Title:Akamizu
Pairing: Yama
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Ohno, a former general of Akamizu Kingdom and the bearer of Old Magic had left the kingdom for hundreds of years and lived as a wanderer since then. On a particular rainy day, he accidentally found out that the king was looking for him. Upon his return, the kingdom was no longer the same, some sorcerers were trying to take over the throne and they had done something to the crown prince.
Warnings: None
A/N: Dear Coolooh, I hope you like this fic. I tried to combine your request such as the portrayal of Ohno as the most powerful character, action scenes, and magic elements. Please enjoy.

Note 2: Thanks to the beta reader, ladygiggles for helping me with error grammars.
To the mod, thanks for arranging this MJ exchange this year.


Ohno pulled the hood down to cover his face as he reached the village; the rain had started pouring, blurring his vision. It had been a while since he found a small village, he always took the mountain track, avoiding people as much as he could. The village he passed by had some teashops and inns, perhaps it was some kind of a hub for travelers or traders. He peered from below his hood, the street was empty, and everyone had looked for shelter from the sudden rain. The water drops had drenched his clothes, but Ohno continued his steps, ignoring the cold.

It was probably the rain of the 10th month; he had lost track of time after spending most of his time in the mountains. The wind which blew made his skin rather cold; the air was humid, and the maple trees had started to change color. He didn’t have a particular destination, he just followed his steps, he would take a rest for a day or two if he felt tired and resumed his aimless journey once he regained strength.

He decided to enter one of the teashops and chose a seat at the far corner. The middle-aged woman gave him a critical look as he entered the shop with water dripping from his boots. She brought Ohno a cup of hot tea and two pieces of wheat bread while mentioning the price impatiently. Ohno fished two coins from his pouch and put them on the woman’s palm.

He enjoyed the tea with the hood still covering his face. The rain outside poured harder than before; the droplets hit the wooden wall, the water even made it through inside the teashop, dripping from the ceiling, sending a weird sound as it hit the tables.

Ohno wrapped his fingers around the teacup, trying to keep his body warm, but the drenched cloak didn’t help. He shivered coldly, sipping the tea and chewing the wheat bread which tasted awful. He listened to the conversation of the two men three tables away from him. He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but their voice was so loud that it beat the sound of the rain.

“The Akamizu King has released an order,” one of them said, slamming the cup on the table. “They want to get the Lost General back, whatever that means.”

“Legend says he’s a wanderer,” the other man replied.

“It’s just a legend, nobody knows he even exists. I’m surprised that the king still believes in that folktale. No man could live for a hundred years,” the first man said, sipping the tea impatiently.

“The payment is quite high, we will be rich if we find him.”

“Don’t be stupid. Do you think that he could be found that easily? He is probably meditating in one of the mountains, getting ready to go to heaven.”

Ohno pulled his hood closer; it had been so long since he stepped his feet into a village, it appeared that the king wanted the lost general back, despite the vow of his ancestor that Akamizu had set the general free and would not bother him anymore. Ohno couldn’t tell how many years had passed since he left Akamizu; a hundred, three hundred years? He had stopped counting a long time ago.

Ohno was once a great general in the kingdom. Every kingdom had their own great general who was a warrior and also a sorcerer. There were many sorcerers across the kingdom with different abilities; their power was registered and they had an obligation to serve the king when needed. But for more than 400 years, the peaceful era was still continuing. Many sorcerers abandoned their power and lived as farmers or traders instead.

The two strongest kingdoms, Akamizu and Nanakusa, appointed their own general during the Great War. Ohno had the honor to lead Akamizu’s troops; he still remembered the details of the war, as if it had just happened yesterday.
Akamizu was led by the Sakurai dynasty; the fourth king whom Ohno had assisted was a wise man. But, his son was the opposite, he opposed his father’s wish to free Ohno from the Kingdom and wanted him as a symbol of their power. Ohno and the king had a deal; if they won the war, Ohno would leave the kingdom as a free man. The war was ended with a peace treaty, the king kept his promise, and he permitted Ohno to leave the palace and guaranteed his freedom.

Upon his departure from Akamizu, Ohno began his life as a wanderer. He sometimes stayed in a village for a couple of years, working as an art teacher. Many of the villagers wanted him to stay at their village permanently, offering him to marry their daughters, asking him to settle down.

Ohno was the last descendant of Mahou clan – the strongest and the most powerful magic bearers of all time. They were immortal until they found their true purpose in life. Ohno was about 537 years old at the moment, he had stopped using his magic hundreds of years ago and lived as a normal man since then. He avoided every possible conflict, always stayed low profile and for the last twenty years, he had been living in mountains.

What did the King of Akamizu want from him after hundreds of years?

Ohno left the teashop as the rain weakened; he headed towards west. According to the conversation of the two men, there was a bigger hub village in the west, perhaps he could gather more information there. What kind of situation was the kingdom facing that needed his help?

He stepped through narrow paths, avoiding the people like usual. The air was still chilly and humid, but Ohno liked it. He finally lowered his hood, revealing his short hair, his rounded face and his suntanned skin. Ohno was short and skinny, but he had great physical strength, even without his magic power. He never categorized himself as handsome, but the people he met at the villages always praised his looks, some women were very fond of him and didn’t try to hide their attraction towards him.

The west village was called Akanishi, it was a part of the Akamizu Kingdom. There were more shops, more inns, and more people compared to the village Ohno had left. He didn’t wear his hood this time, since people were busy with themselves, none of them took a look at him twice.

He headed to the center of the village where a big wooden board was placed at the corner of the street with an announcement.

The king of Akamizu is looking for the lost general, also known as the sorcerer of Mahou. Whoever finds him will be rewarded properly.

Below the order, there was a painting which was supposed to look like Ohno, but it wasn’t even close (or perhaps he did look like that hundreds of years ago). His hair was too long in that painting, his eyes were too big and he was pictured as a bulky man. Whoever painted this picture perhaps made a random image in their head of a warlock.
Ohno didn’t know that the King had changed; it was Sakurai Shun at the moment. He just hoped that the king would give up on finding him; besides, nobody would have believed that the sorcerer of Mahou was still alive.

Ohno left the board and headed towards the inn after purchasing some new clothes to change from the wet ones. He was half way towards his room when he felt someone was following him. He turned around towards the empty corridor; was it possible that somebody knew he was the sorcerer the king was looking for?

He pushed the door opened and attached his ear to the wooden door; he heard soft footsteps outside, whoever that was, probably had an eye on him. What would Ohno do to defend himself? If he used his power, it meant that he revealed his existence to the rest of the world. He knew there were the other wizards; but their magic was different than those of Mahou.

He changed his clothes and tried to sleep, but he couldn’t close his eyes. The night had visited the village; sending colder air through the gaps between wooden walls. Ohno didn’t light the candles, letting the darkness consume him, he heard movement, footsteps and a second later, he felt a cold metal placed on his neck.

“Don’t move,” a deep voice of a man ordered.

He wasn’t alone; his friend lit the candle on the table and checked Ohno’s belongings.

“I have no money,” Ohno said calmly.

“We’re not looking for your money,” the same deep voice said, the one who circled Ohno from behind. “You’re the lost general, aren’t you?” he added.

“I’m just a poor wanderer, you know,” Ohno said.

“I’ve read about you,” the one who lit the candle spoke. “The books mentioned that you have stopped using your magic after the king granted your freedom. They said you’re an immortal and the book also described how you look, everything fits,” the man said happily.

“Those books lie to you,” Ohno replied. He didn’t know that someone had written about him – what a great waste of time to read about his boring life.

“I got those books from the palace library,” the man said cheerfully. “There’s no way they told lies.”

“Come with us to the palace and we won’t hurt you,” the man behind Ohno said.

“You can’t hurt me if you want to bring me alive to the king,” Ohno replied when the man pushed the knife harder onto his skin.

“But a small wound is necessary,” the man behind him said. “I want to know how it feels to hurt the greatest general, a legend sorcerer.”

Ohno didn’t budge; it had been too long since he used his power, he didn’t know how far he could control it. Besides, these two men weren’t equal to him, their ability was far below him. He didn’t need his magic to defeat them.

“We want you to come to the palace with us,” the man in front of him said. He wore a similar cloak with a hood like Ohno’s and he was lowering it as he spoke. He was still young, he had a pair of big eyes and a too big nose.

“What if I say no? You have no evidence that I’m the man you’re looking for,” Ohno said, grimacing as the man behind him pushed the knife deeper.

“He knows,” the young man gestured to the man behind Ohno. “He could feel the huge power from you and once we arrive at the palace, the other sorcerers will take a look into your past. As simple as that.”

“The king has gathered many warlocks, I presume,” Ohno muttered.

“Of course, he does,” the man answered. “Having many skillful sorcerers is important for a kingdom, even though none of them are as powerful as the descendant of Mahou, right Jun?”

“We can’t let the other kingdom find you before we did,” the man called Jun answered.

