Past and Present { Pigeon and Yukio Takamiya} (private)

[Kotorichan]

Yuusina had curled into a tight ball, sobbing softly. He let out a cry of fear when Deniz entered, backing against the wall. "I-I'm so sorry, I did not mean to wake you..." His chest tightened with guilt as he thought of how much he much have frightened his savior. His tears started anew as soon as the man left.

 

By the time Deniz returned the prince had managed to calm himself enough to stop crying. He managed to force a slight smile when he was handed the tea. "T-thank you... You really are too kind." He took a few deep breaths as he waited for the tea to cool. "Mr. Deniz... May I ask what y-you plan to do with me..? I-I cannot possibly burden you by s-staying here and hoping the truth will come out.."

[Yukio Takamiya]

Deniz remained motionless, staring at the ground, arms crossed and back against the chair as if in deep thought. And he was. He didn't know what his next plans were at all. But one thing was for sure, Yuusina had to stay with him for the time being. He most probably wouldn't be able to last even an hour on his own before getting caught. Deniz's red eyes finally looked up to stare into Yuusina's. "You are a smart person Your Highness. I'm sure you're aware that the truth will never come out," he paused. Then continued in a grave tone," unless you do something about the situation yourself."

 

Deniz knew that it would be difficult for Yuusina to go back now that he had escaped. And Deniz couldn't really do anything for him unless he made his own decisions. The Yuusina as of now, was too weak, cried too easily and didn't really have any real world experiences. The prince needed to grow stronger, unafraid to slash down his enemies and be a person that his people could rely on. He had potential to be a great king, Deniz could see it. That was the reason why he backed down in the first place and decided to let Yuusina take the throne.

 

"For now, I will let you stay with me," he finally spoke. "Use this time to think about your next step. Whether you want to continue running or snatch back your power." Deniz retrieved an intricately carved dagger from his tunic and held it out to Yuusina. "If you choose the latter, I shall do everything in my power to help you."

 

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[Kotorichan]

Yuusina stared at the dagger for a moment. It would be so easy to just move away and start a new life somewhere... He wouldn't have to worry about helping a whole country of people, or convincing them that he wasn't a criminal. But if he didn't do anything then the people might suffer, his people might suffer. How could he just let that happen?

 

"I will not run away." He said softly but firmly. "I cannot let anyone suffer just because I am afraid of failure."

 

He took the dagger and lifted it to his long white hair. Gripping his ponytail in one hair he chopped off the excess hair. Keeping his hair like that would only make him easier to recognize, and would get in the way if he got into some kind of fight.

 

"I will fight to protect the people of this country from those who will control my brother. I will be eternally grateful for any help you may give me." The prince lifted his gaze to meet Deniz's, his eyes filled with determination. He didn't need more time to think about it. What kind of prince would he be if he needed more than a few moments to decide such a thing?

[Yukio Takamiya]

Upon hearing Yuusina's response, Deniz's commonly emotionless face revealed the barest trace of a smile. "That's good to hear Your Highness," he spoke softly, the prince hadn't disappointed him after all. Deniz knelt down on one leg to Yuusina's level and wiped away the dampness on his face. "From now on, harden your heart and never wear your emotions on your face. If you show any weakness to your enemies, have no doubt that it will be taken advantage of."

 

Deniz stood up and took the dagger from Yuusina's hand. After sheathing it, he returned it to the prince. "Always keep this with you. You'll never know when you may need it." Deniz stared at the prince for a while as if contemplating something. Finally, he lowered his head and placed a palm across his left chest. "Other than that, I am honored to be of service to you Your Highness."

 

"What are you doing Deniz?!" Raphael's voice exclaimed from the entrance of the room. Deniz turned around and faced him, his expression unchanging. "Haven't you messed around enough?!"

 

Before he could speak anymore, Deniz had pushed him out of the room. "We'll take this outside," he said. Before he closed the door, Deniz turned to Yuusina." Get some rest and recover quickly," then he was gone.

