Never to Be - Chapter 5

Daisuke didn't have all the time in the world to figure out what his friend was planning, but he knew it wasn't good. Before he could do anything, Ken was off. Sighing, Ken stood there in the barn, the storm now over top of them. Daisuke could never understand Ken half the time. He was always so depressed and hard to read. You never knew what was going on in that head of his. But Daisuke had an idea this time, and he was worried.

"Oh well..." Daisuke shrugged, walking off to his little room as he dug his hands in his pockets, walking in the rain.

Prince Takeru laughed as he walked down the large carpeted hallway, grabbing the golden lock to his door. Iori had just told him a funny joke about jesters as they walked back from their luncheon.

Opening up the door as he looked at Iori, the two of them walked into a dark room. There was only one candle lit, which was over, clear across the room by the window that over looked the village. There, beside the candle, sat Ken.

Ken was sitting indian-style in his little spot of belongings and was looking at Takeru with a tiny smile. Iori frowned.

"What is this?" he demanded. "What a terrible slave. Everyone knows slaves are meant to keep the room lit! You should dispose of him Takeru, its obvious he's a terrible slave."

Takeru took his eyes off Ken to give Iori a small glare in his direction. "I'm not getting rid of him Iori" The blonde said this with authority.

Iori seemed unfazed by Takeru's declarence and scowled. "Then at least whip him. If you won't, I can for you..."

Takeru was about to say something when Ken interupted.

"Please Master Takeru. It won't happen again. I just thought that with Master Iori's bad sight, the lights should be dimmed" Ken said a hushed, honest voice. He shot Iori a look of pure innocence.

Takeru smiled at the kind gesture as Iori growled under his breath. "Why you litte-!" Iori clenched his fist, turning to the blonde prince. "That little weasel just implied that I have sight problems! He's insulting me!"

"He isn't insulting you Iori, he's simply wishing to watch out for your bad sight" scoffed Takeru, walking over to his bed. He looked at Ken, then to an un-lit candle, showing Ken that it was time to get more light in the room. As Ken started lighting more candles in the room around them, Iori fumed in anger.

"I do not have problems seeing Takeru!" insisted the dark haired boy. Takeru tsked as he looked over at Iori lazily.

"No need to yell Iori. Just calm down."

Ken, who was lighting a nearby candle and facing the wall, couldn't help but grin at the scene behind him. They were arguing. Perfect way to start things out.

Iori sighed, holding onto the sleeves of his green robe tightly. He took a vengeful glance at Ken's back as he walked over to Takeru and wrapped his arms around him.

"'Keru love...Why don't we dispose of the extra company and..." Iori didn't need to finish, he simply gave Takeru a knowing smile. Ken had to keep himself from gagging as he watched the two be so close. That was when Takeru turned to his slave, about to say something.

Ken knew he had to act fast, otherwise he'd be kicked out and his precious Takeru would be alone with Iori doing God only knows what.

His eyes landed on the bed and an idea popped into his mind. Before Takeru could speak, Ken rushed to the bed and pulled over the fluffy red bed spread. The other two in the room only gaped at the slave.

"Ken? What are you doing?" asked a startled Takeru.

Ken busied himself with the bed spread as he started pulling off all the other sheets, his arms stuffed with the cotton blanket. "Oh, sorry Master, I'm simply doing my chores. I was hearing the other slaves speak about doing the Royal laundry today while you were out with Master Iori. I simply thought now would be an good time to work on that."

It seemed like a reasonable explaination. He had truly heard other slaves planning to do the laundry. It just wasn't today he heard them.

Takeru nodded slowly from his spot on the other side of the bed. Iori only glared harder at Ken.

"Must you do that now?" demanded Iori. Ken ignored him. Growling, Iori turned his attention on Takeru once more. "Well, what shall we do?"

Takeru sighed and pulled away from the other boy. "Iori, please, I've been with you all day, and I really need to go and run some errands."

This only made Iori even more upset, if possible. "Well, what am I supposed to do until then?"

"You can stay here with me sir. Slave Ken wouldn't mind at all if Master Iori stayed here with me" spoke Ken after taking off all the bed covers and pillows. All eyes were on Ken.

"I refuse to stay with such-" Iori was about to say something fowl when Takeru headed for the door and made him stop.

"I'm leaving now, I'll be back in a bit. Just stay here Iori. Ken's so quiet you won't even know he's there" spoke Takeru softly in the doorway. The door shut and Ken was left with Iori.

The silence that esnused throughout the room was deafening. Ken finished with the bed sheets and placed them out in the hallway for Taichi to come and collect later. As Ken shut the door, Iori surprisingly broke the silence between them.

"Are you a girl or a boy?" he asked cutingly. Ken looked at Iori spectingly.

