#too bad she died three years ago of that damn disease and no sooner than that by any other means or et cetera

[vvelegrin]

man, i just want to see if there's any threads about silent hill 2 remake breaking so hard it doesn't even boot up anymore but all i find are people being evil about women on the internet

[aldreaoakley]

CINDERELLA: Hikaru Aihara

(Based off @catchthespade's Fairy Tale AU post with a sprinkle of Vocaloid's Cendrillon here and there. i’m trying a new format and... this was a tad more angst than I’d like. Revenge plots aren’t my most fave thing in the world because reasons behind them can be really weird sometimes...)

PROLOGUE

The Royal family and servants with their family all gather around the king's bed. The man is in his last minutes with his wife cradling their newborn baby girl. The king was a just man and delivers his promises until a crippling disease left him unable to even be with his people. The young king looks at all assembled in the room. "Promise me that you will protect the princess at all cost," he requests in a soft low voice. "If she dies... the kingdom will fall to darkness..." As everyone nods their agreement, the king's eyes close for the last time. A week later a funeral takes place and many remember their promise to protect the baby princess. When Princess ___ is only four, one of the pages decides to be mean to her. Loud cries alert a young butler and young guard to what he was doing to her. Shadowy tendrils lurk near her, making her cry. "Yami," Shuichi calls out to him. "What the hell are you doing?!" "Teaching her a lesson for being a brat that's what," the page boy challenges. "This is unacceptable," Soryu sighs. "We're going to take you to the queen." "That old hag doesn't know anything," Yami sneers. "I don't think so," a voice startles them. They turn to see apprentice magician Mitsunari Baba, or Baba as his main preference, coming their way, scarlet cape fluttering behind him. "The queen is a perceptive woman," he states while drawing closer and closer. "If she senses something had happened to the princess, it will be banishment from the kingdom forever." Yami laughs but then lands on his back a few seconds later. He pushes himself to see the three boys shielding ___ with Baba's magician's staff in front of them. Loud feet come stomping in seconds later and Soryu's father appears. The stern captain of the guards takes one look at the scene and gestures for his men to take Yami to the throne room. The three boys follow with Shuichi holding ___'s tiny hand in his. Once inside, everyone holds their breath upon hearing the queen's judgement. The woman opens her eyes and glares at Yami. "Strip him of his humanity and throw him into Shadows," she orders. Nobody dares to move until Baba's mentor steps forth. Shuichi shields ___'s eyes & ears by hugging her to his chest to prevent her from even witnessing the gristly scene. It wasn't long before Yami's form disperses with his threat lingering. 'I will make you pay for this!!' -~-~-~-~-~ Hikaru jumps from wall to wall, escaping the corrupt knight's guards while holding his steal. For as long as he can remember, Hikaru was rudely taken away from being near his friend Shuichi at a young age without his parents telling him why. Years later they both die mysteriously and only Shuichi manages to visit him once before taking his duties as a butler seriously. Hikaru hates that more than anything. Both were to be butlers but that never happened. "Damn it," he growls while landing on his feet with the guards running past the low wall he crouches behind. "And all over a meal..." The region he lives in now is far from the castle where he once lived and the knight there was nothing like the other nobles but he still loathes them with a fire that cannot be put out. He learns not long after his parent's deaths that it was an upper class nobleman who killed them. The only thing that keeps him going is revenge and hatred. He didn't mind those dark thoughts and feelings as they were a welcoming companion throughout his years of survival. After making sure that no one sees him, Hikaru runs to the abandoned building that was his home. "I'm back," he whispers into the empty hall. "Another crazy day of escaping guards." Climbing the stairs to his room, Hikaru sits down to eat the fresh plate of food and look at the main castle of the Tres Spade Kingdom. The glistening towers and opalescent walls makes it appear like some kind of dream world. He lets loose a sad sigh and leans back while eating a slice of now cold chicken. "It must be nice to even have a warm meal and not steal anything," he scowls. -~-~-~-~-~ Inside the castle, ___ stumbles again with a new waltz she just learn during lessons. "Here." ___ feels Shuichi's hands on hers. "It goes like this," he reminds her and guides her step-by-step on the waltz. "Left foot Princess." "Okay," ___ nods. "Seems that you are doing better," says a voice and both turn to