 

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[Kotorichan]

Hide his emotions... Yuusina had been trying to do that for years. He knew how dangerous it would be if he was completely open. But this pain would be more difficult to hide than anything else.

 

It surprised him to see Deniz seeming to swear loyalty to him. That was dangerous to say the least. "Thank you-" His words were cut off when the other man came in, making Yuusina visibly jump. Messing around? Was the man talking about how dangerous it would be to keep Yuusina here? The prince couldn't help but remember how the blacksmith had reacted when they first arrived. Was there something more to this? It certainly felt like there was.

 

Don't show your emotions, and don't trust anyone. He had to remember that. Even though Deniz had saved him there was still a chance that he couldn't fully be trusted. Yuusina stood and slipped the dagger into his belt before silently opening the door. He looked around, listening for voices that he could follow.

[Yukio Takamiya]

For the second time that night, Deniz and Raphael had a private talk. Raphael's expression was livid, his fists clenched by his sides. Never before had his ward managed to infuriate him so. Of course, in the past, he had never agreed with Deniz's actions. But he thought that Deniz would eventually wake up and fight to take back his father's throne. This though, this was unacceptable. Deniz had actually lowered his head to Yuusina and agreed to serve him. This wasn't the honor a king should have, Deniz was definitely, wholeheartedly, offering the throne to Yuusina.

 

"I won't accept this Deniz, you've gone overboard this time," Raphael spoke fiercely. "For four years you've wasted your time protecting him, when are you going to wake up and see that?" Deniz continued to stared down at Raphael from his height. He was known to be stubborn and stubborn was he. He had made up his mind to not fight for the throne, and that was what he was going to do. "Deniz," Raphael continued in a quieter voice. "They killed your father, your mother and your older brother. Not even your uncle and cousins survived, surely you haven't forgotten that."

 

Deniz's fists tightened. "Not another word of this Raphael. Yuusina was young then, he had nothing to do with it. I deem him appropriate to lead the country. So I've made it my objective to push him up there."

 

As Deniz started to move towards the door, Raphael stopped him. "Do not force me to kill him myself Deniz." Deniz's footsteps stopped and he turned to face Raphael.

 

"Are you doing this because you know that I would never hurt you?" He asked calmly. Though on the inside, Deniz had conflicting emotions. One was Raphael, one was Yuusina. Should he really take the throne for his father figure? Who was the prince to him? No one would be the real answer. But then, what would all he has done been for? They were almost ready. Soon they would be storming and plundering the castle to usurp the throne. "Just as I did four years ago till now Raphael, I shall continue to protect him." He continued forward and opened the door.

 

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[Kotorichan]

Yuusina pressed his ear to the door to listen to the conversation. His eyes widened when he heard Raphael's words. He had killed Deniz's family..? At that moment it all made sense. Deniz Eligerand, the previous prince, one of the few of the former royalties who hadn't been publicly executed.

 

He continued to listen until he heard Deniz's footsteps coming closer. There wouldn't be enough time to return to his room so he just took a couple steps back and raised his hand to knock on the door. If he couldn't hide then he could at least play innocent.

 

The prince let out a soft gasp of surprise as the door was pulled open. "A-ah, Mr. Deniz. Is something wrong?" He looked at the man with what appeared to be genuine worry. "I am truly sorry that I woke both of you up." He bowed his head slightly. "I am extremely grateful for you allowing me to stay here, I understand how dangerous it is for you to keep me here."

[Yukio Takamiya]

Yuusina was outside when Deniz opened the door, hand raised and prepared to knock. He probably wanted to play innocent but it didn't take a fool to know that he had heard at least half of what was said. He took a moment to analyse he prince before nodding in response to what Yuusina said. "Go back to bed," he said curtly and walked off in the direction of his own room.

