warnings: I am not a great writer. You might find some of the parts stilted; grammar and spelling errors might annoy you. (i use spell checkers and from chapter 3 onward, it has been proofread, so that's a relief..)
Standard disclaimer applies.
image used as cover is mine.
CHAPTER ONE
"Hm. Hmm. hm.", bright orange silk kimono swayed with the warm breeze of the afternoon. As the man hums a song, his hair ornaments jingled while he bobbed his head with that red-orange hair.
It's his routine, coming behind his house sitting under the tree. As for what kind of tree it is, he doesn't know. All he knows is that the tree has always been providing him with ample shade no matter what kind of season they're having. The man called the tree 'Mr. Sturdy' as a testament to its strength.
Mr. Sturdy's been the silent witness to the man's incessant ranting and sulking. He has no real friends he can talk to; he's been raised not to trust anyone and it's been a hard life.
"Prince! Where are you? The Emperor is looking for you. Please come out now!"
The man whose back is securely leaning towards the tree sighs audibly before he patted its trunk. "My, my. And here I thought that I can stay here for a while. I have to go, I'll see you tomorrow." his voice was a little nasally for the weather is still cold no matter how many layers of clothes he wore. Still, this place is his haven and there's no other place in his palace, he's more relaxed to than here.
"Ah! There you are, Shouyo-sama." one of the man's attendant shadowing as a bodyguard called Nishinoya came from above his beloved tree and performs a perfect somersault before landing beautifully on the ground.
"You startled me, Nishinoya. Did Sugawara send you here?" he answered the man while he dusted off his kimono.
"He did. Let's go home, it's getting dark and Minister Sawamura wanted you all safe and tucked in early." Nishinoya chuckled and teased the Prince. Nishinoya knew the Prince wouldn't like being looked after but he has no say in this.
"Right. Then please lead the way." the red-orange haired prince showed a forlorn face and Nishinoya can't help but feel pity for him. The bodyguard slipped his hand in his clothes and gave Shouyo a feather he saw this afternoon above the tree the Prince's been fond of.
"Ohhh! What's this?" Shouyo knew it was a feather, but the feather itself is long, silky and unlike those he had seen before. Not to mention, its coal black color is somewhat beautiful. No doubt that the bird whose feather's belonged to is a magnificent one.
"Saw this on a branch of Mr. Sturdy, maybe there's a big bird perched on its trunk earlier. Want me to tell the hunters and the guards not to shoot any bird they might've encounter here and on the outskirts?" Nishinoya knew this will at least give Shouyo a chance to divert his fascination on the curious being.
"Yes! Please. Also, can you please ask Asahi-san to make me an ornament out of this?" the two were chatting as they entered the main gate and the guards on standby bowed their heads slightly when they saw the Prince's bodyguard. He might be a small man, but he's one of the strongest. He's someone you definitely want to guard your back.
When the Prince passed by, some of them bowed, but some wore their feelings on their sleeve as they whispered and looked at how messy Shouyo was.
He's not like his older brother who, by young age, already achieved so much. Always being compared to is not a pleasant feeling for Shouyo—and this made him what he is now.
As the two finally entered the main hall, Shouyo was greeted by his minister Sawamura and his personal attendant Sugawara.
"What time do you think it is?" Sawamura inquired as his hands were kept inside his kimono sleeves. The Prince cringed and cowered slightly behind his Nishinoya. He knew that Sawamura is boiling inside and he will pay for what he did—one way or another.
"Anyway, it's rather late, so please relax at your room and we'll prepare your dinner there." Sugawara tried to intervened between the two.
"Eh? I'm eating dinner in my room again? Is my brother busy?" he knew the coronation would bring forth lots of work for his brother, but Shouyo didn't think that he will not see him even though they are staying inside one castle.
Nishinoya felt the uneasiness from Suga and Sawamura so he tried to cheer up Shouyo as much as possible.
"Ne, how about I join you for supper then? I can, right?" He has no reservation with the two stewards and the two just let out a long suffering sigh.
"Do as you wish."
.
"Your highness, Asahi-dono is asking for an audience with you." Shouyo's parlor maid said while her hand is on her chest and her head was deep in a bow.
Excited, the Prince walked towards his receiving area quite quick. "Ah, Asahi-san! Please let him in."
The maid did as she was told and left the two discreetly. The other maid prepared tea for the two and left them to discuss whatever they want to.
"Please have a seat." Shouyo said with a wide smile on his face as he asked the man to sit. As one would expect from a royalty, his room is huge and lavish and every time Asahi comes in, he still feel like he's been teleported to some place he only read in books.
Asahi is just a regular craftsman and silk trader, but he is an old friend of Nishinoya, and since the said man's guarding the Prince, somehow he became friends with the royalty as well.
Shouyo Hinata has a fondness over hair ornaments and he loves how Asahi makes his crafts. From bookmarks to jewels, he arranged from things picked up from the seashore; Shouyo always want to have something the craftsman makes.
"The feather this time is beautiful, long and almost like it's not from beings here." Asahi laughed and unwrapped the accessory he brought today.- "I made it as a necklace, your highness. I attached it to strings with jade, I hope you like this one."
