Depths of Friendship
by PsychicDreams
Chapter 1
"Do you know what will be expected of you?"
Kunzite nodded. He hesitated slightly, but asked, "I know I'm to protect the Prince, but why exactly?"
The General in front of him led him down the Elysian Palace halls, talking all the while. "The Queen has this absurd notion that her son needs protection. Endymion received a wound on his arm when his horse was cut down from under him during that skirmish near the border. She's been worried about him since."
"How many guards will there be?"
"Four."
"Four?" he responded incredulously. "I expected it to be something along the lines of at least ten!"
"No. You will be the leader of the "Shitennou", the Four Heavenly Kings, representing each of the areas of Earth from where you were born. We are picking out the best of our army and assigning those to protect His Highness."
Kunzite nearly rolled his eyes. The Queen was probably right in worrying. The rumors of Prince Endymion's prowess could not be true. How could someone be that good when they were royalty and spent most of their times in balls, classrooms, and women's beds? He would end up being a babysitter, Kunzite knew it.
They paused outside a door. The older man put his arm on Kunzite's and asked, "Have you ever met Prince Endymion?"
"No, I never have. I don't even remember catching a glimpse of him."
"Then I pray for you. I hope you can keep up with him."
"I wouldn't think getting along would be that big of a problem," he replied, perplexed.
"I didn't say get along, I said keeping up with him. For Endymion, there's quite a bit of difference."
With that, Kunzite was left standing alone in the hallway. Left with no other alternative, he knocked on the door, saying, "Prince Endymion? Your Highness?"
There was what sounded like someone moving around quickly in the room. "Your Highness? It's General Kunzite. May I enter?"
The strangest sound touched his ears: the sound of some fine fabric, perhaps wall hangings, suddenly being dropped a long way. Suspicious, the white-haired man opened the door just in time to see a snatch of black hair drop from the window.
It did not immediately dawn on Kunzite what this meant. He strode up to the window and looked down, noticing absently that silk bed sheets were tied in a fashion of a rope down to the ground. The newly appointed leader did nothing but stand there and stare in perplexity until he caught sight of a small black blur heading full tilt toward the stables.
"Shit," Kunzite cursed and sprinted out of the room.
The people he passed in the halls made way for him and shook their heads in sympathy, as if this happened frequently. Just as he pelted out of the castle doors, he had one last glimpse of a wonderfully toned figure riding off on a black horse toward the nearby forest. With an irritated sigh, Kunzite grabbed the nearest horse, chestnut in color, and sent it galloping after its herd mate.
As the horse's legs flew out in a dead run, Kunzite wondered. What on earth did he think he was going in such a tearing hurry? And why did it demand that he climb out his window like some main character in a bad heroic ballad?
When he reached the tree line, he was forced to stop and track after his quarry. The man was extremely good, though, at least in a sheer ranger fashion. It was only by sheer perseverance that Kunzite found it at all. Leading his horse by the reins, since he had to carefully watch the ground, he noticed a rather erratic path that somehow took him unerringly toward what he knew would be the bottom of a cliff-face.
Riding along it and going north, as the telltale signs pointed, he gasped for breath. He was certainly going to kill this prince when he got to him.
When he did reach the area, the briefest flashes of light hit his vision before the only thing left was a well-built and finely toned young man with his sword drawn and ready for battle. Just behind him was a beautiful pool being fed by a sparkling waterfall.
"Who are you?"
Kunzite took a moment to study him. Black locks draped over his forehead, seeming in an effort to fall down farther and caress those deep royal blue eyes that watched him warily. It did not appear to be hair, but resembled finely woven snatches of silk instead, such as the luster it gave off said. His body was that of a sleek mountain lion, ready and able to fight.
That did not mean he could. Kunzite still held firmly to his belief that he couldn't be as good as those rumors maintained.
"Who are you?" he repeated with more hostility.
He dismounted with an irritated sigh. "I am General Kunzite, now to be your leading Shitennou."
"My what but who?"
"You are to have a personal guard of four, each one to represent the four corners of the earth and the best of fighters. They are to be called the Shitennou. I am General Kunzite, to be your Shitennou's leader." He studied him a bit. "You knew nothing of this? The Queen requested it."