“I was freed from Akamizu a long time ago, I have no obligation to go back,” Ohno said, turning his head aside.
“You haven’t found your true purpose in your life,” Jun said with a strong confidence in his voice. “That’s why you’re still alive and don’t age much. I’m so envious of you,” he continued, giving another push to the knife on Ohno’s neck.
“Come with us to the palace, we’ll explain the whole thing,” the man in front of him said with a smile still lingering on his face. “If you don’t come with us, we can’t guarantee what will happen to Ninomiya.”

“Ninomiya?!” Ohno said, surprised.

“As expected, that name must ring a bell,” the man in front of him smiled in victory. “Ninomiya is in the palace at the moment, safe and sound. But if you deny to come with us, we can’t guarantee his safety anymore.”
“You must think that it’s just our stupid bait,” Jun said. “But we have brought Ninomiya to the palace a few days ago. It needs effort to make him finally speak where you might be. What a good apprentice.”

“Come with us, general,” the man in front of Ohno said. “The kingdom needs you.”

Ohno thought for a while; there must be something urgent which needed his presence at the palace. The king probably considered him as the last hope, betting on him, without really knowing whether he was still alive or not. Or perhaps, Ohno never got his true freedom, the king most likely still watched him from afar, ordering a secret unit to follow him, summoning him when the kingdom needed him the most.

He caught Jun’s wrist and with one easy movement, he slammed the man to the floor. He took the knife from Jun’s hand and pointed him to the man’s chest.

“If you’re telling me lies, I won’t hesitate to cut your throat,” Ohno hissed.


“Easy, easy,” Jun said, waving his hands above his head. “I’m sorry for my rudeness, general.”

“We have prepared everything for our trip to the capital,” Jun’s friend kneeled beside Ohno. “My name is Toma, I’m at your service and we deeply apologize for our rudeness.”

Ohno sighed, letting Jun go. He could tell that Jun was a magic user, but Toma was just an ordinary soldier; they were probably the members of the kingdom’s special force unit if they could find Ohno rather easily.

They led Ohno towards the edge of the village; three horses had been prepared for them. There were two other troops with Akamizu symbol on their clothes waiting for them. Ohno pulled up his hood and jumped on the horse in the middle; Toma and Jun were on each of his side.

“If you’ve done something cruel to Nino, you know what I’m capable of,” Ohno said before starting their journey.
“We’re more than aware of your capability,” Jun replied. “We also aware of your kindness,” he added, giving Ohno a smile for the first time.

Their journey took around five days; the rain had slowed them down, but it seemed that Jun and Toma were enjoying their time outside of the palace. They told Ohno that Nanakusa Kingdom had built a stronger military and hired many powerful sorcerers from across the country. It was only a matter of time before they raised their weapons and attacked Akamizu.

“Our king is desperate,” Toma said, shaking his head.

“On top of that the crown prince is…” Jun was about to say something, but soon he realized that what he would be going to say was classified.

“Akamizu is lacking in capable sorcerers,” Toma said quickly to hide the awkwardness. “Many people choose to change professions or go to Nanakusa for a job. The strict regulation has prevented the sorcerers from having a decent job here.”

“Are there still many sorcerers in the palace like you?” Ohno asked to Jun.

Jun thought for a while before giving an answer. “It was, but after the sixth king came into power, he limited the role of the sorcerers. He only permitted certain sorcerers’ family to continue serving at the palace and evicted the others. He was scared that the sorcerers would plan a coup towards him and take the kingdom. Our movement has been watched closely, once the king found something suspicious, he would punish us.”

“That sounds pretty bad,” Ohno said, recalling how the fourth king had been very kind to him when he served under him.

“It’s forbidden for us to learn new magic,” Jun said, looking at his own hands. “We can only have one specific capability which doesn’t really help us in an emergency situation. The current king is trying to renew the old regulation, but the court isn’t convinced yet. Many of them still believe that sorcerers are hard to trust.”

“Let’s hope things will get better when the crown prince comes into power,” Toma replied.

They continued their journey, going through forests, valleys, small villages, hills, and a small desert which separated the capital with the countryside. The scene had changed since the last time Ohno had seen it; they found more villages as they crossed the desert. Ohno lowered his hood and took a look at the scenery before him; he used to stroll around this area when it was still a meadow back then. He felt a strange sensation inside his chest as he realized that the people he knew were all gone; these villagers had only known him as a legend.

“We’re about to arrive,” Jun said from his left side.

Ohno could see the red gate of the palace with the Akamizu symbol sculpted on each door. They had built a huge gatehouse with a heavy security system – they were probably safe from physical attack, but if there were highly skilled sorcerers out there who wished to kill the king, this gatehouse was nothing. Jun rode his horse ahead of the rest of the group to ask permission to enter the palace. Toma guided Ohno towards the opened gate, the guards following Ohno with their curious gaze as he entered the palace ground.

“We’ll get some rest, the king will probably summon us tomorrow,” Jun said as they jumped off their horses. Ohno pulled his hood forward again, he didn’t want to attract any more attention along the way.
“This way, Ohno-san,” Toma led the way. “Do you still remember your chamber back then?” he asked.
“I stayed at the west wing,” Ohno answered. “Too many changes, I can’t remember the details.”
“I can’t believe that I met you in person,” Jun chirped in. “For us, you’re not more than a folktale character, the great general Ohno Satoshi.”

“I can’t believe it either,” Ohno mumbled an answer. “I thought I would never step my feet in this palace anymore.”
Ohno saw a few paintings along the corridor which portrayed him as the general. Someone had put much effort in picturing how he looked like, the painting’s styles were diverse, and he guessed that they were painted across different eras by different painters. Despite the sixth king’s hatred towards sorcerers, he still hung Ohno’s paintings on the palace wall.

Jun and Toma guided him through countless corridors towards the western part of the palace. The guards greeted Jun and Toma as they passed by, it seemed that both of them held higher ranks among the soldiers. The guards and servants glanced briefly at Ohno; but as his face was hidden under his hood, he guessed that they wouldn’t have enough evidence to speculate.

“Here we are,” Jun turned left towards the wooden door. A man was standing there, waiting for them.

“Welcome back, Matsujun, Toma,” the man said with a slight smile on his lips. “You can have a break, let me handle the rest.”

“Thanks, Aiba-kun,” Jun said. “Have a good rest, Ohno-san.”

Toma mumbled the same thing; both of them turned around and disappeared down the first corridor to their respective chambers.

“Ohno-san, welcome back to Akamizu,” the man named Aiba bowed low to Ohno. “We’re so delighted that you agreed to come back here to assist us.”

“Err-,” Ohno lowered his hood. “Jun and Toma said they caught Nino and will do something to him if I refuse.”
“It seems that there’s some misunderstanding here,” Aiba said, still bowing so low that Ohno couldn’t see his face. “I deeply apologize for their poor ability in negotiating. Ninomiya cooperated with us very well when we asked him your whereabouts.”

Ohno didn’t answer; Ninomiya hadn’t been in the mountain for more than a year since he became Ohno’s apprentice five years ago, he didn’t know what Nino had been doing since then.

“You must be very tired,” Aiba said, finally straightening up. He was tall and slim; his black hair fell naturally across his face; he wore a green long cloak with the red Akamizu symbol on the left chest. “Let me guide you to your chamber.”

Aiba led him to a large room with a bed which looked comfortable in the corner. There was a rounded table in the middle of the room with a teapot and four cups, a small basket with various fruits, and a vase with flowers – everything was arranged beautifully.

“My name is Aiba Masaki,” Aiba said as they entered the room. “I’m currently holding a position as the first captain for the Special Forces, I was the one who suggested to the king to look for you. I’m not a sorcerer, but my family respects you. We believe that you’re the one who can save this kingdom, that you’ll be the one who can lead us should we face another war.”

Aiba pulled a chair out for him and gestured for him to sit down while continuing his story.

“The seventh king is a wise and kind-hearted man, he has begun making some new regulations for the prosperity of the people. But, it is because of his kindness that he is rather weak. He can’t convince the court to strengthen their military power; he can’t say no to offers from the neighboring kingdom and before we realize it, Akamizu is getting weaker. On top of that, the crown prince is being controlled by dark spirits.”

“Dark spirits?” Ohno asked.

Aiba nodded.

“We have called every single healer from within Akamizu as well as neighboring kingdoms, but none of them could cure the crown prince. We’re afraid that if we can’t get our prince back to normal, it would be the end to Akamizu. The prince is intelligent and a great strategy maker, his illness must be some kind of sabotage to depose this kingdom.”
Aiba stopped for a while to give Ohno some time to digest what he had said.

“We rely on you, Ohno-san,” Aiba continued. “We believe that the descendent of Mahou will be able to cure our prince. You’re the bearer of a strong magic, you can pull him out from the dark evils which controls him.”

“Wait,” Ohno stood up. “I haven’t used my magic for hundreds of years. I don’t know whether I still possess that kind of power.”

“Of course, you do,” Aiba said, nodding confidently. “I believe you do. Please lend us your strength,” Aiba kneeled down and bowed deeply before Ohno’s feet.

“Aiba-san, please stand up,” Ohno said, pulling Aiba’s hand. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Aiba left him a few minutes later, informing him that Jun or Toma would pick him up to meet the king when everything was ready.

