My king
Is high on his throne
Untouchable
Above the masses at his feet

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce thee King Tobio Kageyama, ruler of the Southern Kingdom and Duke of Kitagawa Daiichi."

Dark blue eyes stared straight ahead as a weight in the form of a crown was placed on a raven haired head.

King. I am King.

He thought as his eyes scanned the masses of people bowing before him. On that day, a 14 year old boy left his childhood behind for a ermine trimmed red cloak and a golden crown.

My king
Oppressive and merciless
Descends upon the people
And beats them to submission

Dark blue eyes lingered over the now razed grounds of what once was a village. A village that dared to rise up against him, that protested under HIS rule, that was filled with people who had become rebels.

Now it was nothing but ash and dust and ruins. The council had pushed this decision.

Now he stood, at merely 15 with blood on his hands, on the sharp silver blade he held dripping with crimson.
There was a faint sound of sobbing in the distance but he couldn't hear it.

Absolute Power.

He tasted it in the blood of his sword, in the smell of burning ruins, in the sight of ash and dust. He wasn't sure whether he liked it or not...

My king
Look down from your throne
Your people are angry
They are tired of your rule

Hinata Shoyou had not spoken since that day.

That terrible, terrible day 3 years ago.

He had come home not to a home but to a ruin of ash and dust and blood.

To a family that was no longer there.

He had cried his throat raw, had screamed and cursed and sobbed till he couldn't.

Refusing to become one of those attack shaken orphans, he moved forward. Moving to another town, living with Yamaguchi Tadashi who was also orphaned by the attacks, settling in a small house next to a scholar called Tsukishima who was sweet on Tadashi no matter how much they both denied it.

Trying to forget the ash and blood and dust, concentrating on working to keep themselves up, fed and well.

Ignoring the whispers about the mute boy who lived with a blind boy, lived in the house beside the scholar who was rumored to be a rebel.

Pretended to be okay.

My king
Come down from your throne
Be among the masses
And see what you have done

"I still don't understand why I must do this under the guise of a mere peasant."

The 18 year old ruler of the Southern Kingdom grumbled as he wore the disguise.

"It is politically smart, my lord. The people here may be more accomodating of your rule but would be assassins are still possible."

Sugawara Koushi, the duke of Karasuno and his adviser counseled. Karasuno was a fairly thriving town, untouched by the attacks. Lively and quite busy, the town's residents were a melting pot of people from other towns.

Dark blue eyes saw nothing remarkable, a typical quaint town with a large flocks of crows as its main wildlife.

Suddenly a blur of a boy slammed into the disguised king sending both of them on the ground. Kageyama rubbed his head to see a small boy with two toned hair bouncing up and down, apologizing profusely for knocking him down.

In his initial shock, he managed a few mumbled words about it being fine. It wasn't fine dammit. He was the king. The King.

"Hey, are you new in this town? I haven't seen you around here before? I'm Nishinoya Yuu! Resident apprentice messenger but I hope to be a knight one day!"

Kageyama was about to open his mouth and snap at the boy when Sugawara intervened.

"I'm Suga and this is Yama. Nice to meet you, Nishinoya."

His silver haired adviser said nudging the king hard. Don't you dare blow your cover.

"Since you're quite familiar with the town, would you mind showing us around, Nishinoya?"

My king
Did you know
That the mind is helpless to prevent
Who the heart chooses to love