The Pauper Prince[ss] - Chapter 28 - part 1
The Pauper Prince[ss] - Chapter 28
Pairing: Akame
rating: pg-13
summary: To end the war that has desecrated the lives of the people between two kingdoms, an alliance in the form of an arranged marriage has been made between the two royal families. however, when the princess runs away to avoid being married, the unwilling look-a-like pauper, Kamenashi Kazuya, somehow finds himself brought in to play the part of the princess and decieve Prince Jin. But Kazuya never expected to fall in love...
*waves* so it's been um....a long time since I updated =P here's chapter 28; it's a bit rushed at the end and sucky because I'm in a hurry to finish before i have to get to the airport XDDD So if it's really bad, i'll rewrite it when i get back ^_____^ Until then...~~ enjoy~~
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. Tatsuya sat at the dining table with Junno and Jin, stirring a cup of coffee in front of him. He wasn’t an idiot and could notice things - he knew that even Junno had noticed what was going on, and he also knew that Jin in his anger and hurt had yet to notice. It wouldn’t be long, however, before the angry prince would realize that two of his own friends, Uchi and Ryo, were going to and from the South Kingdom’s quarters, not even trying to be furtive. It also wouldn’t be long before Jin noticed that Ryo could sometimes be seen walking next to Yamashita as he left the South Kingdom’s quarters.
Tatsuya wondered how Jin would react then.
Jin was extremely angry at the moment, at everything. He refused to talk to his father, he refused to talk about the South Kingdom, and most of all, he refused to listen when Tatsuya tried to talk to him.
At the moment, Jin was stabbing his dinner with his fork, and Tatsuya winced.
“Jin” he tried quietly. He did not need Jin accusing him of trying to control his opinions again and lashing out. Tatsuya had been highly insulted when that happened - just because he was the one who was always the voice of logic, and made Jin see reason and calm down when he was pissed off, did not mean he was trying to control Jin’s opinion.
“I don’t want to hear it” Jin snapped immediately, as if knowing that Tatsuya wanted to talk about the South Kingdom, “I didn’t want to hear about it the last few hundred times you wanted to talk about it, I still don’t want to talk about it”
Junno wisely decided not to say anything about the fact that it hadn’t been a few hundred times. As if sensing his thoughts, Jin sent a glare at the taller man and Junno put up his hands in an ‘I surrender don’t hurt me’ pose. Tatsuya sighed, levelling a glare at Jin.
“First of all, he didn’t even say anything, so don’t take your anger out on him” he said defending Junno and earning Jin’s glare on him, “I also didn’t do or say anything to you that would make you angry so don’t take it out on me either” he added. Jin’s scowl deepened for a moment before he sighed and stared pointedly at his plate of food.
“I don’t even want to talk about it” Jin repeated with a sigh, “Why did I even make that deal?” he muttered under his breath.
“Because you thought it was the fastest way to get them out of your life?” Tatsuya asked, repeating what Jin had told him already. Jin looked at him balefully, “I know that”
“Then why are you asking? Are you regretting that you made the deal in the first place?”
Jin scowled, “I don’t even want to talk to him. Which I’ll probably have to do tomorrow at the stupid event” he glared down at his plate, “I should have just ignored Yamashita and gone straight to my father”
“You should have?” Tatsuya asked.
Almost immediately, Jin’s head snapped up as though shocked at the answers, “Of course!” his eyes narrowed, “Don’t tell me you still think I should talk this out with him or whatever. I refuse” he said forcefully.
“Jin” Tatsuya had to tread softly around this subject now that he had finally gotten Jin to even touch on the subject of Kamenashi, “Why are you still so upset?” he asked.
“Why? Why?” Jin spluttered, “You know what they - he - did! Why the hell are you asking stupid questions?!”
Tatsuya sighed, “Jin, have you tried just talking to Kamenashi - I mean…there had to be a reason. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s curious - why did they do what they did?” he tried reasonably.
Of course, Jin wasn’t exactly in a reasonable mood at the moment. He glared at Tatsuya before turning away, “I don’t want to know. All I know is that he lied to me - everything about him was a lie. Everything, Tat-chan” he stressed in a voice that made Tatsuya still and stop trying to make Jin see reason.
The prince, although he didn’t admit it, had been hurt terribly by this revelation.
Tatsuya could only imagine what Jin was going through. He had thought he could have a life of happiness, when at the start of this trip, he had been resigned to being unhappy with the one he was supposed to marry. Jin had been so antagonistic toward the princess - Kamenashi, he corrected himself as he had had to do many times already - because he wanted someone else to do something about the situation they were in.
Tatsuya had known Jin since they were children, so he could somewhat understand what Jin was thinking when he had been first told about the marriage. All through the war, Jin had practically been trapped inside the palace, or wherever he was at the moment. It was obvious to anyone visiting that the prince was in the same place they were, because with Jin came many uniformed guards. Jin wasn’t allowed to go anywhere by himself; he wasn’t even allowed to wander outside of the royal chambers by himself.
Sometimes, Jin would manage to escape his guard but those times were rare and he would always be yelled at afterward. Hitoshi didn’t seem to understand that while a prince, his son was still just another child - a child who hated being in a situation akin to prison.
So, to Jin, it was like…
The war had ended and he was freed from his prison, only to land in another prison. This prison, however, was in the form of being forced to be with someone he didn’t like for the rest of his life.
Tatsuya could understand just a little what was going through Jin’s mind. To Jin, Kamenashi had freed him, only to trap him in a prison once more. In a way, it was like he had betrayed Jin.
“Of course I haven’t tried talking to him” Jin snapped, “I don’t want to hear their stupid reasons. They probably owed King Tsubasa something and this was their way of repaying him because it’s obvious that the real one did what I wanted to do and left”
Tatsuya felt that the South Kingdom should be very glad that everyone was out helping for the event tomorrow morning and that no one was even near the dining hall at the moment.
