Disclaimer: You WANT to read this chapter, because something amazing happens at the end ;)....

Rei is more than ecstatic to be on the road early the next morning, not hesitating to drag Baekhyun out of bed before waving her goodbyes to her captain. As the two figures slowly drift away from the ship, Leroy can’t help but let out a small chuckle of amusement. Chanyeol, who is supporting him by the arm, looks down at the older man with a slightly confused face.

“These two,” Leroy rubs his chin, “Want to make a bet on these two?”

Chanyeol burst out laughing, “Captain, I think  you’re wasting your time betting. It’s as clear as day.”

The City bathed in Sunshine is still as lively and as cheerful as ever, causing Baekhyu to feel nostalgic as he wound in between stalls and shopping carts, avoided groups of children running about and tipped his head to the young women staring at him from the shop corners, all huddled together and giggling when they got his attention. Rei saw the royal soldier’s wandering gaze and couldn’t help but scoff, before smacking the back of his head.

Baekhyun yelped, before turning to her with a scowl, “What the ?”

“Eyes on the prize, soldier boy.” Rei’s lips curled at the corners, a smirk as mischievous as a cheshire cat, “Anyway, you don’t want to deal with the likes of them.”

“Thanks for caring,” He answers with sarcasm dripping from his tone, “It means a lot.”

“You’re welcome.” She shoots back with just as much venom in her voice. The conversation dies down as they get closer and closer to the said shop, knowing that failure means the possibility of death. The said royal soldier swallows hard at the idea of never seeing his brother again, and emotion wells up through his chest. Kyungsoo won’t be able to live alone, not for long anyway. He’s independent and knows how to control his temper, but without someone to reprimand him of his own workaholic habits, the young man is likely to die from overwork. The guilt swims within Baekhyun’s stomach as he wonders how Kyungsoo is taking all this information in.

Rei nudges his arm and he blinks to focus back on the task at hand. Before him stands a small building made out of what seems to be cemented sand, sturdy looking and more flat and wide than piled up high. From the cheaply pasted windows that overlook into the shop, it seems to be some kind of bakery that seems to specialize in desserts and sweet treats. When Baekhyun ducks his head to gaze through the window pane, he notices a man, probably in his sixties, with graying hair on his pink scalp and his tiny, scrawny arms picking up and counting the change behind  counter. Rei pushes the door, causing bells to chime as they enter. The young man can’t help but sniff at the air when a whiff of deliciousness suddenly wafts through his nostrils, before he realizes that the pirate had been gazing at him with what seemed to be amusement glittering in her brown orbs.

“Oh!” The said old man seems startled to see them there, almost as if he isn’t used to getting customers, which Baekhyun assumes isn’t the case considering the interior seems quite lavishly decorated.

“Good morning! Why, it is very early in the morning, isn’t it?” The old man chatters with bright eyes. A little bit too bright. Clasping his thin hands together and leaning forward over the counter where an array of cakes and delicacies were displayed, he peers over at them through his wiry glasses, “And how can I help you?”

The old man is looking directly at Baekhyun and the latter feels like squirming at the attention. He attempts to clear his throat, “Well, we were wondering--”

“Cut the crap, old man.” Rei suddenly cuts Baekhyun off in her cool, no-nonsense tone. It’s chilly enough to render cold goosebumps down the said soldier’s spine, while the old man blinks at her with surprised confusion.

“E-Excuse me?” The shopkeeper pushes his glasses nervously up his nose, “I don’t quite--”

“I said cut the crap.” Rei leans over the counter, one of her hands reaching down to caress the hammer attached to her hip, “We know your son’s been taken by the Assassin. When did that happen? And where did he go?”

“I-I think you’ve got the wrong person--”

“Don’t,” she glares at him, “make me repeat myself.”

The shopkeeper’s face looks like he is on the verge of crying and guilt swims through Baekhyun’s stomach. He really isn’t enjoying this, especially not the way that Rei is handling it. He tries to be more gentle when he speaks, “You have a son, right? We mean no harm, barely looking for the same thing as everyone else.”

The old man’s lips are trembling, his whole body shaking. He looks away, averting his eyes to the ground. The crinkles around his mouth tightened as if he’s fighting a battle within himself.

Baekhyun takes his silence as a sign to continue talking, “We know about the Assassin and we’re trying to find him. We want to stop him, and my fellow mate here saw your son talking to the Assassin himself.”

