I don't own Digimon Frontier or the Prince and the Pauper
A/n: expect Kouzumi vibes to increase. Damn my tendency to like couples by the fics I read x.X;;;
Two Sides of a Coin
Chapter 5 – Secrets Still Kept
It was tricky to get away from all the people trying to congratulate him after the drafting ceremony, but somehow Kouji managed to slip away into the castle and tried to make his way to the sorceress' room. He cursed himself for his stupidity when he realized he knew not the way, which as the would be prince, he had to.
"Kuso... Where could her room be?"
"Lost, are we, me prince?"
Turning around, Kouji came face to face with Tomoki, the child like figure grinning, tilting his head from left to right, making the bells ring in a way that sent shivers down Kouji's spine.
"Mind your own business, Jester."
"Oooh, hurt are we, me prince. For thou hast not been kind to us recently. Boo hoo hoo, hurt are we, oooh."
Kouji looked around, hoping no one would come to find the prince mentally abusing the Jester. No one was in sight, but he still felt uncomfortable.
"Look, I… I'm sorry. Maybe you could help me."
Tomoki looked up with a grin, the bells ringing again.
"Certainly, me prince! What can we do for you?!"
"I'm headed to Izumi's chamber, but… I seem to have gotten lost. Must be too much time under the sun fighting Wolf."
The Jester only smiled his odd smile again.
"The lady's chambers be farther down the hall, milord. You can hardly miss it."
Kouji nodded his thanks and began to walk in the direction the Jester had directed in. Tomoki remained standing behind, tilting his head, the bells ringing through the halls.
"Come in."
The door pushed open smoothly like any other door in the castle and Kouji walked in hesitantly. He was hit by a wave of amazement at the sight. No words could describe it. No thought managed to comprehend it. He was sure the sun had affected him, otherwise it was too much for him. He pinched himself several times, but it still eluded him. The magnitude of it all. The… horror of it all! The fluffness of it all. Izumi's room was one big cotton ball. In all shades of purple.
"Ah, Kouichi-sama!"
The girl placed down what appeared to be a crystal ball and stood up, her dress matching the color of the room. Kouji was beginning to suffer from purple over dose.
"I'm so happy! To what do I owe this pleasure of having you in my room?"
He gave her a skeptical look, which turned into a mid glare at her innocent expression. She felt her knees go weak.
"What do you want with me?"
The girl shook her head, trying to calm down.
"Well, as I've said before, I know your little secret, and I must say, I was amazed!"
Kouji's hand wondered to the hilt of his sword, and he went over all the movements he could perform using the wide side of the blade. One main reason stood before his eyes: red wouldn't look good in this sea of purple.
"I never knew you were that romantic, Kouichi-sama!"
The best reply he could give her was a blink. Not only was he shocked by her statement, but he also lost himself, not used to the name.
"Excuse me?"
She giggled.
"The horse, silly, I'm talking about the horse! What was her name again, etto…"
"Snow."
Blink.
"Her name's Snow."
"Snow. Like Snow White. I feel like I'm in a fairytale!"
"What about her?"
Another blink. Then a laugh.
"So cute, even when I'm on to you, you still act so innocent and ignorant. I'm talking about you getting her as a present for me!"
Now it was Kouji's turn to laugh. He laughed so hard, tears almost came to his eyes and it took him several minutes to calm down, by which the court sorceress was flushed and enraged beyond relief. It wasn't that he found it that funny, in truth, he was quite flattered that such a fair noble lady of the court would be interested in someone like him, even if he was Kouichi as far as the world was concerned. But he was relieved beyond belief that that was the secret she was talking about.
"Wha, what?!"
He finally managed to breathe again and smiled apologetically at her, mildly bowing.
"My apologies. The sun must've really gotten to me."
"Would you like something to drink?"
Though she tried to sound caring, she was still flushed and her eyes still shot daggers at him.
"Yes, please."
He wasn't quite thirsty, even after the intense workout in the sun, but he felt that he was too much himself, and that Kouichi would've accepted, so it was the only logical thing to do.
"I'm sorry, but the horse isn't for you. I found her on my way home last night, and after asking around, I discovered she didn't belong to anyone. When I felt for the castle, she followed me."
Which wasn't entirely true. Snow had been to their farm for the past two years, and Kouji knew that unless Snow had wanted to come, she wouldn't have. And they didn't own her, at times Kouji was certain she was the one taming him and not the other way around.
"I see."
She handed him a glass of water and he stared at it, his throat beginning to feel dry.
"But that is quite a tale, Kouichi-sama."
"Well, it's the truth. Just as it happened."
He drank the water, each of his movements studied under Izumi's careful watch. She noticed the smallest of things, as expected of one who wasn't only the prince's lover and admirer, but also one of the three people assigned to his upbringing. Having been blessed with the gift of magic since birth, as small and ineffective as it seemed to be at times, the queen still ordered for magic lessons to be assigned for the young prince. Be it to grant the prince abilities for him to use, or simply so he would have control over them, was up to the prince alone to decide.
"I must say, I feel sheepish."
The girl leant against the wall, a faint blush on her cheeks.
"I guess I was just too happy, thinking you might actually care back about me…"
He almost choked and placed the empty cup on the desk.
"I… sorry, I just… you're my teacher, I can't see you like this."
"So you're willing to look that way at a recruit which just showed up?"
The blush was getting to him, and so he turned away.
"I… better be going now. Sorry if I caused you discomfort."