“Jin…” Tatsuya sighed. He glanced at Junno, who looked up and shrugged helplessly. Of course there was nothing Junno could say to make Jin listen. Jin would more likely kick Junno for no reason than to listen to the taller man.
“Whose side are you on, Tatsuya?” Jin bit out resentfully.
“Side? Jin, there is no ‘side’ to this!” Tatsuya burst out in frustration, “There’s only the truth and what you think is the truth”
Jin stood up abruptly, chair scraping against the floor as he did, “I don’t want to hear this. Sometimes, I think Ryo is the only one of my friends who actually cares when it matters” he said scathingly.
Tatsuya had to fight back an urge to shout at Jin that at least he hadn’t been going into the South Kingdom quarters like Ryo was.
He didn’t though.
He didn’t think they needed any more arguments among themselves right before the event. It was enough that Jin was furious and hateful toward Kamenashi at the moment - they didn’t need Jin and Ryo arguing as well. Jin didn’t need any more anger in his heart before the event. Tatsuya knew very well that Kamenashi masquerading as the princess was the only thing keeping Hitoshi and the rest of the nobles from finding out. He liked to think that his king had more sense than to declare war, but he also knew Jin got his temper from somewhere.
They didn’t need everything exposed and war to break out just because Jin was too furious to think straight.
Junno looked at Tatsuya after Jin stormed out of the room in his anger, “It’ll be okay Tat-chan” he said putting on one of his bright smiles.
Tatsuya gave him a wry smile, “Will it?”
Junno could only smile helplessly.
* * *
Unbeknownst to what was going on between his other friends, Ryo was sitting on the couch of Kazuya’s room, glancing warily at the two bodyguards that had finally shown up. If what he had seen was anything to go by, idiotic moments - even ones that weren’t on purpose like his - were highly frowned upon by these people. Of course, Ryo had taken amusement in it when it was Jin who was the subject of the threats and glares, but now…
He tried not to feel nervous as he found Koki’s and Nakamaru’s stare stop on him.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Koki demanded as soon as he saw that Ryo was sitting in the room. Ryo shot a look at Uchi who was obviously trying to conceal his laughter at the situation Ryo found himself in. Of course, Uchi had nothing to worry about - he hadn’t done something utterly Jin-like like he had.
“He’s here to help” Kusano answered, idly flipping through a book, “Since he’s the prince’s best friend and all”
Koki spluttered, “I thought he was like the prince!” he accused, pointing a finger at Ryo, “Didn’t he stop talking to us - you” he pointed at Yamapi now, “Because he found out that you and Kazuya weren’t noble or whatever?!”
Ryo had the grace to look guilty, although it didn’t take Nakamaru’s suspicious gaze off him. Uchi merely shook his head and went over to Kusano to peer at the book he was reading. Kusano grinned and moved the book so that Uchi could read as well.
Ryo wondered why he had a best friend who chose a book over his safety.
“Situations change” Kusano retorted from where he was reading, “He’s helping us now”
“Why?” Koki directed the question as Ryo this time, unlike all the other questions which were spoken as though Ryo wasn’t even there.
Ryo, who had been getting annoyed at the conversation, sat up with a glare, “That” he started, “Is none of your business” he said icily, not willing to go into what happened in his childhood with someone he had never talked to very much in the first place, even before he found out the truth.
He was startled when a hand grabbed the front of his shirt, “Like hell it’s not!” Koki growled, “From what we know, you’re just as much of an asshole as the prince and we have a right to make sure you’re not here to do something even worse”
Ryo glared, “I’m not and I don’t have to tell you if I don’t want to”
The grip tightened, “Then you’re sure as hell not staying -”
“Koki”
The sound of his name made Koki stop mid-sentence and send a ‘what the hell do you want now?’ look at Yamapi. Ryo glared mutinously at the back of Koki’s head.
“What the hell?” Koki demanded.
“It’s fine - like Notti said, situations change” Yamapi said, “Don’t worry about it”
“You - you’ve forgiven him; Notti told us what happened, and you’re giving him another chance?!” Koki asked suspiciously, “What the hell is going on?” his eyes narrowed.
Yamapi narrowed his eyes as well, “We’re not blindly trusting if that’s what you’re suggesting. You know us better than that” he retorted.
Koki stared at Yamapi.
Before anything else could be said, the door opened and Kazuya ambled back into the room. He blinked at the staring match between Yamapi and Koki before shaking his head, “I don’t even want to know what you two are arguing about now” he said as he headed over to Ryo, handing him a plastic bag.
Ryo gratefully took the cubes of ice wrapped in plastic, “Thanks. You really pack a good punch” he muttered as he pressed it to his throbbing cheek which he was sure was going to bruise eventually.
Kazuya had the grace to look apologetic, “Sorry. You made me angry” he said as an explanation.
Ryo found he couldn’t really say anything except, “Sorry. I swear I won’t do it again” he said, knowing that out of all of them, Kazuya was most protective of Yamapi and vice versa.
“I know” Kazuya offered a smile that seemed to Ryo like a shadow of his old one, “I’ll just hit you again if you do” he paused, “And I won’t go out to get you ice next time”
Across the room, Yamapi pointed at them, “My point”
Koki’s glare faded as his shoulders sagged, “You make a very good point” he admitted ruefully while looking in Kazuya’s direction.
Uchi, who had been watching this, blinked in surprise and confusion. Ryo was confused as well about what the ‘point’ was that the other two were talking about.
Kusano, however, merely grinned at their expressions and flipped the page in his book, “Those two” he pointed at Koki and Maru, “Find it nearly impossible to say no to Kame-chan” he explained, “We call it the law of Kazuya” he joked.
“Notti!” Kazuya protested, “Don’t listen to him” he said to Uchi and Ryo, “He’s - he likes to kid around too much” he said, levelling a pointed stare at Kusano.