“My son has nothing to do with this!” The shopkeeper cries as he leans back against the wall, as if trying to put as much distance between himself and the two strangers that are demanding for so many answers, strangers that he does not trust.

“We know he doesn’t. He’s a Royal soldier. He’s a faithful guard to the Crown, to Saphirica,” and so was I, Baekhyun wants to add, but restrains himself at the last minute, “But we also know how powerful the Assassin can be. He probably threatened your son and we just want to stop him.”

The old man’s eyes fix on Baekhyun’s, and as the young soldier lets him take his time to digest his words, he catches sight of the very fragile film of emotion that threatens to burst out of him. The fear in the cold blue swirls of the shopkeeper’s eyes are very real and all too present, but then there is a soft glimmer, almost unnoticeable through the chaotic thoughts raging through his mind, but there it is like a small string dangling in front of his face: hope.

The shopkeeper glances, eyes flitting right and left for any signs of customers, before he quickly beckons them to the backroom. Rei shoots Baekhyun a look as they follow him and the latter just shrugs in response.

The old man’s hands are shaking when he turns the lock to his private studio, not caring whether customers are waiting on the other side of the door. He swivels around to stare at them and Baekhyun swears he’s never seen a man so terrified.

“So,” Rei busies herself with swinging her hammer, causing the shopkeeper to flinch, “Tell us everything. And we want the truth.”

Baekhyun’s arm quickly shoots out to grasp hers, stopping her in mid-action before he throws her a white hot glare to indicate that her annoyingly threatening behaviour is not going to come in handy in such a situation.

Rei scowls back, but tucks the hammer back through her belt with grudging reluctance.

“They--They caught him when he was out to throw the trash away last night.” the old man’s voice shook with barely restrained fear, eyes wide and looking as though he was about to pass out at any given second, “He’s innocent. My boy, my young boy wouldn’t do anything. He only agreed to do this because they threatened to burn my shop down.”

“Do you know where they went?” Baekhyun asks.

“Something about a tavern. They’re having a meet up there, a gathering of some sort, from what I can remember.” The old man reaches up to rub at his temples, a frown furrowing his eyebrows, “But I know this isn’t just any regular tavern. The owners themselves must probably not be aware of it.”

“What’s the name of the tavern?”

“Something like--like Sun Kids Tavern or something.” the old man’s face scrunches up in an attempt to remember exactly what the Assassin’s words had been. He had hid in the corner and had tried listening in but unfortunately managed to get snippets. But when he’d managed to get hold of his body to scramble back to his shop and alert the other Royal Soldiers, he had seen the note lying on the ground of his bakery, a clear warning that he should keep his mouth shut about it.

“You mean “kids of the Sun”?” Rei confirmed.

“Yes! Yes, Kids of the Sun. That’s where they’re all gathering.” the shopkeeper nodded with enthusiasm.

“When? What time?”

“I think he said sometime this evening.” the old man then shakes his head as he continues, “I’m not really sure of the time.”

After promising that they will do their best to bring his boy back, the manage to convince the old man to leave town for a few days in order to make sure that he’s in a safe place, convincing him that his shop will be untouched and his son’s life spared if he did as they told him to. They part ways and silence overtakes the pair, Rei’s gaze never leaving Baekhyun’s back as he finds a nearby pub and ducks through its opening. It is a good place to hide from strangers, where they can discuss quietly without any prying ears due to the constant buzz and the noise that surrounds them.

They order two bottles of beer and it isn’t until the waitress sashays away with swaying hips that Rei leans forward, chin in hand as she gazes at him, “Didn’t take you for such a sweet talker, soldier boy.”

Baekhyun just looks at her, clearly unimpressed by her performance, “And you clearly aren’t.”

“That’s why I have you here with me.” she singsongs.

“It’s not funny.” Baekhyun’s eyes narrowed into slits, hating how guilty this makes him feel. He’s always been some kind of pacifist even if his job is filled with nothing but violence. He doesn’t like exercising his authority for nothing, but from what he saw from Rei’s earlier threats, it’s clear that she relishes in that sensation of authority, and somehow that really makes him want to kick himself for believing that maybe she did have a good side somewhere hidden in the depths of her too black heart.

“Come on, lighten up. Bad cop, good cop, right?” Rei’s eyes follow the waitress as she puts the two bottles onto the table, and grabs one of them before taking a huge swig.

Baekhyun gazes at her for a minute, brow furrowed. He grabs his own drink silently and lets the cool taste of alcohol warm his insides, “What does that even mean?” He asks.

