Chapter 35: Beast
There was once a prince who lived a very long life, he was cursed by an evil spell he casted on himself, and he transformed himself from an ugly human and into a beautiful beast. He resided alone in a brick castle up a hill.
He blinked as he looked around him, he there again. It's becoming quite frequent that he found himself back into the inner depths of their consciousness. He had begun to wonder if the red eyed Akashi's consciousness unknowingly pulls him there. He walks quietly in the room as his footsteps created rippled under his bare feet. Looking ahead he could see a lone figure sitting on the floor, back leaning against the invisible wall behind him, and eyes closed as he hums a quiet familiar tune.
He's at it again, the heterochromatic eyed Akashi said to himself. Whenever he is pulled in the deep of their consciousness he would found him like this, humming the same tune. The figure stopped and opened his red eyes, he chuckled humorlessly.
"You are here yet again." He said quietly, his voice echoing through the endless depths of nothingness around them. "How long has it been? Two days, three, a week?"
"You cannot tell?"
The red eyed Akashi chuckled, "Of course I cannot. You should know that, yes?"
The heterochromatic eyed mirror image of the man sitting on the floor walks toward the other.
"You are humming again, the same tune."
"We share the same memories, so would you remind me how the song ends?"
The heterochromatic eyed Akashi blinked and paused. That is true. They share this space, this space of memories, consciousness, a depth of collections of everything intangible things between them, how is it possible that cannot he recall that song?
"It was my favourite folk song after all." The other said with nostalgia coating his voice. "Mother used to sing it too, she read me the story as well."
The heterochromatic eyed Akashi looked at the other, it was strange, he can feel it in him that he knew it, and yet he cannot recall it. It was like knowing the right words yet your lips won't move the way you want it. He could remember years decades worth of memories, rules, words, languages, tunes, and faces yet he could not remember what comes next after that line that his other self hums. Strange.
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Kise stands in the middle of the cleared battlefield. Pulling the reigns of his horse, the blonde King turns to look at the wasteland before him. Blood had drizzled and colored the soil like iron, weapons and parts of a soldiers' armor lay uselessly on the ground. Bodies pile up on the corner getting haul by the cart. Being second in the command of the fleet, after his husband, Kise commanded the bodies to be gather and be lay to rest in a grave site. It was not really a very common thing to do in the battlefield, but Kise couldn't stand the sight of the massacre.
Every attack was like a blinded suicide mission. It didn't felt right to raise his sword at all, it didn't feel right, everything about this war, however he couldn't leave Aomine. He couldn't leave him alone here.
It's been two weeks, and all it has been were like them playing, slaughtering their way in. The army of Seirin is obviously outnumbered, they had tactic but it was not enough.
"What are you thinking?"
Kise didn't need to look to know it was Aomine, he knew his voice well, the sound of Aomine's horse against the dirt.
"Things." Kise replies reservedly. "What are we fighting for?
Aomine blinks at Kise's question. He fell silent for a moment, Kise is no fool, he is a King himself and he knew war always had reasons, yet they were not told of it. They were given orders from Akashi to lead the offensive forces of the army towards Seirin, to cease a sure way for the Emperor himself and so he could cease the Kingdom to himself. It doesn't sound like Akashi's plan at all, if Aomine didn't know better he'd say someone had taken his brother and replaced it with an imposter. Akashi is not low to cease a Kingdom just for fun, not after the very marriage ceremony. Akashi does not need more power than he already has.
What is the reason indeed?
"Is it power, is it land, is it freedom?" Kise asks looking at what is left before them, "I know, I said I would come to you to aid you, because Teiko is my home as well, especially now. But I don't know why am I doing this anymore. Why are we killing people for Aominecchi?"
"This is battlefield, Kise…people die."
"For what?" Kise interrupts turning to Aomine with creased eyebrows, "I know that Aominecchi, I know people die, you know I do. I know the risk, I just took down fifty people with my own sword, you think I don't know that? But tell me I killed these people for something; tell me these people died protecting something glorious, because I feel lost now."