“If you need something, just tell Haru and Satomi,” Aiba said, gesturing towards two young women outside of the main room. “They are appointed to serve you.”

“Thank you, Aiba-kun,” Ohno said.

***

He decided to take a long bath first. When he lived at the mountain, Ohno governed his life to nature. There was a natural fountain nearby his hut where he could have a hot water bath every night. In summer, he could swim in the rivers. For a sorcerer who decided to stop doing magic, his life had been hard at first, but as the time went by, he could adapt to nature.

The bathtub was large enough; there was an open space where Ohno could take a look outside towards the small garden at the back of the chamber. He found a set of new robes inside a basket beside the bathtub; he took off his dirty clothes and put them down on the floor. The hot water felt nice on his skin, Ohno closed his eyes; he had almost forgotten how to live at the palace. It was a few centuries ago; when he was younger, when he was on fire to lead the troops to a war.

His mind wandered to the crown prince who was controlled by a dark spirit. Was this some kind of classic illness? Where the capable sorcerers put the evils into the young prince in order to kill him or only to make fun of him. The prince was a good strategy maker, there were some people who wanted him to lose that intelligence. Perhaps some people from within the palace – probably spies in disguise, Ohno couldn’t tell.

Ohno opened his eyes and was taken aback when he saw Nino in front of him, looking at him with a shabby smile on his lips.

“You should have locked the door, Ohchan,” he said. “Or maybe you’re expecting those women to join you in here.”
“I thought that they imprisoned you while torturing you to speak of me,” Ohno replied. “Jun mentioned something as if they had ripped off your nails.”

“Oh, that…” Nino rubbed his chin. “They paid me a good amount of money.”

“Didn’t you feel guilty for selling out your master?” Ohno asked, even though he didn’t need to know the answer. Nino had been always weak to money.

“Well,” Nino shrugged. “Unlike you, I’m a mortal, my life is too short to be wasted. I never have much money, so I think it’s okay to provide them some useful information. Besides, everyone is happy now. Akamizu is happy to get their lost general, I’m happy for getting money, and you’re happy that you can enjoy a nice bath and get two pretty women as your servant. They’re probably happy to give you another service…”

Ohno ran his fingers through his wet hair. He wasn’t particularly mad at Nino, maybe he would have agreed to come to the palace, even without Nino as hostage. He looked at Nino’s face; it had been five years since they had met for the first time, but for Ohno it was like three days ago.

They met at one of the villages Ohno had stayed at. Nino was not a sorcerer, but he had a capability to perform some fake magic trick. He followed Ohno to the mountain and learned simple magic tricks, since Ohno didn’t use his real power, he only taught Nino how to perform the basic ploys. Nino basically learned the tricks by himself and when he was ready enough, he left the mountain to look for a job. Ohno had never heard of him since then, but knowing Nino, perhaps he had made some money with his skill in deceiving people.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you were once the greatest general in this kingdom?” Nino asked, looking offended. “I thought that you were just a failed sorcerer with some traumatic past.”

“I doubted that you would have believed what I said,” Ohno replied, getting out from the bathtub and drying his body with a towel.

Nino grinned.

“But anyway, I’m glad that my mentor is an important person in this kingdom. I can be your most loyal servant, I can clean your shoes, as long as you pay me properly.”

“And you’ll sell me to another enemy, I don’t think so, Nino.”

“But you came here to save me, didn’t you? Jun told you a fake story and you were worried about me,” Nino said with an utmost confidence in his voice.

Ohno rolled his eyes; he shouldn’t have made friends with someone like Nino, but he couldn’t bring himself to hate this particular person.

He wore the new clothes provided and returned to the main room. Nino followed him and sat down on one of the chairs, grabbing an apple from the basket and eating it.

Nino told him that he stayed in the room next door. He had been here for a month, but the guards never let him out from this western chamber. Jun and Toma visited him frequently to ask him questions about Ohno; it appeared that Jun had started looking for him since a year ago. Nino had volunteered to give information to the palace about him.
“It’s for your own good, Ohchan,” he said with the most innocent face he could make.

“According to Jun, there are only a few sorcerers left in the palace,” Nino said. “He and Toma are a few of them. Most of the sorcerer noble families were evicted and some were executed. The sixth king was kind of paranoid, you know.”
“I wonder why,” Ohno mumbled.

“Maybe he found out that one of those sorcerers stole his underwear,” Nino answered with a serious face.
Nino spoke about his adventure during the last five years; he had gone to Nanakusa, witnessing the development which was far greater than Akamizu. The regulations weren’t that strict and they accepted immigrants from the neighboring areas. It appeared that they also built a stronger military power and recruited many high skilled sorcerers.

Ohno went to sleep with too much information to digest. The strange illness of the crown prince, the paranoia of the sixth king, the eviction of noble families from the royal court – everything mixed up inside his head. It was nearly dawn when he finally drifted to sleep.

***

“Ohno-san, breakfast is ready.”

Ohno opened his eyes and saw Satomi’s face above him. He didn’t know how long had she been standing there, waiting for him to wake.

He followed Satomi to the dining room, finished his breakfast and got dressed. It was after lunchtime when Aiba came to his chamber, informing him that the king was ready to welcome him at the main palace.

Aiba was wearing an official uniform of the high ranked soldier; he handed Ohno a dark blue cloak with the Akamizu symbol embroidered on its back.

“Your official uniform,” Aiba said. “We have renewed the style, but we tried to keep the original touch.”

Ohno accepted the cloak; it looked familiar, only that the embroidery was better made. Aiba helped him don it and when he glanced at his reflection, it felt that he had returned to hundreds of years ago as a general.

“This way, Ohno-san,” Aiba said, guiding him through corridors which nearly looked like a labyrinth. Ohno wondered how long it took Aiba and the rest of the people inside the palace to remember every nook and cranny of this place. It wasn’t this complicated when Ohno was here the last time.

“Our crown prince helped with the design,” Aiba said as if he could read Ohno’s mind. “It’s a part of the security system.”

“I see,” Ohno replied.

The main palace was located in the middle of the castle; they had to go through three layers of entrances before reaching it. Jun and Toma joined them half way and together they stepped inside.

The king, Sakurai Shun was sitting at the throne, he resembled the fifth king, only that he was taller and had a firmer appearance. The four of them kneeled down and Aiba spoke first.

“Your Majesty, Matsumoto-san and Ikuta-san have brought our lost general back to this castle,” Aiba said.

“Well done, Aiba. Thank you Jun-kun, Toma-kun,” Sakurai said, shifting his gaze to Ohno. “You don’t need to kneel before me, general,” he stood up from the throne and approached Ohno. “It’s such an honor,” he bowed in front of Ohno.

“I’m sorry for my long period of absence, Your Majesty,” Ohno said. “It will be such an honor for me to serve this kingdom again.”

“Thank you,” Sakurai answered. “Aiba must have told you about our problem here.”

“He did, I’m sorry for what happened to the crown prince,” Ohno said, bowing deeply once again.

Sakurai’s face turned gloomy with the mention of his son. “I hope you can free him from what he’s been enduring,” the old man said.

“We will take Ohno-san to Prince Sho’s chamber, if it doesn’t trouble you, Your Majesty,” Aiba said.

“I entrust this matter in your hands, Aiba,” Sakurai said.

The king talked briefly about the development in Akamizu, he also mentioned about the crown prince. Ohno could hear the pride in the king’s voice as well as sadness when he mentioned the ordeals of his son. From the way he talked, Ohno could conclude that the king was a good guy. He seemed under pressure and had a lack of confidence as the leader.

The four of them left the king’s palace an hour later, they headed towards the northern castle where Prince Sho’s chamber was located.

“The place is heavy guarded,” Jun said with an agonising expression.

“Prince Sho sometimes turns violent and destroys everything within his reach,” Aiba chirped in. “He gets mad all the time and speaks a language we don’t understand, he wounded us when we try to prevent him from killing a servant,” he showed a long scar on his upper arm as he spoke.

Ohno listened to them; his finest capability was controlling soul and mind. He was famous with his principles to go to war without killing. He just needed to make the opponent soldiers go to sleep during the war; but there was a limit on his power. He could only make 200 soldiers sleep at once and would need some time to regain his strength. His other ability was to control the spirit of the dead soldiers, those who still lingered in this world.

He had never freed someone from the dark spirit control; he didn’t know how far he could go.

He was the last hope for the crown prince. If he couldn’t bring him back, then this kingdom would meet its end.
“Open the gate,” Aiba ordered the man in front of the wooden gate of the northern palace.

The four of them stepped inside; every window and door were closed. There were no servants, only bulky soldiers with heavy spears in their hands. The castle looked like a prison for a high ranked inmate instead of a prince’s chamber.

Jun and Toma stepped ahead of them to open the heavy door which would lead them inside. Ohno braced himself for every possibility. He could sense the huge power radiating from inside the chamber – it was a dark magic and probably was conducted by a high skilled sorcerer.

Ohno hadn’t used his power for centuries and he never guessed that his first task would be helping the crown prince. He fastened his fist as all four of them stepped inside the room which was nearly like a warzone. The tables and chairs were upside down, the wooden walls were full of scratches as well as the ceiling. Glass fragments were scattered all over the floor, some of them were stabbed into the wall, and there was dark spotting on the torn-out curtains which was probably Prince Sho’s blood.