“I do the threatening and you do the explaining.” Rei smirks, “Good teamwork right there.”

Baekhyun blinks, “You’re weird.”

“And you’re not funny.” She takes another sip of her beer, a soft sigh escaping her lips as she cast a glance around to make sure nobody is paying attention to them. Sure enough, no one really cares about a pair of youngsters who look like they’re on a date.

“So what now?” Baekhyun questions while gently tapping his fingers on the cool glass surface of his drink.

Rei offers him a half-shrug, “I guess we wait until sundown and go see what that place is all about.”

“The one that the shopkeeper was talking about?”

She nods, “We’ll have to see if his son’s there. Kris, right?”

“Yeah.” Baekhyun stares down at his bottle, takes another swig of it. Rei can’t help but stare at the veins running up his forearm and quickly looks away when she realizes that she has been staring for a little too long. She clears while the said man speaks up once more.

“I’m guessing that’s why you told me to bring my uniform.” he says it more like a statement than a question, but the petite pirate nods anyway.

“And what are you going to do?”

Rei’s face lights up with a mischievous grin. “Oh, it’s my favourite part.”

“Was that really necessary?”

As her fingers fly over his buttons to get the uniform as fast as possible off the unconscious soldier’s body, Rei whips her head around to throw him the meanest glare she can muster, “did you have any other ideas, genius?”

Baekhyun shakes his head as he watches the girl strip the man down with lithe, quick and smooth movements. For someone who seems rough and as tough as a pirate, he must admit that there is a graceful manner in which Rei’s body moves that reminds him of a sleek panther inside of just a pouncing dragon.

He feels like swearing when he notices that the soldier is stark , except for his underwear and socks. He opens his mouth to retort a reply back at his witty associate, only to turn and see that the said woman has started undressing herself.

Baekhyun yelps before turning against the wall, “What the , woman?!” he half-yells. He can feel the heat rising to his face and steaming right over his ears like a train.

Rei keeps on undressing herself casually, chuckling at the soldier’s comical behaviour, “What, haven’t you seen women before?” she jokingly teases while pulling down her slacks and quickly shoving on the pants that are way too large for her.

But the man facing the wall doesn’t answer. Rei’s jaw drops open, gawking at his backside as realization hits her.

“Oh my god.” she breathes, “You’re a .”

She doesn’t have to touch him to know that his body has stiffened up, jaw locking in defense. “No.”

“Yeah right, Baekhyun. You took way too long to answer that.” she rolls her eyes as she shrugs on cloak blazing a vibrant blue, not used to looking down at the Saphirica emblem glazing across her chest. She quickly taps his shoulder and the said young man turns around with a scowl imprinted on his face.

He doesn’t even wait for her before taking off and walking out of the small alley. Rei’s lips hitch into a playful smile before she rushes to catch up with him, “Hey, totally cool with me if you’re a . Lots of people still are--”

“Can you shut up?” Baekhyun hisses aggressively as they turn the corner and fall back onto the main road.

“I can’t believe you got embarrassed because I was changing my clothes.” Rei lets out a chuckle as her hand brushes against the hammer now hidden underneath her Saphire blue cloak, “Men pay to actually see women undress in this world.”

“You shouldn’t give yourself away so easily.” Baekhyun suddenly stops in mid-walk to turn to her. His face is full of seriousness, dark brown orbs seemingly darker than she has ever seen them, and behind all this, a layer of what looks like...concern? “You’re worth way more than all this--” he gestures towards the shops, dropping his hand to the back of his neck, “--all this female objectification.”

The weight of his words seem to sink in to her, a weight that settles on her shoulders as she gazes at him with growing realization that his words actually mean something, something that seems to be related to her and her well-being, something that actually indicates that… he cares.

But the man has turned before she can bask in the sudden rush of warmth in her chest, and blinking back to reality, Rei quickly shakes her head, shaking off her thoughts as she hurriedly falls into step beside the royal soldier.

In all this emotional turmoil, she hadn’t been cautious enough to notice whether their presence has been detected, but Baekhyun seems to have already scanned the area, for he says:

“It’s fine. We’re clear.”

A sigh falls from her lips. She is under the slightest impression that he is mad. But at what and with who exactly is a great question that she cannot fathom the answer to. So she just shrugs it off in hopes that he will get over it soon enough. Nevertheless, his words flow through her and echo at the back of her head as they walk down the road, as if they were made to haunt her consciousness.

