The Prince Arrives [Sky]

Mateus was simply riding on his private jet towards the Los Angeles air port, enjoying the views, and taking small nops here and there to make sure he didn't get too much of jet lag. He would definitely experience some discomfort with the sudden and massive shift in time zones and such, but he was ready to start the next chapter in his life in America, especially since there was a good school for him there. The food he enjoyed was amazing of course, fit for a prince, and there were movies and all these things normal people didn't get to enjoy, but he didn't like that. He thought that everyone should be able to enjoy whatever they work for, sort of a strange philosophy from a man born with a golden spoon in his mouth, but most of his childhood friends were in poverty. Regardless, he dreamed of wondrous things going for him in the new land, and was suddenly awakened by the sudden impact of the jet tires to the asphalt of the tarmac. As he yawned and stretched, he would get up after the pilot told him it was safe to leave, and he would walk out of the plane, to a large wave of fans and photographers. Apparently him coming to America was a big deal, although he was simply coming to study, not quell an international incident or sign any treaties. He was only there to learn things.

As he stepped into the airport in which he would go to his hotel, the wave of people who were there to greet him were taking pictures, and screaming, and it was as if he was a A list movie star or lead band member for a rock band. He simply smiled and waved, and the crowd gasped, and some of the women even fainted, and this made him chuckle a bit. His bodyguards swiftly grabbed him and tucked him in a limo where he would be driven to his hotel room. After that, he simply went to a mall in normal street clothing, and he was still get adoration from women, but only this time they weren't directly notified that he was from another country. He spoke English really well due to his studies, so he wasn't handicapped in the mall at all. He was getting swamped by women however, and this got him free food and such, as the woman were doting on him. He wasn't really taking advantage either, he was trying to get them to calm down a little, but to no avail, as he was starting to get nasty looks from the men in the mall.

Spoiler:

Skyscraper had left his home in Japan, and was visiting California. He wanted to come see his home country again. He had no "home town" because New York was full of bad memories. All the abuse, all the sadness, all the anger. He didn't want to see the streets of New York for a while. California on the other hand, was on the complete opposite side of the country. It was totally different. He thought it would be more sunny and happy there, and maybe there he could finally find the one thing that has been missing in his life. "Happiness."

Skyscraper would make his first stop into a mall. He had his normal hood over his face, covering his face. He searched the mall at all the people who all seemed happy. He wondered what exactly they were happy about. Was it because of the new possessions they purchased? The food they ate there? The movie they saw? He wondered what exactly was making them so happy.

He crossed his arms, and sat down on a bench, simply looking at people until he saw a man. He raised an eyebrow and saw a bunch of females were all over his heels acting as if they never saw a man before. "Jeez, close the flood gates for your vaginas ladies, they are leaking." He said under his breath, as he leaned back and took a deep breath. "Is being attractive to the opposite sex something that can bring happiness? I'm so confused!" He accidentely shouted, as people began to look at him with confused looks. He groaned and turned his head.

Mateus was simply trying to get through his day without being ripped apart by women, and it seemed that he was upsetting more people than he was making happy, because even some of the girls were pouting that he wasn't paying much attention to them. There was simply not enough time in the day to do that, and he was simply trying to walk through the mob and to the clothing portion of the mall to see if he could find something he liked. However, he was slightly jarred when a disgruntled person suddenly outburst, asking sarcastically if being attractive could bring happiness. well, in some cases, this could be true, but Matues didn't even really know that he was amazingly attractive, simply because he was nice and oblivious like that, but he did realize that woman were much more into him, but he thought that was because he was a prince.