see a young noble nearby. "Hello Eisuke," ___ greets with a curtsy. "Are you doing better today?" "... Yes. I'm still sorry about your mother," he sighs. ___'s mother died a year ago and the kingdom's seal, a sun atop three spades, is now around her neck. ___ refuses to be a queen yet as she wants to learn all she can now to be ready. Even more that her mother was the only living relative that Eisuke had, meaning the older male is more of a brother to her than anything. "Lord Eisuke I apologize for not seeing you sooner," she hears Shuichi apologize. Eisuke shakes his head. "It's time," he whispers in a near inaudible voice. Both didn't say anything. After escorting her to the Royal Tombs, ___ and Eisuke pay their respects to their dead parents. Neither of them, including most of the current staff ask for their deaths. But then... the castle is basically a home of orphaned castle dwellers. "Shall we," Shuichi asks them both. "Yes, Eisuke agrees while helping a weeping ___ to her feet. Once inside the castle, they go back to their positions. Which means more lessons for ___ and for Eisuke, it's dealing with the old men who refuse to even acknowledge how well the kingdom's success is despite some downhills. -~-~-~-~-~ One day as Hikaru dashes about after stealing a pair of new shoes, he hears a startling announcement. "The princess is having an engagement ball," he overhears. Ducking behind a low crumbling wall, he strains to listen to he conversation. "Yes," speaks another low voice. "It's about time she consider's marriage." "I hope she makes her mind this time," another scowls. "She refused everyone of us last year!" "That was last year and the queen just died then too," another reasons. "I doubt that she was even sane enough to pick a man to marry." A nasty sounding scoff interrupts them. "Like you have any room to talk," a nasally voice frowns. "Getting past her butler is another matter." He has enough of this. Sprinting away, Hikaru goes back to his own district and gives the shoes to the person he got it for. The man in turn gives him some fabric to fix his fading ones. Inside his room again, he scowls while repairing a pair of worn trousers. "Fucking rich people... throwing parties left and right... they don't even care if some of us are dying," he rants under breath. -~-~-~-~-~ "Not again," ___ whines during her visit to Ota's office. The young designer/artist/ jeweler/architect/craftsman sighs as well. "I am sick of it as much as you are," he reminds her. "And Eisuke had done all he could to even stop them." "Those old men doesn't even understand why mother and father both forbid parties and balls like this," ___ mourns. "And I don't have the power because I don't have a husband." "Why do you even frown," a new voice jumps in. "It ruins your face muscles." "Thanks Luke," ___ grumps. "But then you are in a tough spot too." Luke, the castle's doctor, nods in agreement. He cannot get full recognition as a doctor thanks to the men who decide to override any of the former queen's decisions. The three of them know that as long as they are there, it will be hard to even get anything done. "I've even seen the villages from Soryu's spy glass and I can't believe how conceited they are," ___ complains. "That's right and I can't do anything about the crime rates unless they approve and it takes forever," Soryu disapproves with an angry fist the table. "Yeah bu' they don't listen to anythin' outside their own voices," Mamoru reminds them. The young scoutmaster did have a point. The so-called "Royal Council" consists of old men way past age 50. "I've been spying on their meetings and I have to say that something is wrong," Baba adds. All seven turn to look at him. "There's something influencing them and I have only one guess," he tells them. "But I cannot tell since none of us can get into that room since it's always locked." "We can't but you can," Eisuke reminds. "They are scared of your magic and how you can get in and out of things." "He's right, Lupin," ___ encourages. She watches the magician nod then disappear. He reappears a few minutes later with a scary expression. "Wipe that look off your face," all the men yell while Shuichi covers ___'s eyes. "It's him," she hears Baba scowl. "He has a bad revenge since the queen made that order." That ___ knows can't be good. If Yami is out for revenge, then her life is in more danger than she can ever believe could be possible. -~-~-~-~-~ Yami watches Hikaru grumble through his magic mirror with a creepy grin. He already has trashed the kingdom enough to allow a tool for his revenge to come. "All I need now," he muses, "is for that smelly brat to die." He fingers a dangerous knife then holds it. "Your life is going to be very different, Mr. Aihara." -~-~-~-~-~ It's the day of the ball and Hikaru slips past the many guards and over the top carriages with a knapsack. He lands close to the warehouse to rendezvous with some others to distribute his recent