Runaways [MikaYuu]

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

The sinking orange sunset warmly welcomed him outside, and the evening air felt cool and crisp against Yuichiro's face. The world shone through a filter of oranges and yellows, like the sunset had melted over the city. Yuichiro didn't look back as he ran farther and farther away from the castle, not even leaving the property line until about five minutes. When he did cross the line, however, he decided to slow down as he through the neighborhood of noble's houses and then eventually found his way into the heart of the city after a fifteen minute walk.

Walking down the uneven cobblestone road, the city was lively and bustled with commotion all around Yuuichiro. All the ruckus probably should've annoyed him, but it helped him blend in even more and Yuichiro loved seeing all the excitement every which way.

A few children ran by, giggling as they chased after a bouncy red ball. "Come back here!" One of them shouted as they brushed by Yuichiro like he wasn't even there. Yuichiro watched them run away with a small smile on his face. Down the street was a square market, where a lot of the vendors were packing up their goods for the night.

Yuichiro reached into his pocket to see if he had any money to buy one of the loaves of bread (just to try it - he had never really had bread before, it was too common for his parents' taste) and when he found a 1000 yen note, he smiled excitedly.

He walked up to one of the baker vendors and purchased a small loaf, one of the more expensive ones. Yuichiro thanked him for his service and collected his change, shoving it back into his pocket as he ripped off a piece of the bread.

Before he knew it, he had eaten the entire miniature loaf. It was soft and doughy, not like he expected. Perhaps he figured since it was commoner's food, it would be stale and crumbly, not enjoyable at all.

Many of the vendors smiled at him or wished him a good evening, and he replied back just as cheerfully. Do they all recognize me? Yuichiro wondered with amazement. Or are the commoners just naturally this nice?

It wouldn't really be possible for anyone to know what the prince looked like unless they had spotted him in the chair behind his father whenever he gave a speech or something. Yuichiro didn't exactly like to put himself in the spotlight, as a rule of thumb.

Walking down what seemed like the main road that stretched through the city, Yuichiro weaved through the other people and felt grateful that all eyes weren't on him for once.

Amidst the chaos of the bustling city, it was the first time that Yuichiro felt truly alone.

For once, he felt free.

As he walked, he thought he heard something different. It sounded like music, but Yuichiro wasn't totally sure. Figuring he had nothing better to do, he followed the mysterious sound. As it got louder, Yuichiro confirmed it was indeed music, a mixture of fiddles, flutes, and a piano.

The extremely fast-paced song, a melody that sounded like nothing he had ever heard before, led Yuichiro to a building on a street corner. It is a ramshackle, run-down pub with a crooked sign and blacked-out, barricaded windows.

Slightly nervous and acting completely erratically from usual, he decides to push open the door. Inside is a different world, quite literally; it's nothing like he's ever laid eyes on.

Music floods all around him, but not like before at the ball, because the feeling is completely different. It's much more overwhelming, the sounds of the fiddles and the flutes spitting out notes almost violently, so different from what he was classically trained on. People from teenagers to young adults are spinning each other around and tossing each other into the air in a form of dance he had never seen before. They Irish-danced with each other, with the clicks of their shoes tapping out the beat.