“It’s worse than the last time,” Toma whispered.

They stayed alert, afraid that prince Sho would appear from nowhere and attack them brutally.

“Your Majesty, I apologize for the sudden disturbance,” Aiba spoke.

There was no reply.

“We bring General Ohno here with us, he wishes to speak with you,” Aiba continued.

There was a sudden movement and a second later Aiba landed on his back as prince Sho squashed him to the floor. Jun and Toma moved ahead to prevent Sho from hurting Aiba; Sho’s hands were full of fresh wounds, but it seemed that the man couldn’t feel the pain.

Ohno approached forward and wrapped his fingers around Sho’s wrist. The prince let Aiba go and turned at Ohno, Sho’s bloodshot eyes looked through him with anger.

“Let go of me,” Sho hissed.

“Who are you?” Ohno asked.

He could feel the spirits inside Sho were panicking when they saw him.

“None of your business, sorcerer,” they replied, using Sho’s voice. “This prince will be dead, we have destroyed his soul. You can’t save him, it’s too late.”

Sho struggled free from Ohno’s grip; his fist targeted his jaw and it hit Ohno with full force, sending him a few steps behind. Whoever sent the spirits inside Sho, they must have searched for the strongest and the best ones.

Ohno wiped the blood on his lips, he could feel the anger inside him. It had been so long since he felt this kind of emotion, what they had done to Sho was a coward act – something that he couldn’t forgive. He closed his eyes and started summoning his energy that he hadn’t released within decades. The wind started blowing around him, he could see the blue light shine from his skin.

“All of you, get out from here,” he ordered Aiba, Jun, and Toma who didn’t need to be told twice. They protected their head as the wind started to fly the glass fragments everywhere.

Sho was standing still; his lips curved in a smirk. “Come on, kill this prince, Ohno-san. You can’t hurt us with violence,” he said with a different voice – like five people spoke in unison.

Ohno ran forward, he had whispered the spell to make Sho asleep, but it seemed that the dark spirits inside him were immune to such a thing. He needed to make a contact with Sho’s head, to draw the spirits out, but it wasn’t something easy to do.

Sho moved very fast; he dodged Ohno easily and ran outside of the chamber, knocking the guards down on his way and took one of their spears.

“We knew that you’re immortal, but it doesn’t mean you can’t be killed,” Sho said, running towards Ohno with spear held high above his head, ready to hit Ohno. The latter dodged in the last second, the tip of the spear hit his upper arm, he could feel the blood pouring from his wound, but he had no time to think about it now.

He couldn’t hurt Sho, because the man had already injured himself so badly. Ohno could only dodge while trying to catch Sho’s hand and paralyzing him. He could only think of one thing.

When Sho came forward to attack him, Ohno didn’t move, he could feel the spear made a contact with his right chest, but he ignored it. He grabbed Sho’s shoulder, slammed him onto the ground and spelled the mantra to take the souls out of him. Aiba, Jun, and Toma came to help, they held Sho’s feet and hands, keeping him steady.

Ohno felt heavy, as if the spirits tried to push him down to the ground, preventing him from saving Sho, but he fought back, ignoring the sting in his wounds, focusing his mind to free the prince from the dark souls.

“You’ll regret it, you’ll pay for it,” Sho said between his breaths. “We have more dark spirits to destroy this kingdom, just wait and see,” he added.

Ohno kept on whispering the mantra, until the last spirit left Sho’s body. They disappeared into the thin air, still saying threats to Ohno that they would be back and take Sho’s life for real.

Sho lay still as he was finally freed, his eyes closed. Ohno panted and slumped to the ground; it had been too long for him to cast a spell, it had been too long for him to release that amount of energy. He felt exhausted and hurt everywhere.

Aiba stood up and told the nearest guard to inform the king about what happened there; he also requested the best healer to take care of Sho’s wound.

“Are you okay, Ohno-san?” Jun asked him, his eyes locked to Ohno’s upper chest which was heavily bleeding.
Ohno nodded, he looked at Sho’s face; he was probably the same age as Aiba. He resembled his father, but his face was sunken due to his condition. Jun and Toma moved their prince to a cleaner area and waited for the healer to arrive. Two healers in white cloaks arrived not so long after; they gave Sho a general check as well as Ohno and with the help of four guards, they brought Sho to the medical chamber which was located close to the northern castle. They offered a stretcher to Ohno, but he declined, he followed the healers towards the medical chamber on foot.
“It has been so long,” Aiba said with glistening eyes as they walked together behind Sho’s stretcher. “I thought that we would never get him back.”

“Those spirits are powerful, prince Sho must have been very strong in fighting them. Other people might have already died,” Ohno said, looking at his wounded fingers. He had just realized that he got many cuts from his fight with Sho.
Sho was brought to a special chamber where the healers would take care of him. Ohno, on the other hand was given a quick treatment to his wound and was requested to take a rest at the room nearby Sho’s chamber. The injury on his upper chest was quite deep, it was wrapped in tight bandage which prevented him from moving freely.

Nino came to the medical wing that night upon Aiba’s permission. He looked at Ohno in horror.

“I thought you were immune to weapons,” he said, carrying a glass of water for him.

“Sorcerers can’t make themselves invincible, Nino,” Ohno replied, drinking the water in one gulp.

“Aiba-san told me to stay over,” Nino said, still looking at Ohno with worried expression. “Are you okay? I mean, are those spirits really disappearing? What if they come back to murder you when you’re asleep?”

Ohno snorted. “I’m sure the controllers of those spirits are as exhausted as I am. They will need some time to recover.”

Nino seemed less convinced, but he chose not to ask more questions. Ohno couldn’t sleep that night, he thought about Sho and his ordeal. When he woke up, would he return to his normal self? He wondered what kind of people were behind this, were they from the royal court? Or had they come from the neighboring kingdom? Or both?
Whoever the culprits were, they must have already known that Sho would be a good king. Getting rid of him would prevent Akamizu from glory. Perhaps there were many betrayers inside the kingdom; some people who wanted the Sakurai Dynasty to disappear.

***

He visited Sho’s chamber on the following day. The prince was still fast asleep, his chest rose and fell with the rhythm of his breaths. Ohno finally could see Sho’s face properly. He was handsome with a nice face frame, not mentioning that he was very skinny at the moment.

Ohno heard the main door towards the chamber flutter open; a man in a maroon cloak stepped inside, two guards were behind him. His eyes found Ohno first before shifting them to Sho.

“So, the legendary general has returned,” he said, smiling, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “I apologize for my late greeting, Ohno-san. My name is Kokubun Taichi, a member of the royal court.”

“Nice to meet you, Kokubun-san,” Ohno mumbled an answer. He didn’t need an expert to tell him that this man disliked him.

“You have saved our crown prince from damage, I am very grateful,” Kokubun said, bowing. He didn’t wait for Ohno’s reply, turning around towards Sho’s bed.

Ohno could feel a sorcerer’s aura radiate from this man; but he couldn’t measure how strong he was. Ohno might be the descendant of Mahou, but he didn’t know how far the sorcerers’ world had gone for these hundreds of years. It wasn’t impossible that stronger sorcerers had appeared during his absence.

Kokubun’s fingers were about to touch Sho’s head when Aiba and Jun entered the room.

“Kokubun-san, the royal court is holding a sudden meeting, they expect you to be present as soon as possible,” Jun said from the door frame.

“I almost forget, thank you, Matsujun,” the man said, pulling his hands away from Sho. He gave a last glance at Ohno before disappearing from the room.

Ohno heard the main door close before sitting down; he was ready to drag Kokubun away from Sho should he do something out of place.

“That man always swarms around like bats,” Aiba mumbled, shaking his head. “Perhaps he was one of the people who did it to Sho-chan.”

“You know that we are forbidden to call the prince by that name,” Jun muttered, sitting down beside Ohno.

“He’s always Sho-chan for me, though,” Aiba said, running his fingers through his long hair.

“Why do they need to send spirits to damage Sho’s soul?” Ohno asked quietly. “They could kill him, instead of doing such things.”

Jun and Aiba exchanged gazes, Jun was the one who explained. “Some people have tried to murder Sho-kun before, but none of them succeeded. They have used various kind of strategy, from poison to physical attack, but our security is tight around him. The culprits committed suicide in the prison before we could interrogate them. Perhaps, damaging Sho’s soul is the last resort they could think of. If Sho loses his intelligence, he couldn’t be a nice king, the royal court will have good reason to get rid of him.”

“The royal court was led by a man named Nagase Tomoya. He has power to influence people in this palace, he disagreed with my idea to have you back,” Aiba said, gesturing at Ohno. “We have suspicions towards him, but we have not enough proof.”

“Sho-kun has tried to collect the evidence,” Jun looked at Sho’s sleeping face. “But before he could deliver it in front of his father and the other members of the royal court, he started to act weird and on the next day, he turned violent. He has been locked in that chamber for four months, sometimes he was sober enough, but most of the time, he hurt himself and the people near him.”