Asahi is very nervous since the Prince isn't exactly like those courtesan girls he sell jewelries to who buys everything even if it doesn't suit them so long as it's trendy. Shouyo will say if the thing is ugly or not to his liking.
"Uuuh! My, how lovely." The Prince admired the feather ornament in front of him. He traced his finger to the necklace before he picked it up and wore it. The night-kimono the Prince was wearing is a light-blue one with white lining, also a silk Asahi sold to the royalty. Somehow the necklace complimented the clothes he wore.
"Hm. Does it suit me?" Shouyo asked and Asahi nodded. "It really does.", he said.
.
The prince got accustomed to opening his window for a cool breeze and this particular night, the surrounding was tranquil. Though the prince was restless that night, something about his brother's coronation has been bugging him. He's used to seeing the older prince, since the man often drops by his room no matter how busy he was. But now the controversy for the heir to the throne was being debated more often than not, he feels as if there's an unknown force driving them both apart.
"Well, I'm a son of a concubine after all. They're already opposed to me living here in the main residence." he said to himself as he rolled to his side.
Just then, a strong gush of wind flew in his room and he heard some strange sound. As if it's a flap of wings.
"Wings?"
The prince finally connected the dot.
"Ah! The bird!"
Wanting to see the beautiful bird he'd been curious off, Shouyo rushed out of his bed to come to the his big opened window. From there the Prince can see his favorite tree. He tried to be as silent as possible, since the guards outside will probably bother the bird and it may spook it.
Gently, Shouyo went to the window further, only to see the shock of his life.
There's no doubt that he sees the owner of the feather, perched on top of his Mr. Sturdy. The bird has a massive black wings—so massive that when it flaps its wings again, the gale rustled the Prince's clothes and blew his hair even though he's a few meters far from it. The necklace with the feather dances along the wind and Shouyo's strength almost leave his body.
The bird looked its red eyes at him, with the moon shining behind its back. It's eerie, and yet the redhead was drawn to the creature. For an instance, Shouyo thought the bird is going to kill him.
"Are you coming to get me?" Shouyo leaned in, mouth trembling, but still managed to open his mouth and asked.
The bird then flapped its magnificent wings and flew to the Prince's window. He then perched his legs on the red mahogany railings and looked at the man. Gazed fixed at the necklace Shouyo wore and breathed in audibly.
As far as the Prince can see, the bird is the ones called tengu. Crows with human-liked features; the body is of a human, but it's face has a long beak. The tengu gives off an incredible feeling and Shouyo can't help but trembled as he braced himself on the window.
The Tengu did not say a word, just looking at Shouyo curiously from head to toe—and the Prince did the same. He somehow felt like from the way the Tengu's dressed, he's considered a warrior because he carried some sort of weapon and his body has some armor.
"Human, why aren't you running away?" He asked with a deep cold voice.
"Why? Ehehe, I wonder why." Shouyo answered nervously. "I can't escape you even if I want to." He told the truth.
The Tengu then looked at him once more, before it raised its hand to its beak and pulled off his face.
From here, the Prince opened his mouth to scream, but no voice came out. He realized moments after that the beak was just a mask as a handsome face was revealed behind it.
Dark blue eyes and coal black hair greeted the redhead and he admires the being, almost like he's in a dream.
"Beautiful." The redhead said and the Tengu scowled before he reached out a hand and touched the Prince's necklace.
"You're wearing my feather." the Tengu said.
"Ah? Yes, I'm sorry! Should I not?" the Prince asked. It looked like the Tengu wasn't going to harm him. It wouldn't matter if he were, it's not like the prince has anything better to do with his life—or so he thought.
"Hm. I shall come back tomorrow night." The tengu didn't answer and jumped out of the railing before he opened his wings again to levitate himself.
"Wait, please tell me what's your name!" The prince pleaded although his voice was in a whisper. He's sure that the tengu heared him as the creature paused and turned his head to look at the red-orange haired man.
"I don't have a name which humans can call easily." the tengu replied.
"Then, would you mind if I give you a name I can call to?" The prince said and the Tengu got curious and moved closer, making the Prince blush. No one comes close to Shouyo like that and he's not used to it.
"Then, give me a name." the tengu said.
The redhead thought about it for a few seconds before he answered.
"I, Hinata Shouyo, the Second Prince of the Karasuno Country, shall hereby call you from this day as Tobio." the prince said with a smile on his face.
"Tobio? Ah, a flying man. Very well. Then I shall be known as Tobio. Till then, Shouyo."
"See you."
.
a/n; welcome to my fic. this is going to be lengthy; Japanese and Chinese mythology included, historical (Late Heian to Kamakura Periods). Hint of Romance here and there. ^^
-I update fairly fast, unless I am unwell. I just finished my chemotherapy, but i still have a long way to go. Please be kind, and understand that I don't do well with harsh and violent reactions. You can turn back now if you hate writing style that's full of flaws. I'm the type of person to draw, sing, dance and write even if i suck so much. XD I won't stop.