Aomine swallows a growing lump in his throat. He didn't know anymore, this isn't how it used to be. There were reasons for everything, it used to be like that. Though sometimes it wasn't always obvious, but at least Aomine knew it was there, but now there is just…nothing. He feels like a puppet, walking straight into something he doesn't understand at all, and yet he still does it, praying it would make sense.
"They are our enemies." Aomine said as he pulled his horse to turn around, "We have won, I have no words for those who failed."
"That is not the point." Kise said following shortly after the dark skinned prince and his elegant black horse.
"Then what is the point?"
They both stopped and Aomine turned his horse to face Kise's, the couple stared at each other for the longest time before Kise cut it by looking down in his hand.
"What is the point?" Kise threw the question back at Aomine. "I agreed to be your behalf, but I never vowed to let you do as you will, to be subservient to everything. I never agreed to watch you slaughter blindly, to watch you destroy others, tell me what is the point, what am I fighting for?"
Aomine's grip tightens on the reigns, "And if I don't have any, would you leave me? Will you return to Kaijo?"
"No." Kise answered quickly. The coppery scent of the air filled them as the wind blew past them. "I'm not leaving you. I am not running away when you need me most."
"You overestimate your—"
"My what Aominecchi?"
Aomine turned his eyes away, what was he about to say? Was he seriously going to make Kise doubt his value for Aomine? The Prince stared right at Kise, the blonde looked at him placidly like he knew he would do that, that he knew he would say that.
"See? If I didn't stop you…you'd say things that you would be asking me for forgiveness later on." Kise chuckled humourlessly, "And let's face it, you're definitely too egoistic to apologize so either that we're going to have the first fight after our marriage or this would result to a petty war too. If I leave you now and return to Kaijo, would the man who will return to me be the same man I married?"
"I don't know."
Kise nodded and pulled his horse which proceeded to move pass Aomine as he was beside the man, he pulled the reigns to stop the horse right then.
"I will fight, but I will inflict the least damage I could to our next opponents." Kise said calmly, "I do not see the reason to kill, when they have no means of fighting I would let them go. I am not going against you, but I am not going to follow you blindly as well. I will continue to tell you that this is wrong because that is my job."
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Takao closed his eyes as he sat quietly inside the aviary. The hawk that Midorima got him stood in a branch with it's observing silver eyes shining down on Takao, it's head titled slightly waiting for Takao to show the slightest sign of movement. The raven haired young man could feel the piercing eyes of the bird to his head, however he paid it no attention. His calmed his heart and breathing, his lungs were filled with the scent of the plants surrounding him inside the aviary and the water from small canals around the aviary.
It has been weeks since the war had started, and all the visions he sees were bloody and violent. Though he was able to assure himself of Midorima's safety through his visions, the end of the war is as clear as mud water. Even if Midorima is safe, if the war is not ever he as Midorima asked of him has to stay in the Emerald Palace, the days far from the prince is not easy.
The raven haired head priest had become highly dependent of Midorima, and to spend a night without him…he just felt vulnerable. The empty spot on their shared bed in Midorima's room still hasn't failed to cause him to bolt up in the morning. Then he'd remember he is in war.
He doesn't really know how war works, why people wages war, for the years he had spend back in his village, he was just hidden underground, the knowledge he knew were practical ones. Could anybody blame him for feeling utterly and completely lost? No, of course not. Takao took another deep breathe, he need to find a way to stop the war, perhaps his Hawk Eyes could tell him.
Then slowly his shut eyes were filled with images of the war, there were people lying on the ground, mutilated, and bloodied. Takao cringed. Then slowly the images changed, a horse, a regular stable horse, it was unlike the fancy horses that most soldiers brought with them. The other man looked surprised to see the rider, he chuckled, and laugh. The next images were blurry, it was too fast for him to understand, then it slowed again, one of them fell on the ground clutching the side of his stomach as blood pools down beneath him. The man lying on the ground moved his lips saying something—
"No!" Takao exclaimed loudly.
His voice echoed on the aviary making the Hawk startled and it quickly flew off, it's wide wings made a fluttering noise. Takao quickly stood up, his hands trembling as they lie in his side. No one has to die, no one should die, that's not how things are supposed to end.