The younger man merely laughed, “I do not! It’s true - look, when’s the last time Koki said no to you?” he challenged, “And answering about himself when saying ‘no’ does not count” he added when Kazuya opened his mouth. Kazuya paused, blinked a few times and then pouted at the younger man, “That’s not fair”
“It’s fair!” Kusano argued, “Koki and Maru have a hard time saying no to him” he explained to a still confused Uchi and Ryo, “Probably because back when they first met, Kame-chan was the youngest and thus, thus the baby” he grinned, ducking to avoid Kazuya’s hand swiping at his head for the baby remark, “So, if Kame-chan’s okay with something, they’re okay with it”
Across the room, Koki and Maru coughed.
Yamapi and Koki had stopped glaring at each other and Yamapi had found his way to the couch, taking a seat next to Ryo. Kazuya raised an eyebrow, “Are you two done arguing?”
Maru cleared his throat.
“Maru?” Kazuya tilted his head.
“Why aren’t we ever told what’s happening?” Koki blurted out and interrupting Maru, trying but failing to glare at Kazuya’s confused expression.
Kazuya offered a sheepish smile, “You were out. We forgot”
Koki spluttered.
“If it makes you feel better, I thought it was time that your baby started to be rebellious” Kusano joked, “That’s why I didn’t go get you” he chirped brightly.
Kazuya buried his head in his hands, “Notti, I am not a baby - you’re the youngest one here” he moaned in protest.
“Ah, but I don’t have three, count them - three” he retorted pointing to Koki, Maru and Yamapi in turn, “Overprotective friends ready to beat certain idiots into a pulp for pushing me off diving towers”
Kazuya stilled at the mention of Jin. Kusano froze, just realizing that he had mentioned Jin and he wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut/
Kazuya slid from the couch onto the ground, head tilted down trying to hide his face, “Shut up Notti” he mumbled, his voice light and kidding but his head still ducked.
The room had gone silent, watching him.
Kusano winced, “Kame-chan…” he took a deep breath and looked lost as to what to do. Luckily, the person who knew Kazuya best was there and Yamapi slid from the couch as well, sitting on his heels in front of Kazuya.
“Kazu-chan” Yamapi said quietly, and Kazuya looked up after a long moment, obviously trying to hide his true emotions.
Yamapi sighed, “Things will get better, you’ll see Kazu-chan” he said, wrapping an arm around Kazuya. He hadn’t realized Ryo had slid off the couch as well until the other man spoke, ignoring the withering glare sent at him by Koki.
He started when he heard Ryo's voice, “You’ll have to forgive Jin for being an idiot, princess”
Kazuya started, and Yamapi almost glared at Ryo - until Kazuya spoke, mumbling an, “I’m not” into his knees.
Ryo smirked at Yamapi who had started to blink in confusion, “I know, but unless you want me to slip up in public and call you Kamenashi or Kazuya, I’m going to call you that for now. Embrace your girly side princess” he added in a light, kidding tone.
He chanced a glance to his side and his smirk widened at the disbelieving expression on Yamapi’s face.
Kusano blinked and then leaned in to hiss at Uchi, “What is your best friend doing??” he demanded, watching Kazuya in concern, hoping that being called princess wasn’t reminding him of Jin even more. Everyone else seemed to have the same worry, shown by the incredulous look Yamapi was sending Ryo, and the glares on Maru and Koki’s faces.
Kusano stared at the scene while whispering frantically to Uchi, “Doesn’t he get that just that word will remind Kame-chan of the situation, instead of distracting him from it??”
Uchi sighed, “He’s being Ryo” he explained unhelpfully.
Kusano shot him a questioning look.
“He’s purposely trying to get Kazuya riled up so that he’ll speak and snap out of this mood” Uchi sighed, “It works with Jin” he explained as though that excused everything.
And if one thought about it, it probably did.
Kusano stared, “He already got punched by Kame-chan once. He wants to get hit again?”
Uchi shrugged, “Ryo hangs around Jin too much, I think” he said. Kusano blinked, then shook his head and turned back to train a careful eye on what was happening.
“I’m not the princess” Kazuya repeated, looking up at Ryo now. He didn’t know what it was, but he had never been fond of being called the princess. When Jin had called him that, that one time during the ball, he had run away - because he knew the word was a lie when it came to him. It was all a lie - and Ryo calling him that now only reminded Kazuya of how much lying he had done…and how much he had hurt Jin by lying. He blinked back tears at the thought.
“I know that” Ryo agreed, pretending not to see the tears. His smirk widened when Kazuya blinked in surprise instead of trying to blink back his tears.
“And you’re still calling me that” Kazuya said slowly, looking at Ryo as though he had suddenly grown two extra heads.
“Yes”
“I should punch you” Kazuya said, irritation suddenly in his voice, fist opening and closing to strengthen his words. Did this guy find this situation funny; was he mocking Kazuya?
Ryo winced just a little, but then he nodded, “If you really want to princess” he stressed the word. He grinned, “Punch me if you want, if it means you stop crying over my idiot friend” he added.
Kazuya blinked, finally realizing what Ryo had been trying to do - distract him from crying about Jin. He stared at Ryo, who smirked again.
“You’re insane” Kazuya shook his head.
Ryo frowned, “At least I’m not an idiot” he offered with a grin.
“I beg to differ” Yamapi muttered from next to him. Ryo shot him a wounded look, which only made Yamapi roll his eyes.
“Don’t call me that again unless you have to” Kazuya said, leveling a pointed stare at Ryo. He liked to escape that name as much as he could - because it was just another reminder that he only had a limited time here. Because he wasn’t the real thing, he wasn’t the one who was going to spend a life with Jin, and he wasn’t the one who was going to save the peace of the two countries. It was a reminder of how ordinary he was.
Ryo stared back, eyes serious for once, “Don’t cry over my idiot friend then”
Kazuya stilled, “I can’t promise that” he whispered.