Kids of the Sun was not an impressive bar to begin with. Found on a street corner and tucked away in the lower level of what looked like an abandoned victorian building made up of red brick walls and a stone archway, Baekhyun thinks it looks almost too tame for an Assassin’s meeting place. Then again, this kind of location definitely will not give him away and Baekhyun wonders briefly if the Assassin has any contacts of the sort, spies that might be hiding within the City Bathed in Sunlight.

Baekhyun hesitates as he steps through the doorway, but Rei isn't having any of that. She pushes him forward so that he stumbles, and with a glare in her direction, he attempts to straighten himself before ducking into a main room where all the fun is supposed to be.

It is definitely not on the main level, they had checked that possibility off their list when they planned their small mission. The soldier's eyes flicker over the crowd. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, with people milling about and chatting in soft, hushed tones. The dim lights of the bar casts shadows over the faces, making their features hard and angular, impossible to really be identified. Unconsciously, Baekhyun’s hand reaches inside his coat pocket to hold the crumpled photo of the shopkeeper’s son: Kris. He’d been described as a tall, lanky man with a flock of blonde hair and catlike, almond shaped eyes that have a piercing intensity. While Baekhyun hasn’t seen his face around much, the shopkeeper had explained that Kris had only been recruited just a few weeks ago, having been spotted as one of the best lock pickers that they’d ever laid eyes on. It’s no surprise that the Assassin had targeted him in the first place.

“See anything?” comes Rei’s soft murmur in the shell of his ear.

Baekhyun merely tilts his head to the sign to signal a negative. But then she nudges his side, causing the young man to turn his head to the said direction before he caught a glimpse of two figures ducking through another, smaller opening in the wall. It can barely be seen unless you knew where you were going; the perfect hiding spot for a gathering, thinks Baekhyun as he walks right into the opening with Rei hot on his heels.

Only to come face to face with two men standing at another door, hidden away from the main crowd of the room.

“Present yourself.” one of the men states.

Baekhyun doesn’t give anything away as he says, “I am Byun Baekhyun, a Royal Soldier, member of the Royal Kingdom of Saphirica, forever a protector of the land.”

They seem even more terrifying up close as they inspect him with furrowed brows. Both burly and looking like they can pack a punch, the young soldier quickly tries to formulate a plan B of escape in his head when he realizes that there is no way he’d be able to engage them in combat if need be. While he might be able to hold them off until Rei escapes, he can’t really say the same for himself.

But they surprisingly let him through with the softest of grunts, and Baekhyun walks into another room without looking back, for fear that they will know this is all a makeshift plan. He doesn’t even dare glance back at Rei, whom he knows is getting judged and questioned. He hopes, in the dim part of his mind, that the guards are too dumb to realize she’s a woman.

"You can't pass." He hears behind him. He turns around only to see Rei getting pushed away by the guards.

"I'm with him." It's clear she's trying to hone in her anger and frustration.

"Sorry. You don't pass."

"What? Why? Okay  that is totally unfair. I have just the same amount of rights as he does--"

"No passing."

Rei feels like stomping her foot. Glancing over the guard's shoulders, she catches Baekhyun's eyes and nods her head once, assuring him that she will be okay and that he should go on. Baekyyun nods back before disappearing into the dark and through the throng of people that seem to have gathered for the same purpose.

While he should be panicking because Rei isn’t at his side, they’d promised to meet up in the washroom stalls if anything went wrong, and she’ll probably be able to slip right through the windows, he thinks to himself. They had inspected the area earlier, so really she should be fine.

A stage is dimly lit in the centre of the room, and trying to make himself as invisible as possible, he slips right through the crowd and leans against a nearby wall, face covered in shadows as the individual at the centre of the platform calls out to the crowd.

“Gather around, criminals.” his voice is rough and sounds like he’s been smoking his whole life, “Gather around.”

The crowd shuffles forward towards the individual standing on the platform. Decked in all black, it is impossible to recognize his features, for there are shadows cast over his face and a hood covering his head, giving him maximum protection from prying eyes. Baekhyun doesn’t bother moving forward, preferring to stay in the back just in case chaos ensures.

“We are all gathered tonight for something.” his voice booms across the room, confident and raspy. If he didn’t know better, Baekhyun would’ve thought he sounds wise beyond age. The figure of the Assassin spreads his arms wide, “And we all know what it is. I’m sick of playing by the rules of those damned royalty, and you do too. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here.”

