Mamoru

Lectures are a snoozefest for everyone, even more so for Himeji Mamoru having to study Japanese Literature per his mother’s orders, he has no choice but to sit in class and pretend he is interested in what his professor is saying.

He would rather spend his day at work or studying at home where he feels more productive, but instead, he has to spend most of his day in a stuffy classroom, having to listen to the most boring person in the world, surrounded by a bunch of people he doesn’t even like and…

“Himeji-san, can you tell me the answer to question 4, please?” his teacher asked, snapping him out of his daydreams.

Of course, being up with the fairies meant, Mamoru had failed to hear vital information about the subject being taught and shouted the first answer that had popped into his head.

“O-orange juice?” he blurted out.

Now, everyone has given the wrong answer in class before but, it meant two things; 1) all of your classmates will laugh at your stupidity and 2) your teacher will end up questioning her career choices.

Mamoru felt rather embarrassed when one of his classmates, also known as the teacher’s pet, turned around and gave him a smirk. Resisting the urge to pick the heaviest book in his possession and beat his classmate with it, he decided to just keep his head down for the rest of the time to avoid getting picked on again, not that the teacher was going to make the same mistake twice.

*beep* *beep* *beep*

But his wish remained unfulfilled when a high-pitched beeping noise emitted from his watch, causing everyone to stare at him again for the second time in 5 minutes.

“What was that?” the teacher turned around, peering at everyone through her beady little eyes.

Fuck it, he thought.

Mamoru quickly packed his things away and left without a word, despite his teacher calling him from behind and threatening him with after-school work. He quickly walked through the halls and burst into the toilets, doing a quick sweep he made sure no one was in before clicking on the button on the side of his watch, and a holographic image of his boss, also affectionally known as his Mum appeared.

“Hey Mum,” he nodded.

“Mamoru, took you long enough and… wait where are you?” she asked.

The young man loved his Mother, but it was times like this when he questioned her sanity, where did she expect him to be on a Tuesday afternoon, at the local pub?

“I’m at school Mum, remember I’m still in the process of getting my useless degree…?” he gave her a ‘isn’t it obvious’ kind of look.

“Oh right”, she sighed, “Well, we have an emergency.”

“I should hope so, I’d be pretty pissed off if you just beeped me just to ‘check up on me’, especially after the looks I received from everyone in the class,” he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Not like you pay attention, so in a way I was doing you a favour,” she shrugged innocently as her son narrowed his eyes, “Now, there’s a princess that needs rescuing,” she told him.

Mamoru rolled his eyes, “When is there not?”

“True, but this one is different,” She smirked.

Mamoru looked at his mum suspiciously, her smiling was bad enough but her smirking, now that was a cause for concern.

“Why are you smirking?”

His Mum shrugged, “No reason.”

“And how is she different?”

“Her Dad died not too long ago, and her older brother abdicated the throne leaving the Kingdom under her soon-to-be reign, except the neighbouring King has his eye on her and her Kingdom, and as far as I’m aware is planning on attacking. Your mission, should you choose to accept, is to ensure she’s safe,” his Mum explained.

“So… you want me to act as her bodyguard?” he clarified.

“Correct,” she nodded.

“Right. Since when is being a personal bodyguard part of my job description?” he asked.

“Since now. You’re the most capable for this job,” his Mum told him.

He thought about it for a minute before taking a deep breath, “When do I leave and what am I supposed to do exactly?”

His Mum’s smile reached her ears, “You’ll leave tomorrow morning and you’re just supposed to be around her, make sure she’s safe and keep an eye out for any danger, if you sense anything… strange let me know and I’ll have something at your disposal faster than you can say ‘I’ve saved the Princess.’”

“Right,” he nodded.

“Alright, I’ll speak to you later. I suggest you go home and pack now,” his Mum ordered.

Before Mamoru could say another word, she left. The young man leaned against the sink and looked up at himself in the mirror. Splashing some water on his face he left the school building.

He thought about it for a while, maybe doing it wouldn’t be so bad. He was capable and he thought it would be good to try something new. Besides, he wanted to know if she was different, all the other princesses he had met had been arrogant, spoiled and unkind.

Taking a detour to the shops, he brought himself some food before making his way to his apartment. Once he was inside his room, he started to pack his things, he wished he knew where the heck he was going, but none of that mattered since no matter what the weather at that place, he would have to wear his Uniform.

God, he needed to iron it. The uniform was a dark blue colour and finished with gold shoulder cords, and since he was a commanding officer, he had a lot of badges that adorned the front of it. Being only 21 and having achieved so much at such a young age is something not everyone could say, but Mamoru was grateful to all those who helped him reach this position.

Once it was ironed, he neatly placed it back into the protective bag and zipped it up in his suitcase. He needed to leave the house at 6 to board the helicopter at 7, which meant an early night in. If there was one thing Mamoru hated to miss out on more than anything else in the world, was his sleep. He needed his full 8-10 hours otherwise all hell broke loose.

