A Prison of Ice
VII.
Mercury punched the wall.
His Aura flared and absorbed most of the damage, but it still hurt like hell. It was stupid, but at least it helped him let out some of his anger. He was used to the pain, anyway.
You've grown too damn soft living here.
His father's words still echoed through his mind while his Aura continued to work on fixing his broken jaw. He hated his old man. Nothing he did was ever good enough. No matter how hard he tried, his pop never had a single good thing to say to him.
Not a damn one.
Mercury should have hated Makoto. He had it all; money, friends, and a father that didn't hate his guts. He was jealous, of course, who wouldn't be? Makoto was able to eat good food every day and his father would praise him every time he did something right. And yet, Mercury didn't hate him.
He couldn't find it within himself to hate him.
Makoto had been the only person in the world that treated him with kindness. Not out of fear or because he wanted something from him, but just because. The realization that there were people out there that weren't just out to get you or use you until they were done with you. It had been a strange feeling to get used to at first, but it felt pretty… good. As if that was how everything was supposed to be.
Perhaps that was when Mercury began to realize that his old man was wrong.
He wasn't weak. He wasn't worthless. The world wasn't as shitty as his old man thought it was. He didn't have to always be on edge against everything and everyone. He didn't have to be alone to be strong.
And if his old man thought otherwise? Well, screw him and his liquor bottle.
Mercury cracked his jaw a bit, testing it out. His Aura had finally finished healing up most of the damage. It would be stiff for a while, but that was as good as Aura healing was going to get. That damn old man of his never did hold back, the bastard.
Mercury left the bathroom and made his way towards Makoto's room.
He didn't bother knocking, Makoto didn't care, anyway. When the door opened, he found the boy in question reading a book at his desk. No surprises there, Makoto always was a bookworm. Even taught him how to read at one point, not that he particularly enjoyed reading, but he could see the value of such a skill now.
"Mercury." The Yuki heir greeted without looking up from his book.
"Sup." He casually replied before taking a seat on another chair. "So… I'm guessing you've heard the news?"
Makoto closed his book.
"If you're referring to the end of your father's contract, then yes."
"Yeah." Mercury stoically answered. "We're going to be leaving soon."
"When?"
"Saturday."
No one had anything else to say after that as a thick silence soon engulfed the room. Mercury felt like he should say something, but he didn't know exactly what. He was never much of a people person and he had never been in a situation like this after all.
Makoto reached into his drawer and pulled out a box.
"This is for you." The Yuki heir said as he handed him the gift. "A farewell gift of sorts."
Mercury raised an eyebrow but obliged. He ripped the wrapper open and saw that it was a brand new scroll.
"I remember you told me you didn't have one." Makoto nonchalantly remarked, as if reading his thoughts. "I thought it would be a good way to keep in touch."
Mercury found himself at a loss for words.
No one had ever given him anything before after all. He had heard stories of course, of other kids getting gifts for their birthdays or other special occasions. But, they were just that, stories that never quite reached him. The only thing his old man had ever given him were beatings after all.
"If you ever need anything…" Makoto continued on, unperturbed. "Just give me a call. My number's already in there."
For some strange reason his vision began to get blurry. Why did his face feel wet? He brought his hand up and felt the warm drops of liquid drip from his eyes. Oh, it was because he was crying.
Damn it, he wasn't weak.
"Mercury…?"
"... I'm fine." He quickly replied as he finished wiping away the last of his tears. "Thanks for the gift." He added as an afterthought.
Mercury then suddenly realized he didn't have anything for Makoto. Stupid. Why hadn't he thought of that? That was what he was supposed to do, right? It was what… friends did, right?
"Ah, I don't really need anything in return." Makoto replied with a smile, as if reading his mind. "Just keep in touch, alright?"
…
"Yeah." He managed to reply, despite how dry his mouth felt. "... For sure."
Mercury would definitely keep in touch. Even if he needed to hide it from his old man. Makoto was his one and only friend after all.
Things were a lot quieter after Mercury left.
Makoto had grown used to reading amid the other boy's video game sessions after all. It felt strange without the background noise now, so he ended up turning on the television to act as a stand in. He had been surprised that his father hadn't extended Marcus's contract, but apparently he had offered.
Marcus had simply refused.
It was unfortunate, but it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to see Mercury again. He could simply message him on his scroll like he usually did with Weiss. Such was the wonder of technology. No matter how far away your friends were, it wasn't difficult to keep in touch. Speaking of Weiss, it was around that time when she was finished with her studies.
They didn't talk as much as they did when they were younger, but that was natural.