 

Deniz closed the door and leaned against it, breathing a heavy sigh. Fatigue chose that moment to hit him and he slid to the floor, nursing an incoming headache. The stress of everything that was happening was getting to him and Deniz honestly didn't know how much longer this could go on. The sound of wings got his attention and Deniz turned to the window. A hawk stood on the ledge, waiting for Deniz to come to it and when he did, it perched itself on his arm. He removed the roll of parchment from the hawk's feet and read its contents. After which he picked up a quill and wrote a reply on another piece of parchment, rolled it up and sent the hawk on its way.

 

The next day, Deniz was up early before anyone else and knocking on Raphael's door.

[Kotorichan]

Yuusina stayed silent as he returned to his room, clearly Deniz had not bought the act. Now the only question was how would Deniz react to this. Yuusina really would have to keep his guard up. He curled up in bed, keeping the blade by his side. It seemed clear that Deniz didn't have any plans to hurt Yuusina, but it was impossible to tell.

 

The next morning Yuusina awoke with a start. For a moment he didn't know where he was, but soon the memories came rushing back to him. His chest grew tight and he forced himself to take a few deep breaths to calm down. He couldn't cry anymore, that was in the past. Now he had to be strong. He rose to his feet and smoothed out his hair and clothes. He felt disgusting, covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. It made him feel extremely stupid to realize that he didn't know if commoners bathed regularly.

 

After a few minutes he opened his door and peeked out, listening for any sign that someone else might be in the house. It could be dangerous for him to leave the room since someone might see him.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Raphael opened the door and silently ushered Deniz in. After the door was closed and safely locked, they walked towards Raphael's closet. Opening the closet, they entered a trap door in the floor of the closet and silently closed the panel, making sure that the closet door was closed as well. As they walked down the stairs, Deniz lit the wall lamps with a single lamp he had brought with him until they reached the basement, did he light the main lamps. The basement covered a wide area, stocked with tons of weapons Raphael had uietlyforged over the years aside from his business. Those were to be used for their invasion on the castle. Soon, the weapons would be transferred secretly to a village 10 miles away, where their base was. The village though, was in fact home to the revolutionary army they had formed, in the guise of innocent villagers living a normal life. When in fact, they were highly trained soldiers ready for combat at any time.

 

"I assume they managed to send a report on time?" Raphael asked quietly. Deniz nodded, walking towards a miniature model of the castle in the center of the room. He and Raphael had constructed it from the best of their memories, detailed from the inside out where they could plan their approach.

 

"The king has sent out troops everywhere within a 5 miles radius of the castle to search for Yuusina. He will also be leaving for Elorahn in two days for some business," Deniz repeated what he read from the message. "I suggest we plant some men amongst his party and prepare to ambush him upon his return." Deniz pointed to the back gates of the castle. "We'll enter from here once the army has gathered. But they'll have to gather without raising suspicion, set fire to the stables as soon as the king arrives and the front gates are shut. I'll elaborate on the plan when we reach the village."

[Kotorichan]

Yuusina chewed his lip for a moment before stepping back inside his room. He took out his knife and began to cut his royal clothes, removing the decorative parts and flowing sleeves. Eventually he was left with just simple white robes that he turned a light gray from dirt. After a moment of hesitate he brought the dagger to his cheek and very carefully make small cuts to alter the markings on his face. That was another feature that could reveal his true identity. He used the blade as a mirror to check his progress. It took a few minutes for him to reach a point where he was satisfied. He didn't exactly look like a different person, but at least he wouldn't fit as much of the description that would be given.

 

Finally he left the room, glancing around for any strangers. The prince took a deep breath and dropped his gaze to the floor. He couldn't seem like he was afraid of being seen, that would just be more suspicious. He listened carefully for any sounds that could tell him where Deniz was. He couldn't hear them anywhere in the house, so after exploring for a bit he returned to his room and sat on the bed. He needed to make a plan of some sort, something he could do so he wouldn't have to rely on Deniz completely.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Deniz and Raphael made their way back up to the house and quietly left Raphael's room. From there, they went about their own businesses as if they hadn't just been planning a mutiny a while ago. Raphael went to give Finn a breakfast of wheat and prepared to open the shop while Deniz went to check up on Yuusina.

