Chapter Six- To the beat of my heart

The sun shined on the land of Shehaquim; lovely young maidens awoke early in the morning to begin their chores, young handsome men went about to their jobs… Children laughed and giggled as they played around in the fields near the backyard of their homes with their friends as the elderly strolled through the gardens, admiring the beautiful flowers the other villagers had gardened.

The prince was still asleep at the time of day, evidentially he had slept in…just by a few hours. His sapphire eyes slowly opened as he finally felt something heavy on top of his body. The young male let out a "huh" sound as his vision cleared to see a familiar face…he couldn't help but let out a scream once he realized that his slave was laying on top of him. What was he doing there?! Kouichi had his own bed! They didn't share one! "I'm still sleepyyyy…" the still-asleep slave whined softly under his breath, suddenly wrapping his arms around his master's neck and brought him closer. He nuzzled the other's cheek gently with a nod, kissing his lips now and then- obviously still in his own little dreamland. Kouji's cheeks turned a dark red at feeling those oh-so-soft slips against his own…such delicate kisses, left him wanting more. But this wasn't right! He was the only son of the king and queen!! He couldn't allow himself to fall for a guy… and plus… Kouji was straight… right? The prince pushed the boy off of him, accidentally knocking him off the bed. Well of course after that, Kouichi suddenly woke up, rubbing the back of his head and stared up at the prince with a look that said "What was that for?"

Kouji studied the male on the floor, peeking over the edge of his bed to do so, they really did look alike…but at the same time they didn't. He was noticing new things about this boys… the adorable pout that sometimes came to his lips when he was upset…the way his deep blue eyes twinkled in the light… his long, milky legs…his plump, slightly pink lips. Though, he had no clue why he was focusing on stuff like that. He and Kouichi looked almost exactly alike…Kouji hadn't noticed these things about himself… so did that mean he actually liked his slave? Nah…that's unlikely. The prince slid off the bed, falling on to of Kouichi purposely, noticing the dark red blush that was now blessing the slave's cheeks. "K-Kouichi…" Kouji whispered softly, staring into the other's sapphire eyes. Really….it was almost like staring into a mirror!

"Kouji…? W-what are you doing?" Kouichi whispered softly in response, turning his head so that he wouldn't meet the prince's gaze. He felt embarrassed for some reason… just laying on the floor with his master on top of him…-awkward. The boy nibbled on his bottom lip, trying to figure out why Kouji pushed him off the bed in the first place then fell on top of him….

"Nothing…I'm sorry…" the prince muttered as he rose to his feet, fighting back the blush that chose to settle on his cheeks as well. He then walked over to the chest that held his clothing, leaving the slave on the floor. Kouji slid off his nightgown, only cloaked in his undergarment until he slipped on some black slacks, and a white long-sleeved, button up shirt with a "V" shaped color, letting a tad of his chest be shown. "Kouichi…get dressed" he said simply, in a demanding tone. He turned his attention back to the boy who was still on the floor, apparently watching him change clothes as well. Yet hopefully…Kouichi wouldn't say a thing about what just happened….

Kouichi acknowledged the order he was given, soon hopping up to his feet. He slid off his nightgown, only clocked in his underwear like Kouji was earlier. He flinched at hearing his master's voice suddenly shout at what he just did, "No stripping here!! Nudity is a no-no!! A no-no!!!" the long haired boy shouted, suddenly looking away from the other with a bright red blush from seeing the half naked slave.

"But…you told me to get dressed…." Kouichi answered, blinking a few times, noticeably confused at what he should do now. He tilted his head to the side, watching his master curiously "What do you want me to do?" he questioned, going up to the other who's face was almost as red as a cherry. Kouji gulped, forcing himself to look at the other, focusing on just his face…not letting his eyes trail lower.

"Umm…get dressed…" the prince answered, forgetting to say something like "You don't have to ask me, you have a mind of your own" yeah…Kouichi didn't need to ask him for something as small as that! Kouji grabbed the other's wrist, keeping him from leaving…it was just a reaction…. He hadn't even noticed that he did it.

