to present himself to his people; his stance broad and unwavering as he approached the Queen. The blond watched as he fluttered open his eyelids and it kind of took his breath away to witness the million specks of gold that graced the irises of his eyes—it shone so bright the lights could do nothing to hide it away. The Prince stood to the audience then, and a round of applause roused throughout the majority of the guest as the royalties finally came down to their own show.The King held out his hand then, and as if on command, the room fell into an immediate silence. He walked forward to gain the attention on him (though Akihito bet he was on everyone’s attention already), and cleared his throat once, just the typical way a King would start his speech, “Welcome to tonight’s grand ball. I am truly and honorably grateful that everyone could here,” the older man then cued for his son to step forward as well, and it didn’t take long for the Prince to actually stand beside his father, “For this special occasion, I will once again introduce my one and only son, the Prince and the rightful heir to the throne of this kingdom,” he brought up a hand to gesture to the person beside him, “Prince Asami Ryuichi.”As if on cue, the guests started another round of applause, now greater than before for some kind of unknown reason. Akihito could only sigh as the King continued, “As for tonight, the Prince would be looking for his future wife,” that caught the blond’s attention immediately, “and to start the ball, I would like for the Prince to dance with a woman of his choosing.”So, the client wants me to seduce the Prince? Akihito thought, as he ran his eyes to look at the Prince, now looking down and observing each face in the crowd to probably choose one of them. It was kind of a grave mistake when suddenly that pair of golden eyes ran to his hazel eyes, and as if on cue, Akihito immediately backed away to the shade, trying hard to not catch anybody’s attention. So, when the Prince started to slowly walk down the balcony and turned to his way, he knew immediately that he was majorly screwed. The blond backed away to the farthest part of the area, his gown wasn’t making things easier for him, and it was seconds later when he felt the cold marble of the wall against his back, telling him and screaming the fact at him that it was a dead-end and he should do something like running away or fleeing or just dumping his job to save his ass from too much attention.But his brain short-circuited at that exact moment and he did nothing. He just watched as the Prince came even closer, invading his personal space, and finally standing right in front of him, his heat and presence a bit too much to the blonde’s liking. Akihito flinched a bit when he held out a hand and bowed a little towards him, his baritone voice coming out so smoothly it left a shudder ran through his skin, “May I have this dance?”, he said, leaving the blond speechless.Akihito watched as he slowly lifted his face up to gaze at him, and it was kind of unconsciously when the blond suddenly let out a “believe me, you don’t want to dance with me” so soft it might come out as a whisper.But the Prince might hear it, “why not?” and without waiting for further replies, the royalty took his smaller hand into his and guided him towards the center of the area, away from the shade and away from his safe spot. So much for not gaining enough attention.
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Akihito was not sure how he could dance through a soundless music—he blamed it on the loud beating of his heart, or was it my blood rushing just behind my ears? He honestly was not sure about the steps he took—have I messed up the dance by accident?—nor was he sure about the reaction of the people that obviously had taken light of his presence thanks to this royalty, but what he was sure about was how his body had gone light throughout the dance; how the hands that held him—on his hand, the other on his waist—had made sure to never let him slip and fall; how his eyes—a distinct golden color that drew him in—had never left his hazel ones, no matter what turns or steps, they were always looking at him it made his stomach churned unpleasantly. The prince gracefully turned him around in a spin, his long skirt sweeping the floor underneath his feet as they walked in rhythmic steps. He was not sure when the spin ended but the sudden warmth that were placed perfectly on his waist stopped him from going anywhere, or even, it pulled him even closer towards his dancing partner—the black-haired golden eyed prince, whose smirk and gaze filled with nothing but mysteries. Akihito stared at him intently, trying to at least get what he was thinking, but failed terribly—unfortunately—as the song came to an end.They were separated by a few centimeters by then, eyes glued onto each other while their chests raised and fell in an attempt to catch their own breaths—the dance itself was an effort Akihito was not