Act 1- "The Thief of Ignia, Child of the Wind"
It was another bustling day in the commercial district of Ignia. Customers gathered in various stalls, striking out the best bargains they can get during the busy morning hours.
As the central clock struck 10, and the chimes rang, the vendors warily looked around. Those that were still lounging inside stepped out to guard their stalls. They all knew that any minute now... he will come.
"Hey! Get back here you rascal!" a voice shouted from somewhere.
The nearby onlookers turned their head to the source of the voice. As they did so, the silhouette of a man passed by them in a flash, like a strong gust of wind. Following far behind was an old man who looks like he is in good shape despite his age.
"Got you again geezer. What's wrong? I thought you said you were gonna catch me this time?"
A young boy stood in the middle of the road, holding a sack over his right shoulder. His gray-colored-- almost transparent-- hair flowed gracefully as the wind caught up to him in a sudden halt.
"You darn brat! Give back what you stole now!" the old man demanded angrily.
The boy however, grabbed an apple from his sack and started eating it in front of the old man, as if to taunt him.
"Now why would I do that?" he said in a cheeky manner.
Just then, a group of armored men appeared from behind the boy, cutting off his escape route. Another group came out of the narrow alleyways from the side, further limiting the boy's options.
"Ha! You're done for this time!" the old man shouted triumphantly.
"Oh? They're here sooner than expected." the boy said, but his expression remains composed.
Another armored man emerges from behind the old man. Although, this person seems to be of higher stature as he has a more distinguished-looking armor.
"Young Fuubuki. Your years of plundering the people of the commercial district has now come to an end. Surrender now, and atone for your sins," the man spoke in a stoic, commanding voice.
"Aww, where's the fun in that? Surely, you don't want me to just surrender myself after running away from you for ten years? That would be quite boring. Anyways, gotta go!" the boy, Fuubuki, replied as he started to move again, heading towards the alleyway.
The knights guarding the alleyway took up arms and prepared themselves to capture their target. They pointed their spears at him, threatening to injure him should he continue.
"Heh."
However, Fuubuki kept on going. The moment he was within reach of the spears, he leapt up onto the air, landing either feet on each spear, then used those as foothold to jump towards the rooftops. The knights and passerbys watched in awe as Fuubuki effortlessly made his escape.
"Tch. After him! Follow the roofs! Head to the hillside! We're not letting him get away today!" the captain issued out orders to his men.
In the meantime, Fuubuki is hopping from rooftop to rooftop, easily finding his way through the district. He can hear the metallic clangs of the knights' armor as they chase him from the ground.
Not long after, he reached a spot where there were only a few rooftops left to jump on to. Rather than more houses, what lies ahead of him was a steep cliff, heading down to the lower district. Behind him were his pursuers who have finally caught up, surrounding him on all sides. The captain walked up to take control of the situation.
"There's nowhere to run, Young Fuubuki. Surrender now before things gets ugly," the captain threatened once again.
"Not a chance bud. Who said this chase is over?" Fuubuki replied with a smug grin.
"We outnumber you twenty to one. You stand no chance in combat," the captain warned.
"Who knows? Want to try it out?" Fuubuki glared at him intensely.
"Choose your fights carefully young man." the captain steps forward.
"I do. That's why..." Fuubuki steps forward as well... then launches himself backwards, over the steep drop.
"You!" the captain tried to reach for him as he falls down, but missed him by the strand of his hair. He looked down towards the falling boy who seemed calm despite his predicament.
"That was fun! Same time, same place, next week? I'll be waiting!" Fuubuki shouted at the captain as he got farther and farther below.
Fuubuki then turned his body around while in midair, spreading open his body to slow his fall. When he was about to reach the ground, he landed his feet on the slanted roof, and allowed his momentum to carry him down the slope, reaching the ground unharmed.
"Darn! We lost the rascal again!" the captain, slightly enraged, walks away.
"Fall back, troops. We'll just waste our time catching him in the slums. Get back to your post!"
"He got us again..."
"Ahh... how does he keep getting away from us?"
"I swear I'll skin that brat alive when we catch him!"
"Agreed!"
The knights all grumbled as they left in disappointment. Indeed, Fuubuki, the thief of Ignia has been around for ten years. No one knew where he came from, nor who his parents are. His notoriety earned him the nickname, The Child of the Wind, as it always seemed like the wind is by his side, helping him in his escapes.
