The Prince's Letters

"Let's get this straight. I'm not doing this for you." Kazu spoke stonily, reclaiming a seat for himself. "I don't care about what you are and I'm not doing it for this country." He kept speaking before he dwelt too long upon the idea of nationalism. "You promised me I would find out about my past. If you're lying to me-"

"I understand. However, I need to warn you, you may not like what you will find."

The man shrugged, "I'll decide that for myself."

Yuuta seemed to find some amusement in that and he smiled, "I thought you would say that. Well, make yourself comfortable, I'll tell you the rest."

The discussion dabbled in Mabushii's history, stumbled awkwardly over the mention of the exiled Prince, and revolved primarily around Shirome's so-called Saisei project. Considering how much be spoke about the ethics of the experiments he had been involved in, Yuuta was marvelously in control of his emotions, and spoke only as if he were revealing the spoilers to a book rather than his past. He spoke in an almost passive fashion, as if what was going on had little to do with himself.

"Saisei is not limited to giving people an immortal body. Shirome's done more. I hesitate to say I am more advanced, but where I am concerned he implanted my heart and brain into a perfectly functional container. My memories and such are carried along. See, for each subject, there could be something entirely different. I may be more advanced in that I can think for myself, but I'm still a broken model."

"Aren't you strong?"

The captain shook his head, "I escaped from Shirome many years ago and he's never made to follow. I'm expendable, as far as he's concerned. He's probably come far since."

"That's just great," the blonde replied sarcastically. "We're up against a million of you. And you expect us to win?"

The captain smiled thinly, "Thank you for the vote of confidence. I'm flattered you think so highly of me." He waved a hand in the air, "But we will take certain precautions to avoid a fight. Shirome's power is intransient; that is, he manipulates fears and worries to get what he wants. It's best to drive him into a corner before he can manifest a physical threat."

Kazu shared Atsushi's trepidation, disinclined to false hope. He spoke with a similar taste of satire in his mouth, "We'll use the pincer method and trap him from behind."

Yuuta was unbothered by their sarcasm and continued, "Fortunately, there's one thing we can do. We suspect he has one more card to play. That is…the prince of Tsuki no Miyako has gone missing. We think Shirome plans to use him as ransom."

Kazu exhaled. "How is that good at all?"

"Get the prince back and Shirome has nothing."

"Easier said than done," Kazu shot back.

"I will help you all I can, but my influence is limited. Once you leave Mabushii's borders, I'm afraid I can no longer be of help."

"Leave Mabushii?"

"Shirome is in Tsuki no Miyako. Didn't you know?"

"Why would I know where the exiled prince's hideout is?"

"Point taken." Yuuta shrugged, and glanced in Yuria's direction.

He seemed to do that often: occasionally looking at Yuria. Kazu dismissed it at first, but sooner or later, he caught the man looking at the girl too often for it to be a coincidence. Nonetheless, Yuuta never gave any indication of what he was thinking.

Neither did Yuria for that matter, drawn in on herself as she always seemed to be during discussions. She watched each speaker in turn, green eyes taking everything in. She rarely spoke, but she would look away when she felt Yuuta's eyes upon her. When he thought about it, he had heard their soft voices from within when he was outside in the hallway. What they had spoken about seemed to be hanging in the corner of the room, like a demon the girl did not want to address.

Kazu didn't press the matter. He had things he liked to keep private as well; he couldn't fault anyone for doing the same.

Finally, Yuuta cleared his throat. "It's getting late. I bet you didn't realize it was already morning." He got to his feet quietly, only to walk over to his "brother" and nudge the boy awake, calling him softly. Seiichi was the first to rise, sitting up with his once neatly-combed hair sticking up in the back. He yawned and rubbed an eye.

"Yuuta-nii, what time is it?" he asked drowsily.

"Nearly seven. Will you show them to their rooms?" He crouched and poked Yuuki in the face until the boy rolled into an upright position. "Hey, show them to their-"

"I heard," he mumbled and got to his feet. Still groggy, he motioned to the group. "This way."

Watching the boy trip over nonexistent obstructions was a little amusing. At one point though, the boy pitched forward. Kazu jumped forward to catch him, but the boy threw out a hand and seized a thick rope that was hanging from the ceiling. It didn't stop him, but the momentum at least pulled down the loft ladder in one motion.