"Kouji…let go…I don't want to have to chop off my wrist to get free" the slave responded, trying to pull himself away from the other. He let a soft sigh escape his lips, going closer to his owner then just slapped him on the butt. Kouji yelped loudly, loosing his grip on the other's wrist.

"Kouichi! What was that for?!"

"So you would let go…it worked!" he laughed as he slipped on some black slacks with a red lining on the bottom then a black long-sleeved shirt- the sleeves covers almost all of his hands…only exposing his fingertips- with a high, turtle-necked color. The shirt exposed his midriff, and had red flower designs on it as well. Seemed a little girly…but hey! It looked good on him! Kouichi turned to the other, with a look that said that he was ready to go. "Nice ass by the way" he stated, only meant to tease him.

Kouji's blush didn't fade one bit, was it even possible for it to get any darker? He shook his head in attempt to just forget about the little joke, quickly walking pass Kouichi and out the door. "Come on" he said simply as he soon walked- almost running- down the stairs, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to see if the other was following him. Great! They had snuck pass the servants! Lucky them! Kouji reached for the handles of the door to leave with his companion, but froze once he heard a familiar voice.

"Kouji!! Kouichi!! Where the hell are you going?!"

"Umm…sorry Makato…we're just…uuhh" Kouji started, trying to think of an excuse that someone would actually believe. He nibbled on his bottom lip, opening the door completely to make a break for it if they couldn't think of anything. Kouichi looked over at his master, blinking a few times…

"Err… we were just going to town, Kouji has something to pick up and he didn't want to bother any of the servants for something as little as that. And I'm going with him so there's no need to worry about his safety" Kouichi muttered with an innocent smile his lips, looking up at Makato.

Makato looked between the two, actually believing the little lie the boy told. "Alright? If you're not home in an hour me and Saniro are going out to find you" he told them with an assuring nod and soon ran off to meet the king. They had to discuss an unknown matter…Kouji wish he knew what it was!

The identical duo blinked a few times, exchanging glances before they walked out of the castle. The long haired male motioned for his servant to follow, heading towards the stables where the horses were kept. Kouichi wiggles his nose slightly at the smell of horse droppings in the stables and scent of the horses themselves. It was something he would have to get used to…Kouji didn't seem to mind at all! He followed the prince in the stables, being led to a pair of mares; one a light brown. the other white. "Which one you want?" the prince questioned with a kind smile, looking back at Kouichi.

"That one?" Kouichi answered, pointing to the white mare.

Kouji nodded, gently stroking the white mare's neck "Blanca…be a good girl for Kouichi, 'kay?" he told her, the horse nodded as if she understood. He turned to the short haired male with a grin, "Ever ridden a horse before?"

"Err… no" the slave answered, nibbling on his bottom lip as he looked up at the horse he was going to ride. He walked up to it, attempting to mount her but just fell off instead. Kouichi rubbed his rump as fell on, and hopped up to his feet and tried yet again. Kouji helped him up this time, his hand on Kouichi's rear- purposely- as he pushed him up.

"There you go" the prince said then mounted his own horse. He gently kicked the mare's sides, signaling for her to begin trotting out of the stable and away from the kingdom- with some direction from Kouji, of course. Just a few minutes after walking out of the stable, Kouji turned his head to face Kouichi after hearing a shriek from the young servant. He saw Blanca and him zooming by, running out of the castle entrance.

"Koujiii!!! Help meee!!! I can't get her to stop!!" Kouichi cried, hanging onto the horse for dear life.

Kouji blinked a few times, signaling for Tea- his horse- to run faster to catch up to Blanca and Kouichi. "Blanca! Stop!" he shouted, running past the two and stopped his mare right in front of the white steed to stop her in her tracks. Blanca stopped her running, standing in front of Tea and the prince; Kouichi panted softly, his eyes widened slightly as he still clung to Blanca as if he was going to fall at any given time. "Thanks…" he whispered softly before he sat up.

