I don't own Digimon or 'the prince and the pauper', nor am I making any money out of this. Go me -0-
Sapphire Luna: I hope so too and he is, ain't he? XP
Takuya: we're bloody dozen chapters after that, and you're worried about Kouji's cut ponytail?! ; though, it's rather cool that you mentioned his ponytail as a review right before THIS chappie... evil knowing smile
PrincessSwifty: yeah well you see, I kinda need her for... the rest of this fic? So... be kind to her. Or at least give her back in one piece. Hmm... One Piece puts on a straw hat and a sword in my mouth and types on
Sakura-Riddle: LIIIIROOOOONNNN-CHAAAANNNN... yeah, I liked the ending too sure leaves you begging for more, ne? XP
Redrum: some, some.
Dreamer: for the first part, maybe. For the second... HELL NO GIRL WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?! sorry if you're a guy o,o;
Star: Junpei everything
Sen-Tay: here's a message from my Takuya muse. Ahem. "I do not go cross eyed. Should I do that I would miss a second of gazing at Kouji". End message.
Two Sides of a Coin
Chapter 17
There was awkward silence for quite a while as the two stared at each other. Takuya's eyes spoke of surprise and some fear while Kouji's were soft and calm.
"Hi."
"You, you, you, you, your, your Highness! What, to, what..."
"Haven't I told you?"
Kouji asked before hopping off the ledge to the safety of the floor.
"Call me Kouichi."
"I cannot!"
"Because of today?"
The soldier looked away.
"It's ok, I'm not mad at you."
His voice followed his eyes and almost sounded kind to the other boy.
"I'm just a prince. I can't order you to love me."
Slowly, Takuya looked back up to find Kouji smiling at him.
"Why... are you here?"
He managed to ask.
"I was worried about you. Wanted to make sure you were alright."
"You came to nothing. As you can see, I'm fine."
"Are you, really?"
The look Kouji was giving him was the same he used to, back home, whenever Takuya was holding back. Kouji knew the other was holding back. After all, so was he himself.
Takuya swallowed a lump threatening to form in his throat before replying.
"No. But it's not something to bother my prince with."
Neither quite noticed the difference in his voice upon saying "my".
"Then, I order you to tell me what's wrong."
"Isn't that a bit rude?"
"What's rude with wanting to know what's wrong with someone I care for?"
A blush rose to tanned cheeks as the cadet sat down, half inviting Kouji to sit next to him. The would be prince accepted. And that small lack of rejection was all Kouji needed to know there wasn't a need to bug Takuya farther.
"I guess what troubles me the most is when I... disappeared."
He glanced nervously at Kouji, only to find him looking back with warm eyes. Looking away, he continued.
"I mean, I don't know where I've been, what was up with me, and what's worse, no one seems to care!"
"I care."
Kouji abruptly interrupted, sending another wave of blood to Takuya's cheeks.
"And I will find out about it. You won't stay clueless."
"That... that's another thing that's been bothering me."
"What?"
Kouji tried to sit closer to him, which only resulted in Takuya standing up.
"This! How... I rejected you!"
He half yelled at Kouji.
"I told you straight forward. I can't love you. I just can't."
"I still love you. You can't change that."
Came the calm reply, even though deep inside flashes of his dream hunted the boy.
There was another moment of silence before Takuya sat down again, this time closer to Kouji.
"I guess, the last but main thing that's been putting me on edge is..."
It was obvious he was feeling uncomfortable, but Kouji ignoring the outburst soon made him calm down.
"...I miss my friends back home."
"You live in the nearby village, don't you?"
"Yeah..."
"And you've been here for about a week? Less?"
"That's not the point! So much happened, and there're so few people I know here..."
"I can let you go home for a while. Royal order and all."
He immediately regretted the offer, as he realized the friend that would be there for Takuya wouldn't be him. However, he was lucky.
"No... Thank you. But I don't think I can face him right now."
A faint blush now rose to Kouji's cheeks.
"Him? ...your friend?"
"...yeah..."
"He didn't draft?"
He said nothing as Takuya's fists clenched.
"Yeah... he refused. No matter how many times I asked him to join."
The conversation was pointless, but it was necessary. And besides, Kouji was curious.
"A pacifist?"
Takuya couldn't help but snort.
"He's better with a sword than I am. And got a better sword, too. In fact..."
Brown eyes wondered to Kouji's hips where the sword was strapped. The boy grabbed it by instinct upon leaving his room, used to not going out unarmed at night.
"...he has a sword quite like yours."
Realizing the mistake, Kouji placed the sword on the floor where neither could see it.
"You miss him, don't you?"
The sigh that escaped Takuya's lips was like a dagger through Kouji's heart. It seemed no matter what he did, he caused his friend pain.
"It's not as much as miss him, as..."
Takuya bit his lip.
"...have unfinished business with him."
"Like?"
Now he was really curious.
"Like... apologizing for disappearing. I kept me drafting a secret from him."
"So you just disappeared one night."
"Yeah..."
