Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

NiChu: Imperial Guard

Kiku sighed in annoyance. He was reassigned to be the personal guard of the emperor's brother. He had seen the prince from a distance before, and wasn't very impressed. He found all of these nobles to be arrogant fools.

He stopped in front of the doors of the prince's chambers. He felt a small wave of disgust when he thought about the royal pain that he would have to deal with soon. But he had a job to do, and Kiku had never been one to shy away from an assignment.

Just as he readied himself to knock, the doors opened, revealing a servant. The servant gave him one look before he sighed.

"Good luck with him," he muttered, before disappearing.

Kiku sighed, before he entered.

"Prince Yao," Kiku said. "I'm your…"

The prince was still lounging in his bed, and the first impression Kiku had of the room was: red. It seemed as though everything in the room was a shade of red. And it even caused a faint red light on the prince's complexion.

"You're the new bodyguard?" Prince Yao asked, and his voice told Kiku that he was just as unimpressed as Kiku was. "My brother is a paranoid fool. So, what am I supposed to call you?"

"My name is Kiku," he introduced, bowing his head low.

There was silence from the prince for a while, and Kiku realised that he was supposed to kowtow, not bow. He was just about ready to do that, before…

"You're not from around here, are you?" Yao asked.

Kiku looked up in alarm, and he saw that Yao was looking at him with an amused and intrigued expression. He didn't know what to think of this, and Yao chuckled.

"Perhaps my brother does know what he's doing," Yao said, before he stood. "Could you go fetch one of the servants? I need to get dressed."

Kiku straightened, and he placed his fist into his open palm to show his acquiescence. He hoped that the servant was still nearby.

…

What Kiku had learned so far was that Yao was forbidden from leaving the Forbidden City. He actually had to smile at the joke. He also learned that Yao wasn't particularly social, at least not with the other nobles. He was polite, but he wasn't social. And as for the way he treated his servants…

Well, Kiku had seen worse.

Actually, Yao wasn't that bad. He just seemed to be strangely suspicious around the servants. Almost as though he was expecting them to be enemies. The only ones he seemed to regard without suspicion were the ones that came from foreign lands.

However, Kiku couldn't complain that Yao was horrible to him. On the contrary, Yao would occasionally ask him about his homeland, and his eyes would light up in interest. Kiku had made the mistake of mentioning that he was a decent artist, and Yao had told him that he wanted to see artwork depicting his homeland.

It was while admiring one of Kiku's paintings that Kiku decided to ask Yao about what he was thinking.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you so interested in my homeland?" Kiku asked.

Yao looked at him as though he thought the answer should have been obvious.

"Because I cannot leave this place," Yao said.

Kiku was puzzled, and Yao sighed.

"I'm forbidden from leaving the Forbidden City," Yao said. "As it stands, I'm the only heir of the emperor. My brother. Normally, that would have made me fear for my life, but my brother knows that I have no interest in overthrowing him. I want nothing to do with being emperor. And my brother promised that he would allow me to roam wherever I want as soon as he has a male heir. A possibility that seems distant."

"What do you mean?" Kiku asked.

Yao pursed his lips.

"You are not to repeat what I will tell you," Yao said. At Kiku's nod, he sighed. "My brother has tried with all of his concubines, and he's even gotten in some healers. But it doesn't look as though he is lucky when it comes to conceiving children."

Kiku's eyes widened, and Yao turned back to the painting.

"…Your friendliness to foreigners…" Kiku started.

"I cannot travel myself," Yao explained. "I rely on the stories that you and the others tell me. It's the only way for me to experience other lands."

Kiku nodded in understanding. Hearing this, he felt a bit bad for the prince.

"Wouldn't it be better for all of you if you could provide the emperor with an heir?" Kiku asked.

"There's just one problem," Yao said. "Women don't interest me."

It took Kiku a while to process Yao's words, and his eyes widened in shock. Yao pointedly looked away. That would explain why the emperor wasn't worried about Yao overthrowing him. If anyone else found out that the emperor was interested in men, no one would be happy, and the people would overthrow him themselves. It was a risk that Yao wasn't willing to take.

Kiku felt his respect grow for the prince. He wasn't greedy for power. He was just greedy for freedom.

…

Kiku was watching over Yao while the latter was lounging in the garden when a messenger came. Yao looked disinterested at first, but soon grew excited when he heard the message. And Kiku couldn't blame him.

One of the emperor's concubines was pregnant.

…

Yao was nervously pacing in his room while Kiku watched. The baby was supposed to be born right now, and Yao was eager to hear the news. A boy meant his freedom, while a girl meant that he would have to wait until the next time one of the concubines became pregnant.

Yao jumped when there was a knock on the door, and Kiku quickly answered. It was a messenger. Twins. One boy and one girl.

Yao actually hugged Kiku in his joy. A male heir had been born. He could leave.

…

Kiku watched as the servants packed the last of Yao's supplies. For once, the prince was wearing simple clothes. It was because he was no longer the heir. He could go wherever he wanted.

And he had asked Kiku to take him to his homeland.

Kiku was happy to oblige. In the months that he had been the prince's guard, he had grown quite fond of him.

I was asked for NiChu in the Forbidden City. I didn't do a lot of research on this, so if there are historical inaccuracies, sorry about that.

I was going to have a plot about Kiku being an assassin and spy, working on the inside to secure an opportunity for his allies, but I'm very busy lately and I'm already behind on my writing. So, the pressure of Yao's freedom became the main plot.