As if that explained everything, the prince slammed his sword back into its scabbard and dropped down on a convenient rock huffily. "She would! She treats me as if I'm still a child!"
"Perhaps she wouldn't if you didn't act like one."
"What did you say?"
Kunzite met the glare head on. "Climbing out your window with a rope made of bed sheets doesn't scream maturity to me."
Endymion looked as if he wanted to say something, but could find nothing that would not incriminate him in some sort of "crime". He sat a bit sullenly and silence filled the clearing. A moment later he stood up, proving he was only an inch or so shorter than Kunzite himself. Grabbing the reins of the grazing black horse, he swung up into the saddle.
Nothing loathe to do the same, Kunzite followed and they left the forest. Finally the black-haired man broke their silence.
"They could not have picked someone who physically resembled me any less."
Kunzite, his eyes always scanning the horizon, responded without thinking, "Yes, I have white hair and green eyes. Such astounding differences."
As he glanced at the prince, he noticed that there were thunderclouds of anger in his eyes. "Look, I'm trying to be nice, but I don't want a personal guard."
"And I didn't ask for it. But nevertheless, it is what I was assigned."
Suddenly his face went thoughtful. "Kunzite...Kunzite...I know I've heard that name before...Weren't you the one that turned the tide back at our seaport two months ago single-handedly?"
"I wouldn't say single-handedly, but yes, I did turn the Dark Kingdom's forces back that day."
"Hmph. I'd always thought I'd like to meet the man who did that."
They tethered the horses back in the stable. When they reached the Elysian Palace doors, the Queen stood waiting for them.
"I see you've met Kunzite."
"Yes. It would have been nice to know beforehand that I was going to have protectors, though," Endymion retorted to his mother.
The Queen didn't deign to respond.
Though he held a book in front of his face and pretended to be reading it, Zoisite's eyes constantly watched the two men in the small room with him. It was so small it could barely accommodate the man pacing. He could only walk three paces before he had to turn around.
He had learned that the man's name was Nephrite. His cherry brown hair swept his shoulders in a passing fashion, reminding Zoisite of the wood that the tables and chairs were made of. His earthen brown eyes were moody for some reason and he stared at the floor as he paced.
The man beside the window was Jadeite. He watched the street with a calm yet contemplative look, as if there was nothing in the world that intrigued him more than the passing of people. His short blonde hair waved in a careless way from the breeze coming in through the window, smelling faintly of the sea.
Zoisite breathed that air in deeply, trying to dispel in his own mind the tension that had gripped the room. In fact, he had no idea why he was even there. After all, both the men in the room were seasoned fighters in the Elysian Army. Zoisite had only joined since the war with the Dark Kingdom started half a year ago. He should be so low on the military ladder to be unnoticeable. So why was he here, assigned to be a protector of the Prince, heir to the entire planet?
The door opened and three sets of eyes looked simultaneously in that direction. The Queen entered, with two men behind her. Zoisite immediately recognized Prince Endymion from the descriptions he'd heard of him, but who the other man was escaped him.
His white hair came just to his neck, and defined the phrase "straight as a board". Green eyes like an emerald washed over them impartially. But both he and the prince, while especially built, were disheveled and dirty. What had happened to them?
"The reason you are here," the Queen began, "is be protectors of my son, Prince Endymion. The reason you were chosen is because you each have special talents that set you apart from others. Due to where you were born, you will each be in command of the Elysian army troops from that division, all under Endymion's command.
"Jadeite, you will be in command of the Far East's division, second in command only to Endymion.
"Nephrite, you will be in command of the North American division, second in command only to Endymion.
"Zoisite, you will be in command of the European division, second in command only to Endymion.
"And Kunzite, you will be in command of our Middle Eastern division, second only in command to Endymion.
"Now, among yourselves, you are to be equals in rank except for Kunzite. Among the Shitennou as you will now be, Kunzite will be the leader. You four are now entrusted with Endymion's life. Protect him."
With those departing words still in the air, she left.
Silence fell once again.
"Anybody know what to do now?" questioned Jadeite.