The would be prince half smiled. He forgot all about his anger at finding that little fact out. He was too busy dealing with his twin's life.
"...but it's not just that."
Takuya's tone of voice became grim and worried Kouji more than slightly.
"I have things to say other than sorry."
"Like?"
There was a pause in his words which was followed by a rather pathetic looking glance in the prince's direction.
"I.."
He turned away, pulling at his hair in frustration.
"Ah, I can't say it!!!"
Kouji chuckled lightly at Takuya's behavior, though he was still more than slightly worried.
"But it's bothering you, right? So, it's best to let it all out."
Takuya blinked, not quite following.
"You know what, let's play a game."
Another blink.
"A... game?"
"Yeah."
The boy calmly replied.
"A game. We'll pretend I'm your friend, and you'll tell me all the things you want to tell him. I'll try to act as he would've."
Takuya looked at him rather skeptically, but Kouji just shrugged it off.
"Ok, so I may not look the part. Sue me."
"That... that's not it."
'If only you knew how alike you were... both outside and in..."
Takuya thought sadly.
"Ok. So let's start."
Kouji half jumped up, trying to make his clothes look as commonplace as he could. Takuya stood up as well, still unsure of it. But as it was the prince who asked him to do so...
"Ok, direct the scene. What should I do?"
There was a tad too much eagerness in his voice, as Kouji couldn't wait to be himself in front of Takuya again.
"Well..."
Takuya face reddened as he moved to describe Kouji on a normal day in quite high detail. Where would he sit, what pose he would sit in. The direction he looked at, what expression was set on his face. The way the wind blew his hair and exactly when and how he pushed it behind his ears...
Takuya only realized he was mumbling to himself like a love-stricken fool when Kouji cleared his throat, trying to deny the odd feeling of having an obsessed fan.
"So... I should sit down like this?"
It came naturally for him to sit the way Takuya described, for he described Kouji, and Kouji was anything but.
"Ye, yeah."
"Ok. So who's gonna start?"
"You... go, go ahead."
It took all he had not to laugh at Takuya's face. The boy seemed so excited, yet at the same time uncertain, Kouji was sure his friend was this far away from jumping off of the wall.
"Hi, Takuya."
"Hi, Kouji."
The smile which spread across the would be prince's face was an instinctive reaction to hearing Takuya call his real name. However, he had to burst the bubble otherwise the other boy would've suspected.
"Kouji?"
"Yeah. You have similar names, too."
"Nice..."
He sighed, wanting to go back his reality. The reality in which he was living for the past few days was fake, after all.
"So what's up?"
Takuya was the one to resume.
"Nothing much, same as always. Bored. You?"
Takuya chuckled, accepting the act all too eagerly. Of course, the fact that the person in front of him sounded, looked, and acted exactly like the role he was given helped greatly.
"Nothing."
"Sounds nice. So why're you here? Or do you just wanna get bored together."
"Bored together is better than bored alone, right?"
It made Kouji feel so good, seeing that carefree grin, he was willing to lose himself as well.
"Well, with you around, it's never boring."
"Then why didn't you come?"
Takuya spat bitterly, not waiting a minute. The game's purpose was for him to get everything that bothered him out in the open, right?
"Come...?"
"To the army! You could've drafted, we'd have been together!"
"Wasn't it you who said..."
The calmness, the... coldness in his voice did not surprise Takuya. It was, after all said and done, Kouji he was talking to.
"...that I'd reach high fast? By now we'd have probably been separated between the groups, if not the ranks."
It was true. The better cadets were already on their way for promotion, or at the very least, treated differently than the rest. As it stood, Takuya had great chances of being nominated for such treatment... had he not have disappeared.
"But we'd have been on the same level! Always! We would have always raised ranks together, since we both would've been better than the rest..."
"Until the time came where I would have left you behind."
Again, Takuya wasn't surprised by the tone of voice, yet it angered him all the more so.
"You could've stayed with me until I'd have gotten better..."
"Why don't you grow stronger and advance with me?"
"You're too selfish to demand I move forward too fast for you!"
"I'm not holding you back!!"
The two, now standing, half stared half glared at each other. For a moment Takuya almost 'woke up' from the waking dream, yet Kouji's eyes wouldn't let him. They looked straight at him, daring him to say all he had to say, and warning him from what would be said back.
"I asked you... to come with me..."
The soldier began, his voice just barely under control.
"And when I refused, you ran away."
"'Hi Kouji, listen, tomorrow I'm drafting, I won't be here anymore'."
"'Takuya, there's something I want, no, need to tell you'. Hardly what you'd expect, eh?"
Kouji added in response to Takuya's shocked, slightly-hopeful flushed face.
"What did you think I'd have done, Takuya? Tied you to a tree and never let you go?"
A part of both wanted that scenario, yet another was too realistic to even hope.
"I..."
"Or was it that you just couldn't stand facing me?"
"I..."
"Which is it, Takuya?"
"I..."
"Answer me!"
"I don't know!!!"
