Fight On

By: Aviantei

A Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic One Shot

He hears of it when he's little and is unsure of what to do with it. It's no secret that the third prince of the Kou Empire is a little odd, even a bit more so than the rest of the family around him. Because even if everyone else is obsessed with war, that makes them suited to lead this country, the one that's going to take over the world.

In Kouha's case, the illness takes what should be a birthright away from him.

Illness isn't really the proper word for it either, but no one else in the palace seems to know what to call it. Kouha doesn't think of it as negatively as everyone else seems to, but maybe that's because he's the one that's afflicted by it. In the young prince's eyes, he is unable to recognize that not everyone gets the same excitement as he does out of the sight of blood.

At least, not until he gets told directly. Not until he indirectly overhears that there's something wrong with him. That's enough to make it clear.

Personally, Kouha doesn't see what's so wrong with it. It makes him enthusiastic to attend his combat lessons, makes him excel. It makes him a better fighter, putting him on a level close to some of his older siblings. He easily surpasses Koumei, even if that has more to do with the elder brother's weak constitution than Kouha's own skill. It's simple really.

The better he gets at fighting, the more blood there is, after all.

The better he gets at fighting, the more they should accept him, right?

And he does get praised. The line of second-tier royalty all makes their progress over the years, and all get recognized for their own merits. They come to lead their own units, take place in battles to expand the territory of their country. The accomplishments rack up, words of praise are spoken, and debates are held between the people of which heir will come to stand at the top of the Kou Empire in the future.

Kouha's name is missing from all of the conversations concerning the latter.

Not even the capture of a dungeon, the possession of a metal vessel can change that. After all, even if the people don't know what happened inside Leraje, they do know that this was meant to be Kouen's conquest, the fourth dungeon under the belt of the First Prince. For the Third Prince to have returned with the metal vessel instead…

It's frustrating. After all, as accidental as the conquest was, it's still supposed to make him a King Vessel, one of Judar's King Candidates. It's supposed to give him the chance to possibly be a ruler, but no one seems to see it that way. Sure, he supports Kouen with everything he has, but the fact that no one ever seems to want to give him a chance…

It bothers him that none of the work he does is ever going to be rewarded.

One of the only things that is ever going to be able to keep him going is the thought of his brothers.

When it comes down to it, Kouen and Koumei are amazing. They both have the same aptitude for war, either physical or tactical. They both push forward, making their conquests, bringing more territory into the empire. Kouha doesn't mind if he's never going to be emperor, so long as he gets to support one of his brothers in the role.

He idolizes them, really. What else is he supposed to do? They've both paved the way; they're both the future of the Kou Empire. When the succession comes through, there's no doubt that Kouen will take the throne, despite the others, simply because he's so strong. He'll be the man to conquer the world, and Koumei will be his main advisor, and that will be that.

And Kouha will do whatever he needs to do to support them both.

Because in the end they're the only two people outside of his unit that accept Kouha the way he is.

Sure, Kouha is grateful to his unit. After all, he's handpicked every member, brought together a group that can truly empathize with him. They're all misfits, they've all been rejected for things they can't control. Kouha loves them like they're his family, has sworn to protect him.

But it's different when it comes to his brothers. After all, they haven't had the same experience as Kouha has. They don't think the same way. Sure, all of Ren Koutoku's children have the same excitement for battle, but Kouha's the only one with the fixation on blood. He's the only one that's been ostracized, and his brothers have not.

They still care for him, though, and that's what makes it special. His brothers are perfect and they still love him, treat him like an asset instead of a hindrance. They put value onto his presence, make Kouha more than just a prince with a mirage of a title.

And if fighting's what's going to make Kouha keep that worth, then fighting's what he'll do. Kouha takes it all seriously, from actual combat training to strategizing and even a bit of diplomacy. If he's going to lead a unit of the Kou Empire for the sake of his brothers, then he's going to put everything he has into it. He'll endure any war until the end, hoping for a tiny bit of praise from his brothers.

It's almost more satisfying than the bloodshed he gets to cause while doing it.

That sort of resolve is what carries him through the battlefield surrounding Magnoshutatt, after he's already jumped in for the sake of his unit. Now, the battle's become something much bigger, but that doesn't matter, because Kouen needs him to fight. So he abandons his fear (because these are monsters, they're too strong, they don't stop coming, we don't have a chance) and does all he can, following orders and strategies set up by Koumei, doing what he can with the small temporary alliance that's fighting beside him.

It feels insanely stupid, but that caution gets thrown out the window. Even without the reward of blood to guide him, Aladdin makes it sound possible. Kouen makes it sound possible. In fact, he makes it sound more than that, he makes it sound like it should be easy. Because there's no way that the royalty of the Kou Empire should be able to lose against something like this.

Except it really feels like they are losing. Kouha's strength is draining, his magoi is running low, and he's starting to lose his breath. He can't even challenge one of the creatures on his own, and ends up at a disadvantage. In the end, he gets caught, trapped in the hand of a giant, its fingers pressing his comparably minuscule body against its palm, rukh draining out of him at an incomprehensible rate.

He's never felt scared before. He's never felt weak. Now, in this perilous situation, he does. No matter what happened before, no matter how many not even bothered to be concealed insults were thrown his way, Kouha's always managed to pick himself up. He's always known that he was strong, that he could handle anything, that there was no reason to be afraid. That reason's gone now.

No, it's too much I can't break free it's going to kill me I don't want to die I wanted to do more than this I should have been able to win someone save me please please pleasepleaseplease no don't let it no nono—

En-nii, I'm sorry—

He blacks out before he can even scream.

He comes back to consciousness way sooner than he knows he should. Even the new burst of life and magoi isn't enough to make him feel any less weary, isn't enough to remove the echoes of pain that are still ravaging his back, his legs. Even with the injuries healed, his body still aches. Kouha doesn't want to think about how badly he was beaten up before this.

He stands up anyway.

There's a call to action after all, a new plan. This is probably the last chance they have, so there's no time to waste. Not that Kouha really cares about that. What he does care about is doing something redeeming, being able to make up for his failure. He's already made Kouen forgive him once today, no need to make it thrice.

So Kouha stands up and fights.

Because there's nothing else he can do.

I only have ten minutes to work with, so this'll be short.

I really love Kouha, so I felt like delving in a bit more with his feelings. Especially when it comes to the battle against the Medium, I felt like I could toy around and see where it got me. This was the result.

I'm tinkering with the idea of a few longer Kouha-centered fics, but those will take some time to produce.

Thanks for reading and feel free to let me know what you think!

[POST] 052214