Yuuki picked himself up, blushing. "This way," and he darted up the stairs. They emerged into a tatami-coveredroom made up entirely of sliding shoji doors. The room was rectangular, but all four walls were comprised of the doors, built into wood tracks. Here and there, Kazu could see lights behind the paper screens, but there was something odd about the way the light fell. Before he could analyze it further, he felt a hand on his back; Atsushi pushed him out of the way as Yuria followed, Seiichi pulling up the rear.

"She's in the same room?" Atsu ventured.

"No, you're over…" Yuuki had walked to one door and slid it open. After poking his head inside, he retreated and shut it once more, only to pull the door right beside it open. He checked, then gave a nod, "…here."

"I'll take you to your room, Yuria-san," Seiichi said shyly to the girl, who stood by waiting. She smiled at him and followed as he led her to the wall on the opposite side of the room.

The mechanics of the house went way over his head. Kazu decided to stay silent, only speaking to murmur his thanks as he passed through yet another door that quite possibly led to an alternate universe. Yuuki went to get Atsushi set and he returned to Kazu's room to lay out the bed. By that time, Kazu had changed into the sleeping yukata provided. He was busy sharpening his sword when the boy finished and retreated to the door.

"Good night," Yuuki yawned one last time as he pushed the door closed.

Kazu awoke to his door being pulled open, wood frame sliding softly against the wood ruts. He glanced up, in time to see a boy slipping into the room, bearing a tray of food. Kazu exhaled silently, feigning sleep for just a little longer. As Yuuki – or Seiichi for that matter – knelt by his bed, he placed the tray on a low table. The smell of the food was enough to stir Kazu from his sleep entirely. Grilled fish, if his nose wasn't mistaken.

"Ah, good morning, Kazuhiko-san." Seiichi. The boy smiled at Kazu and went about preparing his breakfast. Kazu sat up and rubbed his head, making his hair stick up at strange angles.

"Mornin'," he mumbled, sniffing the food appreciatively. "Is Atsu up?" Seiichi picked up a seat cushion from the corner of the room and set it down in front of the table. Kazu took the silent offer and moved to the pillow, folding his legs beneath him.

Seiichi nodded, talking as he handed Kazu a pair of chopsticks. "Yuuki is serving him breakfast as well. I hope you enjoy your meal."

"Did you make it?" Kazu took a bite of rice and chewed before he chased it down with a sip of miso soup. The gray-eyed boy looked away and Kazu reassured him, "You're a good cook. I haven't eaten food this good for a long time."

"Really?" The boy smiled shyly and seemed more at ease as he went to work putting away Kazu's bedding. He worked in silence, occasionally huffing when he folded up the thick comforter and shoved it back into the closet.

Once he had finished half his fish, Kazu lofted the question, "Do you know your own name as well?"

Seiichi paused for a beat, then shut the closet softly. He nodded.

"What is it?"

"…Seiichi."

"No no, your other name-"

"Seiichi is my true name."

"…It is?"

A nod.

"How can you stand everyone using your name? When you used mine-" He changed tacts when he saw the boy flinch, "It's not a pleasant feeling, is it?"

Seiichi hunched his shoulders and dropped them. "I'm used to it." His eyes sought out the ground, though he tried to look as plucky as possible. Kazu chewed slowly, watching the boy.

"Why don't you give yourself another name? If no one says your name, it'll be okay, right?" A stressed look crossed Seiichi's youthful features. "No good?" Kazu lifted an eyebrow.

"That's true, but- but I'm supposed to practice so I don't get affected anymore and-"

"Chibi."

The boy tilted his head.

"It might not be much, but one less person you have to worry about isn't so bad, right Chibi?" He grinned, not intending to take no for an answer. "C'mere, do you want food?" Kazu pointed his chopsticks at his plates. Seiichi still seemed hesitant and the man rolled his eyes. "It's too much for me," he prompted further, and the boy finally finally smiled, trotting forward and plopping himself down beside Kazu. Opening his mouth, he waited to be fed, looking like a little bird. Kazu chuckled, shoveling a mouthful of rice and fish for him. Seiichi chewed happily, looking so content that even the stubborn man watching had to admit he was kind of cute. "Good, Chibi?"

Seiichi swallowed and wiped his lips with the back of his hand, grinning bashfully.

"Well isn't this a cute scene?" Atsu leaned against the doorframe, a smirk playing across his lips. "Sorry to break up the fun, but I'm just letting you know. Don't get too comfortable, Oniichan. We're leaving tonight."