Takuya shouted, his eyes wide and desperate. Kouji looked away in a semi-guilty manner.
"I... I didn't know... and I was scared of..."
"Of what?"
"Of you!"
A silence fell, awkward in its un-awkwardness.
"I wouldn't have hated you, Takuya. I don't."
"But I do."
"Why?"
"Because..."
The emotions raging within him made Takuya shake almost uncontrollably.
"Because... I... I... how I felt... how I really felt..."
Unable to see his best friend since birth and object of affection since childhood in such a position, Kouji too the step forward and embraced Takuya in a hug.
"I couldn't tell you!"
The shorter boy clang to him, not quite returning the hug though.
"You can tell me, Takuya. You can tell me anything. I promise I won't hate you. Now, what is it?"
"I... couldn't tell you that... I..."
A moment of silence later, he said it. Takuya uttered the three words Kouji dreamt of hearing, ever since they were kids. He wished to hear it when he hut his own hand, and when he promised to always protect him. Takuya said what he's been showing in actions.
"I love you."
Kouji's eyes widened, both from the long awaited sentence, and the wetness Takuya's tears caused on his shirt as the soldier buried his face in the prince's shoulder.
"Takuya..."
His hands slowly, shaking crept to caress Takuya's cheeks. Brown eyes filled with tears looked sadly into his, making him fall in love all over again.
"Don't cry."
Remembering his friend's favorite motto, Takuya chuckled.
"What, so I'm a girl now?"
"Is it that wrong of me to want you to smile?"
The two looked straight into the other's eyes, drowning in them, saving each second until slowly, yet ever so surely, their eyes closed.
They kissed.
Both lost themselves, letting utter bliss take over.
-
Kouji couldn't be happier. It was a dream come true. How long had he waited to this moment? A life time, at least. Probably more. For that one moment, that one experience.
That one sensation which was Takuya, both of them sharing something two boys normally shouldn't. But he didn't care. He just didn't care! He loved Takuya, and Takuya loved him.
Takuya loved him back!
The one he eagerly swore to protect, the one who meant everything for him, admitted to loving him, and was right there, in his arms, tasting sweeter than honey, more addictive than any drug, and giving a feeling not of that world.
Was he sad about being there? Yes. He'd have preferred the event to have happened next to the river, after the two would've spent the evening together, alone.
Did he regret it?
No. He swore long ago to do anything for Takuya's sake. Giving up his name meant nothing in comparison to this. If only moments could last for forever...
He tightened his hold on Takuya, and began to smile into the kiss as he felt the other's fingers entangle in his short hair.
-
Takuya wasn't sure what he was feeling. Why... why was it that good? Was it always supposed to be this good? If so, why did he run away from it? Yes, he ran away. He ran away because he couldn't believe he was worthy. Wasn't worthy of the guy all the village girls wanted, the guy who was not only good at everything he did but also knew it and couldn't care less. What did he care for then?
Him.
Takuya always knew Kouji cared for him, otherwise why would he agree to protect him ever since they were little? Why did he agree to be around him, even in his most embarrassing, most pathetic moments?
A shard of hope always was in his heart that Kouji felt the same, and now he got a proof straight to his face.
He couldn't believe it when he felt Kouji pull him closer. He felt so safe, so secure, he couldn't be happier. He trailed his finger up strong arms and finally brought them to long, silky strands... his eyes widened.
Kouji's hair was too short.
-
"Takuya?"
Kouji whispered as the boy pushed him away, not willing to even look at the prince.
"Go away..."
The soldier murmured as he buried his face in his hands. How could he have been so stupid?! It was just... just as Izumi said it would be.
The fact the witch was right made it all the more painful.
"Takuya, I..."
"Go away!"
"Listen!"
"Fine, than I'll go!"
Takuya began to run away, but Kouji grabbed his arm.
"Would you just listen for a moment?!"
Less then a second later, Takuya had his sword pointed at Kouji's throat.
"Let. Go."
"Takuya. Just..."
He was cut short as the sword was dug less than a millimeter into his neck. His eyes widened, not at the show, not of the pain, but of the realization he did something horrible. Takuya wouldn't be crying otherwise.
He never wanted to see what he saw. Those brown eyes, glaring at him, spitting fire at him... hating him.
Numbly, he released his hold. It took another minute before Takuya withdrew his sword and ran away.
-
"Don't say I haven't warned you, Kanbara Takuya."
Izumi said, watching the scene from her spot on a nearby turret.
"But don't think I'll forgive you. Oh no. I'll make you pay for ever getting near Kouichi-sama. He's mine, only mine!"
Her lips twisted in a cruel, sadistic smile, yet the expression was broken by tears. Tears shed for seeing her love kiss another.
"For his first kiss... I'll have your head."
-
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Chapter Title: Kiss Me.
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A/N: I know I said a few days, but... hey, it was still faster than most my updates, ne? ;;;;; and the title's at the end, because... well, I found it too appropriate to change, but far too spoilerish to have at the top, ne? ;)