Disclaimer: I own none of the characters except for OC's

Your Future will Gleam

"You're late, mongrel!"

Otoya let out an exasperated sigh. "Sorry, Sakuya."

The silver-haired man huffed indignantly. "That is lord Le Bel to you! Not only that, but you are supposed to be attending to my needs seconds after I set foot in the palace!"

Though he had agreed, somewhat, to serve Sakuya whenever he was at the palace to make up for the tea incident, Otoya hadn't expected him to be there everyday. The young man was incredibly demanding and bossy and Otoya wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to put up with his arrogant attitude.

Since Otoya was forced to attend to Sakuya's whims, he was starting to struggle to keep up with his regular duties. His supposed negligence was noticed by some of the staff, especially Jii. Otoya suppressed a sigh.

Thank goodness the prince wasn't like Sakuya.

"Hey! Listen when I'm speaking to you, mongrel!" Sakuya shouted, causing Otoya to wince.

Despite the annoyance and frustration bubbling within him, Otoya kept silent. It was probably in his best interest to keep his mouth shut lest he get even more of an earful.

"Hmph! Anyways, consider yourself lucky today as I will only need you for one task," Sakuya grumbled haughtily.

At that, Otoya's dog-ears perked up. "What?"

"I will only require you to lead me to the prince's quarters. There are certain matters I wish to discuss with him."

Relief washed over Otoya, thankful that he would now have time to attend to his regular duties.

While Otoya led the silver-haired male to Masato's office, who was going on about something or another, the redhead couldn't help but wonder how Haruka was doing.

It had been a week since she had started working at the palace. However, due to him having to attend Sakuya whenever he was around, he hardly had any free time and never got the chance to talk with Haruka as much as he wanted to.

They would see each other from time-to-time, but only for a moment.

There was something almost soothing about her presence that made Otoya curious. He wanted to get to know her more but...

Otoya let out a sigh. If only he didn't always have to play catch up on his chores.

He shook his head and let out a determined huff. He had to remind himself his situation could have been a lot worse. Though with Sakuya constantly berating him it made it a little difficult.

When they finally reached Masato's office, Otoya rapped his knuckles against the door. He was surprised however to hear a yelp come from inside the room. His dog-ears twitched slightly as he raised an eyebrow curiously.

The door then opened and Haruka rushed out, wearing a strange, unreadable expression on her face.

"Nanami?" Otoya said in surprise.

"Hmph, still rushing around nearly knocking into people I see," Sakuya scoffed as Otoya shot him a dirty look from the corner of his eye.

"Erm, w-what are you two doing here?" Haruka asked, as she tried to regain her composure.

"I was just showing Sa- I mean, Lord Le bel to his highness' office," Otoya replied.

Sakuya smiled in satisfaction upon hearing his self-proclaimed title as he puffed his chest out a little much to Otoya's exasperation.

"Ah, I see. Um, I need to attend to my duties, excuse me," Haruka said quickly with a bow before scurrying away.

Otoya tilted his head to the side with one ear lifted. What was going on with her? He pushed open the door to Masato's office to see the prince looking just as perplexed as him.

"Um, what happened?" Otoya asked sheepishly.

Masato didn't answer immediately. However, after a moment he shook his head and started writing something down.

"I really have no idea. She has been acting quite strange lately," Masato replied slowly.

"You haven't been too hard on her, have you?" Otoya asked in a joking tone.

Masato stopped writing. "I do not believe so."

"Hmm, maybe she's still intimidated by you."

The prince rested his chin against his knuckles, which was propped up by his elbow. He looked down at his the document sitting on his desk thoughtfully.

"Hm."

"Ah! Your highness!"

Sakuya quickly made his way over to Masato and bowed politely. "Pardon my intrusion, but would it be possible to spare a few minutes with a humble Le bel?"

Otoya couldn't help but mentally roll his eyes. If he could describe Sakuya in one word, humble would be the furthest thing from his mind.

"I'm quite busy at the moment," Masato responded.

"Please, there are certain things I wish to converse with you about. It is of the utmost importance," Sakuya declared.

Masato seemed to mull things over for a moment before letting out a sigh of defeat. "Very well."

Sakuya turned to Otoya and made a gesture with his hand for him to leave. "Your task is done for the day, you are dismissed."

Otoya felt a tinge of annoyance flare up within him before he glanced over at the prince.

Masato gave him a small nod, giving Otoya an odd sense of relief.

A grateful expression crossed over the redhead's face before he bowed politely and excused himself from the room.

"That should do it…" Otoya mumbled to himself as he finished wiping down the last window in the hall.

Now that he was freed from Sakuya for a day, he had time to catch up on his chores. However, upon seeing that he had several more hallways to cover, he doubted he would finish before nightfall.

