Krabian Night

He awoke with a start; his accomplice shaking him, whispering:

"Oi, you ok?? You dozed off... Remember?? We need food..", a taller man looked down at him and took off, jumping from awning to awning until he reached the marketplace below.

"Oh, sorry.. I don't know what came over me.", the shorter man muttered, scratching his head. No reply, so he sat down on the ground for a few minutes, waiting for the signal.

In times of need, they only stooped low enough to grab what they absolutely needed to survive. Food was scarce for the two. ... Welll maybe once or twice they stole for their own personal gain...

"He's been gone too long... High disgust...!", the short figure muttered under his breath. The man before, his accomplice, was a Meruhen-saru. They had known each other for years.

"Oranges! Get your fresh-- OI!", a vendor cried out from below on the dirt streets. "THIEF!"

"shit...!", the Meruhen-saru cursed. That wasn't the cue...

"He got caught...", the short one sighed. He jumped down, landing on top of his accomplice's shoulders.

"Never fear, I have caught the thief!", he said, striking a heroic pose. A few people in the street looked on, impressed with the short one, until the moment--

"YOU TWO!! YOU'RE THE ONES THAT ROBBED ME LAST WEEK!!", a voice cried out angrily.

He got up quickly, and the two looked at each over for a split second before taking off opposite ways, running into the early morning crowd.

'If I live through this, I'll hurt him...', the Meruhen-saru muttered, then realized that the street vendor had taken off after him! After a bit of time trying to lose the angry man, he finally shook him off his tail (so to speak...) but came to a sudden stop as he slammed into a smallish frame.

"Keiyuu-kun, watch where you--"

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!!", a voice cried; It wasn't who he thought it was. He looked up and saw a small figure around the same size as his friend's, but clothed in the finest robes in the land. The fleeing thief looked the pint-sized noble up and down, as he seethed more:

"You got dirt all over my new clothes! How can I see the Hime-sama like this?!", he glared up at the other man.

'gomen--"

"STOP, THIEF!!"

"muuuu shit..!", he cursed, running off down an alley and ducked into a nearby building.

-

"____-hime-sama, Yomi-ouji requests to see you...", a tall man in fine robes stated, walking into the gardens with a low bow.

You looked up at the palace messenger, and nodded. Up in the tree close by, a voice purred:

"I hope he's not like all the rest of the suitors, nyaa~"

You looked up to see the Meruhen-tora lying on one of the branches, sunning herself. "What is that supposed to mean, Jasmine..?", you asked.

"It means, you've been turning away all the suitors on a first glance, nyaa.... He's the eighth this month.", she said, opening her green eyes to look down at you.

"How can that be? It's only the third day in the month...", you said, perplexed.

"Exactly, nyaa."

-

"What took you so long?", a voice called out in the building; The Meruhen-saru groaned. That was the sound of...

"You're an idiot.", he retailiated.

"... You still have the oranges?", the voice called out.

"Of course.", the once-fleeing thief said, reaching into both pockets and taking out two ripe oranges.

"Good work!" a voice called out as a hand grabbed the orange from his hand.

"Mmm...", the Meruhen-saru muttered, furrowing his brow.

"This is getting ridiculous...", the shorter man mumbled, unpeeling the orange quickly and popping a slice of it into his mouth.

"You're telling me...", his accomplice replied, then grinned, remembering something very important. "HOwever... I did manage to grab something from some idiot that bumped into me earlier..", he stated, drawing out a velvet pouch and tossing it to the short one.

"...", he looked at the bag and opened it up. "WHOA..." He expected a little bit of money, but apparently the ass prince had decided to keep a few of his spare rings in the pouch as well.

"Serves him right for throwing a fit over his stupid clothes...", the accomplice said, sitting down and eating his orange quickly.

"Nobles look so gaudy anyway... High disgust.", the short one popped another orange slice into his mouth. "What's he... like the seventh suitor in the month?"

"It's only the third day in the month..."

"Exactly."

"So you've been keeping count...?", the accomplice asked.

"Well they pass by here all hours of the day and night with their announcers shouting 'ALL HAIL THE ASS PRINCE!!'", the shorter one shouted for emphasis.. on 'ass prince'.

"Shhhh!!!"

"No one's gonna hear...", he said, shrugging.

"How picky could she be..?", the accomplice said, thinking back on his words. "Scratch that, they've all been relatively..."

"Well, with the morons that come parading through here, I don't blame her."

"It's not our business anyway."

"I suppose", he said, eating another slice of orange. "But it is interesting..."

"She's probably just so stuck-up that no one is good enough.", the Meruhen-saru said with a laugh. The short one joined in on the laughter.

"Most likely.", he said, turning his attention to the window. "No idea what she has to complain about, living in that huge palace with all those servants..."

-

"Call me a kitten.... chibi-kisama...", Jasmine muttered. You giggled at the sight you saw not even a few minutes before: The short prince running for his life as the Meruhen-tora chased after him in a rage. For calling her a kitten. She hated to be called that most of all...

"You were nicer to him than the others.", you replied. She looked down at you from the tree she was lounging in.

"Not nice, he was just faster than the others...", she spoke, jumping down from the tree with the last word.

"Ah, well, either way...", you said, looking down at the ground and picking up a piece of fine cloth. "Ripping his pants was a nice touch."

"It seemed like his only good side, nyaa...", Jasmine said, grinning and clicking her claws together. You giggled in response.

"I don't think I liked either side, to be honest...", you said, looking at the gated entrance to the royal gardens. "They get worse each time, don't they..?"

"You're telling me.. Honestly,. ____-hime, Why does your father allow these men to try to court you?"

You sighed, "I guess that's just how it's supposed to work..." Your voice trembled. "I wish...", you started to say. The Meruhen-tora sat down beside you. "I wish things were different..."

"If wishes were horses, beggars would ride, Hime-sama...", she replied. "And you always have me around.", she purred. "I don't even ask for much except food, water, a place to bathe and sleep... And every once in a while, a good scratch behind the ears.", she said with a giggle.

"You aren't a pet...", you spoke quickly, giving a confused look.

"It was a joke, Hime-sama...."

"... I'd really like to be out of the palace for once..."

Jasmine looked at you in disbelief. "Good Gods, why?"

"I'd like to see what's beyond them, to know what it's like on the outside..."

"I can tell you from here.", she said, sniffing the air. "Dirt, sweat, and other nasy things,nyaa.", she answered with a grimace.

"... I still want to see for myself...", you said, thoughtfully.

"Oh, Hime-sama.. You're an odd one...", Jasmine said with a half-smile.

"Am I really?", you replied, getting to your feet at once. "I'll do it. I'll go out of the palace walls one of these days."

The Meruhen-tora's ear twitched just then, "Your father is coming, don't let him hear you say that..."

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