“Then I can’t either” Ryo answered, “But I’ll have to try won’t I? Because there’s no guarantee that this will work and if I don’t try, I might end up calling the spoiled brat when she comes back ‘spoiled brat’, and keep referring to you as the princess all my life”
The conversation had adopted a serious tone that made the others in the room stiffen and look between the two. It was as if there was a moment - an understanding that was shared by only the two of them.
Ryo continued, “And if you don’t try, you might end up crying over my idiot friend your whole life. I’ll be doomed to be on the bad side of the future queen, and you’ll be doomed to being someone who can’t remember this time in your life as a happy time”
Kazuya had stilled at Ryo's words, lifting his head to meet Ryo's serious eyes. It was those eyes that told Kazuya what he needed to know. Ryo would try, he really would, but there was no guarantee that it would work. Kazuya had to try to accept that while Ryo would do his best, his best might not be enough. Kazuya had to prepare for it - he had to prepare to try to live a life without Jin if it didn’t work.
Kazuya nodded slowly, grasping Ryo's hand that had been extended out to him, “I’ll try my best if you do” he promised.
Ryo grinned.
* * *
“Jin”
The sound of his name made the prince look up, defiance and rage in his eyes. Upon seeing his brother, however, the look in Jin’s eyes diminished to a ‘what do you want?’ irritated look that was nearly always seen on Jin’s face these days.
Reio could only be amazed at the abrupt turn in Jin’s mood the past few days. He glanced in the direction of Jin’s friends - Tatsuya just shrugged at him; obviously he didn’t know what to do any more than Reio did. The tension surrounded Jin these days was pretty almost intolerable.
These days, the best thing to do was stay quiet in case Jin took anything that was said as an insult and snapped at them. Reio may only know the very general details, such as the princess and Jin having a fight - and he suspected it was much more than that - but he knew that whatever it was, was seriously taking a toll on Jin’s temper and patience.
It was as though every little thing reminded Jin of it and he was ready to snap and yell in retaliation.
“Dad sent me to remind you that the event’s taking place for sure tomorrow” Reio said, referring to the number of times the event had to be delayed already because of a few villagers getting sick. Since nobody wanted the prince or the princess, or any of the nobles actually, to be sick, they had decided to just postpone until everyone was well again.
Jin grumbled, repeatedly kicking the arm of the couch, “Stupid event.”
Reio raised an eyebrow, “And you were so looking forward to this a few days ago”
“I wasn’t”
“Yes you were” Reio argued just a bit bravely considering the murderous look on Jin’s face, “You were all excited and talking about it to Kazu -”
He was cut off when Jin grabbed the front of his shirt, rage in his eyes, “Don’t mention - don’t even mention that name” Jin glared.
“Jin!” Tatsuya snapped in a stern tone, standing up, “Let your brother go!”
Jin opened his mouth to protest.
“Your problems with Kazumi -”
Reio briefly wondered why there was an emphasis on Kazumi’s name.
“- have nothing to do with Reio! Don’t take it out on him, and put him down!” Tatsuya said sharply, “What happened was not our fault - stop taking it out on us”
Jin glared, “Well, I’m sorry if I found out I’ve been lied to and I’m upset! Most friends would understand that!” he snapped back as he looked around, “Where’s Ryo when you need him?” he muttered.
“I think I saw him with Hiroki earlier” Junno offered helpfully.
“I’m going to find him” Jin muttered, brushing past his friends to reach the door.
He left without another word to his friends, slamming the door behind him.
--
“Wait, say that again” Kazuya demanded from Koki in disbelief, eyes widening. Jin blinked in confusion from where he was sitting next to Kazuya.
Koki sighed, “The event. It’s horseback riding” he said, “We get to see you on a horse”
“B-but…” Kazuya blinked, “I’ve never ridden a horse before! I’ve never even gone near one!”
Jin blinked. So that was why the younger one seemed so upset at the moment.
“Don’t worry; they’re trained horses. It’s not like the horse is going to buck you off the moment you get on”
Jin watched the bodyguard try to reassure Kazuya with much difficulty.
He decided to put his two cents in.
“And if it does, I’ll be there to help” he said, slinking an arm around Kazuya’s shoulders. The soft cloth of Kazuya’s usual yukata rustled as he leaned backwards into Jin’s arm. The younger one looked up at him with a smile on his face.
“You’ve ridden before then?”
“It was one of the things I was let out of the palace to do - learn how to ride” Jin said with a grin, “I think my father wanted to be sure I was fit to rule. After all, if I can’t even control a horse, how can I rule people right?”
Reio broke into the conversation before Kazuya could say anything to that, “No, it was because you whined that you wanted to do those ‘cool tricks’ on the horse that Ryo’s teacher was teaching him and Uchi, and eventually, Dad decided to just give lessons - and a horse - to you for your birthday instead of wasting brain cells thinking what to get you. He figured since the horse doesn’t come in a box, you’d actually play with your present instead of making a fort out of the box that year”
Jin flushed, “Reio!”
Reio grinned, “What, it’s true”
“You didn’t have to say it!”
Kazuya let out a peal of laughter, “Oh Jin”
Jin shot Reio a halfhearted glare and turned to Kazuya with a grin, “So, don’t be afraid of the horse, princess” he said confidently, “I can handle it if you get into trouble”
He ignored the mutter of ‘because you’d fallen off the horse enough times to be able to handle it’ from his brother.
--
Jin let out a sound that almost sounded like a growl as he turned to hit the wall next to him. The loud thud that met his ears was not as satisfying as that jolt of pain that passed through his fist.
There was a small sound from behind, and Jin turned with a grimace to face one of the workers at the hotel. The grimace turned into a polite smile which, if it was even possible, looked even more painful than the grimace did.
“I’m sorry - I’ll just…” the worker stumbled, as if catching the prince in a less than perfect mood and seeing the prince portray something less than a perfect smile, was a crime.
Jin scowled as the worker retreated but then he paused, “Wait”
The worker turned around hesitantly.
“Have you seen Lord Ryo around?”
