Author's note: I decided to be a sadist and spread it out over three chapters. Sorry! XD actuallynotsorry

Tetsuya felt like he was drifting. He didn't know where he was or how long he had been there; his memories before this were extremely fuzzy, as well. The only thing he knew was pain. Every part of his body hurt, and any attempt to move sent shooting pains up through his skull. The blue-haired slowly tried opening his eyes, squeezing them shut again when blinding light seared his vision; the pain caused him to groan softly. The voices he could hear around him sounded distant and faint, but gradually became clearer as he regained consciousness. "Ki…se-kun…?" He whispered absently.

"…-kun, I think…waking up now…"

"...king. Let him in."

"Where's the nurse? He looks pale…"

"Would somebody please get him something for his pain?!"

The blue-haired flinched at the amount of noise that was present in the room. Again his eyes slowly opened, taking his in his surroundings a little bit at a time. He seemed to be back at the castle, but if he was, this room was unfamiliar to him. There were people buzzing all around him, and he didn't know what was going on. Tetsuya closed his eyes again as he started to remember some things: the conversation with Satsuki and Daiki, Ryouta had been telling him something…

"…Kuroko-kun?" Someone was shaking him; he had a familiar voice. "Kuroko-kun, can you hear me?"

"Y-yes…" came Tetsuya's weak response. He finally opened his eyes all the way and saw Kouki kneeling beside him with a hand on his shoulder. "Furihata-kun…how did I…?"

The sandy-haired male frowned, looking worried. "All I know is that you showed up here slumped over a horse and beat up almost beyond recognition, a message attached to your jacket." When he saw the paler male's perplexed expression, he elaborated. "We all got worried when you and Kise-sama didn't return on schedule, but the entire town's been in a panic ever since we found you. And you've been out for so long, we didn't know if you were alive or dead!"

"When…?" The blue-haired asked, his throat hoarse.

"Almost two days ago."

Tetsuya's eyes widened. "Kise-kun…?"

Kouki shook his head gravely. "He's missing. The king's the only one who's seen the message that was sent along with you, but I don't know if he actually knows where he is."

The blue-haired was terrified. Ryouta had been missing for two days; what had happened to him since then? He didn't know, but his first thought was to find out. Ignoring the searing pain in his head and limbs, Tetsuya shifted and tried to sit up, but a hand on his shoulder forced him back down.

"Don't get up, Tetsuya." said a voice from behind him, his voice gentle but firm. "You're still too weak."

The paler male looked up as Seijuro walked around to his other side, followed closely by the king. Despite his calm appearance, Tetsuya could tell that the royal was worried to the point of exhaustion, and it showed on his face. The elder man cleared his throat as he approached Tetsuya. "Do you remember anything? Anything at all?" The king asked somewhat hesitantly.

Tetsuya searched his memories. He remembered having tea and talking with Daiki and Satsuki, and a silent carriage ride…but after that, there was nothing but hazy bits of conversation and darkness. Frowning, the blue-haired shook his head gravely. "I'm afraid I do not," he said finally. "Everything is…hazy, at the moment." He could feel the king's desperate gaze burning into him, and the shorter male slowly met his eyes. "But I promise to inform you once I do remember."

The blue-haired was trying to be at least somewhat reassuring, but it didn't seem to be working. The royal sighed heavily and bowed his head. "Alright," he replied with feigned confidence. "In the meantime…please, get well." The king flashed a forced smile at him before quickly turning and leaving the room.

Tetsuya winced and rubbed his temple as the door slammed shut. Seijuro gently squeezed his shoulder. "If I may ask," the pale man asked the him. "What did the message say?"

The redhead frowned. "It doesn't concern you, Tets—"

"It concerns Kise-kun." The blue-haired blurted, loud enough to make his head throb again. Kouki's eyes widened at the fact that he would dare interrupt Seijuro the weaponsmaster. "Therefore it concerns me."

Seijuro raised an eyebrow, intrigued that the quiet boy that came to work here two months ago would now be so attached to Ryouta. "You know you can't do anything for another day at least," he told him. "You need time to recover, Tetsuya."

The blue-haired frowned. "Please, just tell me."

