Disclaimer: I do not own any characters of the You're My Love Prize in Viewfinder series.

Warning: This fan fiction will contain mxm (homosexual) content, mentions of mpreg, OOCness to an extent, and possible foul language/cursing.


The hallways were quiet, as they tended to be in this time of peace between the kingdoms. Though early, the village was already buzzing with life. Some took a moment to admire the large castle overlooking the lands they called home, standing tall and firm, a symbol of the strength and protection their leader offered. A man walked the empty halls, once a little babe who tripped over his own feet, now a fine youth with a vibrant personality that attracted suitors of all types. He balanced a tray in each hand, one holding a tea set and the other various breakfast sweets.

Upon reaching his destination, he knocked twice on the large wooden doors and waited for a reply.

"Enter," came a voice within the room.

As instructed, he entered, placing one of the trays in his elbow to get the handle. Closing the door with his foot, the boy replied, "Your Majesty, I brought you morning tea."

King Yoh of China looked up from his paperwork to stare at the boy in front of him. "Akihito, what have I told you? You needn't be so formal with me. Also, did I not ask a servant to bring me tea? Why do you insist on working in your own home? I do not ask such a thing of you," he complained softly, no real anger in his voice.

Akihito set the two trays in front of the king, careful not to place them on any of the paperwork. He got to work pouring the king a cup of tea as he replied, "I'm sorry Papa, force of habit. Though, isn't it proper to use formalities when talking to someone of a higher status? Politics at its finest. Besides, I do not mind work, it is the least I can do to repay all that you have done for me. And yes, you did ask a servant, but they politely appointed me to take over for them."

"Politely appointed? It was their work, not yours. Who is it that thinks they have the authority to boss my own son around?"

Akihito set the tea cup down in front of his 'father'. He did not want the servant to get in trouble for something he was willing to do. The woman wasn't very nice about it, having forced the two trays into his hands while she went to have breakfast with the other servants. Not that Akihito minded, and maybe that's why she felt she could get away with such an action, but a "please" and "thank you" would have been nice.

"Don't worry about it, Papa. I willingly accepted the task. It's been a while since we had morning tea together, anyway." At the king's stubborn expression Akihito let out a sigh. There was no avoiding the obvious, "Yes, if you must know, she did not ask. She kinda just shoved the trays at me. Not to say I wouldn't have done it, I did not lie when I said it has been awhile."

He watched as the king's expression turned into one of annoyance, "Takaba, why allow such behavior to go unchecked? Your heart's too big for your own good. I have told you numerous times to come to me when such problems arise. If this continues, I'll replace every single maid and servant."

"No, dont! That'll be much too troublesome!"

"If you'd just tell me which are the ones giving you trouble then I wouldn't need to issue such threats."

"I do not want to be a burden, Papa. I don't mind doing the work and you have already handled the ones that were…. aggressive in their dislike of me. Maybe she was just in a bad mood today?"

The two stared at one another, ending with Yoh crossing his arms and pulling Akihito to sit on his lap, "I will accept this for the moment. But if anyone crosses the line I need you to tell me immediately. Remember, I am always here for you. You have nothing to fear while living under my protection. You are my adopted ward, after all. Do not forget your own title."

Akihito couldn't help but smile, allowing the much larger man to snuggle him as he attempted to reach for a sweet, "Thank you, Papa. I'll remember."


As Akihito made his way to the kitchen to eat his breakfast with his good friends, he passed by several servants and maids who had already eaten their own meals. Like always, they greeted him with a slight head tilt, knowing his position. Some, however, did so with barely hidden hatred. He was used to it by now. They were just jealous of him. Sometimes he couldn't believe it. To him, he was just like them, another citizen living in the Kingdom of China under King Yoh's rule. His situation was a bit different, but he treated them with respect and would try to befriend those that hated him on multiple occasions, only to be turned away. Their hate and jealousy had grown too strong over the years for him to overcome.

Akihito always knew he was beautiful. His mother would always call him that, along with the shop women whenever they did their weekly errand run. With his hazel eyes that shined in any light, always filled with a fire, an intensity that was much like his father's. His hair was a unique silver. The soft, sun kissed skin complemented his features, and his slimmer figure made him an overall standout in crowds. He used to wear his hair long and out, but began to hide it under a soft bandana his mother used to own.