"Whew... another heist complete..."
However, Fuubuki was not doing it for the fun of it. It was necessary for his survival. After all, as an orphan, he had no one to count on to take care of him. He had to do everything by himself.
"Let's see, 2 apples, a full comb of banana, and... oh lucky! I got his lunch too! Alright, I'm having meat today," Fuubuki said as he chowed down on the skewer he just got.
"This should last me... two days? Eh, I can make it three."
And thus, it was another successful harvest for the child of the wind.
~~~~Ignia Kingdom Castle~~~~
"Yes sire, nothing unusual today. Oh, maybe I should include in my report but the knights failed to capture that thief again," a lady clad in black reported to a regal-looking man who was staring off into the distance through one of the gigantic windows surrounding the room.
"Hmm, the thief escaped again? To think he has slipped past my knights for ten years. I'm more impressed than mad honestly," the man remarked.
"Your highness, I might be speaking out-of-line here but it is not good to be amazed of that thief. He has been a menace to your people, please watch your behavior," the girl scolded.
"Ha... I know. But you have to admit, that thief has skills," the man said with a chuckle.
"Tell me, do you think you can catch him? Kuroe?" he asked, turning towards the lady kneeling before him. The light shining through the window displayed the man's image in front of the girl. He was a tall man with the frame of a warrior. Scars from his previous battles adorned his face, along with his neat, short hair, and goatee give off an imposing aura. The most recognizable trait from him was his faint red-colored hair like the hue of a fading fire.
"I cannot tell, King Helios. I have never seen this thief in person so I cannot judge his abilities just yet," Kuroe answered.
"What were the damages?"
"Right, according to the victim, he stole... two apples, a comb of banana, and... the victim's lunch? All food items," Kuroe said as she looks at the report.
King Helio scruffed his beard as he looks deep in thought. He closed his eyes as if to sharpen his mind.
"Hmm... let's see. How about you join the knights on their patrol after three days?" King Helios suggested.
Kuroe stood up.
"Sire, while my task as your personal guard is of the utmost importance, I do not wish to disobey your orders. Therefore, I wish to ask why you want me to join the knights' patrol randomly?"
"Haha. It's not random. The thief will strike again in that time frame."
"A-and how can you tell that?"
"Experience, my subject," King Helios answered as he made his way out of the room. Kuroe followed right behind.
"After all, I was once a street rat. I know how his mind thinks."
"..."
"Understood."
~~~~3 days later~~~~
"Emergency! Emergency! All knights gather in the assembly hall immediately!" a loud voice announced in the castle.
All knights, whether in resting, training or patrol, poured into the castle's assembly hall. The entire military force of Ignia gathered in the room. King Helios sat on his throne, his hand holding his head as he looked problematic. The girl called Kuroe stood by his side as his personal aide.
The captain of the knights stood in front of the audience. He looked at the king who gave him a nod, signalling him to proceed.
"What's going on captain?"
"What's with the sudden commotion?"
"Is it an enemy attack?"
Questions could be heard from the knights as they await the words of their commander.
"Listen up, all of you..." the captain spoke.
"We have a situation on our hands. Princess Akagi has been abducted from her room. There were no signs of any struggle so we assume she was taken in her sleep. There was also no report of someone entering, and exiting the castle gates from the night patrols. As of now we have no leads! Therefore, I order a thorough search of the city! Inspect every houses, every establishments, turn every stones upside down if you have to! At any cost, search for the princess!"
The announcement left a lot of the knights shocked. Someone had just walked in, nabbed the next-in-line for the throne, and left without as much of a detection until after the deed was done. Whoever it was is no ordinary kidnapper. The knights' face filled with determination as they got assigned this important mission. The literal future of their country is in their hands.
"Alright men, move out!"
With that, the knights all left the assembly hall in an orderly fashion. The captain was left behind to have a few words with King Helios.
"Your highness, if I may?"
"Speak."
"In order to increase the success of our operation, we need as much hands, eyes, and ears as possible. Therefore, may I request for your highly capable aide to assist us in our search? Someone with her capability would be a massive help for us down there."
The captain, and Kuroe set their eyes on the king, awaiting his answer.
"Kuroe, I'm sorry but can you?"
"Of course, this matter is of great importance. I shall be willing to lend myself to the search. Please be wary of your surroundings, your highness."