The door opened and closed just as silently as it has before, leaving the girl to herself. Or so she thought.
"It appears your plan of winning our little bet is failing, my dear."
Izumi cried out in surprise as Tomoki appeared before her, bells ringing.
"How long have you been eavesdropping, Jester?"
She asked, not quite managing to muster enough anger.
"Long enough, milady, to know the prince has taken quite a new attitude in dealing with you."
"Explain yourself."
His smile always chilled her to the bone. It was a wonder to her, how many in the castle found it so childlike and endearing.
"The prince has rejected you openly. It must be difficult for you…"
"I do not know what you are applying to! The prince has never showed me such kindness in my life!"
Which was true. Despite the fact Kouji had rejected her, he tried to apologize. For Izumi, it felt better than having Kouichi simply put up with her.
"Well then, I assume you will go on with our bet? Or will you give up now?"
"Have you been listening? I said, I am succeeding. The prince will love me back. And then you shall have to keep up to your end."
"Nothing would make me happier, milady. Not a thing."
Bells ringing, he disappeared and Izumi glanced rather guiltily at the magic pills she had slipped into Kouji's drink.
"I will win this. No matter the cost."
A cry of pain filled the air as Kouichi fell to his back. The horse cried out loudly and wouldn't calm down for some reason. Panic was beginning to fill his heart, as he realized Kouji must've not been this pathetic while handling the animals. Whatever reason they had to being calm around him the other day must've been Kouji's presence nearby, and it certainly seemed to help that their keeper had his sword with him.
"What am I doing wrong?"
"You're not being yourself."
Forcing himself to move despite being frozen by the statement, Kouichi turned to look at Junpei.
"Haven't you gone home?"
"The peace and quiet of home kinda lost its touch now that Takuya isn't here to make a fuss."
The rebellious horse approached Junpei and began to fondly lick his face.
"I swear, he likes you more than he does me."
Junpei blinked several times, patting the horse's mane and feeding him a carrot.
"What are you talking about, this horse is crazy about you."
Kouichi cursed silently and stood up, stalling for time as he brushed the dust from his clothes.
"Well, eh he he, everyone has their days, ya know."
"What, even the mighty Minamoto Kouji?"
"Cut it out, Junpei."
Another thing which in retrospective sounded like something Kouji-ish, but it was all Kouichi as he growled it.
"Wow, and here I thought you'd be able to hold it in. I'm impressed, Kouji."
The prince looked at him oddly as he went to look after the 'omg sir, the REAL cow!' and her milk-giving friends. They stood there in silence for a while, Kouichi fearing Junpei's next remark, Junpei being mysteriously quiet.
"I know, it's too quiet without him here."
The twitch that both froze his limbs and made him shake almost uncontrollably at the same time was mistaken by the other boy for signs of a broken heart over a personal lose.
"Why did he have to go…"
Kouichi whispered, thinking how nice it would've been had Kouji still been a peasant, and him, the prince, he could've easily ordered Kouji to be brought to the castle, if only to talk to. He had only been outside for almost a day, yet Kouichi already felt how much he lacked the company of people his age. Sure, there were the maids and servants, and god knows Izumi wouldn't give him a moment to breathe, but this was different. It was different when he ran all over the village with Junpei, getting messy and dirty and tired. It was different last night when he sat with Kouji in the barn, talking about nonsense as though they were equals. The prince didn't mind it in the least, and Kouji seemed to be unable to think they were different in any way other than their clothes. Why did he even agree to switch in the first place?
"What would you do for your dream, Kouji?"
"Huh?"
Kouichi looked up, surprised. Never once had Kouji mentioned a dream to him. It was always Takuya's dream, or Junpei's dream. In the little explanation, all dreams belonged to others. Kouji was merely someone who was supposed to smile as everyone else were moving along.
"My… dream?"
"Sure. You remember your dream, don't you? Don't tell me you don't."
"I don't have a dream."
He sat down under a tree and pouted. How could Kouji forget something like that?!
"So you lied when you said you wanted to explore the land and become the best swordsman out there?"
"I never said that."
The prince was taking a bet with that one, but it paid off. However, he was beginning to get suspicious. Why was Junpei asking him this?
"You're right, my bad. But you did say you wanted to travel, write poems, play music, and sketch until you'd get bored enough to get settled."
Doll as it sounded, the boy found it more appealing than having to rule the kingdom.
"Don't tell me you don't even wanna do that?"
"Who'd follow a childish dream like that?"
It was complete and utter bitterness that said that.
"I used to think that you would. Guess I was wrong."
Another silence dawned upon them, and Junpei finally seemed ready to leave.
"Listen, Kouji, you better get over yourself. A childish dream is better than none. And I know you're hurting over Takuya. A broken heart is always something to stop you for a while…"
'A broken heart?'
Kouichi found himself blushing despite himself.
"…but it's not something to ruin your life. So come on, let's spar or something, or I'll just beat you to a pulp since I can't stand to see you like this any longer."
He slowly stood up, looking the other boy over.
"Take it easy on me?"
"On you. Riiiight."
Seeing that 'Kouji' was serious, Junpei turned so as well.
"I'll try. Do the same?"
"Sure thing."
As both headed to the riverbank to practice, Junpei ran his suspicions in his mind. And as Kouichi fell defeated under his sword, the suspicions became fact, and the would be mage looked at the castle with an amused smile.
'I wonder what he's doing right now… What both of them are doing…'