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"The numbers are not in our favour." Aida Riko said as she placed the reports down on the table.
Time is ticking and every fight were causing the awful amount of resources and man power. The decline is fast and Aida could feel the breath of defeat against their cheeks. She shook her head as she placed her hands in the table. She understood Kagami's reason, but was it really wise to just suddenly declare war against Teiko? Just when she thought Kagami had learned, they were back in square one.
"Your Highness, with all due respect the offensive fleet of Teiko led by the Fourth Prince and his consort are doing great deal of damage in the West." One of the commander said looking obviously distressed, "They progress in an unbelievable speed."
"How close are they?" Kagami said his voice firm.
Aida sighed; he cannot believe what she thinks he is thinking. Aida took the papers in her hands again and flipped through the pages.
"They will arrive at the capital by two days assuming none of our troops will be not be able to slow them." Aida answered.
"You Highness, what should we do?"
"Continue the counter attack." Kagami said, "Surround the castle with the 5th battalion."
"But your Highness, the 5th Battalion is the strongest troop; it's the biggest card we have in our deck!" Another commander said.
"And that is why it has to be there!" Kagami raised his voice boring his eyes at the man, the commander almost sunk down on his seat. "You need to make sure none of them will be able to touch my brother, the Prince."
Hyuuga who was standing behind Kagami exchanged looks with Aida, the man shook his head. There was no use in trying to reason with the young king, he had proved of this himself. He tried to tell him how abrupt and crazy it is to declare a war against the biggest empire in existence, not especially when he saw how the assumed gentle and weak fifth prince had almost slit the neck of their King without any of them realizing it. If that fact did not make the King think twice, nothing will ever do. Well except for the Prince, if only he would listen.
"But the rest of our troops are—"the commander shook his head, and licked his lower lips, "Your Highness they will be vulnerable!"
"They won't." Kagami said as he stood, "Tomorrow, before the sun rises, I shall join the 3rd troop."
"What?!" Aida quickly lost all her control.
Hyuuga quickly ran to stop Aida who was storming towards Kagami, taking the woman's arms and trying to pacify her.
"This is ridiculous!" Aida exclaimed as she tries to push Hyuuga to let go of her. "You are the King if you are in any way harmed by this, what are we going to do?!"
"I am not going to be killed, not by them." Kagami snapped back.
"Oh yeah? Why, because you are so can do so much more than those nine-thousand men that they slaughtered like it was the most natural thing in the world?" Aida barked back angrily. She stared right at the crimson eyes of the King, the boy she watched grow up inside the palace, the precious son of his friend. She simply cannot just sit still and listen to him take up on a suicide mission.
"I am not weak." Kagami replied as he slammed his fist loudly against the table. "I would rip them, part by part…for everything, for their betrayal, and I will make sure of it myself."
"For the expense of what?!" Aida exclaimed finally shrugging Hyuuga's grip off. "You are so ready to die for revenge."
Aida looked straight at Kagami's eyes, those eyes she knew so well, those crimson eyes that her friend cherished as much as his whole kingdom, probably even more than his own kingdom. She couldn't take it, she knew it was there, deep inside Kagami, the hatred for this, for war, but it is clouded with his overflowing emotions. She knows Kagami is not a weak man, she had seen it herself when the boy was younger, he was overflowing with expandable potentials. However, despite her belief in Kagami's ability and capacity, she knew that in his current condition, fighting the Miracles of Teiko is the most ridiculous thing to do.
She closed her eyes, praying for the Gods to save this boy, from all those pain she could see in his eyes.
"They will not stop." Kagami said firmly, "And so why shall we?"
"You cannot risk your life like this!" Aida exclaimed, "I understand that you need to make your men feel that they are not alone, but you could die!"
"I could die now, or tomorrow, what difference does it makes—"
"The difference is us!" Aida's voice rings loudly swallowing even Kagami's voice. The whole room becomes silent, the rest of the attendees just merely looked up at the two. The room fell in silence after a few beats.
Kagami lost for words himself. He always has the respect to the woman who substituted as their mother when the Empress died, the woman who looked after his younger brother when he wasn't there.