"Boy, sir"

"Then why do you have such long hair? I hate boys with long hair" questioned Iori further.

"Because my old master, Master Claudius, refused to allow me to cut it. And frankly sir, with all due respect, I hate boys with so short of hair, you can't tell it's there" bit back Ken.

Iori subconciously felt his short hair as he scowled miserably at Ken. "Keep that attitude up and I'll make sure your thrown into the streets to starve!"

Ken seemed unfazed. After years of living with Claudius and his threats, he'd learned to tolerate them. Another wave of silence followed, in which Ken took the oppertunity to look through one of Takeru's many drawers on his dresser.

Iori looked over at the indigo and snarled. "Stop going through Takeru's personal belongings you little tyrant."

Ken ignored the other boy and continued looking. The drawer was filled with all kinds of odds and ends. Instead of clothes, like all the other drawers were filled with, this one was filled with objects. Gift perhaps from other people. "Are all these gifts from other people?" asked Ken, lifting up a golden pocket watch. He set the watch back down, picking something else up.

Iori, whose back was turned from Ken as he sat on the bed, sighed. "If you're talking about the very top drawer, then yes."

"What a lovely collection...Is any of this stuff from you?" asked Ken, forming an idea.

Iori suddenly looked smug. "Why yes. In fact, in there should be a very expensive, first class, pocket watch. Bought that for Takeru last year as a symbol of our relationship."

"Symbol huh?" mumbled Ken, picking up the watch once more and inspecting it. He opened it up, watching the little hands move the perfect rythm of time. Ken then tested to see how firm the metal was. Weak. Ken's broken stronger metals in the past. He may look weak, but he was stronger than he appeared. Something Ken took to his advantage greatly.

Taking the watch in both hands, Ken silently started trying to bend the watch's metal. It didn't work. He tried harder. After much frustration, Ken was finally able to smash the metal. He opened the watch again and took his fist and smashed the little circle of glass, making the hands stop counting time. He then took the small chain on it and snapped it off, making some peices fall into the drawer.

"This pocket watch? Are you sure?" asked Ken, trying to sound innocent.

"Yes, of course I'm sure. Its the only one he has and he's told me himself it is very important to him" replied Iori lazily.

"Well, sir, I'm not sure he was telling the truth. For this watch appears to be in bad shape" said Ken, turning around to see Iori's back go rigid.

Iori stood quickly and made his way over to Ken in a flash. "You broke it" he accused.

"I did not sir. This metal appears to be very strong, I could never break it, I'm not strong enough" the indigo bit back.

Iori nodded. "Yes, I suppose you're right." He growled. "How could Takeru do this to me?" Ken remained silent, not wanting Iori to get suspicious of him. Ken handed Iori the now broken watch and watched intently to see what the brunette would do next. "That's it. I'm gonna have to talk to him. I hate being lied to!"

The rest of the time the two were spent together was silence, yet Ken didn't want it any other way. Silence meant Iori was in deep thought about the watch and what he was going to say to Takeru when he came back. And by the way Iori kept growling under his breath everytime he looked at the broken watch, which now sat on the dresser, Ken was assured that Iori was staying angry at Takeru.

The sun slowly went down and soon all Ken could do was sit in his corner of belongings and wait for things to start. Dark clouds formed outside as Iori stared out the window and little sprinkles of rain started to fall.

An hour past dinner was when Takeru finally arrived back to his room, and Iori was finally able to give the blonde a peace of his mind.

To say that Iori was fuming, would have to be a terrible lie.

"Hello Takeru, I take it you were able to finish all of your 'errands'?" asked Iori through gritted teeth. Takeru only blinked at him, still completely unaware of what was going on.

Ken himself tried to blend in, not wanting to be seen. he didn't wish to ruin his plan.

Takeru started unbuttoning his fancy royal robe to change into more compfortable clothes when he chuckled. "Aww, Ken didn't give you THAT much trouble, did he?"

Iori frowned. "Ken didn't give me any trouble at all. In fact, he helped me if anything."

Takeru stopped chuckling when he heard Iori refer to Ken by his name, which he never did before, and also at the harshness of his voice. "Then what's wrong?"

"I'll tell you what's wrong. This!" Iori then grabbed the broken watch and shoved it into Takeru's surprised face. It took a moment for the blonde to register what was going on. He blinked, then the anger set in.

"My watch. Iori, are you saying I broke the watch you gave me?" questioned Takeru.

"Well who else could have?"

"Perhaps yourself" countered the prince. The two glared at each other.

"Oh, then how come when Ken opened the drawer it was like this?" growled Iori. "Besides, why would I break the watch I gave you?" Ken flinched at the mention of his name.