steal. Durable fabrics, shoes, spices, metal, unwanted jewelry, and food come from the bag with something back for Hikaru. Some needles and threads go back into the sack as he exits. Back in his room, Hikaru frowns at the sight of the carriages milling up and through the castle gates. "Damn those rich people. The world will be a lot better without them," he growls. "And I can make that come true," a voice startles him. He whirls to see a young man about his age leaning against a wall wearing something like a bad mix of punk and gothic. "Who are you," Hikaru demands. "Your fairy godfather. All you have to do is go inside the castle and kill the princess," the youth smiles at him. "That's it," Hikaru asks with wonder. "Yes. Now let's make you an appropriate enough prince," his fairy godfather chuckles. An hour later, Hikaru grips his newly acquired dagger within his coat during his ride up to the castle. He recalls his instructions clearly from his fairy godfather. He has to get the princess on her own then kill her at midnight. But what Hikaru doesn't know is that he is actually a pawn in a larger scheme... -~-~-~-~-~ Yami cackles with glee watching Hikaru getting closer and closer to his destination before switching views to a grand ballroom. [You know the price for a level of magic like this,] a gravelly voice warns Yami as he watches the goal of his revenge. "Yeah yeah whatever," Yami exasperates. "I just want that brat gone. Even if the kingdom is something of a "beam of hope", how can it when it's being destroyed from inside!" While his evil laugh bounces off the walls, the other voice growls at him. [You made this pact with your life! Do not disappoint me this time,] it warns. "Alright already! Fuck," Yami frowns. -~-~-~-~-~ Once inside the castle, Hikaru scans around him to see if he can find the princess as each precious minutes tick by. Then he finds her off to the side with none other than- "Shu," he whispers in shock as his friend tends to an exhausted young woman in princess wear. Looking in a nearby mirror to make sure that his hair covers his face so that it isn't recognizable, Hikaru mimics a cat walking to get close. -~-~-~-~-~ "This is getting ridiculous Shuichi," ____ complains into the other's ear. "I really want to stop this silly charade..." "We can't yet. We don't have the magics strong enough to counter whatever Yami is doing," Shuichi reminds her. "Mamoru and Baba are already looking into it as much as possible. Now behave yourself. You have another prince coming." Straightening herself and putting her smile on, ___ turns to face the new prince politely. "May I have this dance," he requests with the best manners she's ever seen all night. "I would be honored Your Highness," ___ grins and accepts his hand. She lets him guide her to the floor and despite him trying to lead her, she makes it easier for him by being a step behind. This prince is most certainly not like other princes or other upperclassmen she already danced with tonight but she didn't care. All she knows is that the smile on her face is more natural than it ever was all night. -~-~-~-~-~ /Now what am I to do,/ Hikaru panics as he walks alongside ___ in the gardens. /This isn't how I imagine the princess to be like at all! She's... she's too pure... innocent... and... happy... everything I'm not... Damn it!/ His right hand begins to move towards the dagger hidden in his coat against his will. This wasn't suppose to happen at all. His dancing skills weren't first class but the princess' kindness allow him to not make a fool out of himself. And that feeling about her... Hikaru cannot shake off how innocent she is. From the simple questions she asks to backing off when she feels the conversation is going the wrong direction to that smile. With what will he has, Hikaru resists the pull while listening to ___'s happy chatter about the nighttime flowers. "I can't believe that the night can hold such beauty when I used to be so scared of it," she giggles then almost trips. Hikaru scoops her in his arms saying, "Careful! Quit being a klutz." When he sees her bottom lip quiver and the inkling of tears, he makes a quick apology that makes the smile he is growing fond of come back. But even so... with each minute that passes... the more and more his worry increase. He cannot kill this little beam of sunshine. He just C-A-N-'-T! -~-~-~-~-~ Shuichi quietly walks to Mamoru and Baba after the two had signal to him to meet them in the latter's room. He closes the door and looks at them. "What have you found out," he asks them. "It is Yami behind it all but we have a bigger problem," Mamoru reports with irritation all over his face. "He's meddlin' with magic he ain't suppose to be touching." "What?!" Shuichi wasn't even expecting that. But what comes next makes him even more frightened not just for his own life. "He somehow found Hikaru and made him his pawn," Baba scowls. "There's no way to break what spells he casted other