The redhead let out a frustrated groan before running his hands through his hair frantically.

"Gah! Why me?!"

"Aren't servants supposed to work quietly?"

Otoya let out a yelp of surprise and whirled around to see a dark haired knight glaring at him with cold, blue eyes.

"Ah, Tokiya, you scared me," Otoya said while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Don't refer to me in such a familiar way."

"Sorry, sorry."

Tokiya narrowed his eyes before letting out an annoyed huff.

"In any case, you wouldn't have happened to see a knight slacking off around here have you?"

Otoya shook his head. "No, why?"

A frustrated sigh escaped from Tokiya as he shook his head. "Never mind. It doesn't concern you. Anyways, if you'll excuse me."

Otoya scowled slightly, though he should have expected that response from the dark-haired knight. He turned back to face the window and paused when he spotted a familiar redheaded figure outside.

Haruka was carrying a wooden tub filled with clothes over to the outside pump. He figured she was getting ready to do laundry.

A thought crossed his mind. Maybe he could help her. That way he could talk to her while they worked. She was acting a little strange earlier when she came out of Masato's office. Not to mention Masato had commented on her odd behavior lately. It may do some good to ask her if she's doing all right.

However…

He glanced uneasily at the next hall of windows he had to clean and his dog-ears drooped in dismay.

"Ah…"

Haruka wrung the water out of another shirt, letting the water drip down her arms as she attended to one of her newest duties. Washing clothes was not a foreign task to her as she had helped her grandmother do the laundry many times. She was somewhat thankful that she was able to do something right without too much difficulty.

While she was lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice someone walk over and kneel down beside her. The noise of splashing water snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked over to the side to see Otoya cleaning another piece of clothing in the wooden tub.

"Ittoki-kun?!" Haruka cried in shock. "Ah! Please don't worry about that! I'll get to it eventually. Don't you have your own chores? I mean Mister Le bel seems to have you pretty busy and-"

Otoya looked over at her and gave her a reassuring smile. "It's all right. A few more chores won't hurt. Besides, it'll be done faster with two people."

Haruka's expression softened before a small smile formed on her lips. "Thank you."

A small blush dusted Otoya's cheeks before he quickly averted his gaze and focused his attention back on cleaning. "N-No problem."

Not too long afterwards, the two fell into comfortable small talk about different topics as they continued doing the laundry.

"…Someone accidentally knocked down a shelf of perfume at the marketplace. I couldn't smell for days!" Otoya said as Haruka giggled at his story.

"There was also one time Ren told me to deliver some warm milk to Masa because he wasn't feeling well. I found out the hard way that Masa really hates milk. He actually chased after me saying I had committed treason! That was actually kind of scary…" Otoya said as he shuddered slightly at the memory.

Haruka furrowed her brows a little as if trying to picture the scene in her mind. "I… can't really see his Highness doing that."

"Neither did I until it happened," Otoya said with a chuckle.

Haruka remained silent, her gaze trained on her lap. Otoya looked at her curiously as he felt panic start to swell inside him. Did he offend her somehow? Before he could say anything, however, Haruka spoke up.

"Um, Ittoki-kun? If you don't mind me asking, why do you refer to his Highness as 'Masa?' It seems awfully familiar to refer to him that way."

"Ah," Otoya said with a sheepish smile. "It does, doesn't it? He does tell me not to call him that when others are around, but sometimes I forget. I guess you can call it a friendly nickname I gave him when he first got me this job as a servant."

Haruka's eyes widened in surprise. "His Highness got you a job here as well?"

"Yup!" Otoya said with a toothy grin. "It was about a month ago that I was searching for a job so I could raise money for this orphanage I support. It was a bit hard to find one due to my race though..."

"Get out, you stupid mutt!"

Otoya let out a yelp as he was forcefully shoved out the door of a quaint knick-knack shop and into the streets of the busy capital.

"What's the big idea?!" Otoya cried, earning him curious glances from people passing by.

"No flea-bitten mutt is going to work in my shop. Get lost!" the owner shouted.

Otoya grimaced before he looked away to the side.

"What is all the commotion going on over here?" asked a royal knight who had been passing by.

"Thank goodness you're here," the shopkeeper cried before pointing accusingly at Otoya. "That dirty mutt was just about ready to ransack my store if you hadn't shown up!"

"W-What?!" Otoya cried in shock. "I wasn't doing anything! He's the one who kicked me out of the store!"

"You can't believe an animal like him! He's obviously lying through those blood-stained fangs of his!"

A crowd was now starting to form due to the commotion as nervous murmurs went around.

"Animals are kind of scary."

"Didn't the wolves feed on people at one point?"

"Not to mention that the cats from Western Kingdom have been invading our borders lately."

"He does look a little suspicious. I mean, look at those red eyes."