 

He reached the Prince's door and gave the door two soft knocks. When it opened, Deniz couldn't help giving Yuusina a once over. He couldn't help the bitterness that came over him the moment he saw the wounds the Prince had given himself. Of course, he knew why Yuusina had done it and honestly, it would be a lot less trouble to hide him now. But it didn't make Deniz feel any better.

 

Unconsciously, his hand had risen, ghosting lightly over the cuts. "It was never my intention for you to hurt yourself," he said, voice barely a whisper, his eyes revealing a rare emotion that he was sorry. As quick as it had happened, Deniz was back to his usual self, hand back to his side. "Breakfast will be ready soon...." he hesitated before speaking again. "Don't let those cuts get infected, it'll be troublesome." After saying his piece, Deniz turned away and headed down the stairs to look for Raphael.

[Kotorichan]

"There is better way to hide them..." Yuusina murmured, unconsciously leaning into the light touch. "It would be too risky to simply cover them with makeup or a hood. It might even be best to burn them."

 

He nodded at the comment about them getting infected. "Do you have some alcohol I could use to disinfect it?" A slight frown creased his brow as the man walked away. Did that mean that he could go downstairs..? He very cautiously climbed down the stairs, listening for any sign of danger.

 

Part of Yuusina wondered if he would ever be able to calm down after this experience. Someday he might retake the throne, or at the very least have a peaceful life. But after this it might be difficult for him to ever trust someone again.

 

Yuusina pushed the thoughts away, focusing on his surroundings. Eventually he would have to let himself be seen, just to find out if anyone could make the connection that the beautiful and elegant prince had become this messy, scarred creature.

[Yukio Takamiya]

Breakfast was a serving of broth and some bread, sent over by the neighbouring inn lady. Before sitting at the tabble though, Deniz went to retrieve a bottle of disinfectant and a clean piece of cloth and handed it to Yuusina. "Clean them well," he instructed curtly before starting on his breakfast. Raphael finished his food quickly and wordlessly went to open the shop, but not before giving Deniz a warning glance to which Deniz ignored.

 

When he was done, Deniz got up and cleared away the bowls. Just as he turned to move away from the table, he spoke quietly to the Prince. "There will be people coming over tonight, it'll be best for you to stay out of their way then. So we'll go out tonight." Then he walked away. The men who'll be visiting were from the village to help smuggle out the weapons. As soldiers of the revolutionary army, they obviously wouldn't take well to seeing Yuusina. And Deniz could just imagine their disappointment when they find out that their Prince wasn't going to take back the throne. His fist clenched unconsciously at that thought as he started to help Raphael. He had to think for the majority though. A gentle prince like Yuusina would be able to do a better job than him who had grown up thinking of revenge.

 

Deniz sighed as he set up the table, oblivious of the questioning look Raphael gave him. Deciding to delay this problem for the future, Deniz focused on his task at hand. What matters the most now is that they don't get caught before the battle.

[Kotorichan]

Yuusina took the cloth and disinfectant, bowing his head slightly. "Thank you." He began to carefully clean the wounds, biting his lip to stop himself from making any noise as the liquid stung his cuts. "Should I also use this on my burns?" He asked softly, looking up at Deniz.

 

The prince set aside the disinfectant and began to eat. He was starving and so ate quickly, but his royal upbringing was still obvious in his perfect manners. "Of course, should I just stay in the room you're letting me use or is there somewhere else I should go?"

 

"Ah, also I was thinking that perhaps you should start calling me by some other name. At least just so I can get used to it. I assume that at some point I will have to go out in public, if only for a short time, and it would not do for anyone to hear you calling me by name." He lightly chewed his lip. "Even if you keep me here until it is perfectly safe for me to go outside, if someone were to overhear you address me by name or mention me by name to Mr. Raphael..." He trailed off at the mention of the other man, frowning slightly.