Being the eccentric empathetic person he was, he couldn't sit there while that person was angry, especially when he was angry at him, and the girls would only give him a slight glance, before rolling their eyes and continue doting on him, but he would put up his hand in a wait sort of command, and they backed off a bit, and he would walk up to the young man on the bench. "Hello, I am Prince Mateus, nice to meet you." Mateus would then bow to the man, in a show of respect, even though the young man looked like he wasn't going to return the favor. Mateus went on to talk to the person. "As for your question, happiness is brought about by how one looks at the world. I enjoy all of the beauty and awe this world has to offer. So, while being a lustful person might make others happy, I am simply enjoying the time I can spend with others, regardless of their gender." The eloquent speech of the man brought on some smiles, and a few of the women awed at it, but that's when Mateus sort of laughed, an embarrassed one because he didn't really like that suddenly he was being stared at by everyone.

Skyscraper looked at the man attracting all of the random women. Then he began to thought. What do women exactly admire about him? He pondered, as he thought about his own lack of pursuing relationships with females. He really didn't talk to too many females due to him being home schooled and trained as an assassin all of his life. The only female he really has ever socialized with is the one he had trained wiht at his father's clan house or women he met on his assassinations missions.

He looked up and saw the man approaching him as he groaned. "If he is coming over here to mock me. I swear i'll kick his ass through one of these stores." He mumbled under his breath so no one could hear him. He adjusted his hood over his face across his ears and over his eyes so the man wouldn't be able to see his face.

"Prince...?" He repeated, as he began to ponder. "What are you doing in a mall in California if your a prince. Especially without a bodyguard." He said to the man, as he saw him bow at him. He simply nodded his head at him to return the greeting.

"That might explain why I've never been happy. Nothing good has ever happened to me. So my view of the world, isn't that positive." He said, as he looked around. "Well, unlike you. I doubt females would find me attractive, or even wanna spend time with me." He said, as he groaned and shook his head.

Mateus chuckled a bit when the young man asked why he was in a random mall in America, and without bodyguards. While it was true that he didn't have bodyguards, he wasn't really a high profile target. Sure he was rich, but there were many rich people in this city, and they didn't seem too threatened. the only thing he would have to worry about is some sort of political kidnapping, and his way with words could most likely get him out of almost all situations. He thought about it for a moment, wondering what he should say to the man that seemed really sad. well, he decided someone like this needed the blunt route.

"Well, I'm here studying abroad from my own country, but it isn't much of a powerful nation, so there's not much of a risk." Mateus would sit next to the man, as the crowd started to form around them, listening and hanging on every word Mateus said as if he was the leader of the country. Mateus smiled at the man, wondering why he felt so sorry for himself. "Nothing good has ever happened to you hmm? Well, you have the freedom to happily walk through the mall. You also seem to have all of your limbs, and are not blind or handicapped. You seem to be strong, even though you might not believe it. You must have some sort of skill. And why wouldn't they want to spend time with you? All you need is a bit of confidence, which shouldn't be too hard to find for you, hmm?"

Mateus would pat him on the shoulder and smile, as he looked to the women to do him a favor. they then all started complimenting him on his various appearance, and his "I don't care" attitude, being able to say whatever came to mind whenever.

Skyscraper looked at the man as he sighed and shook his head from side to side. "Honestly, you trust me way too much. You trust this city too much. You trust this entire country too much. People here kill their own neighbors for a bag of chips. You don't know if someone would kill you for your status or your money. They could hold you hostage and get a pretty high ransom off of you. You don't need to be going around without protection. That huge army of fan girls won't protect you either, you need a real bodyguard."

"Confidence isn't the issue. I just am incapable of being happy. I'm so used to being mad or sad. I haven't felt happiness in years. Not since I was a young child." He said as he looked at the females that followed the prince. He decided he should follow the man's advice and try this confidence thing out.

He lowered his hood down to reveal his face. His bright blue eyes and spiky hazel hair were his special traits. Skyscraper was actually a pretty handsome male. He barely shows his face after his encounter with his father where he was kidnapped and tortured for months straight. He is ashamed of his own face so maybe he would take the man's advice and grow his confidence. He approached one of the women and looked her in the eye, his own blue eyes sparkling after being covered most of the time. "Hi..." He said to her in a somewhat whisper as he rubbed the back of his head.