Otoya's mind was spinning. They didn't really think that did they? Why were they assuming the worst from him? They didn't even know him!

"You see?! He's a threat to society! So do your job and get rid of him before he harms someone!" the shopkeeper insisted to the knight.

Otoya broke out in cold sweat as his eyes darted around, trying desperately to figure out what the best possible action was. f he ran, he would probably make the situation worse. If he spoke out against the shopkeeper, it would definitely cause another outburst. No matter what he did, the odds were against him in this situation. It was his word against a human and he already knew the outcome.

The sound of a sword being unsheathed snapped Otoya out of his thoughts and his eyes widened in horror as the knight started walking towards him. His eyes immediately locked onto the sword and felt his heart drop.

"What is going on here?"

Gasps were heard amongst the crowd, causing everyone to pause. Otoya blinked in confusion as did the knight and shopkeeper. Before he could question what was happening, the crowd parted like the Red Sea, allowing a tall young man with dark hair through. He was wearing a white uniform with gold lining and fabric that hung loosely from the shoulder to the neck. Was he an aristocrat of some kind?

"Y-Your Highness?!" the knight cried in shock, stumbling back a few steps and quickly sheathing his sword. "I-I was just about to arrest him for disturbing the peace."

The prince glanced down at him and whatever sliver of hope Otoya had was gone in an instant. He felt as if he were sinking into a deep pit where there's no escape. It was becoming increasingly hard to breathe as his heart hammered against his chest anxiously.

It wasn't fair. Why did he have to be treated like this just because he was half animal? He was still half human. Did that count for nothing?

Otoya bowed his head in defeat. If he cooperated, maybe his punishment would be less severe.

"Do you have any proof of this?" the prince asked evenly.

With those words, everything seemed to stop.

The knight looked taken aback as he stammered to come up with an excuse. However, he was shoved to the side by the shopkeeper who came forward.

"He's an animal, what more proof do you need?!"

"I was not talking to you." The prince said, narrowing his eyes coldly at the man.

The shopkeeper immediately shut his mouth as he took a step back.

Turning his glance back over to Otoya, the prince asked, "What happened?"

Otoya didn't respond at first as he was still in shock from the prince's unexpected defense. After a moment he was able to regain his wits and managed to explain his situation.

"H-He's lying! You cannot trust anything he says! Animals are nothing but monsters, just like the Guardians!" the shopkeeper cut in.

"I see…" the prince said as he closed his eyes briefly.

He then walked over to Otoya and extended his hand to him. The redhead looked at the prince in surprise before he hesitantly but gratefully took his offer and allowed himself to be pulled back up to his feet.

"Thanks…" Otoya said as people started murmuring amongst each other again.

"You said before that you were asking for a job, correct?" the prince asked.

Otoya looked at him curiously. "Eh? Well yeah, but-"

"Come work for me." Masato said firmly.

The crowd went completely silent in shock as Otoya stared speechless at the prince.

Otoya's mind was racing as he couldn't quite process what had just happened.

It was as if a a beacon of light had just sliced through the darkness in his mind, allowing him to finally breathe. A rush of emotion crashed over him as his body started to tremble and a pressure built in the back of his eyes.

"What are you doing?!" the shopkeeper cried. "That lousy mutt is-"

The prince shot the man a cold glare, stopping the man mid-sentence.

"So what you're saying is that animals are just wild beasts that need to be locked up in cages?"

The prince slowly stalked over to the man until he stood directly in front of him. His violet eyes seemed to bore holes straight through the shopkeeper's head.

"But tell me, if that's true, then how would it be any different from putting swine like you behind bars?"

Everyone looked at the prince in disbelief. The shopkeeper was sweating bullets as his eyes darted side-to-side in an attempt to avoid eye contact.

"Or maybe I could send you over to our allies in Eastern Kingdom. I'm sure they would love to hear your racist remarks."

The prince finally took a step back as the shopkeeper's legs started to wobble and he gracelessly fell onto the ground. He was breathing hard as if he had run a marathon as his whole body trembled while he sat.

Before another world could be uttered from anyone, the prince turned towards the crowd.

"Is there anyone else that has anything slanderous to say about the animal race?" the prince said, his glare sending the entire crowd into silence.

"A-All right! Everyone move along! There is nothing more to see here!" the knight announced in a rather unconvincing fashion.

The crowd eventually dispersed and the shopkeeper stumbled back to his shop, leaving Otoya and the prince.

Letting out a weary sigh, the prince then turned to Otoya. "Are you alright?"

Otoya stared at him, still in disbelief of what had transpired. Regaining his composure, he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah… Thanks. That… that was pretty awesome of you back there. It meant a lot."

The prince shook his head. "There's no need to thank me. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect no matter their background or race."