"You have my thanks, Kuroe."
As soon as they got the approval, the two left the assembly hall and made their way to regroup with the knights.
~~~~Ignia City, Commercial District~~~~
It has been days already since his last heist, and Fuubuki has ran out of supplies for the following days. It was now time for another bountiful expedition. He stood on top of a house, scouring the area for any possible obstacles in his attack, and escape. Although, there was something strange as it looked like the streets seemed to be lacking something.
"Huh? Where are my playmates? Mm... this isn't really fun without them. Man..."
The central clock struck 10, and the bell rang. It was time for the Child of the Wind to strike again. Fuubuki made his way to the bustling markets, near his favorite fruit stand where the old man that was always chasing him seemed to have dropped his guard today. He looked distracted as he was chatting with someone away from his stall.
"Oh? The geezer's a bit loose today? Heheh... time for a haul!"
Taking advantage of the distracted old man, Fuubuki was able to take a lot more than usual from his fruit stand. So much so that his sack was starting to bulge out.
"Woah, that's heavy! This might last me a month!" he exclaimed.
"Hmm? Hey!" the old man turned around, only to see that a lot of his fruits had already been nabbed. He ran after Fuubuki, but the thief easily dodged his grasp and was able to hop back on the roof.
"Your guard was down old man! Haha! Thanks for the haul!" Fuubuki said as he ran away.
However, as he left, Fuubuki noticed that the old man didn't look that angry at all despite him having stolen a full bag of fruits. In fact, his face looked rather worried. As Fuubuki got away effortlessly, the old man just went back to conversing with the same person from earlier.
"Huh... that's strange?"
Fuubuki took a look at the streets and noticed that almost everyone were giving off the same vibe. Normally at this hour, they would be panicking and guarding their stalls from him but instead, their stalls were completely wide open. It's like they're asking to be stolen from. The same worried look were plastered across the faces of every person he sees.
"Seriously what's the deal? I got a huge haul but this doesn't feel good at all. Ha... and with this amount of loot, I won't be having any fun until the next month," he said with a sigh.
"Anyways, I think I'll just take it and call it a day."
Fuubuki then made his way to the same cliff he used to escape prior to get to the slums area. He snatched an apple from his bag and started peacefully eating it, though he had such a sour look on his face.
He walked through the alleyways, thinking of things to do to keep his mind busy.
"Hm... guess I'll just sleep? Too boring though. Ha... where are the knights?"
He wandered through the streets for a few minutes, eating more fruits than what he usually alots to himself per day since he didn't have anything better to do. His attention drifted off into the distance as he walked around aimlessly. He was about to pass around a corner when suddenly...
"Gah!"
"Ow!"
He bumped into two men who looks quite panicked. The impact caused him to drop his bag on the ground.
"Hey! Watch where you're going you...!"
"Big bro! We don't have time for this!"
"Oh, right! We'll get you next time we see you!"
The man referred to as 'big bro' hurriedly grabbed his bag and stormed off with his companion. Fuubuki picked up his bag as well and stood up, wiping the dust from his clothes.
Just as he was about to leave, a knight spot him from afar.
"Found him! This way!"
Fuubuki looked elated as he saw the knight running towards him. He started hopping in joy as he thought he was finally going to get the chase that he wanted. Just as he the knight got closer, more of his fellow knights appeared from the same pathway. There were ten, no a dozen, an entire platoon was there.
"Ohh! Here they come! Finally! I missed you guys!" Fuubuki said as he gets ready to run away.
But to his surprise...
"Huh?"
Instead of attempting to capture him, the knights instead head down the same route that the two from earlier went to. Not a single one paid any attention to him as they flood down that narrow passageway.
"Um... hello? I'm here you know? Notorious thief? Child of the Wind? Doesn't ring a bell? Hey!" Fuubuki tried to call for the knights' attentions one by one but they just simply ignored him as if he didn't exist.
As the knights were all about to pass through, he stopped the last remaining one, grabbing him by the shoulders, and dropping him to the ground.
"What the-!" the knight screamed as he got pulled back.
"Hey what the hell is going on here! Why are you guys ignoring me?!" Fuubuki asked furiously.
"Have you given up? Is that it?! I'm bored out of my mind the entire day waiting for you to show up and when you do you just run past me! What the heck?!" he ranted.