Ohno tried to absorb this new information; things seemed more complicated than what he anticipated. It seemed more difficult than going to war. Having betrayers inside a kingdom wasn’t a new thing, but now Akamizu was facing both, the threats from inside and out. The situation was so much worse than what Ohno imagined.

For the next few days, Ohno kept on visiting Sho’s chamber, hoping that he would wake up soon. Nino would go together with him, reading books on Sho’s veranda to kill the time. Ohno’s injured chest was healing, even though he still couldn’t use his left hand properly, but it wasn’t as hurt as before.

Sho finally gained his consciousness a week later; it was in the morning when Ohno had just arrived at the chamber like he always did. Visiting Sho’s chamber had become like a habit for Ohno since he didn’t particularly have anything to do. On top of that, he stayed by Sho’s side to give him extra protection. Even though he hadn’t known Sho in person, from what Aiba and Jun told him, the prince seemed to be a nice guy.

Sho blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to the morning light before shifting his gaze to Ohno.

“Welcome back, your Majesty,” Ohno said, smiling at the man who looked at him with confusion in his eyes.

“Who are you?” Sho asked in tiny voice.

“A servant of this kingdom,” Ohno answered. “I’ll call the healer,” he added.

The news that the crown prince finally woke up had spread across the palace. Everyone was delighted that their beloved prince had returned to his old self, albeit that he would need some time to recover.

Aiba, Jun, Toma, and Nino came later in the afternoon. Aiba and Jun couldn’t hide their happiness when they saw Sho’s face.

“Sho-chan, welcome back,” Aiba said.

Sho was still weak so he only stayed awake for a few hours before going to sleep again. The healer explained that he was suffering from physical and physiological injuries; it would need a series of procedures for him to return to normal.

Ohno had requested to stay close to Sho; it was necessary for him to explain what happened when he freed Sho from the spirits. Above all of that, he couldn’t explain the sudden urge to protect this prince from harm; something told him that he was supposed to protect Sho from any more danger, that he should assist the prince in any way possible.
He spent the time by reading history books of Akamizu, particularly on the part when he was absent from this kingdom. When he lifted his head from the chapter where the king had started the eviction of sorcerers’ families from Akamizu, his eyes met with Sho’s. The man sat down and leaned to the headboard; he looked stronger than he was a few days before.

“You’re still here,” Sho commented.

Ohno smiled, putting down the book on the table and approaching Sho’s bed.

“I haven’t introduced myself to you, Prince Sho,” he said.

Sho took a better look at him and the understanding crossed his face. “It can’t be…” he whispered. “You’re the lost general we’ve been waiting for, the bearer of Old Magic, Ohno Satoshi.”

“I’m glad you still keep that piece of information about me,” Ohno answered, flashing a broad smile to Sho.
“I can’t believe it…” Sho shook his head. “I thought that your existence is just a part of a legend.”

“I was cursed to live forever until I found my true intention,” Ohno said.

Sho still looked at Ohno; amazed.

“What did I miss here?” he asked.

“I think you should talk about that with Aiba-kun and Jun-kun,” Ohno answered. “I’m almost an outsider here.”
Sho was silent, trying to recall his memories. Ohno, meanwhile returned to his book, letting Sho think.

For the rest of the week, Aiba and Jun spent more time with Sho. They mainly talked about what had happened these past four months. It appeared that Sho only remembered random things, but most of the time he was under the dark spirits’ control.

Two weeks later, the prince finally gained his strength. His physical injuries were healed and he started to be present in meetings with the royal court. Ohno also came to the meetings as an observer; he had been introduced to the court full members, half of them seemed to consider him a joke. As Aiba told him, not all of the Akamizu people read history and most of them didn’t believe in sorcerers anymore – thanks to the sixth king.

“You can curse them to make them take off their clothes in public,” Nino shrugged when Ohno told him about what happened in the royal court meeting chamber. “Or curse them to pull off their own nails, it seems more interesting.”
They had returned to the western castle as Sho recovered. Ohno hadn’t had a chance to talk properly with Sho; the prince was too busy learning the things that had happened in Akamizu during his four-month absence. Aiba, Jun, and Toma stayed by his side all the time, feeding him with information. Ohno thought it was better for him to stay away for a while; he couldn’t be of help to Sho if it was about the current developments.

Ohno started to train his own magic, even though it wasn’t really necessary. Nino would stay close to him, reading random books or dozing off.

It was in the third week after Sho fully recovered that he made a sudden visit to Ohno’s chamber. Ohno was practicing sword at the back clearing when he came. Aside from becoming a sorcerer, Ohno loved to train his physical strength. Swords had attracted his attention since he was a young boy.

He didn’t know that Sho was watching him for some time before he realized the man’s presence. The prince clapped his hands as Ohno finished.

“Your Majesty,” Ohno bowed slightly. “I’m sorry for my clumsiness that I didn’t welcome you properly.”

Sho’s lips quirked in a smile, waving off Ohno’s apologies.

“Just call me Sho,” he said to Ohno. “I should be the one who bows to you for saving my life,” he added.

“I’m glad to see you in a perfect health,” Ohno said, storing his swords aside and wiped his sweat. Why didn’t Nino, Haru, and Satomi bother to tell him that Sho was here?

“I want to thank you properly for what you’ve done for me. Aiba-kun and Matsujun have told me everything.”

“It’s my duty,” Ohno said.

Sho sat down clumsily on the veranda, his eyes were looking at the falling leaves from the sakura trees in the garden.
“I’ve read a lot about you,” he began the conversation. “Akamizu became a great kingdom because you were here. Why did you have to leave in the first place?”

“To find my true intention,” Ohno answered. “But I haven’t found it, I don’t even know what it is.”

He sat down beside Sho; the prince had gained weight, his cheeks were no longer sunken, they were rather full now. The scratches on his skin were gone, he had returned to his old self in such a short time. Ohno had just realized that Sho had a nice smile; had nice hair and nice lips. His eyes were sharp and it reflected his intelligence.

“How do you find your true purpose of your life if you don’t know what it is?” Sho asked after a series of silences.

“It’s a part of the curse to my kind,” Ohno replied, flashing a weak smile at Sho.

Silence blanketed them for some time, but it didn’t bother Ohno at all. He looked up to the clear sky, waiting for the prince to speak again.

“What if I ask you to become my personal guard?” Sho asked.

Ohno turned at the man, he saw a strong determination in Sho’s eyes – a kind of gaze that only a royal could do. It left him in an awe for a moment, he had just realized that Sho was pretty. Ohno averted his gaze towards the sky above as he answered.

“If that’s the command of the prince of Akamizu, I have no right to disobey,” Ohno said.

“The royal court is hard to convince,” Sho said with rather a bitter tone. “My father wants you to once again become the general for our military, but the court rejects it. They argued that you have left this kingdom for too long, nobody can guarantee your loyalty. Besides, you’re a sorcerer, thanks to my grandfather, most of the people in the palace don’t trust your kind anymore.”

Sho paused, shifting his gaze from the trees to Ohno. “I have been thinking that having you close to me will keep me safe. I have trust in you, that you have no intention to take over this kingdom.”

Ohno chuckled. “I have no capability in ruling a kingdom.”

Sho replied with a comforting smile.

“Some people still want to get rid of me,” Sho continued. “I need to prove their betrayal, but as you already knew, it’s very hard to do. There are too many spies here.”

“Aiba-kun and Jun-kun told me about it,” Ohno mumbled.

“I have talked about it with both of them and I’ve considered that asking you to be my personal guard will be the best option in ensuring my safety,” Sho said.

Ohno finally eyed the prince and looked through his eyes.

“I’ll be happy to do that,” Ohno answered.

Sho beamed at him, showing Ohno his perfect teeth. He left Ohno’s chamber soon after that and arranged for Ohno to move to the northern castle as soon as he could.

***

“So, the king won’t appoint you as the general?” Nino asked, rolling his eyes.

“It seems that some people already dislike me,” Ohno answered.

“What a nice palace,” Nino commented. “But it’s good that the crown prince likes you enough that he wants you to stay by his side.”

Ohno didn’t answer, it appeared that Sho had not enough confidence in convincing the majority of the royal court members about his future plans regarding the kingdom. He felt deeply sorry that the crown prince had to face those ordeals. The kingdom couldn’t protect themselves from the outside threats if they couldn’t guarantee the stability inside. Perhaps some of the members of the royal court wanted it to happen, maybe they wanted to sell Akamizu to the other kingdom.

***

The northern castle was renovated, they removed the heavy doors and windows, replacing them with nice patterned woods. Ohno moved there two days after Sho’s visit; he was welcomed by Aiba on the gate, his smile was so wide.
“We’re glad that you’ve agreed to Sho-chan’s offer,” Aiba said, guiding him inside.

“I have no right to disobey,” Ohno answered.

“Of course, you have,” Aiba replied in surprise tone. “Sho-chan respects you very much; he will never force you to become his personal guard if you don’t like it.”

Sho was getting ready to attend a tea ceremony when they arrived. He wore his official attire with a red cloak around his shoulder.

“Just in time,” Sho said, looking at Ohno with a smile on his lips. “I need you to accompany me.”