The swordmaster sighed. "Very well," Seijuro said. If he was that adamant, it wouldn't do any good to keep information from him. "The message said this: 'One week to deliver Kise royal heirlooms to the crossroads outside of town, or your prince dies.'"

Tetsuya's heart sank. It had already been two days; how much more time could they afford to lose. "What has the king decided to do?" The blue-haired ask, not letting his panic show on his face or in his voice.

Seijuro shook his head. "He hasn't decided anything yet." He explained. "He was hoping you would remember the faces of the abductors so he could possibly negotiate with them."

The smaller male shook his head. "Negotiations are not an option, Akashi-kun." He said firmly.

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How are you so sure about that?" His voice was challenging. "You don't know them, do you?"

Tetsuya shook his head again, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to remember what happened. "I know…they sabotaged the carriage…" He said carefully, the memories faint and distant, like a fading dream. "I think there were two of them…but they attacked right away; there was no warning." The blue-haired sighed. His head felt like it had been smashed against a boulder, and trying to recover his memories wasn't helping at all; it was making him dizzy and nauseous, but he needed to remember. Ryouta was in trouble, and he was the only one that could help.

Seijuro nodded and squeezed Tetsuya's shoulder again. "Take a break from raking your brain and rest," he said; it didn't sound like a request. "You won't get better any faster by forcing yourself to remember. I will check on you tomorrow and take you to your room." The redhead looked at Kouki, silently telling him to come back to the stables in five minutes, before turning around and leaving the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

Kouki leaned forward, a look of concern still on his face. Akashi-kun's right, you know." He said, trying to calm down the blue-haired. "You need to take it easy for a bit and get better. I know you're worried about Kise-sama, but you can't go find him or anything until you're well again."

The paler male nodded his head reluctantly. "I know, Furihata-kun." He admitted. "I will try and sleep."

His answer seemed to please the brunette, for he smiled and looked slightly relieved. "Good," he replied, moving to stand up. "Is there anything you need before I leave? I have more work to do, but it can wait if you need me to do something."

Tetsuya shook his head. "No, thank you." He said. "I'm fine." His last statement was, obviously, a lie, but he also noticed that he was getting more exhausted every time he tried thinking, and just wanted to be alone at this point.

Kouki nodded. "Okay," he said, seeming to understand Tetsuya's thoughts. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then. I hope you feel better, Kuroko-kun." With that, he stood up and left the room, leaving Tetsuya alone.

The blue-haired closed his eyes and tried to relax. A million thoughts were swimming through his mind at that moment, but somehow he managed to fall into a light, troubled sleep.

His head felt slightly clearer the next morning when he woke up, though it was still throbbing. He was finally able to sit up, and was nibbling on a slice of bread when Seijuro came in, talking to the nurse about his condition before approaching the blue-haired. "You seem to be feeling better." The redhead commented with a subdued smile.

Tetsuya nodded. "Slightly," he replied simply. "Thank you for asking."

Seijuro's eyes casually inspected the state of his body. It was indeed in slightly better shape than when he arrived, but his eye was still swollen and purple, and a good amount of his pale body was covered in bandages. It almost made the redhead shiver, thinking back to how bad he looked when they found him on that horse three days ago. Tetsuya was almost unrecognizable; his face smeared with drying blood and covered with gashes and bruises, his clothes wrinkled and torn in places. If it weren't for tightly he had been tied to the saddle and to the horse itself, he never would have made it to the palace in the first place. "I'll take you to your room, if you are able to walk."

The blue-haired set aside his bread, having lost interest in it a while ago. "I'll be fine." He said plainly, slowly swinging his legs over the side of the bed and moving to stand. This proved more difficult than he had anticipated; as he put weight on his legs, they wobbled and threatened to give out. Tetsuya braced himself on the edge of the bed, trying to balance himself.

In one stride Seijuro was beside the blue-haired, slipping an arm around his waist and supporting him. The smaller male accepted the help and clung onto his shoulder as he stood up, eventually able to steady himself. "Thank you, Akashi-kun." Tetsuya said when he felt more comfortable on his feet.

Seijuro nodded, his arm still around the blue-haired's waist. "Of course." He replied simply, motioning toward the door. "Shall we?"

Tetsuya frowned a little bit, a little uncomfortable with the fact that the redhead still had his arm around him, but he said nothing about it. He nodded, and slowly made their way out of the room, the weaponsmaster adjusting to his pace.