"Kh! You're not a top priority right now you damn thief! All of the knights had been sent out to rescue the abducted princess! We have no time to deal with petty thieves like you! So you could just screw off okay?! You're free to go for today!" the knight angrily stood up and stormed off, following his squad.
Fuubuki stood there, dumbfounded. His entire plan of entertainment went up in smokes as the last of the knights leaves his sights.
"Guess I'll sleep after all..." Fuubuki decided as he puts his bag over his shoulder and walked off. As he goes a faint movement could be seen from the bag, but he was too bummed out to notice it...
Meanwhile...
Running for their lives along the alleyways were the guys who bumped into Fuubuki. Behind them, a whole platoon of knights were gaining on them at every step. They tried to slip away to every possible corner, but they always get sniffed out at every turn.
"Damn it all! I can hear them big bro!"
"Idiot! Just run! As long as we keep running, we'll lose them somehow!"
Clearly, the two of them were in desperation as they simply took whatever turns they can without much plan in mind. Their bag riding on the shoulder of the bigger guy.
"Crap I knew we shouldn't have taken this-- bwaghh!!!"
A sudden surprise attack.
The bigger guy was sent flying as his cheek was struck by a kick from above. He crashed into the nearby wall, dropping the bag he was holding. His accomplice fell flat on his bottom as he shivers in fear of their attacker, a woman clad in black.
With them now being stopped in their tracks, their pursuers managed to catch up. They immediately surrounded the two to ensure that there will be no escape.
"Good job, Ms. Kuroe. As expected of the king's bodyguard!" the leader of the platoon commended.
"Praises are unnecessary, get the princess," Kuroe replied in a stoic manner.
"Yes! Right away!" the knight said as he went to the fallen bag.
"Hm? This is?!"
"...?"
"Eh?!"
Much to the surprise of all parties involved, as the contents of the bag was revealed, it was not their expected princess, but rather... a wide assortion of fruits. Apples, and other round fruits rolled down and scattered on the ground as the bag was turned upside down. No sign of the princess anywhere.
The bigger guy was able to pick himself back up after being launched. As he look at the scattered fruits on the floor, his eyes widened in surprise.
"We've received report that you caught the perpetrators! Where are they?!" the captain of the knights finally arrived on the scene. He squeezed his way through the surrounding soldiers and examined the situation, only to be surprised as he sees the same scene the others are bewildered about.
"What's going on?! Where's the princess?!" he screamed angrily at the two abductors.
"W-we don't know either we're pretty sure we--" the accomplice tried to explain, but his big bro covered his mouth to cut him off.
"T-that's right! We're just plain old fruit thieves! We don't know anything about the princess as you can see! G-give us a break!" he said to quickly salvage the situation.
"This can't be... you were the ones spotted sneaking down the royal plateau..."
"You don't have evidence of that! We're just mere fruit thieves! Do the knights accuse people with no evidence?! Hah! Some justice this is! The Valkyries oughta condemn you of your actions!" the guy snapped back.
"Shut it," Kuroe intimidated as he shoot a glare towards the guy who immediately went docile. It seems her kick left some fear in him.
"Eh? Fruit thief? Speaking of..." a knight spoke up.
"Hmm? You know something, Luka?" the captain asked.
"Ah, it was just that... earlier while we were chasing after them, I got stopped in my tracks by the infamous fruit thief. That Fu... something guy. He was curious about why we weren't chasing after him."
"And what did you say?"
"Well... I told him about this operation impulsively... sorry about that."
"What does this have to do with anything?" the captain asked.
"Well... it's just that the bag they're bringing looks a lot similar to the one with that certain fruit thief... I can't help but notice the similarities," Luka answered.
"Hmm... that could be a lead..."
"Y-yes! Yes that's right! It was him! He was the mastermind behind this abduction! We were only his lackeys! Big bro Fuubuki was the one behind all of this!" the accomplice suddenly screamed out, trying to add more to their defense.
"Oh? So you're admitting your involvement in this matter?"
"Gah!" only to do more harm than good.
"You stupid idiot!" the bigger guy exclaimed.
"We can't take any chances... Men! This hunt isn't over yet! Spread far and wide and search for the child of the wind! It's about time we get our hands on him as well," the captain ordered.
"I'll take these two to the detainment wagons and catch up with you," Kuroe suggested.
"Right. I leave them to you Ms. Kuroe."
With that, the knights backtracked their steps to look for the true 'mastermind.'
