A/N: Hey all, this is a story with the Haikyuu characters but it is based on the book Heir Apparent by Vivian Van Velde. I loved that book when I was young and, after re-reading it recently, I could just picture something like this happening to Kenma. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

Kenma wasn't surprised when he got the gift certificate for his birthday. How could he have been when his father's secretary called him the day before and asked him where he wanted a certificate from? But he was excited about it, none-the-less. With his mother away on business, again, and his father almost completely out of his life, it was the one bright spot in his usual birthday emptiness.

The gift certificate was sitting on the table in his apartment when he got home from class. Kenma briefly wondered if his father had actually stopped by or if he had just handed over the key to one of his underlings and had them bring it. He studied the certificate, feeling a smile pull at his lips when he saw that it was good for thirty minutes of free play at the new virtual reality arcade. The new system was reported to be amazing – you could actually disengage yourself from the everyday world and be immersed in these new fantasy systems.

With a glance at the clock, Kenma decided that this was the best way he could possibly spend his birthday. The arcade had opened almost two weeks ago and was instantly met with resistance. There were many people that believed such systems should have never been invented. That they were poisoning the mind of children and leading to higher crime rates. There had been protests going on from the moment the doors had opened, but Kenma thought that he could finally manage to get through the groups and get inside.

He noticed the crowds the instant he turned onto the street. Just as he had seen on the news, the building was surrounded by protesters. Kenma moved around slowly and carefully, not looking up. He hoped they would think he was just passing by until it was too late.

It seemed to work for the most part but one guy seemed to understand what Kenma was doing. Kenma froze as a pair of shoes moved into his path and he moved his eyes up slowly. A man was standing in front of him, his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed. The man began to quote statistics (biased statistics) at Kenma, saying how the virtual reality games were a menace to society and…

Well, Kenma didn't hear the rest. He moved to the side of the man and began to jog toward the doors, slowly picking up speed when he saw more of the protestors attempting to move in and stop him. The door of the arcade was flung open when he got close and he ran on through, letting the employee slam the doors close behind him.

Kenma felt himself start to pant as he came to a stop. He wasn't the most athletic of people and he couldn't remember the last time he had tried to run. "Afternoon!" A peppy voice cut in to his thoughts. Kenma turned to see a young woman sitting at a counter, a bright smile plastered across her face. "Is this your first time here?"

Kenma nodded and slowly made his way toward her. Besides himself and the woman, there were a few employees walking around, most of them looking bored, and only two other customers. Two boys a little younger than himself were sitting in chairs beside two machines. "I have this," Kenma muttered, showing the woman the certificate.

She beamed, "Oh, great! This certificate allows you a thirty minute complete immersion game time! The computer stimulates your brain so you feel like you're actually experiencing the adventure! You'll smell, taste, and feel everything! It really is amazing! Thirty minutes is about three days in the game world. Just a quick warning – if your character feels pain, so will you. If they are hungry, you will be as well. Same with cold, heat, or anything else. If you die in the game and still have time left, you will automatically restart. You can watch promo's over there! Once you decided which you want to play, come see me again and I'll get you started!"

Kenma bowed his head lightly and turned to follow the direction the woman had indicated. There was a large screen there with a multitude of buttons under it. Looking more closely, Kenma saw that each button activated a promo for a specific game. They were separated into genre's and he skipped over the horror section. He briefly watched the various promo's for the adventure games and then moved onto fantasy. One in particular caught his eye. Heir Apparent.

"The King is dead. Are you the next in line? Who can you trust?" Various images flickered across the screen as the voice spoke. There were brief shots of different characters, of magic, of a dragon. "Wrong choice!" A high pitched voice cackled as the screen went black.

Kenma made his way back toward the woman, "Heir Apparent good for thirty minutes?"

She laughed lightly, "Oh, I haven't played that one yet, but it's the owners' favorite! They got the idea for all of this in college and spent all their time making these games once they figured out how to do it. Heir Apparent was their first game! Sorry, to answer your question, you should be able to get in some great playing on that one in thirty minutes!"

Kenma nodded his head and indicated that was what he wanted. She flashed that bright smile once again and typed something on her computer. Only a few seconds later, one of the employees came up to him and took him to a station and helped him get situated. "Ready to go?" the employee asked, just as brightly as the other girl.

"Yeah," Kenma muttered.

There wasn't a response but Kenma didn't notice. He didn't notice because he was suddenly somewhere else. Somewhere that smelled absolutely horrible. He was on the ground, leaning back against something not quite soft. Opening his eyes, Kenma glanced around to see he was lying in some sort of…barn. A barn? The not quite soft thing was hay.

Oh, it smelled terrible.

Kenma made to stand but quickly fell back to the ground as his mind began to fill with information. Everything he knew about his life seemed to be pressed to the back of his mind and the space was filled with new memories and knowledge. Kozume Kenma was now Kenma St. Jehan, a sheepherder. Memories of being raised in the village assaulted Kenma and he felt his stomach lurch when he realized the game had picked up the images of his parents and used them to fit this scenario. In the game, his parents were happily in love and they loved Kenma unconditionally.

Unlike his own family who hadn't all been in the same place in over ten years.

"Kenma! Come to the house!"

Yeah, that was definitely his mother's voice.