There is a big excited murmur that runs through the crowd, causing Baekhyun to shift uneasily. He doesn’t like this. Doesn’t like this at all.

“We all want to be powerful enough to defeat royalty, and we are my friends. We are more powerful than we think.” He makes a full turn, smooth and as graceful as a cat, so light on his feet that it sends a chill of fear dancing down the young soldier’s spine, “And I’m so glad to see some familiar Saphirica uniforms. So good of you to have joined us and figured out that this is the reality that we’re fighting for. This is the only way to move forward.”

The crowd cheers and raise their beers in unison.

“Now now, no pain no gain, am I right?” The crowd jeers again in response like a pack of wild animals, and Baekhyun shudders when a sadistic grin splays across the Assassin’s lips, “Tonight, we’re going to have an ultimate battle. Only the strongest can join my crew. The rest of you, well -- you’re gonna be dead.”

Another rumble goes through the crowd, but this time with less excitement and more filled with worry. Horror fills Baekhyun’s stomach as he processes the Assassin’s instructions. He doesn’t mean that he’s going to kill them, does he? He thinks as terror slowly seeps through his stomach. It’s totally possible, it’s the Assassin for god’s sake. He’s the one who murdered almost half of the Royal Soldier Force. If there is anyone that is ruthless and won’t stop at nothing for power; it will be him.

The said raspy tone breaks through his train of thought by bellowing out a “So who’s our first champion?!”

A soft pause follows. The crowd shifts and squirms in place, unsure about this whole ordeal. Before someone steps up onto the stage, sword drawn across his back. It’s a Royal Soldier, though Baekhyun can’t recognize him. The said soldier lifts his sword in the air before stating, “I’ll be the one.”

“Alright there, my friend. You brave, brave warrior. No wonder, you are a soldier of the Royal Kingdom.” The Assassin laughs like a maniac as he strolls over to the other side of the stage, before he grabs onto a random individual and pulls him up. This man seems younger, more boyish somehow, and looks just like any normal villager. His face is pale and he looks like he’s about to be sick. Pity fills Baekhyun at the thought that this might be his last hour if he doesn’t kill the Royal Soldier first.

This is madness, inhumane. His hands curl into fists at his sides and he can feel his nails digging into the flesh of his palms, stinging and drawing blood. He curses, but there’s nothing he can do to stop them. Doing so will just be reckless at this point.

So excusing himself and sticking close to the shadows of the wall, Baekhyun makes his way to the bathroom and sure enough, catches sight of Rei rocking her legs onto the sink counter. She looks up in surprise at him, eyes narrowing when taking in his expression.

“They’re killing each other.” Baekhyun blurts out, “That’s how they choose who to take in. That’s how they choose their members.”

“So basically it’s just gonna be a bloodbath.” Rei isn’t surprised, picking at the dirt underneath her fingernails. The soldier isn’t as calm, pacing slowly from one corner of the room to the other side with clenched jaw, tense stance.

He feels powerless, useless. He wants to do something, anything to help those poor innocents.

“Have you seen Kris?” Rei asks.

Baekhyun shakes his head, “It’s too dark. I can barely see where I’m going.”

“Do you think he’s even here?”

Baekhyun pauses, “He wouldn’t let his father die in his stead.”

“Okay, so what now? We can’t just get out. We promised Kris’s father we’d find him and we can’t just go waltzing out there without swords at our necks.”

The young soldier bites his lip in thought, “I don’t--”

Before he can finish his words, footsteps are heard outside and the two individuals look at each other, panic filling their faces as Rei grasps onto Baekhyun’s shirt, pulling him close as the door swings open with a loud bang!

The young soldier stumbles against her body. He looks up before hissing, “What the , Rei?!”

“Trust me.” comes her breathless murmur, and before he can do anything else, her lips come crashing down onto his.

OH MY GOD It's getting hot and steamy in here.

Here's another chapter update! I know I'm quite late and I haven't updated in a while, but I hope you still enjoy this chappie as much as I enjoyed wriitng it. I love Rei's character, she's kind of like a breath of fresh air to me and I just wish I could have more of her boldness and wit TT.TT Anyway, what did you think of this one?
Comment your thoughts down below! :D <3 

Thanks for reading, as always. I love you all.

- Nutmeggu 

Also, for any HP Fans out there, check out my newest Theseus x OC fanfiction: 
Kaleidoscope || theseus sc. x oc fanfiction