* * *
part 2
Pairing: Akame
rating: pg-13
summary: To end the war that has desecrated the lives of the people between two kingdoms, an alliance in the form of an arranged marriage has been made between the two royal families. however, when the princess runs away to avoid being married, the unwilling look-a-like pauper, Kamenashi Kazuya, somehow finds himself brought in to play the part of the princess and decieve Prince Jin. But Kazuya never expected to fall in love...
*waves* so it's been um....a long time since I updated =P here's chapter 28; it's a bit rushed at the end and sucky because I'm in a hurry to finish before i have to get to the airport XDDD So if it's really bad, i'll rewrite it when i get back ^_____^ Until then...~~ enjoy~~
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was going on. Tatsuya sat at the dining table with Junno and Jin, stirring a cup of coffee in front of him. He wasn’t an idiot and could notice things - he knew that even Junno had noticed what was going on, and he also knew that Jin in his anger and hurt had yet to notice. It wouldn’t be long, however, before the angry prince would realize that two of his own friends, Uchi and Ryo, were going to and from the South Kingdom’s quarters, not even trying to be furtive. It also wouldn’t be long before Jin noticed that Ryo could sometimes be seen walking next to Yamashita as he left the South Kingdom’s quarters.
Tatsuya wondered how Jin would react then.
Jin was extremely angry at the moment, at everything. He refused to talk to his father, he refused to talk about the South Kingdom, and most of all, he refused to listen when Tatsuya tried to talk to him.
At the moment, Jin was stabbing his dinner with his fork, and Tatsuya winced.
“Jin” he tried quietly. He did not need Jin accusing him of trying to control his opinions again and lashing out. Tatsuya had been highly insulted when that happened - just because he was the one who was always the voice of logic, and made Jin see reason and calm down when he was pissed off, did not mean he was trying to control Jin’s opinion.
“I don’t want to hear it” Jin snapped immediately, as if knowing that Tatsuya wanted to talk about the South Kingdom, “I didn’t want to hear about it the last few hundred times you wanted to talk about it, I still don’t want to talk about it”
Junno wisely decided not to say anything about the fact that it hadn’t been a few hundred times. As if sensing his thoughts, Jin sent a glare at the taller man and Junno put up his hands in an ‘I surrender don’t hurt me’ pose. Tatsuya sighed, levelling a glare at Jin.
“First of all, he didn’t even say anything, so don’t take your anger out on him” he said defending Junno and earning Jin’s glare on him, “I also didn’t do or say anything to you that would make you angry so don’t take it out on me either” he added. Jin’s scowl deepened for a moment before he sighed and stared pointedly at his plate of food.
“I don’t even want to talk about it” Jin repeated with a sigh, “Why did I even make that deal?” he muttered under his breath.
“Because you thought it was the fastest way to get them out of your life?” Tatsuya asked, repeating what Jin had told him already. Jin looked at him balefully, “I know that”
“Then why are you asking? Are you regretting that you made the deal in the first place?”
Jin scowled, “I don’t even want to talk to him. Which I’ll probably have to do tomorrow at the stupid event” he glared down at his plate, “I should have just ignored Yamashita and gone straight to my father”
“You should have?” Tatsuya asked.
Almost immediately, Jin’s head snapped up as though shocked at the answers, “Of course!” his eyes narrowed, “Don’t tell me you still think I should talk this out with him or whatever. I refuse” he said forcefully.
“Jin” Tatsuya had to tread softly around this subject now that he had finally gotten Jin to even touch on the subject of Kamenashi, “Why are you still so upset?” he asked.
“Why? Why?” Jin spluttered, “You know what they - he - did! Why the hell are you asking stupid questions?!”
Tatsuya sighed, “Jin, have you tried just talking to Kamenashi - I mean…there had to be a reason. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s curious - why did they do what they did?” he tried reasonably.
Of course, Jin wasn’t exactly in a reasonable mood at the moment. He glared at Tatsuya before turning away, “I don’t want to know. All I know is that he lied to me - everything about him was a lie. Everything, Tat-chan” he stressed in a voice that made Tatsuya still and stop trying to make Jin see reason.
The prince, although he didn’t admit it, had been hurt terribly by this revelation.
Tatsuya could only imagine what Jin was going through. He had thought he could have a life of happiness, when at the start of this trip, he had been resigned to being unhappy with the one he was supposed to marry. Jin had been so antagonistic toward the princess - Kamenashi, he corrected himself as he had had to do many times already - because he wanted someone else to do something about the situation they were in.
Tatsuya had known Jin since they were children, so he could somewhat understand what Jin was thinking when he had been first told about the marriage. All through the war, Jin had practically been trapped inside the palace, or wherever he was at the moment. It was obvious to anyone visiting that the prince was in the same place they were, because with Jin came many uniformed guards. Jin wasn’t allowed to go anywhere by himself; he wasn’t even allowed to wander outside of the royal chambers by himself.
Sometimes, Jin would manage to escape his guard but those times were rare and he would always be yelled at afterward. Hitoshi didn’t seem to understand that while a prince, his son was still just another child - a child who hated being in a situation akin to prison.
So, to Jin, it was like…
The war had ended and he was freed from his prison, only to land in another prison. This prison, however, was in the form of being forced to be with someone he didn’t like for the rest of his life.
Tatsuya could understand just a little what was going through Jin’s mind. To Jin, Kamenashi had freed him, only to trap him in a prison once more. In a way, it was like he had betrayed Jin.
“Of course I haven’t tried talking to him” Jin snapped, “I don’t want to hear their stupid reasons. They probably owed King Tsubasa something and this was their way of repaying him because it’s obvious that the real one did what I wanted to do and left”
Tatsuya felt that the South Kingdom should be very glad that everyone was out helping for the event tomorrow morning and that no one was even near the dining hall at the moment.