Mateus did nothing but simply shrug and smile at the man as he said that the prince needed an actual bodyguard. It seemed that the man had a strange thing about confidence and simply not being able to become happy. Well, not experiencing happiness was something of a big problem, but the young man was taking his advice somewhat, as he took off the hood. It turned out that the man was a bit handsome, even though he didn't really think so it seemed, and his eyes showed more passion and life than the man would lead on to other people. Mateus smiled and gave the man a thumbs up when he sort of awkwardly said hello to a young girl. Well, it was a start, and at least he was trying to exude some confidence, then again, not a lot of people would even do that. People were so afraid of the opposite sex, even though they were all basically the same species, even though some of them had superpowers and other things that made them unique, and perhpas not even human. They were still people, and they all needed the respect that others would like for themselves.

Regardless, Mateus would attempt to bring the conversation to another direction. He wasn't sure how long he could really sit in the mall with all of the women crowding him, and he needed to go to one of the stores and get something to eat for later, he didn't even have groceries at his house. But, he would tell the man farewell, before leaving the mall. A small piece of paper would be pulled out and handed to the man. "Well, this is my number, feel free to call me if you would like to do something. I'm not familiar with what there is to do around here." Mateus was sort of using this man like a tour guide of sorts, because he wanted to have fun, and reached out to the guy. This of course upset all the women who wanted his number too, but he wasn't sure if he had enough time to answer all of their calls, because he knew that he would sit there and do it, because of how nice he was.

Mateus would wave farewell to the man, and walk out of the mall, and back to his house.

[exit]

Skyscraper groaned and looked back at the Prince. He however, was less mad then usual. It did impress him that a complete stranger would be willing to go to such lengths to help him achieve happiness. "Hmm. You know Prince. Your a pretty decent person." He said, as he nodded. He gave him a small smirk, the closest thing he would offer him to a smile. "Well, I suppose you have to be in order to be a prince of an entire country. The people have to look up to you, and you represent them." He said, as he nodded.

Skyscraper saluted the prince as he departed. "I'll see you around. Mateus." He said, as he stood up and accepted the man's number. "I shall contact you soon. By the way, my name. Is Richard." He said, giving his real name for once. He usually went by Skyscraper, his assassin's name but he decided to trust the prince with his original name. He saluted him as they both went their separate ways.

Skyscraper also walked out of the mall, and decided to boost his confidence he would go the rest of the day without putting his hood over his face. The sun shined down on his skin as he brushed his hair with his hand and walked outside, looking at the people exiting as he yawned and sat on the curve simply thinking about what the man and him were discussing earlier.

"I've been looking for you." A woman wearing a red vest, with black pants and boots, would be leaning against the wall of the mall. It would be no other than the woman in red, also known as Jessica Sterling. On her face was a pair of shades hiding her eyes, but it was obvious she was looking towards him. "You've been chosen to participate in a game show. I hope you're prepared for the worst. Only those who are..what's the world..'brave', will make it through these particular games. If you're a coward, you should run now. I'm not going to chase you. But if you're up for a challenge.." The woman's voice was calm, as a SHIELD helicopter would hover down over head, lowering a rope for him to grab onto. "Come with me." With that said, she removed her grappling hook and fired it up to the helicopter, reeling herself up towards it before flipping in. If the boy also joined the ride, the helicopter would be on its way back towards the island.

Skyscraper raised his head and looked up to see a woman talking to him. He instantly recognized her because she wouldn't be easy to forget. He had fought her not to long ago in a tournament where he was "killed". However, was instantly revived afterwards. He smiled when he saw her and approached her. "Looking for me? As i have been looking for you. However, my business will be for a later time. You have a game show?" He asked, as he let her finish what she had to say. "I'm no coward miss. I'm not brave either. I just can't feel the emotion fear. I'll take part in your little game." He said, as he followed her he gripped onto the rope dropped down for him. "I wonder what this game is really about." He mumbled, as he pulled himself up and got into the back seat of the helicopter, they would all depart.

EXIT