It is hard to trust again. Hard to breathe past memories that have turned scarlet with blood, memories that keep on filling up his mind and clogging it up. It's hard to imagine a life where betrayal didn't happen, hard to imagine much of anything after what Atri had done. Atri had been Zen's escape from royal, palace life, had been his favorite person to talk to, someone who he can share things with, like food or laughter, someone he trusted more than he'd been willing to trust his guards.

But yet, Atri isn't the one beside Zen, can't be, regardless of betrayal, he's long since been buried. And a guard is the only one subject to his pain, the only one who saw it first hand, but also the one to deliver the killing blow, to keep Zen alive. Lives are often pitted against each other; one valued more than another.

Zen feels sick when he looks up at Mitsuhide and remembers, but the man is ever silent beside him, duty bound to serve him. And Zen really needs a friend, so he speaks to the only person that was there with him that is also alive.

He isn't sure what to make of the words as they sting his throat and sting his eyes. He just hopes that maybe his trust this time, as weak and fragile and shaky as it is, will be met with sincerity.

It's years later, long after guard and prince became friends, that Zen often finds himself reaching out to Mitsuhide, the very person who will listen to his pain and be there with him, not always with the right words or the right action, but with enough love to make it worthwhile. Zen's relieved that it's Mitsuhide, who is here with him, if only because that man has never abused Zen's trust.

It's Mitsuhide who has been there through the tears and the poison testing, through the good times and the bad times too. Mitsuhide's always been here, and with that, Zen feels free to open up, knowing that if nobody else were to be here, Mitsuhide would be.

So, he opens up to him about everything, from insecurities and worries to hopes and dreams. In Mitsuhide, he's found a confidante, one that he is sure won't betray his trust.