A/N: Thanks to an anime, I picked up an idea for Spartos. Forgive me for the use of creative liberty here, as I doubt it's true, but it was such a nice idea I went with it. Special thanks to everyone this time around, I value all of you for your time in reading this.

A Feeling so Complicated

Despite Judal's intentions to stay near Hakuryuu, the magi's distractive energetic nature and the prince's dedication to practice drew the two apart. The prince had been looking forward to fighting someone magically inclined and difficult to read. He hadn't participated in real combat, just simple sparring matches between the Empire's soldiers and the occasional wandering, undead corpse that his cousin, Kouha, declared as his army.

Hakuryuu should have suspected, especially at the rate things were going, that Judal would be distracted by the sparkling and beautiful city of his idol. Despite the magi's love of war and fighting, his penchant for wandering from dust to dawn took precedence.

That didn't make the prince any less annoyed however. Hakuryuu still wanted to train with a magician; to learn how to effectively fight one. But more than that, he wanted to fight Judal because of his unpredictability. In the future he knew he would be set against any number of them and if his plans were to succeed he would need to learn how to face anyone in any situation.

Drawing away the cotton rag he was using to clean his spear, Hakuryuu looked about the veranda he was seated at. It was cozy and surprisingly warm despite the continuous rainfall. The mix of peony and pea plants curling around the balcony gave the area a welcoming feel he took quite a liking to.

As the prince discovered, a country that stood within the center of the sea wasn't as ideal as it sounded. Not only did it attract a host of curious sea creatures but it also became a target of many torrential storms. While most of the severity was kept at bay by the cities defenses, the elements of the world continued to pound against the ground unheeded.

Today was one of the lesser storms, which Hakuryuu was glad for. He was able to go out and breathe fresher air. It still annoyed him that the entirely of the week had left him stuck indoors, even if it was to his benefit as he was rather impressed with Sindria's library.

Also seeking reprieve from the torrent of summer rain was one of the countries tropical birds. It made its home against the railing, chirping softly as if calling for attention. It ruffled its soaked body, drying the vermillion plumage of feathers before meeting the prince's eyes with a black beady stare.

Leaning in, Hakuryuu stroked a finger against the arrogantly puffed out chest. As he did, he noticed it was the same bird that had taken to flying between the Green Sagittarius Tower and the Silver Scorpio Tower more recently. Perhaps it considered this its territory and was concerned why he was outside of it. "Checking on me?" Hakuryuu smiled warmly.

The bird merely chirped, its beady eyes scanning over him and then the area.

"Aren't you the bird that sits outside bedroom windows to spy on people?" That's a bit rude don't you think?"

It didn't seem to like that implication and quickly bobbed its head forward, nipping at the prince's finger.

"O-Ow! Hey!" The bird suddenly took off, leaving him to examine his injury in annoyance. It hadn't broken the skin but it did leave quite a nasty bite. Sighing, Hakuryuu watched as the bright speck of red soared toward a familiar window. It seemed to have a strange obsession with both him and Jafar for whatever reason.

Massaging his still stinging finger, the prince glanced upward. Rain continued to fall in a slow, miserable drizzle. The colorless sky and darkened clouds seemed to mock him.

"It isn't as though I'm running..." Hakuryuu rebuked as though the sky itself was questioning his actions. "I won't ignore what I must do..." he continued, confirming his plans as he glanced around the empty streets below. The murky weather reminded him of home. Of the dark rukh that thickly covered the area like a fog of war.

It was hard to believe nearly a month had passed since his arrival and he had done little with himself. Not that he wasn't able to, but so much got in the way of things. More than anything he wanted to become stronger, to spend his days learning new techniques. It was the only thing, aside from his cousin's task, that he could do until he was able to claim a dungeon's power for himself.

With Judal annoying King Sinbad as much as he could, it left Hakuryuu without an audience. It amazed him how such a charismatic and friendly man could handle the Magi. No word came to him that Judal had misbehaved, escaped or had to be locked up. Even if the Magi was considered - in the loosest term possible - a guest of the country, there were limits to what would be tolerated. Hakuryuu expected King Sinbad to be a man who could control the teen's temperamental nature but much like Kouen, Sinbad continued to let the Magi roam about as he pleased with minor supervision.

Even Jafar, whom Hakuryuu had seen often, had made his presence scarce. The preliminary officer was swamped with so much work that the light streaming from his window became a regular sight during the prince's evening walks around the area. Either by accident or design, the prince's quarters had a window facing the White Aries tower and he took to watching the lamp light in the early hours as he awoke. He knew the man often worked diligently throughout the night and wished, somehow, he could see him again.

Aside from these things the prince had taken the initiative, acquainting himself with Sindria's Eight Generals. One he already knew quite intimately and the other - Masrur - still frightened him. That left six others he would need to meet.

It seemed that while the country was at peace each general had a duty to attend to and after some instruction Hakuryuu went about greeting them. While they were all very polite and kind their rukh held signs of devotion, suspicion and disinterest. Past knowing who the prince was and what he was about they hadn't wanted much involvement. Not out of a particular dislike but they were cautious of the empire. Even though the prince couldn't blame them for it, it still made him feel alienated.