Everyone grows up at some point and receives more responsibility in their lives. It wasn't like they were kids anymore with all the free time in the world after all. They were both the heirs to their respective companies, so time was a valuable commodity. They moved their daily calls to every other day and so on; until they became the weekly calls, they had today. That Weiss still valued their time together enough to make space in her packed schedule for these meetings was already good enough.
Makoto dialed the number and heard her pick up after the third ring.
"... You're early today, Makoto." Weiss remarked as her face popped up on his screen. "Did you finish sparring with Mercury, already?"
"Oh, did I forget to tell you? Mercury left. Their contract finished a few days ago."
Weiss raised an eyebrow.
"Your father didn't want to renew the contract?"
Makoto just shrugged in response.
"He offered, but Marcus didn't want to accept it."
"I see." She replied with a frown. "I'm sorry to hear that. I know that you and Mercury have become rather close friends."
"It's fine. It's not like I can't talk to him if I wanted to."
"That's true."
The call went quiet for a moment as the conversation died down. It wasn't like they talked the whole time during their calls. Sometimes, they would just have the call open and just do their own thing on the side until something else came up to talk about. He usually opted to read while Weiss studied.
"... Hey, Makoto."
He looked up from his book. "Yeah?"
"I've been thinking…" Weiss trailed off. "I think I want to try becoming a huntress."
He felt his brow furrow.
"What suddenly brought that on?"
"It's just… Winter went off on her own and made her own path." She looked down at her notes. "I was thinking that I'd like to do the same. I want to… make my own choice for once, and not have my father make it for me."
And to get away from Father and Atlas.
Were the words that she left unsaid. He knew that Weiss and her father had a troubled relationship at best. His own relationship with his father wasn't much to speak about, but it was still leagues better than what Weiss had.
"You'll have to attend a huntsmen school then."
"I've already got one in mind."
"Beacon?" He dryly asked.
"Naturally." She replied with a smug smile. "I won't accept anything less than the best after all."
"Of course." He smiled as well. "I'm sure you'll make a great huntress, Weiss."
She blushed a bit and looked away from the screen.
"W-well, of course I will. That goes without saying."
Makoto just chuckled a bit.
"H-hey! What's so funny, Makoto?"
"It's nothing." He waved off. "Will you be giving up your status as the heiress then?"
Weiss froze up for a bit as a troubled look clouded her eyes.
"... No. I… I still want to take over the company one day." She eventually replied. "I doubt Father will retire anytime soon, anyway." She dryly added. "This is just something else to achieve in the meantime."
The conversation soon divulged into less serious topics. Just like every other call, they end up talking about one silly thing or another throughout the night. Eventually, sleep would threaten Weiss and she would make her way to bed. She never liked to close the call, however, and it would stay on throughout the night until he finally retired to bed as well.
It was around midnight when he finally closed his book and took a look at the sleeping Weiss through his scroll.
She always looked so peaceful like that, a stark contrast to how wound up she normally was throughout the day. It was good that she could let it all out at some point throughout the day. He was afraid that one day she might end up carrying a burden too much for her to bear after all.
Reaching over for his lamp, he shut the light and closed the call for the night before blissful sleep overtook him as well.
Mondays were always slow days. Father usually liked to mentor him on Mondays after classes, but there was always a gap block of time in between class ending and his meetings with father. It wasn't like he could call Weiss either, as she was usually busy throughout the day, so he usually spent the time reading or thinking to himself.
A knock on his door snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Your father would like to see you now, young master." Jacob's voice echoed into the room. "He'll be waiting in the study."
"Thank you, Jacob."
Makoto closed his book and began to make his way towards his father's study. Father had been teaching him a lot recently about the family business, so it was probably something in that vein. He didn't particularly care for running the business, but he still tried his best to learn. One day he would take over the company and if he wanted to change things, he would need to learn as much as he could. Even if he and father didn't have the kind of relationship he would have liked, he would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy the time they spent together.
Perhaps it was simply him trying to make up for something that he never had in his first life.
It didn't take him long to make it to the open door of his father's study.
"Father." Makoto greeted as he entered the study and took a seat. "Did you need something?"
His father looked up from his stack of papers and smiled.
"Ah, yes. Your mother and I will be going on a business trip to Vale soon." Father replied. "I'd like you to come with us."
He raised an eyebrow at that.
Makoto had been to his father's business meetings before, but those were usually within the kingdom. It was the first time that his father wanted him to attend a business meeting with a client from a different kingdom.
"I think it will be an excellent learning experience for you." His father continued. "So, we'll be canceling your classes with the tutors for the next two weeks."
He just nodded in response.
"Alright, father."
Makoto had never been to Vale before, so he was a bit curious what the kingdom would be like.
Author's Notes- I was surprised how many people wanted me to get back to writing this so... Well, here I am.