than the princess herself. The light within the kingdom seal is needed." "We have to tell them. Now," Shuichi orders and the three dart out the room as midnight draws closer. -~-~-~-~-~ "Is something wrong," ___ asks him in such a sweet voice that Hikaru feels his resolve crumbling. As he eyes the clock tower's hands creep closer and closer to midnight, Hikaru cannot deny his instincts at this point. He pauses and feels sorrow upon seeing ___'s confused expression. "Hikaru, is something wrong? What's bothering you? Did I do something wrong," ___ peppers him. Hikaru simply shakes his head. This is going to hurt her but he'd rather see her smile than killed. “Listen, Princess. When the clock strikes midnight, I want you to run as far away from me as you can, got it?” Hikaru requests. "Huh?! Why?! I... I can't leave you alone," she wails. "___ just AHHH!" The clock bells ring out midnight. Hikaru feels his mind slip away and the last thing he sees is ___'s terrified face with his name falling from horrified lips. /NO/ was his last thought as he suddenly appears in a room he'd never seen before. -~-~-~-~-~ ___ cannot move as Hikaru's crimson and gold uniform turn black. Fear course through her veins as the face that haunts her nightmares replaces Hikaru's warm features. "No... no... it can't be... no," ___ whimpers. Yami smiles at her darkly, inky wings spread out and one hand reaching into the coat. A dagger comes out a second later. "What do you think, brat," he cackles. "Now DIE!!" "___!!!!" She can hear several familiar voices scream her name in horror the moment she starts falling to the floor. In desperate hope, ___ cries out the name of the man she fell in love with as tears fall down her face. "HIKARU!" -~-~-~-~-~ "No! No! You damned idiot! Stop!" Hikaru slams his fists against the magic mirror in front of him with all he has while watching helplessly as his so-called "fairy godfather" shoves ___ down, dagger advancing dangerously fast. "___!" [If you love her that much, go. The spell is almost over brave one,] a gravelly voice echoes in his mind. "I'm not gonna let you hurt her," Hikaru yells when suddenly he's back in his own body looking down at ___'s tear stained face. /Get out of my body bastard,/ Hikaru hollers with all he willpower he has to pull the dagger back. -~-~-~-~-~ "Gah," Yami cries out as he collapses in front of the wall sized looking glass. "You little-" [It's over. The contract is eliminated,] the demon's voice growls at him. "Give me another chance," Yami protests weakly and powerlessly watching Hikaru help ___ to her feet while dropping the dagger with the other. [You cannot change your contract now,] the demon snarls at him. Smoke starts to wrap around him and Yami scrambles away but fails when one grabs his ankle. [I should have done this instead of listening to your foolish request,] the demon grins from within the shadows. Yami freezes at that, leaving him open to be destroyed by the shadows he made a pact with nineteen years ago. -~-~-~-~-~ "So that's what happened," ___ hears Shuichi whisper while Luke tends to Hikaru's hand in the medical wing. ___ holds Hikaru's hand gently as he nods sadly. "But now I'm back... what's going to happen now," he wonders. "Am I going to be executed or banished?" "That's just silly," ___ sighs. "Either of those aren't options. Yami made them because he wanted me to be sad... something my father didn't want..." She notices Hikaru's confused expression and looks at Shuichi, who nods. As he explains the events that lead up to Yami being banished, Hikaru adds his two bits on his parents move and their deaths. "A castle of orphans," ___ mourns, "but that doesn't change that we are a family." She watches Hikaru's expression morph from confusion to a smile to match the others who come to see him. "Welcome home," ___ smiles. -~-~-~-~-~ Hikaru wakes up to ___ hitting him with a pillow, causing a pillow fight before Shuichi stops them both. He laughs at ___ being scolded then get ready for breakfast. Already a month since ___ use the seal around her neck, augmented by the natural light within her, to remove all the effects of what had been done to him and the rest of the kingdom.  The old men got invitations to various retreats to help them recover from the negative effects of the manipulations done, something he personally wishes had never happened. When they finish breakfast, Hikaru works with ___ and Eisuke over the mountain size stack of papers that fill the former council room. Paper after paper to figure out ways of compensation for those who suffer from the fake laws and proper punishment to those who really did break the real laws set down by ___'s parents. Hikaru puts input for all of the ones pertaining to his village but gets disappointed when he sees Eisuke shake his head over his brutal ideas of punishment. From his seat between them, Hikaru knows this is going to take a really long time before the wedding can even happen.