sure worth it. The black-haired man bowed towards him then, prompting him to do the same, and the same he did, followed by an applause Akihito was not sure was for him. He quickly raised his head then, just in time to catch a glimpse of those captivating golden eyes, which were apparently staring back at him, for how long he did not really know.As the orchestra started playing another music and the crowd started gathering to the center of the hall, luckily shielding him away from the gaze that seemed to linger on him, Akihito knew it was the perfect time to get away. "Are you feeling unwell?"It was as if an electric current had run through the inner side of his skin—Akihito flinched, just a little, by the sound of an eerily familiar voice. He took a breath, before slowly turning his body around to face a royalty—the prince—as he presented himself before him; nothing out of place, much to Akihito's mild surprise.The blond looked at him from his head to toe, before putting more attention to the sky above his head, oozing much indifference just as his liking, "is it wrong to enjoy the view?"Through the corner of his eye, he saw a smirk forming on the black-haired man's face, and it kind of irked him down to the core when the man stepped closer towards him, his presence unsettling him somewhat, "no, please do not take it the wrong way," he leaned his arm on the railing, looking up at the blackened horizon as well, "I am just amazed you are not into the ball.""You mean, dancing with this over sewn gown to attract the eye of the royal family?" Akihito let out a chuckle, eyes dancing at the sight of an unmoving star, "yeah, that is not really into my liking."It took him by surprise when the prince barked out a laugh, and it instantly turned his attention towards the man as his hazel eyes caught sight of his face, "you really are unusual."He did not know what it was, but he was suddenly filled with this distinct and undeniable pride. Of course, he was not interested in the ball like everyone else, he did not come for that, but being called to be an unusual one just made his heart beat faster than before. It was a bonus, he thought, as he leaned even lower towards the railing, eyes glued back onto the sky above his head.The silence that filled the space between them felt somehow comfortable, and Akihito was rather ashamed to admit that he quite enjoyed the company. Maybe it was the cold breeze that whipped his hair silver wig slow, or maybe it was the soft music that thudded just from his back, excitement and parties all far away from his touch—but the atmosphere was comfortable somehow, it made him grow too relaxed for his liking.He did not know for how long they stayed there, but the moment he turned his eyes away from the view, he was met with enchanting pair of golden eyes, which were already looking at him with unknown intentions, much to his dismay.Akihito was not sure what urge had pushed him, but he was seconds too late to digest everything when he heard himself spoke, his voice coming out faster than his own thoughts generating in his head, "is there something on my face?""Your name," the reply came out fast, Akihito was not sure he caught it the first time, "what is it?"Akihito felt like laughing, but he contained whatever it was that was bubbling up inside his chest, his mouth stayed in a line that was neither a smile nor a frown. He eyed the prince, inspected whatever motives hidden underneath those golden orbs, but when he found nothing, much to his dismay, he responded, voice coming out just as wary as he wanted it to be, "why the need of names? I am just a nobody," he smirked, feeling the stars dancing inside his hazel eyes, "I will be gone by the time the light comes, I am not sure you will recall this moment when you wake up."It was as if the earth rotated, he thought to himself randomly, as the royalty inched closer towards him, invading his space, invading his privacy. He stared him down like a predator would to his prey, and Akihito was honestly up for the challenge in his hawk-like eyes, "and so, let me recall your name, by the time I wake up tomorrow," he put his finger on his chin, and Akihito was not sure he liked that, "gone as you may, but I will remember your name."It was instinct, he remembered, as he quietly swapped the hand underneath his chin away from his face, hazel eyes sharpening in a threatening gaze that he was not sure was threatening enough judging by the smirk that grew even wider on the man's face, "Chise," he spoke, the unfamiliar name ringing through his ears, "my name is Chise."The disbelief was quite obvious, but then the man loosened up the distance between them and for Akihito, it was enough, "if you preferred to be called by that name, then, Chise it is.""Glad you approve," Akihito spoke it out as a joke, and when the man just looked at him as if he just grew a second head, Akihito allowed a series of chuckles coming out, eyes crinkling and dimples showing in the act of happiness.