"I could ask you the same question!" shot back Takeru. Ken watched as the argument went on and went. The watch soon became a ghost in the argument. They soon couldn't remember why they were fighting, they just were. They were both livid.

"This isn't the first time you've been like this Iori! Such as just before! You left from here the moment you had your chance and I'm sure you would do it again in a heartbeat!" Takeru was saying.

"That's not true! I came here because I wanted to be with you, but now I'm not so sure" retorted Iori.

The words Ken had been waiting for were finally said, and it took all he could not to smile in case they saw it.

"Fine then, maybe you should just go! It's clear this isn't going to work out!" cried Takeru. It was evident the blonde didn't want this to happen.

Iori paused a moment, gathering his thoughts, then said, "Fine. I'll leave then. You can stay here with you pathetic slave..." Iori shot a look at Ken, gathered his few things, slamming the door behind once he left their lives forever.

Silence. Ken watched as Takeru fell to the bed, his face looking heartbroken. After sitting through the entire argument, Ken's legs had grown achy, so when he stood, he nearly fell again, yet knew it was time.

As silent as though he wasn't even there, Ken slid onto the bed next to Takeru and laid down beside him.

"I didn't mean for things to go so far with us...He and I were meant to just be friends. But we became too close. We never really did get along. He has too much of a temper and I'm too easy-going. We just weren't meant to be...So then why do I feel this way?" whispered the prince.

It took Ken a moment to figure out the best way to answer, when he finally decided. He knelt down close and kissed Takeru on the cheek gently. Takeru's eyes flashed open in shock as he sat up. Ken was tense, red as a cherry.

"I-I'm sorry sir-Your Highness! It's just that...ever since the day Master Claudius brought me to you...I've...I haven't been able to stop thinking about you" revealed Ken.

Takeru sat there in utter disbelief. He blinked several times as Ken curled up into a protective ball, being used to being beaten after speaking out of turn. No beating ever came.

The indigo's eyes widened when he heard a small chuckle from the blonde. "So that's why you were always so nervous around me...It makes sense now. You poor thing." Takeru ran a hand through Ken's hair, making Ken shiver. "But...You do realize...we can't do anything about your feelings."

Ken heart stopped. "W-What?" he breathed.

"Silly, I'm a prince. You're a slave. You know as well as I do a relationship between us could never happen" explained Takeru. Ken was in shock. Beyond shock. His eyes were wide in panic and heartbreak.

"No...No, I've worked too hard to hear this..." mumbled Ken, covering his ears. This alarmed Takeru.

"Ken, please. You should know better. Nothing can happen. I'm sorry" Takeru's apologies fell on deaf ears.

"No...I can't...I can't imagine not being with you..." whispered Ken.

Takeru took in a breath at this. "Oh..."

Tears formed as ken realized that Takeru was right. He had tried to tell himself earlier, even Daisuke told him, but he didn't listen. Now he wished he had. This pain was horrible. He'd been beaten in so many terrible ways, but none of the beatings were as abd as this pain.

"You're a sweet kid, you know that?" Takery abrubtly asked. This caught Ken off gaurd as the blonde played with his long hair. "Perhaps...I could speak to my brother...And perhaps...he'd let me bend the rules just a little..."

Ken looked up at his, tears strekaing down his cheeks. "Really?"

"Really. You're adorable and sweet, and well, let's face it, you're obssessed with me and I do care for you a lot, as a friend. But maybe as time goes on, I could change that to something more" He gave Ken a cute look. "With your help of course."

Ken giggled. "Gladly!"

Takeru then tok his chin, and gave Ken a kiss. When they broke apart they looked at each other and smiled.

"Now, all we have to do is tell Yamato" finished Takeru.

"Do you think he'll take it well?" asked Ken, leaning on the blonde. Takeru wrapped an arm around Ken and sighed. "I honestly don't know. I really don't."

The whole king's court sat in the large conference room. Slaves were positioned all around them in case anyone needed anything. Daisuke just happened to be among those slaves. His right eye was bruised and he had several cuts on his arms.

Claudius, who was currently sitting next to King Yamato, was not at all happy when he relaized what he'd given up. The loss of his 'little pet' was not going well for him. It only made things worse when he heard from the grape vine that Prince Takeru was treating Ken well. Daisuke himself was thrilled, yet in the bottom of his gut, he wished he were in ken's place instead. He felt awful about it, but it was true, for Claudius was now beating him more, since Ken wasn't around.

The conference was just ending when Prince Takeru walked into the room. He smiled and bowed at everyone in the room, greeting them as he walked up behind his brother.

"Yamato, i really must speak with you" he ushered into his brother's ear. Daisuke tried listening, wondering if it might have anything to do with Ken. he doubted it, but still wanted to know.