“As you wish,” Ohno replied.

He wore his cloak and followed Sho towards the main palace where the tea ceremony took place. Sho explained briefly that the ceremony was held once every three months; it was the chance for nobles to gather and exchange information. The ceremony was also utilized to introduce potential future wives for Sho – the prince’s face turned gloomy when he mentioned it. Because Sho had been absent for four months; it would be some kind of a ceremony to welcome him back.

“None of them seem sincere,” he told Ohno with a dark expression. “I don’t want to have a political marriage or something similar, you know.”

“It can’t be avoided if you want to keep this kingdom peaceful and safe,” Ohno replied.

Sho shook his head.

“None of those women aroused my interest,” he said with a tiny voice.

Ohno didn’t comment to that; he had never experienced any love story in his life. He remembered how the villagers wanted him to marry their daughters; he had no intentions to live with someone – not when he was immortal. Besides, just like Sho, none of those women aroused his interest. They were kind to him; they were pretty, but Ohno just couldn’t bring himself to like them romantically.

The main palace was decorated with colorful banners, all were embroidered with the Akamizu symbol. There were four big rounded tables in the hall with various food and drink on top of it – the servants were busy delivering the food with heavy trays in their hands. The King sat down at the table in the middle; he smiled widely at Sho as he approached.

“I’ve heard that Ohno-san agreed to your offer,” he said, glancing at Ohno with respect.

“Yes, Father. I plan to request him to travel with me to Nanakusa in the near future for our negotiation,” Sho said, turning at Ohno as if saying that he would explain about it later on.

“Prince Sho, nice to see you again,” a voice was heard from behind them.

Sho and Ohno turned around, it was Kokubun Taichi, and he grinned from ear to ear, looking at Sho with an amused expression. A tall man was standing behind him; his eyes locked to Sho and he didn’t try to hide his dislike towards the prince.

“I’m glad to see you and Matsuoka-san as well,” Sho answered politely.

The man called Matsuoka smirked but didn’t say anything. He gazed at Ohno shortly before following Kokubun to sit down at their appointed seats. Ohno watched them for a while until they sat down; Matsuoka wasn’t a sorcerer, but Ohno could feel that he was strong. There was a strange power radiating from him; he was the one who said that Ohno was a joke, that his presence in Akamizu was no longer needed, that he wasn’t eligible for a position of a general.

Sho tried to keep his face neutral, but Ohno could see that he was shaken. Those were the people he needed to tame should he become a king. His father never argued with them because he wanted to avoid conflicts with the royal court, but Sho was different. Ohno could tell that he was a rebellious type; someone who didn’t like to stick to stupid regulations.

Ohno stood close behind Sho as the ceremony began; just like Sho told him, there were many women with their daughters approaching him and introducing themselves. Sho was polite to everyone, he showed his best smile to them all, and he complimented the others with sincere gestures and listened carefully to those who talked to him. Not even once did he show his reluctance.

While Sho was having his chit chat with the other nobles, Ohno stayed alert; he sensed dark magic was floating in the air, but they couldn’t strike – it felt more like spies, trying to overhear conversation, digging for gossips.
“We’re not afraid of you, sorcerer,” one of them whispered in Ohno’s ear.

He tightened his fist, but he couldn’t do anything, now was not the right time to cause outrage. If he did that, the royal court would try to separate him from Sho, accusing him that he was a mad sorcerer who endangered the prince.
The ceremony ended almost past midnight; most of the attendants were already drunk and made some noise. Sho was one of the last who left the venue, letting Ohno help him to walk along the corridors.

“It was supposed to be a tea ceremony, not a rum party,” he said, trying to walk straight.

“You’re right, but the rum tasted good,” Ohno replied, keeping Sho steady, it wasn’t easy since Sho was bigger than him.

“Am I drunk, Satoshi-kun?” Sho asked, giggling.

“No, you’re not,” Ohno replied, feeling a strange warmth as Sho called him by his first name.

There were still many corridors before they reached Sho’s chamber, but the man seemed too reluctant to walk by himself. He leaned heavily on Ohno, blocking him from stepping forward.

“Even a prince will show his real side when they’re drunk,” Ohno mumbled, hoisting Sho onto his back. He was heavy, but it was easier this way than having him lean on him. Ohno stepped forward, feeling Sho’s warm breath on his neck.

“Satoshi-kun…” Sho muttered, but then he drifted to sleep.

***

Sho woke up prior to lunch time the next day; it seemed that he had forgotten what happened last night. He happily enjoyed his food, encouraging Ohno to eat more while adding more rice into his bowl. The prince was surely started to show his cute side – sooner than Ohno expected.

“We’ll talk about my plan to travel to Nanakusa this evening,” Sho said as they finished their lunch. “Aiba-kun and Matsujun will join us.”

Ohno nodded; he basically had nothing to argue.

“I want to avoid war,” Sho said, putting his empty bowl onto the table. “I’ve heard the speculations about Nanakusa, that they are building a stronger military power to attack the neighboring kingdoms, including Akamizu. I need to ensure that our two kingdoms are friends; there will be too much casualties if we engage in a conflict. Many of Akamizu citizens are there for work.”

“I visited there a long time ago,” Ohno said, recalling his memory. “There are many sorcerers, but they have not enough jobs, most of them ended up as street vendors.”

“The last time I received the news, they were recruited as military troops,” Sho said, inhaling deeply. “Actually, I was planning to go there four months ago, but…”

“You still have enough time,” Ohno said.

***

Aiba, Jun, and Nino came to Sho’s chamber in the evening. Nino was offered a position as a member of Jun’s troops which he accepted happily. Ohno didn’t know what kind of persuasion Nino had used to make Jun agree to take him to Nanakusa.

“How’s my new uniform look?” Nino asked Ohno, showing the bright yellow cloak as a sign that he was a junior troop.
“Looks good on you,” Ohno replied briefly.

“At least I don’t need to do odd jobs anymore,” Nino grinned.

They discussed their departure preparation, Ohno listened carefully to Jun’s plans, but he became sleepy half-way. The meetings went on until it was late at night with three conclusions: they would travel by horse, they would depart in the next three days, and their mission was classified. Aiba said that the royal court didn’t agree to Sho’s plan to travel to Nanakusa. They argued that it would show Akamizu was afraid of war because of their lack of military power.

“The faster you get rid of those royal court members, the better,” Jun mumbled to Sho as they finished their meeting.

“Easier said than done,” Sho inhaled deeply. “Their influence has become too strong and my father is too soft.”

Jun ran his fingers through his hair, looking tired. “Let’s hope nobody will curse you again.”

“Don’t worry, Ohno-san is here,” Sho said, glancing at Ohno who struggled hard to stay awake.

Jun patted Sho’s shoulder before leaving the chamber. Once again, Ohno and Sho were alone inside the room. Sho returned to the piles of parchments on his table and continued his unfinished works. Ohno watched him for a while, fighting the urge to touch the prince. Sho’s warmth from last night still remained on his skin, it felt oddly good, and it would be fantastic if he could carry Sho again on his back.

However, the sleepy feeling wouldn’t go away, forcing Ohno to close his eyes. He extended his left arm, trying to reach Sho, but he was too far away at the edge of the table. He gave up and let his heavy lids close tightly.

***

They were ready to depart three days later at dawn; using the secondary gate instead of the main one to avoid suspicion. They dressed in grey cloaks with hoods covering their heads; Nino was excited to no end, it was the first time for him to leave the palace after Jun had brought him there.

Toma was the one who opened the gate for them; he would also make up some excuses for Sho’s absence for the next two weeks. Aiba had come up with the idea that Sho had a relapse and tried to attack people around him again. Nobody would be allowed to enter the northern chamber for the time being.

Jun and Aiba led the way, Sho was in the middle, followed by Nino. Ohno was behind them, making sure of their safety. They bowed low on the back of their horse to minimize the impact of the wind as they rode through the morning mist. They had been riding for an hour when the sun finally rose from the eastern sky.

They slowed down, spreading their sight towards the line of the mountains at the far west. Thin mist still floated in the air, sending a chill to their skin. They could hear the sound of the river, the sound of the chirping birds, the voices of villagers from afar as they welcomed the morning light. Ohno glanced at Sho whose eyes were closing while inhaling a few deep breaths.

“It’s been so long since the last time I breathed this air,” he said, opening his eyes and looking at Ohno with a thin smile on his lips. “Thanks to you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Ohno replied.

“Would you train me how to use swords once we return to Akamizu?” Sho asked lightly, staying behind with Ohno as the other three rode in front of them.

“I’m not that good,” Ohno mumbled.

“Don’t lie to me, I have read almost everything about you,” Sho said, shaking his head.

“That’s unfair. I don’t know a thing about you, except that you have sloped shoulders,” Ohno replied plainly.

“That’s a lot, Ohno-san,” Sho said with a playful smile which sent a tight knot to Ohno’s stomach. The prince sped up his horse and asked Jun whether they could take a short break for breakfast.

They spent the night at an old inn which was located at the edge of the village. Ohno shared a room with Sho meanwhile Jun, Aiba, and Nino were in the other room. According to the owner of the inn (who wasn’t aware that Sho was her prince), the village was the last inhabited land in Akamizu which meant they had to sleep in the open air for the next few nights.

