Dream Prince

Chapter 20

These Visions of You

When Ryou had first seen Akefia, he had not thought much of him; the other had been nothing more than a soldier among the rest. The only thing the young healer had felt was curiosity over the other's pure white hair, and that had been easily explained by the fact that Ryou was used to being the only one with that particular hair color. He had not known if there was anyone else in the entire kingdom of Egypt who would have had the same white hair as him. However, Ryou had not expected to see much of the other after that.

The second time Ryou met Akefia, on the same day even, Ryou had been even more curious about the other, even though there had also been a feeling of foreboding; at that point Ryou had known that he was certainly going to be seeing more of Akefia, although he had expected it to be because of brawl injuries and not because of a series of 'accidents'.

Still, no matter how things had started off, Akefia was the first person to have not only caught Ryou's attention, but to have kept it as well. Ryou had tried to resist it; a person like the obnoxious and insubordinate Akefia could not have been good for him. Yet, Ryou found himself looking forward to each time Akefia would come to him to get a yet another 'injury' treated. The young healer had managed to convince himself that as long as he was not the one to seek out the other's company, it would be fine for them to spend time with each other. He was only doing his job fixing the other up, after all.

Yet, as Ryou spent more time with Akefia, he started to notice changes in the soldier. Akefia still acted as loud as ever and was brimming with confidence at every training session Atemu put the troops through. However, when alone with Ryou, Akefia acted differently. The other had at first been almost overbearing, a clear source of color and sensation for the timidly living Ryou, but now the vision was growing weaker. It was as if the more time Akefia spent with Ryou the less he was Akefia. The other seemed to be fading away, and Ryou did not know what was causing it so that he could reverse it.

Ryou was not the type to dwell on something for a long time; that was more like his friend Atemu who tended to take the position of a watcher to almost any situation. Now, Ryou was not one to act without thinking at all, but he also believed that there were limits to thinking and that the limit on this matter had been reached. So, it was time to find the information he needed, preferably from Akefia himself.

The reason Ryou found himself thinking about Akefia so often was because the healer had been seeing the other more often lately. At first there had been a couple of days that Ryou had not even heard from Akefia, when the taller albino was busy with helping his friend Rasui train. But the last few days Akefia had been near Ryou almost constantly, and so Ryou had learned that Atemu had decided to personally watch over Rasui's coaching. Since Akefia now found himself with unexpected spare time, he had decided to use it in a way that he himself deemed appropriate: by following Ryou around. Of course Ryou had received a lot of help from Akefia as well when it came to any chores that had to be done. Akefia had quickly understood that the faster Ryou got his equipment in order, the more time the healer could spend with him.

"Akefia?" Ryou queried once the pair was done with putting the inside of the tent back into order and had seated themselves on some crates serving as improvised seats. The tent had been in quite a mess after Ryou had ended up patching up a pair of soldiers who had gotten into a fistfight over a game of dice, but now everything was much more manageable. "Why did you decide to braid your hair?" The healer took a gentle hold of one of the slim braids in Akefia's hair as he asked this. "It must be a lot of work to keep these in proper shape."

"Why do you ask?" Akefia asked gruffly. "Do they look weird or something?" The other's tone was defensive, but Ryou had expected as much; his question could very well be interpreted as criticising.

"I was merely curious", Ryou assured his companion and gave the other a gentle smile to match. "I liked your former haircut, so I was naturally wondering what made you want to change it."

"You liked it?" Akefia questioned incredulously. "It was nothing more than a mess. This one should be tons better."

"Of course it's neater, but the previous style was more you", Ryou explained. "Sure it was wild, but so are you. I thought it was a perfect symbol for your…freedom."

The long look Akefia gave Ryou at those words caused the healer's face to flush. It was not because it was particularly alluring or even desiring, no, the expression on the other's face was so utterly degrading that Ryou's face heated up from embarrassment. Akefia was looking at him with disbelief that was most likely directed at his way of thinking.

The thoughts Ryou was having over Akefia's expression were confirmed when the man in question spoke: "The reason for that cut was because I was too lazy to bother to keep it fixed; it had nothing to do with any of that crap you just said." The taller albino groaned in a put out manner before concluding: "What is it with you shorties and over thinking stuff?"