“Jin…” Tatsuya sighed. He glanced at Junno, who looked up and shrugged helplessly. Of course there was nothing Junno could say to make Jin listen. Jin would more likely kick Junno for no reason than to listen to the taller man.
“Whose side are you on, Tatsuya?” Jin bit out resentfully.
“Side? Jin, there is no ‘side’ to this!” Tatsuya burst out in frustration, “There’s only the truth and what you think is the truth”
Jin stood up abruptly, chair scraping against the floor as he did, “I don’t want to hear this. Sometimes, I think Ryo is the only one of my friends who actually cares when it matters” he said scathingly.
Tatsuya had to fight back an urge to shout at Jin that at least he hadn’t been going into the South Kingdom quarters like Ryo was.
He didn’t though.
He didn’t think they needed any more arguments among themselves right before the event. It was enough that Jin was furious and hateful toward Kamenashi at the moment - they didn’t need Jin and Ryo arguing as well. Jin didn’t need any more anger in his heart before the event. Tatsuya knew very well that Kamenashi masquerading as the princess was the only thing keeping Hitoshi and the rest of the nobles from finding out. He liked to think that his king had more sense than to declare war, but he also knew Jin got his temper from somewhere.
They didn’t need everything exposed and war to break out just because Jin was too furious to think straight.
Junno looked at Tatsuya after Jin stormed out of the room in his anger, “It’ll be okay Tat-chan” he said putting on one of his bright smiles.
Tatsuya gave him a wry smile, “Will it?”
Junno could only smile helplessly.
* * *
Unbeknownst to what was going on between his other friends, Ryo was sitting on the couch of Kazuya’s room, glancing warily at the two bodyguards that had finally shown up. If what he had seen was anything to go by, idiotic moments - even ones that weren’t on purpose like his - were highly frowned upon by these people. Of course, Ryo had taken amusement in it when it was Jin who was the subject of the threats and glares, but now…
He tried not to feel nervous as he found Koki’s and Nakamaru’s stare stop on him.
“What the hell is he doing here?” Koki demanded as soon as he saw that Ryo was sitting in the room. Ryo shot a look at Uchi who was obviously trying to conceal his laughter at the situation Ryo found himself in. Of course, Uchi had nothing to worry about - he hadn’t done something utterly Jin-like like he had.
“He’s here to help” Kusano answered, idly flipping through a book, “Since he’s the prince’s best friend and all”
Koki spluttered, “I thought he was like the prince!” he accused, pointing a finger at Ryo, “Didn’t he stop talking to us - you” he pointed at Yamapi now, “Because he found out that you and Kazuya weren’t noble or whatever?!”
Ryo had the grace to look guilty, although it didn’t take Nakamaru’s suspicious gaze off him. Uchi merely shook his head and went over to Kusano to peer at the book he was reading. Kusano grinned and moved the book so that Uchi could read as well.
Ryo wondered why he had a best friend who chose a book over his safety.
“Situations change” Kusano retorted from where he was reading, “He’s helping us now”
“Why?” Koki directed the question as Ryo this time, unlike all the other questions which were spoken as though Ryo wasn’t even there.
Ryo, who had been getting annoyed at the conversation, sat up with a glare, “That” he started, “Is none of your business” he said icily, not willing to go into what happened in his childhood with someone he had never talked to very much in the first place, even before he found out the truth.
He was startled when a hand grabbed the front of his shirt, “Like hell it’s not!” Koki growled, “From what we know, you’re just as much of an asshole as the prince and we have a right to make sure you’re not here to do something even worse”
Ryo glared, “I’m not and I don’t have to tell you if I don’t want to”
The grip tightened, “Then you’re sure as hell not staying -”
“Koki”
The sound of his name made Koki stop mid-sentence and send a ‘what the hell do you want now?’ look at Yamapi. Ryo glared mutinously at the back of Koki’s head.
“What the hell?” Koki demanded.
“It’s fine - like Notti said, situations change” Yamapi said, “Don’t worry about it”
“You - you’ve forgiven him; Notti told us what happened, and you’re giving him another chance?!” Koki asked suspiciously, “What the hell is going on?” his eyes narrowed.
Yamapi narrowed his eyes as well, “We’re not blindly trusting if that’s what you’re suggesting. You know us better than that” he retorted.
Koki stared at Yamapi.
Before anything else could be said, the door opened and Kazuya ambled back into the room. He blinked at the staring match between Yamapi and Koki before shaking his head, “I don’t even want to know what you two are arguing about now” he said as he headed over to Ryo, handing him a plastic bag.
Ryo gratefully took the cubes of ice wrapped in plastic, “Thanks. You really pack a good punch” he muttered as he pressed it to his throbbing cheek which he was sure was going to bruise eventually.
Kazuya had the grace to look apologetic, “Sorry. You made me angry” he said as an explanation.
Ryo found he couldn’t really say anything except, “Sorry. I swear I won’t do it again” he said, knowing that out of all of them, Kazuya was most protective of Yamapi and vice versa.
“I know” Kazuya offered a smile that seemed to Ryo like a shadow of his old one, “I’ll just hit you again if you do” he paused, “And I won’t go out to get you ice next time”
Across the room, Yamapi pointed at them, “My point”
Koki’s glare faded as his shoulders sagged, “You make a very good point” he admitted ruefully while looking in Kazuya’s direction.
Uchi, who had been watching this, blinked in surprise and confusion. Ryo was confused as well about what the ‘point’ was that the other two were talking about.
Kusano, however, merely grinned at their expressions and flipped the page in his book, “Those two” he pointed at Koki and Maru, “Find it nearly impossible to say no to Kame-chan” he explained, “We call it the law of Kazuya” he joked.
“Notti!” Kazuya protested, “Don’t listen to him” he said to Uchi and Ryo, “He’s - he likes to kid around too much” he said, levelling a pointed stare at Kusano.