It was an uncomfortable memory for him. He was very cautious of his hair, always taking time to wash and brush out any knots before carefully tying it back when he did his daily 'chores'. Back then, he was still new, to his title as the adopted ward of the King of China and to the castle staff. The jealous staff members wanted attention on them, not understanding how a low class adopted son suddenly rose to riches when they were in the same position for years. Feeling their anger reach a breaking point, the group came up with an idea. They were clever, using their daily cleaning duties to swap his shampoo with their own liquid concoction and knowing he liked to take a second shower on physically draining days. When he woke up he wasn't met with the familiar silver, but a dull blond. The mixture, an enchanted liquid made to easily color hair (dubbed hair dye in the markets) held similar properties to shampoo, so he didn't notice the difference. Akihito had panicked, running straight to the king in tears. To say the king was mad was an understatement. He looked ready to explode when he saw how heartbroken his son was. He did in fact, explode when he threatened to fire every staff member in the castle unless the culprits turned themselves in. The older, wiser of the bunch immediately pointed out the group and watched from the sidelines as they begged the king to reconsider, that it was just a harmless prank and that it would never happen again. Akihito had begged him not to be too harsh on the insolent staff, the boy never being the biggest fan of violence. In the end, the group was sent away from the castle without a work recommendation in sight, a tame punishment compared to what other rulers were known to do. It was a warning to anyone else looking to mess with Akihito. Although he ended up shaving his head and wearing a bandana for quite some time, eventually his hair grew back healthier and still as beautiful as before.

Akihito was loved by many in the nearby villages, angering the jealous castle occupants even more. He would get several greetings whenever he went to visit or accompanied his father out on his monthly checkups. It didn't help that, due to him being a bearer, he was known all around since his birth.

Bearers were rare human males, a mutation being the only reason for bearers to come into existence in the first place. They were males able to bear children. They are among the most beautiful humans, and are able to be told apart from normal males at birth. Each bearer had a special birth mark on their bodies, each unique to the bearer in question. Takaba's mark is a large circle with multiple triangles surrounding the circumference, almost like a sun, with a crescent moon falling from the center. A mark can tell a lot about a bearer, and Akihito had come to his own conclusion about his mark a long time ago. Unlike most bearers, who tended to brag about their position in society and show off their marks, Akihito was very private about his own. Only Yoh knew where his mark was located, and that is only because the man helped raise him as a child.

Including Akihito, there were currently only fifteen bearers accounted for in all the kingdoms. Akihito was one of three in China, and the most beautiful of the fifteen. Princes have come to the castle requesting Takaba's hand in marriage. He refused every courting attempt, the princes often being too selfish for his liking. There was one incident that stood out to him. He had not asked Akihito's opinion on the matter. Instead, he strolled into the castle compounds without a warning and, upon getting an audience with him, had the gull to order him to go pack his bags and be back in a few minutes, claiming his wife was to live with him and not another man's castle. Let's just say the prince went home with a few new bruises and his father had a lot of apologizing to do on behalf of his son.

Akihito shook his head to get rid of the amusing thoughts as he neared the kitchen. Takato, one of the leading castle cooks, had just finished making the last batch of eggs and sausages, coupled with a stack of bread from the market. Kou and Ayame, his valet and personal assistant, were having their own conversation until he walked in.

"How do you do, Takaba-sama?" Asked Takato with a friendly smile. Kou looked up from his own plate of food and gave a happy wave.

Akihito gave a slight shrug, sliding into a chair Ayame pulled out for him as Takato placed a plate of food for him. This was the best part of the boy's day. Being with his friends, the few that he had because even with his magnetic personality he was not one to let others in so easily, and catching up on life.


"There is much to get done today, so please listen up. You two begin dusting the east wing and the other two will get the west wing. Someone must clean and reorganize the attic. Takato will be in the market replenishing ingredients but left lunch instructions, which I will pass on to the kitchen staff. The remaining few head to the laundry room," instructed one of the senior staff members.

Takaba was walking by, Kou in tow as always, when he heard the orders being handed out. He peaked around the corner and saw the staff gathered in the middle of the hall.

"Hello, good morning. Did you need any help with the tasks today?" He asked, walking up to the group.

The leader smiled, about to decline when someone within the gathered staff spoke up first, "Is the spoiled street brat really going to get his hands dirty?"

Akihito tensed, and though he appreciated Kou reprimanding the group immediately after and reminding them of his title, it did nothing to help with his hurt feelings.

The senior staff member gave him a kind smile, "There is no need for you to do so, there are enough hands to go around. But if you insist on helping, the stables haven't been looked at today. All supplies have been restocked, just not put away."

Takaba immediately perked up. With an enthusiastic nod he hurried towards the back of the castle, slipping off his jacket to hand to a prepared Kou, already used to his antics after so many years as his personal valet. He had to admit, the boy was admirable. Akihito had said before he did not want to become spoiled with his new found life of luxury. His parents worked when they were alive to give him all that was needed to be happy. What would they think if he sat around a castle doing nothing? It wasnt like him to stay still in the first place.