"I'm not so short that you should be bringing it up", Ryou snapped and crossed his arms with a huff. He honestly was not short by any standards, except for the ones that existed in Akefia's mind. Apparently anyone shorter than the soldier was less than average height in his books. "And I don't over think; I just thought it suited you."

"Well, I don't think about haircuts like that at all. They're just haircuts", Akefia grumbled with distaste. "I felt it was a time for change; that's all." The taller albino grimaced. "Now let's forget about this stupid topic, it's annoying me."

Akefia was getting very defensive, Ryou noted with a thoughtful frown coming over his face. That meant that there was some particular reason that Akefia decided to change his hairstyle for, a reason he probably was not comfortable with revealing. But perhaps Ryou could fish for some hints, in the very least.

"A change is usually prompted by something", Ryou offered carefully, watching Akefia's face closely for reactions. "I would think that longer hair that hangs free would tend to get into your eyes while fighting, but simply tying it up would take care of that more easily than putting it into such small braids. It's a lot of work to go through. Especially if you want to keep the braids neat, because then you would have to redo them every now and then."

"Just get to the point, little healer", Akefia prompted, not sounding angered but only slightly exasperated. "What is it that you want to ask me with this?"

"I just wonder why you would go through so much trouble for convenience's sake", Ryou commented curiously. "I've spent enough time around you to know that you prefer to take the easiest solution to everything, and your comment about not having the patience to take care of your hair before confirmed it. I don't understand why you would take this approach."

"Perhaps I didn't do it for convenience's sake", Akefia offered gruffly. "Perhaps I wanted to look different."

"But why would you want to look different?" Ryou asked incredulously, his voice rising in outrage at the notion of Akefia changing himself for anything or anyone. "What would make you want to change your looks like that? You don't give in to anyone!"

The look Akefia gave to Ryou in response to the question silenced the healer effectively. All the answers Ryou could have wanted were in that gaze, and he did not really like those answers. He did not like them at all.

"The only valid reasons for changing yourself should come from you yourself", Ryou said severely. "You shouldn't feel the need to change yourself for anyone else, least of all for someone who loves you the way you are." Those words were not ones Ryou had intended to speak, especially so soon, but the young healer would confess his darkest secrets – and there was nothing dark about this one – if it only meant that Akefia would stay the same.

"Oh?" Akefia queried with an arched brow. "You never let on you cared that much about me, little Ryou." The taller albino smirked as he leaned closer to the healer, causing Ryou's face to flush. "I was beginning to lose faith." The smirk widened into a narrow grin. "So what is it about me that caught your interest in the end? I must say I'm curious."

"Shut up", Ryou grumbled, the words falling short of having the intended effect as the healer's tone was obviously only put out rather than actually angry. "I…you…" Ryou trailed off in embarrassment and he was certain that his face was deep red by now, especially since Akefia was still giving him such an utterly smug look. "You're just you."

"So it all comes down to my natural charm?" Akefia concluded with a self-satisfied smile, to which Ryou snapped back: "It most certainly does not. You're not charming at all." Ryou would not have Akefia thinking that the healer actually liked the other's bad behaviour. That was not the case; Ryou merely tolerated the negative aspects the taller male had.

"Now you're contradicting yourself", Akefia insisted and Ryou gave the other a half-hearted glare before exclaiming: "It's not a contradiction! It's just really complicated!" The healer huffed in annoyance. "I honestly don't know why I like you when you embody so many of my dislikes."

"Perhaps I'm just so good looking?" Akefia offered in a teasing manner, and Ryou came to the conclusion that it would be easier to just play along with the joke instead of trying to sort out his feelings right there and then. So the healer just shrugged his shoulders and conceded: "Perhaps."

Truth be told, Ryou's opinion was that Akefia was a great guy. Now, he was not a good guy in any way; he was rude and obnoxious and might actually have been a bit evil. But he had some aspects that were admirable, so called redeeming features that Ryou could not help but wish he could share. And in the end that was all the reason Ryou needed to justify liking Akefia's company, as well as the man himself. Still, when it came down to speaking these feelings out loud, Ryou did not think he would ever be able to tell Akefia what he thought.