Yamato fidgeted in his seat. "I'll speak to you in my room when I finish here" he hissed.

Takeru then left with a knowing smile.

Ken had been told by Takeru to stay where he was. He didn't like it in here. Didn't seem as though he was meant to be in here. As though he was tresspassing.

"If I know Yamato, he'll tell me to meet him in here. I just know it. Now just stay in his room until I come back." That was what Takeru had said before he left.

Well, Takeru had been gone for a good twenty minutes now, and things were really starting to scare Ken. Yamato's room was nothing like Takeru's. It was filled with all kinds of odd things. Junk, as Ken liked to refer it to.

His bed was covered in stuffed animals, and not very cute ones for that matter. His dressers were covered in boxes and pictures, all strewn about with no sense of orginization.

Scared to death by the sudden opeing of the door, ken squeaked.

This made Takeru laugh. "Just me silly. Yamato will be here any minute."

Ken nodded with a nervous sigh as Takeru wrapped his arms around Ken. "You're easy to get along with, you know that. Unlike Iori, you're not demanding of me."

"All I want is to be right here, making you happy" whispered Ken into his chest. Takeru smiled, holding his new 'boyfriend' close.

"If and once I get permission from Yamato, we can offiially say we are a couple. And just so you know, I had to do the exact same thing with Iori, even if he was another prince. Yamato is very protective of me..." explained the blonde. Ken nodded.

The door swung open and the two just had enough time to seperate before Yamato swept himself into his room, his long colorful robes behind him. "So what is it brother, that you wanted to speak to me so urgently for?" He looked at Ken up and down. "And why the slave?"

"Well Yamato...He's the reason I'm here..." began Takeru.

Yamato made a face. "What? Is he not doing his job well. I'll have Claudius come back and collect him. He'll beat him back into shape."

Ken trembled at the very thought of going back to Claudius.

"No...That's not it. Ken's great. That's the problm..." Yamato gave him a confused look. "He's so great...tat I..." Unable to find the words, he simply slipped an arm around Ken's waist and held him close.

Yamato only stared at them, understanding what his younger brother was saying. "Oh I see..." he whispered. "Was Iori not good enough for you? You had to turn to a slave instead?" His voice rose with every word. Ken took a step back but Takeru stopped him.

"Yamato please. You've always said whatever makes me happy-"

"THIS MAKES YOU HAPPY? This-" he pointed to Ken. "This freak known as a slave?"

"He's not a freak!" argued Takeru. "He's very importamnt to me. He's not like the others!"

"I don't wish to hear this! I just got out of conference meeting with people saying my kingdom is going down. Now I come here to hear that my brother wants to be with a slave. Are you trying to ruin me? Me and my kingdom? The town will have a field day when they hear this!"

"But-!"

"Get out."

"Yamato-"

"GET OUT!"

Takeru turned to leave when Yamato grabbed Ken's wrist, pulling him backwards and onto the floor. "Takeru!" cried Ken.

"LEAVE!" Yamato slammed the door and locked it on Takeru, then turned his anger to a quivering Ken on the floor.

"Please-" whispered Ken, his eyes filling with tears.

Yamato made to hit Ken, but the boy dodged it. "COME HERE!"

"No! Please! I've never gotten anything in my life!" rambled Ken as fast as he could. "All I ever wanted, was someone to love!"

"Then go love some freak like yoursellf! Stay away from my brother!"

"But he loves me too!"

Yamato froze. "No he doesn't...He only THINKS he does..."
"He told me you were always a wonderful brother, who cared for him and wanted him to have anything his heart ever wanted. Please, just let him have me. I promise you, I'll take care of him. I'll be there for him. And as for me being a slave...I...I can change. I can be a royal. I can act it. No one has to know who I really am. Save a few slaves. Please, say I'm a Duke or something from far away. That way you won't get in trouble with the town." Ken said like a speech.

Yamato just stared hard at Ken, ignoring the pounds on his door from Takeru outside. "Alright. That's not a bad idea" he helped Ken up. "But ONLY if you promise never to hurt him!"

"I would never dream of it" sighed Ken with a sigh. Yamato gave a brief smile before opening the door. Takeru looked between the two, saw Ken smile, and came through the door to hug Yamato.

"Thank you brother!" he said into his shoulder.

Yamato said nothing and left, letting them be together. They looked at each, and smiled.

"You're brother will annouce that I am a Duke from far away..." he said. "I just need to tell Daisuke..."

"Daisuke? Claudius' slave?" asked Takeru. Ken nodded. "I'll have Claudius release him, and your good friend can stay in a spare room I have. Sound nice?"

"Sounds perfect" smiled Ken. The held each other close.

"I love you Ken"

"I love you too Takeru"

They kissed.