"As for your clothes," Seijuro started as they made their way down the hall, breaking the silence and perhaps sensing the blue-haired's slight discomfort at walking around in a patient gown, "I've already ordered a new uniform to be made. It should be laid out for you by now."

"That's very kind of you." Tetsuya replied, allowing the redhead help him up the stairs one at a time. Conversing with his previous employer was still a little awkward for him, even after Seijuro had explained the intention behind his actions, so for the most part the blue-haired did his best to avoid it altogether.

When they finally reached the door to his bedroom, Tetsuya couldn't hold back a sigh of relief. A task that normally took him under 10 seconds to complete now seemed like a hard day's work to the smaller male. After seeing Seijuro's amused smirk the blue-haired removed his arm from the other's shoulder and bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you again for all your help, Akashi-kun," he said politely. "I really appreciate your kindness."

Seijuro chuckled, slowly withdrawing his arm from around Tetsuya's waist and mimicking the blue-haired's formal attitude and courtesy. "Of course," the redhead replied in an equally polite tone. "Anything to help out a friend." After seeing Tetsuya's lips curve downward a tiny bit he added, "I trust you don't still hold a grudge against me for what I did."

"I wouldn't call it a grudge," The blue-haired frowned, a unamused, flat tone in his voice. "More like...discomfort."

The swordmaster smiled again, unphased. "Well like I told you before, it is a matter of establishing control; I had no intention of causing you to feel afraid or unsafe."

Tetsuya took in his words of what seemed to be an apology and nodded cautiously. "I realize that now," he said slowly, "however I still believe I made the right choice; I'm happier now that I have been working for Kise-kun."

Seijuro's smile grew as he nodded, his eyes seeing right down to the deeper meaning of his words. "You care for him, don't you Tetsuya?"

The blue-haired blinked, taken slightly off-guard at the comment. "Yes." He said after a slight pause, perhaps realizing his true feelings for the first time.

The redhead's eyes softened. "I see." He answered simply. "Well then. You know where to find me if you need anything further. For now, I will leave you to your business, and will have food sent up to you later. Good night, Tetsuya."

"Good night, Akashi-kun." Tetsuya said to him as Seijuro turned and descended the stairs, leaving the smaller male alone in the corridor. Shivering slightly, he entered his room and shut the door behind him, slowly making his way to the chair by his bed and sat. No longer having any company, he turned to his fragmented memories, attempting to piece them together again. Though his head was clearer than the day before, his attempts did not seem that much more successful. However, the longer Tetsuya sat, he found that he was able to recover bits of the conversation he had with Ryouta in the carriage. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remember the scene more clearly.

"..give you something. For your protection." Ryouta seemed flustered, almost nervous. Tetsuya remembered being upset with the prince; was he trying to apologize?

"I was planning on giving it to you today, but I forgot…" What was he going to give him? Where could he find it? The memory was starting to fade; Tetsuya thought hard, trying almost desperately to remember.

"…on the mantle in my bedroom."

Tetsuya's eyes snapped open. With a sudden sense of urgency, he wobbled to his feet and made his way to the side door that connected his room with the Ryouta's. The prince's room had an eerie feel to it; it acted as a reminder of the blond's absence. Stopping periodically to check his balance, which was steadily improving, he walked straight for the grand fireplace next to the huge bed, the fire inside long since died away. Struggling to stand on his toes, the blue-haired reached up and grabbed a rectangular wooden box off the mantle. With a sigh he sat down in one of the arm chairs in front of the fireplace, lightly stroking the top of the box and staring at it before finally opening it.

Inside the box was a note.

"I had this specially made for you. I noticed that the shade of your hair goes really well with the Kise family color, so I had both colors infused. Anyway, I just wanted to be sure that in case anything happened to me, you would still be alright.
–Ryouta"

Tetsuya held on to the note and peered into the box. It was a dagger; the same size that Ryouta had. On the hilt was the crest of the Kise royal family along with an intricate design featuring two colors: sun yellow and sky blue. The blue-haired was touched, and couldn't help but smile, holding the gift to his chest. It was now clear to him what he had to do.

He must go out and find Ryouta himself.