EPILOGUE Hikaru sighs looking down at the ridiculous explanation in front of him. Being a king was a lot harder than he imagine when he was a kid. He turns to look at ___, sleeping on a cot near him. He chuckles and pulls a blanket over her. "Dummy... you have our twins. Be more careful," he sighs while sitting back down to look at the paper again. Clearly the person did something that he and ___ both agree should be illegal that once he got the cuffs on him, Soryu had to put his most trusted guards to watch over him. Making deals with magic that involve a kingdom and attacking the royal family cannot be redone again. "We are still cleaning up that mess," Hikaru grouches. "Damn it. People these days..." "Honey, please don't be so hard on them," ___ whispers. Wait a minute!? "I thought you went to sleep," he cries out. "I'm not sure if the twins would agree," ___ smiles and rests a small hand on her swelling stomach. "They love hearing their dad." "Get some rest, you've done a lot of work too," Hikaru reminds her. She takes his hand and places it on her stomach. He feels a small thump on his hand. "I'm not sure who is responding to your voice but they really do make it hard for me to sleep," ___ sighs. "Then I'll just have to whisper when I need you," he mutters into her ear. No matter what happens, Hikaru will defend his family from the unborn lives his wife carries to the residents of the kingdom. A family is more than just lineage and he just learned that.

Author’s Note: I’ll admit that pre-MC Hikaru was much easier to write than post-MC Hikaru that I had to use his Scattered Cards Epilogue for help, reference and material. And I do have a reason for picking twins, because I know Voltage won't make this canon enough. Hikaru’s name means light in Japanese and I still find it ironic that for someone with a bright name like his, he’s got serious darkness around him. Hence twins. Dui from SCM had nothing to do with it. It’s more from when I was on a bit of a Star Wars reading binge... a set of twins had one who is a Sith Lord and the other a Jedi. Shadow and Light. I also used some idea from my Chinese background of yin-yang. Light and dark balance each other out, like twins. I’ve seen twins and triplets before so I know some of the dynamics...

The last line, I tweaked it from the same Star Wars books I was binge reading from. “Family is more than just bloodlines.” I’ve seen some posts on Tumblr that says it works for Soryu but I think it’s more applicable for Hikaru. He and Shuichi aren’t even related but they are as close as brothers.

I use this rendition of Vocaloid’s Cendrillon for this story, save the last I don't know how many seconds because it got all weird... it didn’t fit how I see the story I was writing.

Next Bidder... Baba.