Making his way outside Takaba could see the stables come into view. He grabbed two buckets of water from the well, posted a few feet away from the gates to use to wash the animals. Kou stood by the sidelines. When it came to tasks Takaba was stubborn and preferred to do them on his own unless he was in a crutch for time. The boy set the buckets aside and moved to grab a brush off a hanger. He picked the nearest horse and began to untangle its mane. Each horse whined to get his attention, where one while stopped when they had Akihito's attention more whines soon erupted.

"This is going to take a while, isn't it?" Kou eyed the horses.

Akihito grinned right back, "Probably."


Lunch consisted of a meat soup with freshly baked bread left in the oven by Takato before his weekly shopping trip to the market. Akihito took his lunch to his office, where he read through the pieces of text his private tutor had left for him during their last meeting. Ayame stood not too far away to make sure none of his food got too close to the documents. He read through each one, highlighting important text and making notes on the side before handing them to his assistant who neatly kept them in order.

Takaba looks up when a deep clanging sound echoed throughout the castle. Someone was let into the castle gates and would soon be approaching the doors.

"Now who could that be?" He mused aloud. He got up and straightened his clothes before making his way to the door.

We went to answer, several guards already in position to protect him in the worst case scenario, though considering they got past the initial gates without so much trouble Akihito doubted it was anything bad. Akihito opened the door to reveal a messenger. The man was dressed in fine robes, obviously sent by someone of a high status. Behind him stood a horse and carriage for transportation. Both the carriage and the front left of the man's shirt had a strange marking that seemed familiar, but Akihito couldn't quite remember.

"Hello. May I ask what is your business here?" Asked Akihito politely.

The man tugged at his robes, reaching an arm under to retrieve a scroll not seen in plain view. The man spoke, tone dry and words a bored droll as if he has said this exact phrase hundreds of times, "I am the messenger for King and Queen Asami of the Kingdom of Japan. I have come with a message for all rulers to inform their people on their own accord. May you have a good day," the man finished, giving a bow to then turn and head in the direction of his carriage.

Akihito stared out as the man rode away. The symbol was that of the Japanese Kingdom, that was where he had seen it before. He turned on his heel to quickly inform his father of the news. If a message was sent out from both power heads, that meant it has to be urgent matters.

He knocked on his father's office door, opening when a 'come in' was yelled. His father looked up with a puzzled expression, since Akihito would never randomly come into his study in the middle of the day. "A message from Japan has arrived, Papa," he answered the silent question, handing the scroll to the king.

King Yoh took the scroll, peeling off the red ribbon tied around the parchment to examine the content. His eyes widened for a moment before a chuckle escaped past his lips. Takaba couldn't help but wonder what was written for him to give off such an expression, but as taught he would not ask the king and wait to be told.

"Son, go gather the castle residence to the dining hall," more asked his father than commanded, something Akihito always loved about his adopted parent.

"Of course."

With everyone gathered in the main entrance, the King stood tall at the top of the winding staircase with his two sons at either side. Takaba made sure to keep good posture so Tao would pick up on the good habit. At ten, he was starting to get to the age where he needed to be introduced to certain formalities which would be carried over when he began interacting with children of neighboring kingdoms.

"For those who do not already know, there was a message sent by the Kingdom of Japan. The message states," the king stopped to unroll the scroll and began reading it word for word.

"We, King and Queen Asami from the Japanese Kingdom, here by invite the receiver of this letter and their people to the formal ball of Asami Ryuichi, heir to the Japanese throne.

This event will last for three nights, beginning on ##/##/####.

All festivities will take place at the castle grounds, where the prince will look for his future bride. Eligible individuals will be presented to the prince on the first day of the ball. Those who reside far from Japan are welcome to the guest wing of the castle.

If any guest is to cause trouble, consequences will be taken upon said guest.

May all be able to attend."

All eyes were wide, the area filling with hushed whispers as the news sank in. One group in particular seemed to vibrate with excitement. The prince is looking for his bride. It could be any of their chance to live the life as a ruler, in riches, no work, and order around others instead of taking demands. A chance to outshine that- thing the king called a son.

All noise stopped as soon as the king raised a hand, indicating silence. He began, "I can understand your excitement. Keep in mind that only a select few staff members will be allowed to come. The list will be given tomorrow. We will depart in two days. If there are no questions, you are all dismissed." King Yoh was the first to turn and leave, his secretary close behind, already scribbling down notes for the preparations.

There was a united bow by the servants before they departed. Some turned quickly to hide their scowls as they saw the excited bearer.

An invisible figure, floating silently above the bearer's head, shook their head at the group of jealous servants. They will get what's coming to them soon. For now, he continued to quietly watch over the eldest prince.. The figure smiled when he heard the wholesome laugh.

That's it, my child. Be free, laugh until you cannot breath. Your happiness is my purpose.