Ohno followed Sho’s steps towards their room; the inn was quite old and a little bit fragile. Sho took off his cloak, his gear, and his boots. He lay down tiredly on the mattress while looking at Ohno.

“You’d better get some sleep,” Sho said, yawning.

Ohno nodded. He sat down beside Sho and leaned his head onto the wall while holding his sword close to him.

“How does it feel to live forever?” Sho mumbled.

“It’s sad,” Ohno answered. “Watching everything lost to time and you’re the only one remaining.”

“I’m sorry for that. I hope you can find your true intention and age normally,” Sho continued in a sleepy voice.

“Thanks, Sho-kun,” Ohno replied, watching the prince whose eyes were completely closed.

Perhaps, Sho could help him in finding his true intention – no matter what it was. Ohno closed his eyes as well, the night was quiet, and there was only a sound from the crickets.

***

They continued their journey early in the morning the next day. They had not much time to take a rest, except for lunch. If it wasn’t an important mission, Nino would have complained every now and then, but maybe Aiba and Jun had disciplined him so that he was quiet for the rest of their journey.

They slept in the open air for the rest of the nights. Ohno thought that Sho wasn’t used to this kind of thing, considering that he was a prince, but it seemed that he had done the similar trip several times with Jun and Aiba. Sho basically didn’t like to be surrounded by guards; it was better to stay hidden where nobody knew who he was.

“Jun, do you feel any strange presence?” Sho asked as they were near the Nanakusa border.

“No,” Jun shook his head. “There is no sorcerer around this area.”

“The king keeps them nearby the palace,” Nino said, looking around. “They were recruited as part of the army,” he continued, shifting his gaze to Sho.

“Smart move,” Sho replied. “Unlike my grandfather who feared them for nothing.”

The outer villages of Nanakusa were surrounded by green rice fields; the villagers were busy cultivating their land as the morning came. It seemed that a lot had changed since Ohno stepped his feet here. The king of Nanakusa knew how to improve the prosperity of its people. He glanced at Sho; the prince must have thought the same. Akamizu could have done the same if their stupid royal court wasn’t busy trying to kill their crown prince instead of thinking of their people.

They reached the capital as darkness started to fall. Sho rode his horse faster and slowed it down as they arrived in front of the main gate of the castle. A guard stopped them and asked them to get down off their horse.
“Security check,” Nino mumbled from beside Ohno.

Jun approached Sho as the prince talked with the guard with low voice. He showed a letter to the guard which explained their intention. The guard had a short discussion with his fellow guardsman and let them in. They left their horses as well as their weapons there and continued ahead on foot.

There was another gate after the main one; a man was waiting for them beyond the gate – no other than the crown prince of Nanakusa – Okada Junichi. The man was bulky and had strong facial features. He smiled at Sho and the rest of his companions; his eyes stopping a little bit longer on Ohno.

“Welcome to our humble kingdom, Prince Sho,” he said while bowing slightly to Sho. “I was so glad when I was informed that the Prince of Akamizu makes a private visit here. I am sorry for our lack of hospitality.”

“Apologies for my sudden visit, Prince Junichi,” Sho replied formally. “I hope I am not interrupting something important in your kingdom.”

“Not at all, we are happy to welcome our honorable guests. Now, you must be tired from your long trip, my advisor will show you the guest chambers where you will be able to take some rest. I will meet you again tomorrow morning,” Prince Junichi turned to a young man beside him who bowed to Sho and introduced himself as Kamenashi, an advisor for the prince.

Kamenashi led them to the guest chambers which were located separate from the main castle. Unlike Akamizu castle, the corridors in this palace weren’t that complicated. The pillars were painted with bright orange, each of them had the Nanakusa symbol which was seven kinds of grass tied up in a tight rope.

“We hope you enjoy your night, the dinner is already served. If you need anything, just tell one of the servants,” Kamenashi said. He bowed once again and left them.

Ohno and Jun closed their eyes to check whether there was something suspicious or dangerous inside the chamber before letting Sho in. It appeared that the room was safe. Five of them stepped in to the main room; a dining table with hot food welcomed them. Two servants were there, bowing deeply as they entered.

They finished their dinner quickly and proceeded to their respective rooms (one bedroom for each of them), but when Ohno was about to open the door, Sho caught his wrist.

“Satoshi-kun,” he called. It was the first time Sho called him by his first name since that tea ceremony ‘incident’. “Would you take a rest in my room? I don’t feel completely safe here,” he whispered.

“Sure,” Ohno nodded, following the prince to his chamber which seemed bigger than the rest.

Sho showed his exhausted face for the first time; he must have been very nervous about everything. Ohno had witnessed many of Sho’s ancestors, they were dedicated people, they had passion, they were smart, and they had high self-esteem. Sho probably was the smartest among them and he was also the most handsome. The last one sent a prickle to Ohno’s stomach; he shouldn’t have thought about Sho that way.

“I will take a bath,” Sho said, looking at Ohno with a meaningful gaze.

“I’ll guard you outside of the bathroom,” Ohno shifted his eyes to his feet, afraid that he would think of something improper if he kept his gaze on Sho’s face. There was a strange sensation in his chest that wasn’t there before. He suddenly felt the urge be with Sho, the urge to see his face, the urge to touch Sho’s skin.

“You should take a bath too, it will help us to sleep better,” Sho said.

“Right after you,” Ohno said, still looking at his feet.

He walked behind Sho towards the bathroom; pushing away his thoughts about what Sho would look like when he was naked.

Ohno stood against the closed door as Sho took a bath. He could hear Sho starting to take off all of his clothes, he could hear Sho entering the bathtub, and he could hear Sho’s voice as he began talking randomly. He tried to focus his mind on his surrounding, he kept on telling himself that he was here to protect Sho, but he was clearly failing. It was hard to concentrate when Sho was naked a few feet from him, he could open this damn door and he would able to see him without anything on his body.

“Satoshi-kun,” Sho called. “Are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here,” Ohno replied, trying to suppress the shaking in his voice.

“Tell me about your life, your experience in guarding Akamizu,” Sho demanded in a relaxing voice.

“I bet you already know all of them from the books you’ve read,” Ohno said.

“There are many parts which are unwritten, something like your love life,” Sho said playfully. “Do sorcerers fall in love too?”

“I guess they do,” Ohno replied.

“You’re so reluctant in telling your own tale,” Sho said. Ohno could imagine how Sho pouted.

“My life isn’t that interesting.”

“Oh, come on, just tell me about that part, I really want to know.”

Ohno kept silent and perhaps Sho had given up as he didn’t ask the same question anymore.

“Sho-kun, are you alright?” Ohno asked when no sound was heard from the inside after the series of silence between them.

Sho didn’t answer and it worried Ohno. He stormed in quickly but then he breathed in relieve when he saw Sho was dozing off. He stepped towards the prince, preventing him from drowning, ignoring his increasing heartbeat as he saw Sho’s gorgeous body.

“Sorry,” Sho mumbled, leaning closer to Ohno, wetting Ohno’s clothes.

Ohno didn’t know what encourage him to do next, he caught Sho’s lips, kissing him. Sho froze, but he didn’t make any attempt to push Ohno away. He was about to pull his face further from Sho, but the man had placed his hands on the back of Ohno’s neck, inviting him for more kisses. Ohno didn’t think twice, he licked Sho’s lips, inserted his tongue into Sho’s mouth. He heard a soft moan from the prince which encouraged him to do more.

Sho’s hand moved to the button of Ohno’s clothes; he recklessly pulled them off his body, leaving it hanging above his waist. Sho caressed his bare chest, his naked stomach, and kissed Ohno deeper than before. There was no way for Ohno to back off now. Sho was completely naked in front of him and he was touching Ohno as if there was no tomorrow.

He let Sho undress him and let the prince take a look at his naked body for some time before touching him again. Sho’s fingers were soft against his hardened dick and when he licked it, Ohno knew he had to give up. He released a pleasure groan for the first time, his hand tugged Sho’s hair, pulling him closer.

When he entered Sho, he felt something strange in his blood which had nothing to do with the pleasure of the sex. Was Sho the true purpose of his life? Was protecting the prince the duty he needed to fulfill? Or was loving the prince his hidden mission?

He couldn’t tell. All he knew was Sho’s beautiful body, all he knew was Sho’s warmth.

They washed up quickly as they finished, avoiding each other’s eyes. Or it was Ohno who avoided the prince’s gaze, he felt as if he was making a very bad mistake by fucking the man he was supposed to guard.

“Let’s get some rest,” Ohno said, still avoiding Sho’s eyes when he helped the prince out from the bathtub. He took the towel and gave it to Sho.

“I must be so rude, asking you to become my personal guard,” Sho said, drying up his skin and his hair as he spoke.
“I’m happy to serve the future king of Akamizu,” Ohno replied.

“Thanks, Satoshi-kun. It means a lot for me,” Sho said, smiling at Ohno – the smile was innocent which tempted Ohno to kiss him again, but he restrained himself.

