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.

The fiddle was so fast, Yuichiro could hardly keep up. His heartbeat thudded so rapidly in sync and he felt his adrenaline running on high, melting into the larger living body of the pub.

Feeling a bit out of place, Yuichiro hung on the sidelines and made a beeline for the makeshift bar. There are different alcoholic drinks lined up on the shelf behind the counter. The bartender, seeing him sitting there on the stool, asked him what drink he wanted.

"A whisky, please," Yuichiro says without hesitation. The bartender nods and pours him a glass of Bushmills. Whisky was practically banned back at the castle; his parents only prefered the most expensive wines and champagnes (and Yuichiro technically wasn't supposed to be drinking yet anyway, so his opinion was irrelevant). He placed the glass in front of him and told him the price of 300 yen.

Before Yuichiro could fish out the rest of his change, someone handed a bill to the bartender. Yuichiro looked up, surprised, seeing a blonde guy sitting on the stool next to him.

The boy looked like something out of a fairy tale, completely standing out amidst the other people in the tavern. He had sapphire orbs for eyes and golden hair that streamed just above his shoulders. The boy swished the bangs framing his long eyelashes, looking at him, then back at the whisky, then back at him.

"Why did you do that for me?" Yuichiro gasped, completely taken aback.

"I know the bartender," He grinned. "You should be thanking me. I just saved you 100 yen."

100 yen was virtually nothing in Yuichiro's eyes - his monthly allowance was ten thousand times that amount. Of course, he didn't say that out loud.

"You don't even know who I am," Yuichiro countered, scowling a bit.

The boy rested his chin in his cupped palms, looking away and towards the alcoholic selection. "I don't need to know ya to be nice, right?"

Yuichiro pondered that, then came to the conclusion that he was right. "You are right. My deepest apologies - thank you for paying for my drink."

The blonde laughed a bit and nodded. He was silent and unmoving after that, and if his presence wasn't so overwhelming and Yuichiro couldn't take his eyes off the boy's profile, he would've thought he disappeared.

Eventually he did, however, and Yuichiro turned back to his whiskey. He could smell the strong scent of the brownish liquid from where he sat, and without a moment's hesitation, he grasped the glass and chugged the entire thing in one swallow. Bitter liquid stung his throat, making it feel like it was on fire. He exhaled as he put the cup back down on the bar, wiping his mouth.

"Another round, please," Yuichiro shouted out to the bartender to gain his attention. The bartender got to pouring while he heard the blonde guy laugh again.

"Rough night, huh?" He whirled around on the stool to look at Yuichiro again.

Yuichiro rolled his eyes a bit, remembering the events at the castle, and laughed nervously. "It definitely was."

"You know, I feel like this ain't the kinda place you're used to," The boy determined as his eyes raked up and down Yuichiro's body. Feeling slightly out of place, his arm automatically moved to cross over his torso.

"How did you guess that?" Yuichiro was curious. The bartender brought over his next drink and again, Yuichiro swallowed it in one gulp, gone as quickly as it came.

"Mainly the tuxedo and the accent," He responds with a smirk. "But also the fact that you've gulped down two Irish whiskeys in less than a minute."

"Wow, aren't you intelligent," Yuichiro sounded more sarcastic than he intended. "You can size me up in a matter of minutes. Impressive job, uh-"

"Mika." He added in his name. Mika.

"Right. Impressive job, Mika," Yuichiro nodded once sharply. "Well, I must be going, then." He began to get off the stool when he felt a hand on his wrist.

"Wait," Mika said quickly. "You didn't tell me your name. I already told ya mine, so 's only fair, yeah?"

"It's..." Yuichiro almost said Yuichiro, but he faltered. After a moment of hesitation, he realized he could be anyone he wanted to be here, so before he could stop himself, he said something different. "My name is Yuu. Now, I really must be going-"

"Back to whatever crazy life you came from?" Mika finished his sentence for him. "The life that made you come here to down two whiskeys in the first place?"

"You certainly ask a lot of questions," Yuu noted with a twinge of sarcasm in his voice. Smirking, Mika casually shrugged his shoulders.

"What does one night of escape hurt, you, Yuu-chan?" Mika reminded him. "Come on. Have some fun. You look like you haven't had fun since the day you were born."

Yuu-chan? Yuu-chan felt himself grow warm from a mixture of the friendly honorific and the false accusation.

"Hey!" Yuu defended himself angrily. "I have had fun before!"

"Okay, well then, show me and prove it," Mika grinned, and before Yuu could say anything, Mika took his wrist and pulling him towards the dance floor. Yuu tried to protest, but the fiddle's melody was so loud his cries would not be heard. The fast-paced tempo pulled Yuu into another world, a brilliant call-note that drew him in. Mika began to do a foot-based Irish jig that looked incredibly complicated, stomping along with the rest of the other partygoers. He twirled around and finished his dance with a flourish.

"Now you try," Mika encouraged him.

"Oh, I'm not really sure I-" Yuu stuttered before Mika grabbed his hands and twirled him around at at least five times the speed of what he was used to in his classic ballroom dancing lessons. "Woooah!"

They began to dance together, melting into each other like a larger, living, breathing body. The music conducted their every step as they jived. They were twisting, turning, holding hands as they switched sides. They were all goofy grins, breathy laughs, possibly looking like idiots but they didn't really care.

Inside, Yuu felt happier than he had felt in a long, long time. There was no time for thinking, wondering if people were staring or judging, because he was moving too fast all he could do was live in the moment.

And this moment he was living in, it was one he never wanted to leave.