&

Rasui was making marvellous progress, Atemu noted with satisfaction as he watched the soldier in question wield his daggers with a lot more skill than what the prince had expected. Even though Atemu had already been surprised once by the other's skills when he had first presented the shorter male with the weapons, Rasui still managed to catch him off guard with the degree of familiarity he had with this particular style of fighting.

The level of improvement Rasui had reached made the short soldier appear larger to Atemu. It was not that the other had suddenly grown taller, or that he had gained more muscle. The reason why Rasui appeared actually impressive now was because he had gained confidence. The soldier was like a whole new person now, and Atemu felt prompted to actually put some trust in the other coming through for him.

"Rasui", Atemu started and the young soldier's movements came to a halt, the practise puppet left looking beyond beat up, and the dark blue eyes focused on the prince. "I was just thinking, and I came to the conclusion that you have proven yourself well enough." He looked at the puppet again, taking note that Rasui had attacked every vital spot there was. Certainly that was enough proof that Rasui would be able to improvise with his attacks in a battle situation. Atemu nodded his head to his thoughts, murmuring: "More than enough…"

"Thank you", Rasui replied, his tone a mix of gratitude and curiosity. "Are you hinting at something with your words?"

"Actually, yes, I suppose I am", Atemu admitted and glanced to the direction were the oasis was, as well as the cliff Rasui had failed to climb so far. "I think this is enough for me to give you that little bit of advice I promised."

A frown came to Rasui's face, and Atemu could predict the refusal even before the soldier voiced it: "I haven't managed to reach the spot on the wall that we agreed on. I hardly think it would be right."

Atemu could not resist the chuckle that escaped him then. Within the short time he had spent training Rasui, the prince had quickly learned that the youth was very insistent on doing things 'the right way', even when there would have been no shame in going by the easier route.

"Alright, I understand", Atemu conceded with a slight grin. "How about I give you just a hint, then? Since I hardly think there would be a better time to give you this bit of advice."

There was a thoughtful silence from Rasui as the soldier thought Atemu's suggestion over. Finally the youth nodded his head and spoke: "Alright then, I will accept."

"Great", Atemu said, his grin widening. "This is actually something my teacher told me when I was learning sword arts, but I think it could be deployed very well here as well." It was true; he had thought about Rasui's situation and had been reminded of that one particular lesson he had received from Rishid. Atemu thought back on the stern man and spoke out the words that had confused him utterly while he had been learning, the words that he had learned to appreciate only a long time afterwards: "For a warrior, the weapon they wield is much more than just that; it's a tool. With that mindset anything can be used as a weapon and weapons can do so much more for the warrior." The prince directed his attention back outward, to the youth standing in front of him. "As soon as you master that philosophy you're sure to reach new heights." And then Atemu could finally help his father with the war effort.

"Alright then", Rasui answered simply, his face turning serious as he apparently already started thinking about Atemu's words. It seemed that Rasui wasted no time when there was a mystery to be solved. And as Atemu watched Rasui's eyes cloud over with deep thoughtfulness, the prince was suddenly reminded of another person, who used to wear that same exact expression while he was thinking something particularly challenging through.

"I'll leave you to it", Atemu spoke, only to be ignored by Rasui who had completely sunk into his own thoughts, and then started to make his way towards his tent. Atemu felt he needed to get as far away from Rasui as possible. The more time he spent with the youth, the more he reminded Atemu of Yugi. Atemu did not know how he felt about that exactly but he was certain that he was not comfortable with the situation. As if it was not enough that Atemu yearned to see his fiancé again, he was now also taunted by the existence of the one soldier who would determine whether or not Atemu would get the chance to meet that special person again.

Things were still looking up, Atemu assured himself as he entered his tent where he could be at peace with his thoughts. Rasui was actually showing promise and his fighting skills made Atemu feel as if the boy was more familiar with a dagger than he had let on. But, it still remained to be seen if Rasui could fill the terms Odji had set. Speaking of which, the nuisance in question should be back in his hair sometime tomorrow. Well, the break had been enjoyable while it had lasted

To be continued…