The first Hakuryuu had decided to meet was a tribesman and almost by instinct the tall, bulky man knew the prince had trained in their ways. The blue haired man greeted him warmly, picking him up and hugging him so tightly it forced the air from his lungs. Taking a moment to recover his breath, Hakuryuu noticed a lack of insignificance standing within the man's pronounced shadow, even though he should have felt as such. Reading the rukh emitting from Hinahoho showed sensitivity and confidence, as well as a fear of Hakuryuu's strength even though outwardly the opposite was true.

Distancing himself from anymore surprise bear hugs, the prince met with Sharrkan. His appearance was remiss of a desert, with bronze skin and hair as shimmery as the sun. Hakuryuu inwardly questioned the man's tastes as his eyes followed the chain connecting from neck to torso. The man's rukh exuded a confidence that conflicted with who he was. Outwardly the general was lazy and carefree but his rukh was busting with pride, vanity and strength. This was someone Hakuryuu was certain he wouldn't get along with. As their eyes locked in suspicion of each other the prince inquired about the other generals and was directed toward the location of two females.

Approaching the two took him by surprise. One was a monster tamer, short and blonde with an open, slit shirt to show off what hadn't quite grown in yet. The other was a tall and busty magician, her ocean hued hair and black hat covering more of her than her clothes did. Such bold immodesty had left him so unnerved he hadn't the chance to search their rukh. Overall, he felt he had left them with the wrong impression, attempting to focus solely on their face and eyes than the rest of them.

On his way to find the last, thankfully male, generals Hakuryuu ran into someone. Or something. He could have sworn he had been stopped by some obstruction but he wasn't very certain of what it was.

"Would you happen to be the Prince of the Kou Empire?" A short dark haired man questioned from behind, scaring any semblance of calm from Hakuryuu and causing him to jump a literal inch.

"Y-Yes," the prince turned to the man facing him. While he was very much human, he had a diminishing presence. He watched as the rukh surrounding him faded in and out in a manner he hadn't seen before. "Who are you?"

"Spartos, one of the Generals you've been looking for," the red haired man replied with similar seriousness. Reaching out he took hold of the prince's wrist, turning the palm upright to examine.

"Ow!" Hakuryuu felt something bite against his calloused palm. Wincing, he pulled his hand away quickly. "Y-You...pinched me!"

The general nodded, his expression remaining neutral. "Yes, that's right."

Hakuryuu glared but before he could say more his light blue eye darkened as it focused with sharp intensity upon the man's rukh. He searched him over surprised by how the rush of pain had caused his mind to focus so much upon him.

"You're doing something as well, aren't you?" Spartos asked in a way Hakuryuu was familiar with, using the same serious and direct tone himself. "Tell me what you see."

With a clockwise motion, the Sindrian general wafted his hand around the center of his chest, causing the rukh to brighten and sing. They grew excited and animated around him, causing his aura and presence to glow as if he were a man in control of the world's destiny.

"Y-You...directly affected the rukh's behavior," Hakuryuu drew back with a start, recalling how intense Sinbad's own rukh had been. He continued to watch the man swirl his hand, dispersing the rukh and creating the illusion of power.

"I see you have a magician's eye," Spartos nodded in conformation of what he had suspected. He stopped and let the rukh returned to their normal state.

"A..." if Hakuryuu hadn't seen this with his own eyes, he'd never have believed it.

"The gift of seeing the rukh of another person. Perhaps it's more literal in your case." Spartos looked directly at the scarred, lighten eye and Hakuryuu lifted a hand to his face, fingers tracing over the rough patches in reaction to his words.

He hadn't thought about it in years. Of the time he had spent under both his sisters and a magician's care for the wounds he had suffered. Strange that he would recall the memory of this now. The memory of a priest looming over his bed as he awoke; of those first moments when, as his eye was uncovered by his sisters gentle hand, he saw those black sparks of light dancing past lifeless crimson eyes.

"We both possess skills that a magician spends years learning to use effectively," Spartos continued. It seemed true that neither of them should have such an ability, yet mysterious they did.

"H-How are you able to do such a thing?"

"That seems to be the question," Spartos motioned for Hakuryuu to follow after him. "Come, we've got quite a lot to learn from each other."

After a few days spent learning from the Sindrian General, Hakuryuu was able to use his magoi to displace the air's rukh. It wouldn't be as impressive as what Spartos could do but with enough practice he would master the use of it. Like his use of Ki magic, this was a power close to a magician's and for now would allow him to mask his presence around others.

He planned to make use of this skill to sneak up upon a certain slender, pale haired beauty. And much like what had happened to him when he first arrived; Hakuryuu planned both revenge and repayment for the favor that was done to him.

From then on, he took every evening to study, learning more about the nature of sex and seduction. It was as strange as it was embarrassing but for the man he adored the effort was worthwhile. Thankfully, Judal's recent and continued absence gave him breathing room for that much. If the Magi discovered what he was doing he'd likely die from embarrassment. Or finally kill the brat from the constant teasing shortly afterwards. Not that he wanted either to happen.

Stepping out from his quarters and glancing toward the fading sun, the prince would take to his usual evening stroll. This time however, he wouldn't be returning to his room to gaze upon the now darkened window of the advisors office.

Breathing in a large lungful of the islands sweet, balmy air he reassured himself. He wasn't seducing the advisor of a country for ill gains; merely spending time with a man he - much like Judal - had become a little bit obsessed with.