The younger man merely laughed, “I do not! It’s true - look, when’s the last time Koki said no to you?” he challenged, “And answering about himself when saying ‘no’ does not count” he added when Kazuya opened his mouth. Kazuya paused, blinked a few times and then pouted at the younger man, “That’s not fair”
“It’s fair!” Kusano argued, “Koki and Maru have a hard time saying no to him” he explained to a still confused Uchi and Ryo, “Probably because back when they first met, Kame-chan was the youngest and thus, thus the baby” he grinned, ducking to avoid Kazuya’s hand swiping at his head for the baby remark, “So, if Kame-chan’s okay with something, they’re okay with it”
Across the room, Koki and Maru coughed.
Yamapi and Koki had stopped glaring at each other and Yamapi had found his way to the couch, taking a seat next to Ryo. Kazuya raised an eyebrow, “Are you two done arguing?”
Maru cleared his throat.
“Maru?” Kazuya tilted his head.
“Why aren’t we ever told what’s happening?” Koki blurted out and interrupting Maru, trying but failing to glare at Kazuya’s confused expression.
Kazuya offered a sheepish smile, “You were out. We forgot”
Koki spluttered.
“If it makes you feel better, I thought it was time that your baby started to be rebellious” Kusano joked, “That’s why I didn’t go get you” he chirped brightly.
Kazuya buried his head in his hands, “Notti, I am not a baby - you’re the youngest one here” he moaned in protest.
“Ah, but I don’t have three, count them - three” he retorted pointing to Koki, Maru and Yamapi in turn, “Overprotective friends ready to beat certain idiots into a pulp for pushing me off diving towers”
Kazuya stilled at the mention of Jin. Kusano froze, just realizing that he had mentioned Jin and he wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut/
Kazuya slid from the couch onto the ground, head tilted down trying to hide his face, “Shut up Notti” he mumbled, his voice light and kidding but his head still ducked.
The room had gone silent, watching him.
Kusano winced, “Kame-chan…” he took a deep breath and looked lost as to what to do. Luckily, the person who knew Kazuya best was there and Yamapi slid from the couch as well, sitting on his heels in front of Kazuya.
“Kazu-chan” Yamapi said quietly, and Kazuya looked up after a long moment, obviously trying to hide his true emotions.
Yamapi sighed, “Things will get better, you’ll see Kazu-chan” he said, wrapping an arm around Kazuya. He hadn’t realized Ryo had slid off the couch as well until the other man spoke, ignoring the withering glare sent at him by Koki.
He started when he heard Ryo's voice, “You’ll have to forgive Jin for being an idiot, princess”
Kazuya started, and Yamapi almost glared at Ryo - until Kazuya spoke, mumbling an, “I’m not” into his knees.
Ryo smirked at Yamapi who had started to blink in confusion, “I know, but unless you want me to slip up in public and call you Kamenashi or Kazuya, I’m going to call you that for now. Embrace your girly side princess” he added in a light, kidding tone.
He chanced a glance to his side and his smirk widened at the disbelieving expression on Yamapi’s face.
Kusano blinked and then leaned in to hiss at Uchi, “What is your best friend doing??” he demanded, watching Kazuya in concern, hoping that being called princess wasn’t reminding him of Jin even more. Everyone else seemed to have the same worry, shown by the incredulous look Yamapi was sending Ryo, and the glares on Maru and Koki’s faces.
Kusano stared at the scene while whispering frantically to Uchi, “Doesn’t he get that just that word will remind Kame-chan of the situation, instead of distracting him from it??”
Uchi sighed, “He’s being Ryo” he explained unhelpfully.
Kusano shot him a questioning look.
“He’s purposely trying to get Kazuya riled up so that he’ll speak and snap out of this mood” Uchi sighed, “It works with Jin” he explained as though that excused everything.
And if one thought about it, it probably did.
Kusano stared, “He already got punched by Kame-chan once. He wants to get hit again?”
Uchi shrugged, “Ryo hangs around Jin too much, I think” he said. Kusano blinked, then shook his head and turned back to train a careful eye on what was happening.
“I’m not the princess” Kazuya repeated, looking up at Ryo now. He didn’t know what it was, but he had never been fond of being called the princess. When Jin had called him that, that one time during the ball, he had run away - because he knew the word was a lie when it came to him. It was all a lie - and Ryo calling him that now only reminded Kazuya of how much lying he had done…and how much he had hurt Jin by lying. He blinked back tears at the thought.
“I know that” Ryo agreed, pretending not to see the tears. His smirk widened when Kazuya blinked in surprise instead of trying to blink back his tears.
“And you’re still calling me that” Kazuya said slowly, looking at Ryo as though he had suddenly grown two extra heads.
“Yes”
“I should punch you” Kazuya said, irritation suddenly in his voice, fist opening and closing to strengthen his words. Did this guy find this situation funny; was he mocking Kazuya?
Ryo winced just a little, but then he nodded, “If you really want to princess” he stressed the word. He grinned, “Punch me if you want, if it means you stop crying over my idiot friend” he added.
Kazuya blinked, finally realizing what Ryo had been trying to do - distract him from crying about Jin. He stared at Ryo, who smirked again.
“You’re insane” Kazuya shook his head.
Ryo frowned, “At least I’m not an idiot” he offered with a grin.
“I beg to differ” Yamapi muttered from next to him. Ryo shot him a wounded look, which only made Yamapi roll his eyes.
“Don’t call me that again unless you have to” Kazuya said, leveling a pointed stare at Ryo. He liked to escape that name as much as he could - because it was just another reminder that he only had a limited time here. Because he wasn’t the real thing, he wasn’t the one who was going to spend a life with Jin, and he wasn’t the one who was going to save the peace of the two countries. It was a reminder of how ordinary he was.
Ryo stared back, eyes serious for once, “Don’t cry over my idiot friend then”
Kazuya stilled, “I can’t promise that” he whispered.