"The difference is when you die, there will be us! Your father, your brother, this whole kingdom! And you think what, we'll just roll over and get over it, yeah maybe the people, but what about your father, what about the prince? Have you thought of that?" Aida said with a firm voice. "Have you thought what would it be like for the prince, to know, that you died because of him."
Kagami pursed his lips and looked away, he swallows a building lump in his throat. A painful feeling swells in his chest as he remembers the day he hesitantly left his brother, the fear when he first saw him fell sick, the horror that filled every fiber of his muscles when he heard of his disappearance. Furihata had always smiled for him, he did his best not to be a burden even if he doesn't tell it to anyone, Kagami knew of his efforts. He looked up at him, idolized him and listened to him, even when the rest of the council of ministers saw him as an impulsive, hard-headed and foul mouthed prince, his brother believed that he was more than that.
"This is not you." Aida mutters before turning away and leaving the hall.
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The night in Seirin is different, it was more humid, and the air feels thicker but not entirely unpleasant. Strangely, the sky is painted in a color that Kuroko had only seen in Teiko during cold winter nights, the blue of the sky was so dark that it looked like pitch black. There were no stars and not a moon visible within the vast expanse of the sky. If the situation is a bit different he would take his time and admire this rare moment, the sky reflected him, dull and silent.
He breathes in the air before he turns towards the simple tent behind him. No one would ever suspect the ordinary looking tent among the others would be the quarters of the man who sat on the throne of the Pheonix Empire. Quietly he comes into the tent, and the man who was sleeping a while ago was now sitting up and writing down. Kuroko had quietly watches his older brother writes down on a blank scroll with careful strokes of the brush. Since that day, Kuroko had not heard of him, he only spoke to Kuroko when he gave him his orders, and it sounded cold and angry.
He understood his anger, he understood his disappointment, but what he doesn't understood was why he felt different. He always seemed sad or angry, or both, it was like he was a different person entirely, yet the same.
"What hour would you be leaving?"
The question from his older brother almost caught Kuroko off guard, the man had never strike a conversation since that day in the palace and all of a sudden he is now asking him of the time of his departure.
"In two hours, shujo." Kuroko answered curtly. "Have you rested well?"
The Emperor stops from writing and turned to Kuroko, he chuckles humorlessly before going back to his work, "It is strange to hear that from you."
"I don't understand what you mean."
"Inquiring of my well being." Akashi replies, he continued to speak without looking up at his brother, "I assumed you have loathed me after what I have deliberately done, you are in love with him, aren't you?"
Kuroko doesn't answer his brother's question. He didn't know what he really felt for his brother at the moment, he wants to hate him for making him draw his blade at Kagami, he wants to hate him for making Kagami hate him, but he for some reason he cannot, it felt like it was also due for him, like a just punishment for all the things he had kept away, for the things he decided for himself, for all his selfishness. A part of him wanted to blame his brother but another part of him blames himself for his brother's actions.
"I am surprised that you accompanied us here." Akashi said.
"I am the shadow." Kuroko answered, "It is impossible for me to leave you."
"Is it impossible for you to decline my orders?" Akashi asked. The Emperor places his brush back to it's case and turns to look at Kuroko. His golden eye was almost glowing. "If you see him, would you be able to still say those words to me, brother?"
Kuroko feels his heart hammering against his chest, something about the golden eye of his brother feels like burning at him, painfully. Kuroko shut his eyes, and the smile of the red haired king flashed in his mind. But this was his brother, a voice in his head whispers to him, Akashi is his brother and Kagami had threatened him, Kagami…is a threat to his brother, to Teiko's peace.
"I was able to bare my blade against him," Kuroko said as he opened his eyes, despite how his voice was clear and calm as the starless sky outside, his hands shake. "I would do it again, or more, if it meant for the Empire, if it meant for you."
Akashi didn't say anymore and turns away, he looked down on what he has written down, and frowned.
Still he couldn't remember that story, the song his other self hums in their shared consciousness, it is only a simple song, but it bothered him so much. No matter how much he tries to remember that story, the song, it never seem to occur to him.
Akashi traced the character he wrote with ink on the paper—
Beast.