Kenma moved slowly. He hadn't seen his mother in almost two years, not since he had moved out of the house and into his apartment when he began to attend University. His mother had instantly packed up her own things and shipped them off, Kenma had no idea where, and then had begun to travel for her job. She had stopped traveling, mostly, after she and Kenma's father had gotten divorced, but not that she no longer had to take care of Kenma, she had picked up her old position.

Not that she had actually taken care of Kenma anyway. Mostly, she hadn't wanted others to judge her if she had constantly left her teenage son alone.

But that woman was completely different than the woman standing inside the house. His mother had always had the perfect hair, the best outfits, and had never allowed herself to be seen without her make-up. This woman didn't even appear to know what make-up was. Her hair was braided down her back messily and her clothes, like Kenma's, were threadbare and course.

There was a man standing beside her, a man that certainly wasn't from Kenma's memories – his real or fake.

"Yes?" Kenma asked as he walked up to them, his brow furrowed as he looked toward the man.

Said man didn't appear to be that much older than him. He was extremely tall and slim with blonde hair that was cut close to his head. His golden eyes stared at Kenma with scorn and his lip twisted. "Is this him?" the man demanded, his nose wrinkling in distaste. Kenma wondered if it was because of his appearance or the stench that wafted off of him.

"This is Kenma," his mother said lovingly and Kenma blinked. He had never heard that tone from his mother. Ever. "Kenma there is something I probably should have told you. Oh, I wish we could wait until your father was home-"

"Get on with it," the man demanded.

"That's my mother, there's no reason to be rude," Kenma muttered at the man, annoyed at his tone.

The man just smirked, "Wrong. That's the entire reason I'm here."

"What are you talking about?" Kenma asked, frowning as he went through those memories once more. No, these were definitely his parents.

The man sighed in irritation, "That woman isn't your mother. And that man you call your father is also not related to you."

Kenma blinked. Wait…so that was how this was going to go? He knew, obviously, that he was supposed to somehow be in line for the throne, but he hadn't thought it would…

"Tsukishima-san, you said I could tell him-"

"You took too long," This man, Tsukishima, sighed. He turned his head, fixing those eyes on Kenma once more, "These people are your foster parents. You were brought here for safekeeping. Your true parents are – your mother was a servant," the blond rolled his eyes.

Ah, so that meant… "And my father?" Kenma asked, already knowing the answer.

"Was King Nekomata, God rest his soul."

Kenma's mother gasped and her hand flew up to cover her mouth, "The King is dead?"

"He always did have bad timing," Tsukishima muttered and Kenma had to stare at the man for his gall. How had this person survived until now? From what Kenma had in his head, this country didn't take things like that well.

"I have brothers?" Kenma asked, his mind finally putting all the pieces into place. His mind was telling him that he had heard whispers of the prince's throughout the village, but no names were ever spoken.

"You do," Tsukishima said shortly, that scowl still plastered on his face.

Well, this was getting him nowhere.

"What are their names? What are they like?"

The scowl grew, "Tooru is the first born," Tsukishima informed him, his voice now growing monotone. "He was raised away from court and has certain…wild ideas."

Wild ideas? What on earth could that mean? Before Kenma could asked, Tsukishima continued, "Koutarou is the second son and is a man of incredible physical prowess. In the classical sense, anyway."

"Classical-"

"And the third born is Tetsurou. As far as I'm concerned, he shows far too much interest in the magical arts." Tsukishima finished. His eyes flickered to Kenma's once more and he smirked, "But perhaps it would be better for you to form your own opinions instead of relying on mine."

Kenma felt his own eyes narrow in response but his mother quickly stepped in, "Wait, does that mean you're taking Kenma to court?" Tsukishima nodded. "But I thought he was in danger there?"

"The King commanded it," came the response.

"I thought the King-"

Tsukishima sighed, "It was his deathbed wish that Kenma be brought to court," he said, obviously wanting to get it over with so they would stop asking questions. "But, he was feverish then. It might have been a mistake," well, we know that Tsukishima thought it was. "You were an embarrassment when you were born. Your servant mother died during the birth and some of the King's advisors, my father included, pointed out that it wasn't uncommon for mother and child to both die during labor. But the king was a kindhearted man," Tsukishima said with a twist to his lips.

So Tsukishima's father was one of the advisors? Interesting.

"So he decided to send for me once he knew he was dying?" Kenma responded, "Was he aware I was alive all this time?"

"He knew," Tsukishima snorted. "He sent for you because he named you his heir."

Kenma froze and he heard his mother gasp. He was named the heir? From what he saw on the promo, he had assumed he would have to fight for his place on the throne against the three brothers. Why would the king name him? Didn't the other three have a closer claim? And their mother was the Queen. Why would he name the son of a servant? "Why?" Kenma finally asked out, his mind not able to put the pieces in place.

"No idea," Tsukishima answered promptly. "Now let's be off. It is a long ride to the castle."

Kenma moved toward the horse that was obviously waiting for him but his mother grabbed onto his arm. "Oh, can't you wait? I sent word to your father. He should be back here soon!"

He had already been thrown at seeing his mother, making his father a part of it was pushing it. "I'll send for you once everything is settled," Kenma responded, squeezing her hand gently before climbing up on the horse.

He didn't look back as he followed Tsukishima away from the village.