“Then I can’t either” Ryo answered, “But I’ll have to try won’t I? Because there’s no guarantee that this will work and if I don’t try, I might end up calling the spoiled brat when she comes back ‘spoiled brat’, and keep referring to you as the princess all my life”
The conversation had adopted a serious tone that made the others in the room stiffen and look between the two. It was as if there was a moment - an understanding that was shared by only the two of them.
Ryo continued, “And if you don’t try, you might end up crying over my idiot friend your whole life. I’ll be doomed to be on the bad side of the future queen, and you’ll be doomed to being someone who can’t remember this time in your life as a happy time”
Kazuya had stilled at Ryo's words, lifting his head to meet Ryo's serious eyes. It was those eyes that told Kazuya what he needed to know. Ryo would try, he really would, but there was no guarantee that it would work. Kazuya had to try to accept that while Ryo would do his best, his best might not be enough. Kazuya had to prepare for it - he had to prepare to try to live a life without Jin if it didn’t work.
Kazuya nodded slowly, grasping Ryo's hand that had been extended out to him, “I’ll try my best if you do” he promised.
Ryo grinned.
* * *
“Jin”
The sound of his name made the prince look up, defiance and rage in his eyes. Upon seeing his brother, however, the look in Jin’s eyes diminished to a ‘what do you want?’ irritated look that was nearly always seen on Jin’s face these days.
Reio could only be amazed at the abrupt turn in Jin’s mood the past few days. He glanced in the direction of Jin’s friends - Tatsuya just shrugged at him; obviously he didn’t know what to do any more than Reio did. The tension surrounded Jin these days was pretty almost intolerable.
These days, the best thing to do was stay quiet in case Jin took anything that was said as an insult and snapped at them. Reio may only know the very general details, such as the princess and Jin having a fight - and he suspected it was much more than that - but he knew that whatever it was, was seriously taking a toll on Jin’s temper and patience.
It was as though every little thing reminded Jin of it and he was ready to snap and yell in retaliation.
“Dad sent me to remind you that the event’s taking place for sure tomorrow” Reio said, referring to the number of times the event had to be delayed already because of a few villagers getting sick. Since nobody wanted the prince or the princess, or any of the nobles actually, to be sick, they had decided to just postpone until everyone was well again.
Jin grumbled, repeatedly kicking the arm of the couch, “Stupid event.”
Reio raised an eyebrow, “And you were so looking forward to this a few days ago”
“I wasn’t”
“Yes you were” Reio argued just a bit bravely considering the murderous look on Jin’s face, “You were all excited and talking about it to Kazu -”
He was cut off when Jin grabbed the front of his shirt, rage in his eyes, “Don’t mention - don’t even mention that name” Jin glared.
“Jin!” Tatsuya snapped in a stern tone, standing up, “Let your brother go!”
Jin opened his mouth to protest.
“Your problems with Kazumi -”
Reio briefly wondered why there was an emphasis on Kazumi’s name.
“- have nothing to do with Reio! Don’t take it out on him, and put him down!” Tatsuya said sharply, “What happened was not our fault - stop taking it out on us”
Jin glared, “Well, I’m sorry if I found out I’ve been lied to and I’m upset! Most friends would understand that!” he snapped back as he looked around, “Where’s Ryo when you need him?” he muttered.
“I think I saw him with Hiroki earlier” Junno offered helpfully.
“I’m going to find him” Jin muttered, brushing past his friends to reach the door.
He left without another word to his friends, slamming the door behind him.
--
“Wait, say that again” Kazuya demanded from Koki in disbelief, eyes widening. Jin blinked in confusion from where he was sitting next to Kazuya.
Koki sighed, “The event. It’s horseback riding” he said, “We get to see you on a horse”
“B-but…” Kazuya blinked, “I’ve never ridden a horse before! I’ve never even gone near one!”
Jin blinked. So that was why the younger one seemed so upset at the moment.
“Don’t worry; they’re trained horses. It’s not like the horse is going to buck you off the moment you get on”
Jin watched the bodyguard try to reassure Kazuya with much difficulty.
He decided to put his two cents in.
“And if it does, I’ll be there to help” he said, slinking an arm around Kazuya’s shoulders. The soft cloth of Kazuya’s usual yukata rustled as he leaned backwards into Jin’s arm. The younger one looked up at him with a smile on his face.
“You’ve ridden before then?”
“It was one of the things I was let out of the palace to do - learn how to ride” Jin said with a grin, “I think my father wanted to be sure I was fit to rule. After all, if I can’t even control a horse, how can I rule people right?”
Reio broke into the conversation before Kazuya could say anything to that, “No, it was because you whined that you wanted to do those ‘cool tricks’ on the horse that Ryo’s teacher was teaching him and Uchi, and eventually, Dad decided to just give lessons - and a horse - to you for your birthday instead of wasting brain cells thinking what to get you. He figured since the horse doesn’t come in a box, you’d actually play with your present instead of making a fort out of the box that year”
Jin flushed, “Reio!”
Reio grinned, “What, it’s true”
“You didn’t have to say it!”
Kazuya let out a peal of laughter, “Oh Jin”
Jin shot Reio a halfhearted glare and turned to Kazuya with a grin, “So, don’t be afraid of the horse, princess” he said confidently, “I can handle it if you get into trouble”
He ignored the mutter of ‘because you’d fallen off the horse enough times to be able to handle it’ from his brother.
--
Jin let out a sound that almost sounded like a growl as he turned to hit the wall next to him. The loud thud that met his ears was not as satisfying as that jolt of pain that passed through his fist.
There was a small sound from behind, and Jin turned with a grimace to face one of the workers at the hotel. The grimace turned into a polite smile which, if it was even possible, looked even more painful than the grimace did.
“I’m sorry - I’ll just…” the worker stumbled, as if catching the prince in a less than perfect mood and seeing the prince portray something less than a perfect smile, was a crime.
Jin scowled as the worker retreated but then he paused, “Wait”
The worker turned around hesitantly.
“Have you seen Lord Ryo around?”
* * *
part 2