Otoya couldn't help but chuckle. "If only everyone felt the same way you did."

The corners of the prince's mouth upturned slightly as a small, dry chuckle escaped from his lips.

"Well, we should get you ready for work tomorrow then."

Otoya paused.

"Huh? Wait, you were serious about that?"

The prince nodded. "Of course. It may not be a high paying job, but I think I can manage to get you something at the palace. I will make sure you are treated respectfully there."

Otoya's eyes widened in disbelief and shock. The prince of Southern Kingdom was really asking him to work for him?

Shaking off his initial shock, Otoya took a step forward. "Y-You mean it? You would really give me a job just like that?"

"Do you have any other offers?" the prince asked.

"But what if I really was a horrible monster like that guy said I was just playing the victim?"

"If that's the case, then if I suspect you of treason I will personally dispatch you." the prince replied as he placed a hand over the hilt of his sword at his side.

Otoya stared at him in surprise. There were so many emotions swelling up in him that he didn't know what to say. A tear slipped out and ran down his cheek. He quickly reached up and wiped it away as several more tears escaped.

His body started trembling as he breathed in several shuddering breaths. He bowed his head as he grabbed the prince's hand and shook it furiously.

"Thank you… Thank you so much! You won't regret it sir, I promise!"

A soft expression came over the prince's face. "There's no need to be so formal. Lift your head."

Otoya straightened and gave a large, toothy grin.

"I'm Otoya Ittoki. I look forward to working for you."

The prince firmly grasped Otoya's hand and gave him a sharp shake in return.

"Masato Hijirikawa. A pleasure."

Otoya looked contemplative for a moment before snapping his fingers on his other hand as if he had come up with a great idea.

"How about I call you 'Masa'?"

Masato gave him an incredulous look as Otoya chuckled.

"…Do what you want."

"It's all thanks to Masa that I wasn't arrested under false charges and that I'm where I am now," Otoya said as he glanced up at the sky. "I owe him a lot. I mean, he even had to pull some strings for me to be able to work here. I work my absolute hardest so that one day I could possibly pay him back somehow."

He turned to look at Haruka. "You and me are pretty similar in how we were given these jobs. If you think about it, what he did for us was actually really gracious of him. You said yourself that you were searching for a job, right? He gave you one on the spot and also a place to stay. He was probably just saying you owed him as an excuse to help you out."

Haruka blinked. But as she thought about it, she supposed Otoya was right. Though, she wished there was less kidnapping in her variation. She glanced down at the shirt in her lap and fiddled with the fabric in her hands.

"Um, I'm sorry if I'm being too nosy, but… did something happen between you and Masa?" Otoya asked.

Haruka immediately stiffened as Otoya waited for her answer.

"W-Why do you ask?"

"You've been acting kind of strange around him lately. I don't know what happened between you and Masa, but I think it'd be best to talk things out with him if there's a problem. I'm sure he doesn't want you feeling uncomfortable here. And believe me, he's a lot more understanding than he seems."

A look of uncertainty remained on Haruka's face as a small blush spread across her cheeks. "Y-You really think I should talk to him about it?"

Otoya nodded. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll go with you if you want."

Haruka hesitated. However, she eventually heaved a sigh and nodded. "Okay…"

Otoya smiled. "All right, let's hurry up and finish the laundry then."

When the afternoon set in, Otoya accompanied Haruka to deliver Masato's afternoon tea. They stood in front of the office door, seemingly looming over them. Haruka had not made a move to open the door. Her eyes were trained on the tray of tea she held in front of her.

Otoya glanced at Haruka in concern. She must have been incredibly nervous as her hands were shaking, making the cup on the tray rattle. He reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, it'll be okay. I'll be right beside you."

Haruka took in a breath before gingerly knocking at the door.

A muffled "come in" sounded from inside the office and both of them entered to find Masato working diligently at his desk. A large stack of paperwork towered beside him.

"That's an awful lot of paperwork you have there." Otoya commented.

The prince let out an exasperated sigh. "I would have been halfway done by now if it weren't for mister Le bel. He only left about half an hour ago."

Otoya chuckled sheepishly as he gave his friend a sympathetic smile.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Haruka still standing near the doorway.

"Nanami?" Otoya called.

Masato glanced up curiously, causing Haruka to flinch. She glanced at Otoya hesitantly. The redhead gave her a reassuring smile and gestured for her to go ahead.

Taking a breath, Haruka went over and placed the tray down on Masato's desk.

The prince eyed the teacup suspiciously as he gingerly picked up the cup.

"What's going on? You two are acting suspicious."

"U-Um…" Haruka said as she fidgeted nervously, her face becoming considerably red.

"Is…"

Haruka let out a shuddering breath before steeling herself and looked up at Masato.

"Is…Is it true that you prefer men?!"