Meanwhile...
"Ugh... I feel so drained today..."
Fuubuki was walking down slumpily, wandering aimlessly along the alleyways. It's been some time since he came across the platoon of knights that ignored him, he just became more and more bummed out as he go. Not to mention, the strangely increased weight of his stash.
"Ugh... I feel even weaker now, I can't even carry my haul properly... guess I'll eat," he said with a groan as he sat down and gently plopped his bag on the ground.
"Hmm? Did I dropped some along the way? I swear it was much bigger than this before... then again, it also feels heavier... ahh, I think I'm just seeing things," he opened the bag...
"Eh?"
And much to his surprise, what he found was-- someone?
"What the? Where is my meal?!" he exclaimed as he reached inside to try to find his precious fruits, ignoring the fact that he just found a stuffed person in the bag.
"Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! It's all gone!" he said as he reached around inside, but all he touched were the softness of the human body.
"What the hell?!" he screamed as he reached his boiling point. He finally stood up and dragged whatever was in there out.
"!!!"
What greeted him was the face of a young girl, who looks around his age. Her eyes had tears in them and her mouth was covered by a cloth. Her expression shows extreme fear to the person before her. However the most noticeable feature was her crimson red hair, which was disheveled after spending all of that time stuffed up.
"Who are you?!" Fuubuki asked aggressively which made the girl yelp in fear.
"He's here! I see him!" someone shouted from far away. Fuubuki immediately turned his head to the direction of the voice, there, he saw one of the knights. However, despite what he was feeling a while ago, he started to panic at the sight of him.
"We're cutting him off here!" another voice shouted, this time coming from the opposite side. Some more knights appeared behind him. Suddenly, he was completely surrounded in all direction.
"What the-! Was this a trap?!" Fuubuki exclaimed.
"You sick people dare to use someone's life just to catch me? You're that desperate?!" he lashed out.
Suddenly, a figure landed right in front of him, kicking up a cloud of smoke. Fuubuki covered his eyes to protect himself from the dust.
"I've secured the princess! Men! Move in!" the mysterious figure issued out orders. As the dust settles, Fuubuki see right in front of him was the knight captain, with the princess clinging to his side.
"You!"
"Give yourself up, child of the wind. You no longer have anywhere to run, and this time, I mean it," the captain demanded calmly.
"No matter what you do, you would be caught by us here. You've done well these past ten years, but now your time has come."
Fuubuki took some steps back, however as he turned his head to the direction he was going to, spears were already pointed at him. Archers also stood ready at the back. He tries to make a break for it on the other side, but the same formation was preventing his escape there.
"Damn it!"
"I told you. You have nowhere else to go. Give yourself up and I'll do whatever I can to lighten your sentence."
Fuubuki's eyes run around wildly, looking for a way to escape, but it was no use. No... there is still a way. He turned his head up.
The way the captain came from, the roofs. His usual escape route. However, with all he ate after his haul, he still felt exhausted right now. Just making it to the roof would be quite the difficult task.
"Screw it!" he made a jump for it. He jumped to an easy-to-reach ledge and pulled himself up. In his current state, just carrying his body up already requires ten times the effort.
"You won't catch me!"
He jumps from ledge to ledge, making do with what little space was offerred to him. Strangely enough, the captain was not following him, nor were the archers shooting their arrows. Just as he was about to reach the top...
"Going somewhere?" the face of a girl greeted him. Before he saw her foot on his way to make contact to his face.
"Ah! Gah!" he landed with a loud thud down on the ground. The girl landed right beside him in a graceful fall.
"Damn... it... all..." he said as he finally fell unconscious. The heavy blow he just received combined with his lethargy easily made him submit to exhaustion.
"I told you. There was no way out," the captain said as he walked over to him.
"Is this the culprit?"
"We have no evidence yet. However I've been chasing this child around for years and he doesn't struck me as the type to pull off something as grand as this."
"I see. What do we do with him?"
"Of course, we still have to take him with us. He has ten years worth of crime to pay for. However if he really was involved in the abduction, then that makes our job easier. Also, you sure have a thing for kicking huh?" the captain remarked.
"I don't need to use my blade against someone like this..."
And thus, the great thief of Ignia, the Child of the Wind, has finally been seized by the authorities. This marks the end of years of fear in the commercial district... but the beginning of a far grander tale that is to be told for years to come.