"Let's go, Kouichi" Kouji chuckled, seeing that he was alright now and they both continued along the path.

------♥-----

"Kouji? Where are we going?" the short haired boy with deep blue eyes questioned, looking around a deserted area of the village. It looked neglected…no one has lived here for a while- he was sure of that. Some of the houses were just rubble…trees and bushes beginning to grow in it's ruins, flowers growing in the middle of the path and so on.

"We're already here!" Kouji exclaimed in response, hopping off his horse and tied her strap that was attacked to her harness to a nearby tree. He pulled Blanca by her straps, doing the same thing with her as he did with Tea. The prince went to the light brown mare's side, holding his hands up to show that he would help his slave down so he wouldn't end up falling on his rump yet again. Kouichi nodded, hopping off the horse and fell into his master's arms- luckily not causing them both to fall to the grassy field below. He two looked into each other's deep blue eyes, a light pink blush spreading across their cheeks when they realized they were still in each other's arms.

"Kouji? Is this your boyfriend?" a voice questioned with a small laugh following. A brown haired male walked over towards the duo, his trademark smile on his face. He was dressed in a dark red, long-sleeved shirt with fire symbols on the front of it and black pants with red ends. He had a silver cross hanging from his neck- a present from his mother- and a pair of goggles on his head. The indistinguishable duo pushed away from each other, forcing the blush to fade from their face as they looked at the new comer. Kouji waved, greeting him with a simple "hello" as Kouichi tilted his head to the side at seeing him. Takuya blinked a few times, looking between the two and then shrugged. 'Two Kouji's, eh? This is my lucky day' he thought with a small, content smile on his lips. "Hey there, buddy" he greeted at the new face, waving at him. "Kouji, what's his name?"

"Kouichi," he answered, looking back at the oddly quiet slave. "This is Takuya"

Kouichi fidgeted a bit out of nervousness before finally answering Takuya, "Umm…Hi, nice to meet you" he greeted with a small, friendly wave. Ah…so that's why they were there. Kouji was meeting with his friends today…or something. "Are you Kouji's friend? Why are you meeting here today?" he questioned out of curiosity, nibbling on his bottom lip once again.

"Yes I am!" Takuya answered, pointing to himself with a proud grin on his lips "We meet here to train" he answered with a slight nod of assurance. He put down the shoulder bag her carried, putting it next to the tree but out of the horse's reach so it wouldn't be trampled all over on. He knew Kouichi was going to ask "Training, what for?" so he decided to ask right when the slave opened his mouth to ask it. "We're training to get stronger, there are an alotta bad guy out there who wants to destroy villages, kill people, and target royalty- all that dramatic crap. We need to train to defeat them…like that Majin that destroyed a village not to long ago…" Takuya explained with a small smile on his lips, winking at him.

Kouichi nodded when his question was answered…right before he asked it. He knew the Majin Takuya mentioned was Otsuke, it had to be! He didn't know of any other Majin! He watched the prince take out a sword- a steel one at that. What could kill Takuya if Kouji wasn't careful!! What was he thinking?! Takuya stretched a bit, cracking his knuckles before getting into his battle stance. "So is Kouichi joining us?" he questioned, glancing over at the quiet boy then back to his friend.

"Only if he wants to" Kouji answered with a soft smile, looking back at the slave. All three of them jumped, hearing some rustling in the bushes that were only a few feet away. Who's there?! All of them were thinking, it could be a little rabbit…no worries!

A familiar figure stepped out of the bushes, waving at the prince and controller of fire. "Hey guys"

Ultra Special Blah Blah Blah:

Okay...well I can honestly say I didn't intend for this story to turn out to be a shounen-ai story...I started it before I started liking yaoi. [XD I'm sorry for the late update…they keep coming slower and slower! Now that school's began here I'll try my best to update as much as I can!