The next day he was up and dressed in his Uniform, he hopped on his bike and rode to the outskirts where a helicopter was waiting for him, “Kenji,” he nodded towards his best friend in the force, as he boarded the aircraft.

“Hey,” the young man nodded back, passing Mamoru a headset.

“So, where is this place that we’re going to?” he asked.

“Genevia,” Kenji replied.

“… never heard of it.”

“Me neither, until a few days ago. Had to do intense research to find out where it is it’s got a very small population of about 55.27 million people, and they’re so backwards it’s like going back in time to the 1950s, I’m talking from the clothes down to the technology,” he explained.

“Really? I know I may not be aware of such a country but living in this day and age I was half expecting them to be at least a little modern.”

“I know, and here’s the fun part; it’s under threat because one of the neighbouring Kings, Frederick of Tarynsville, has his eye on the Princess, who by the way I’ve heard is hot,” the young man laughed.

Kenji was like a younger brother to him, being only 19. But, his respect for women only lasted until the bedroom, beyond that he was a pig.

“Watch it, Kenji. Don’t forget right now we’re on duty so I’m not your friend but your commanding officer,” the young man reminded his subordinate.

“Geez, man. Relax, it was a joke, and we’re not even there, so technically you’re not my commanding officer just yet,” Kenji smirked.

“Joke or not, I won’t have you saying that in the presence of the Princess,” the young man made himself clear.

“Fine!”

“So, what does this castle look like?” Mamoru asked, changing the subject.

“You’re about to find out, we’re here.”

He looked outside and saw a great stone castle; it had three great towers at each end and a huge courtyard. Mamoru had to admit, that it was different compared to all the other countries he had been to, this one was almost… sweet.

Nothing too extravagant or modern, it was plain, simple, and didn’t look like it had been changed much to how it must’ve looked when it was first built all those years ago.

Just then Mamoru remembered something, “Hey Kenji, do me a solid and…”

“Whoa!” Kenji barked out a laugh.

“What?”

“You’re my commanding officer, I’m not going to do you,” he winked.

“You’re an asshole,” Mamoru resisted the urge to smack him upside the head.

“Okay, okay. Jokes aside, what do you need?”

“I want tabs on the King, what’s his face? Frank...?”

“Fredrick,” Kenji corrected with a snort.

“Right, him. Whatever you can find I want it reported back to me immediately, and keep it between us,” he told him.

“Roger that,” Kenji nodded.

The two men landed and Mamoru met with some other soldiers he worked with, they all stood straight as he jumped down. He gave Kenji the thumbs up, who reciprocated the gesture before taking off again.

Mamoru turned his gaze to the men before him and sent small clusters to guard different posts of the castle. Once they left, he was left with 3 and had them follow him inside.

“Hey, do you think we’ll get to meet the Princess?”

“Don’t be stupid, why would she want to meet you?”

“Yeah. She’s too hot for you to handle anyways.”

Again, the young commanding officer wasn’t going to let the assholes he called; Subordinates, talk like that about the Princess, especially now since they were all in her Kingdom.

He abruptly turned around, and they all stopped immediately, falling to a heap at his feet. He looked down and pegged them with a glare, a grin made its way to their faces and he could see them tremble slightly.

Mamoru turned around, only to bump into someone, his quick reflexes came into clutch as a small hand slipped into his. He pulled the girl to her feet as a small gasp escaped her lips as a loud thud echoed through the empty foyer, honey-coloured eyes stared into his own.

“Are you okay, miss?” he asked, after briefly composing himself.

She pegged him with a confused gaze, and after realising why Mamoru repeated himself but made sure to switch from Japanese to English, “Are you okay, miss?”

“Oh yes, thank you. My apologies I should’ve looked where I was going. Are you alright?” she asked, her eyes scanning over him.

“Yes,” he nodded, again after briefly composing himself.

He took her in as he studied her from head to toe, she was wearing a white blouse underneath a blue dress, her chocolate-coloured hair was tied in a low ponytail and draped over her left shoulder that reached her waist, and she wore blue flats.

He also happened to notice a book that had fallen at their feet, which probably was the cause of the thud they heard a few seconds ago, he crouched down to pick it up before standing up again to hand it to her.

“Thank you, and, are you sure?”

“Yes,” he repeated himself with a firm nod.

“You, girl! Have you seen the Princess?” one of the men behind Mamoru spoke up.

“May I ask who you are?” the girl questioned.

“We’re her bodyguards,” another guy smirked.

“I see,” the girl nodded, the smile not leaving her face.

Mamoru had to admit she was very pretty, although he had to keep his thoughts in check.

“Princess!” they all heard someone say and looked behind them to see a man wearing a suit quickly walking towards them.

“Where is she?” three of them spoke up, even Mamoru was curious.

“She’s right there,” the man pointed towards the girl Mamoru had just saved, “Princess Delilah of Genevia.”

Mamoru’s mouth fell open, he had saved the Princess without realising and his men had just addressed her as if she were some commoner!