He took a bath and returned to the bedroom; Sho had fallen asleep, his mouth was opened slightly. Ohno smiled at himself and lay down beside the prince on the only bed in that room. He wished he had his sword close to him; he hated it when they were in the middle of a foreign kingdom without any weapons in their hands.

Ohno didn’t let himself fall into a deep sleep that night, he stayed alert until the morning came. He woke up ahead of Sho and was fully dressed when the prince finally opened his eyes.

“Good morning, Sho-kun,” Ohno said.

“Morning,” Sho mumbled an answer. He stretched and yawned a few times before climbing off the bed. He got dressed quickly and together they walked towards the main room; the breakfast was already served, the same servants bowed at them as they took their seat. Aiba, Jun, and Nino joined them a moment later, the three of them joked about cockroaches they found in their room, but Ohno wasn’t listening. Sho accidentally touched his hand when he filled his bowl with the rice; the prince gave him a casual smile – there was no awkwardness in Sho’s way of treating him, as if what they had last night never happened.

Kamenashi came as they finished breakfast. The man led them towards the king’s palace for a courtesy meeting. Kamenashi explained that most of Nanakusa’s official matters were handled by Prince Junichi, they would meet the king just for formality’s sake.

The king was as old as Sho’s father, his head was full of white hair, and he was short but proportional. He smiled at them as they entered the hall.

“Welcome to Nanakusa, Prince Sho,” the king spoke with a friendly tone. “There’s no need for formality, I hate protocol,” he continued.

“Thank you for having us, Your Majesty. Akamizu is very lucky to be your neighbor. We apologize that we have not enough time to pay a visit to this beautiful kingdom,” Sho spoke carefully choosing his words.

“Don’t mention it. It applies to us too, we haven’t paid a visit to Akamizu for decades. Maybe it’s time for us to travel there in the near future,” the king said, gesturing them to sit down at the line of chairs which was specifically prepared for the guests.

The king asked Sho a few questions about Akamizu, but none of them touched sensitive topics. It appeared that someone had written those questions, perhaps Junichi or Kamenashi. They ended their courtesy call twenty minutes later, Kamenashi then led them towards Prince Junishi’s chamber for the real talk.

Prince Junichi’s palace was a comfortable wooden building with a large park surrounding it. The five of them were led into the open-air meeting room at the right side of the building. Prince Junichi was already there when they arrived. He waved his hands off when they were about to bow for greetings.

“There’s no need for you to do that,” Junichi said, gesturing for them to sit down.

Kamenashi took a seat beside his prince and fished out a few rolls of parchment to take notes; from the corner of his eyes, Ohno could see Jun do the same thing.

“Without further ado, I would like to explain my aim for paying you a visit,” Sho said.

“What can we do for Akamizu?”

Sho thought for a while before answering. “As you might be already aware, we’re facing a few problems recently. Our military power has degraded, we are lacking in sorcerers, and most of our people have moved to Nanakusa. I, on behalf of Akamizu would like to request cooperation with Nanakusa on strengthening military power. I also want to make ties with this kingdom in order to avoid war.”

Kamenashi’s hand moved fast, noting every word Sho said.

“I’ve heard of what happened to Akamizu,” Junichi replied after a period of silence. “The eviction of sorcerers and the reluctance in building a stronger military power. What makes you think that cooperating with us will avoid war?”
“Nanakusa is our closest neighbor, it is necessary to make friends with the kingdom next door,” Sho answered.
Junichi smiled as he heard it; his eyes then shifted to Ohno. “I am so honored to have your trust, Prince Sho,” he said, keeping his gaze on Ohno. “But I guess you don’t need my help if Ohno Satoshi is by your side.”
Sho was taken aback, turning his head at Ohno, looking for the right words.

“I am just an old sorcerer, Your Majesty,” Ohno answered for himself. “I don’t have Prince Sho’s brain to build a strategy and I believe that his hard will to save his kingdom is worth an appreciation. I truly hope that you will accept his request.”

Junichi still looked at Ohno with a sharp gaze. He stood up from his seat and walked towards the corner of the meeting hall, taking two swords from their handle.

“Legend said that you are the best swordsman, it’ll be an honor for me if I can see it myself,” Junichi said, approaching Ohno and handing one of the swords to him.

“Wait,” Sho stepped between them. “Your Majesty…”

“I just want to know how it feels to fight with an immortal, a legend,” Junichi said. “We won’t hurt each other.”

“It’s okay, Prince Sho. It’ll be an honor for me as well,” Ohno said, nodding at Sho.

Ohno followed Junichi’s step towards the clearing beside the meeting hall; it appeared that the prince always trained himself here. There was spot for unarmed combat training, another spot to face multiple opponents, and at the far corner, there was an archery field. It was obvious that Prince Junichi was a good fighter.

Ohno hadn’t fought with swords for such a long time, it would be a nice training session for him. He drew the sword from its scabbard and waited for Junichi to do the same.

“You’re the first and the last sorcerer who still favor a weapon over your magic,” Junichi said while drawing his sword.
“Living for too long a time gives me privilege to try many things,” Ohno replied.

“Well said,” Junichi answered. He moved fast towards Ohno with his sword held up high, even though he said that he wouldn’t hurt Ohno, it seemed that the prince was serious.

Ohno dodged quickly and encountered Junichi’s attack with his sword; producing the sound of two metal swords crushing each other. Ohno pushed forward, but Junichi was strong enough to hold him in his place. He ended the contact and back flipped with one hand; he turned around and managed to attack from behind, but the prince had read his movement. Junichi avoided him at the last minute and with a complicated movement he landed a kick on Ohno’s stomach.

The kick was enough to force him backwards, but he didn’t lose his balance. Ohno prepared himself for another attack and this time he and Junichi swung their swords at each other with speed. The loud sound of metal pierced their ears and finally Junichi was cornered. The tip of Ohno’s sword was an inch from his throat. They both panted hard; Junichi dropped his sword and lifted both of his hands to the air.

“Thank you for the nice fight,” he said, breathing hard.

“You’re welcome, Your Majesty,” Ohno said, glancing at Sho and the rest of the group. Sho’s eyes were opened wide and Ohno could see the worry inside them, but he managed to smile at Ohno when he approached.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you’re a good swordsman?” Nino hissed as they walked back to the meeting table.

“Because you wouldn’t believe me,” Ohno whispered back.

They concluded the meeting with the assurance from Prince Junichi that Nanakusa would do their best in assisting Akamizu, particularly on military matters. The prince gave them a quick tour inside the castle and wished them a nice travel back home.

They stayed for one night at the guest chamber and left Nanakusa palace early in the morning.

“Do you think they will keep their word?” Jun asked Sho when they were already outside of the palace.

“Prince Junichi doesn’t look like someone who breaks promises that easily,” Sho answered. “The main problem is how to convince the Royal Court that we need stronger military power and we need assistance from Nanakusa.”

Jun heaved deeply, exchanging a meaningful gaze with Aiba. “We’ll come up with something.”

***

Their way back to Akamizu was smooth, the weather was perfect, and when they entered the last village outside the capital of Akamizu, they found an inn with a hot spring. All of them except Ohno entered the hot spring at the same time; Aiba and Nino played with the hot water like kids, ignoring Jun’s annoyed expression as if telling them to behave.

Ohno stayed behind, he wasn’t ready for another naked-Sho; he would do more illicit things to the prince if he stayed too close.

“Satoshi-kun, it’s really good, don’t just stay there,” Sho called happily, a splash of water came from Nino and Aiba, wetting his hair, but Sho only laughed.

Ohno tightened the cloth around his waist and entered the hot springs carefully, trying hard not to make any physical contact with Sho. He stayed silent, listening to Nino and Aiba’s anecdote while glancing every now and then at Sho.
“Did Prince Junichi injure you?” Sho asked with a tiny voice, shifting closer to him.

“Just a little scratch, don’t worry about it,” Ohno replied, showing his fingers to Sho where Junichi’s sword wounded him.

Sho took his hand and examined it; his touch sent a pleasant warmth to Ohno’s chest. Those fingers had touched him in the sexiest way possible, those fingers had sent him to cloud nine.

“You have nice fingers,” Sho commented, still clutching Ohno’s hand. “Do all the sorcerers have these kind of fingers?”

“I have no idea, you can ask Jun-kun, he’s a sorcerer too,” Ohno said, letting Sho take a look at the knuckles of his fingers as if they were the most intriguing thing on earth.

“Matsujun never allows me to touch him, not that I want to,” Sho replied, grinning at Ohno.

Sho’s cuteness sometimes confused him; it was the complete opposite of the image of a cool and smart prince which he showed to the rest of the world.

They remained in the hot springs longer than the other three. Sho rested his head on Ohno’s shoulder, ignoring the fact that they were still in a public space and the other three might came back anytime. It seemed that Sho wouldn’t mind if someone found out about their closeness. Ohno didn’t know whether what he felt for Sho was affection or just the urge to protect. He had never experienced something like this before, a strange attachment to someone else, a strange urge to be with Sho.

“It’s late already, you’d better get some rest,” Ohno said in a final tone. He rose from the hot springs and dried up his skin.

Sho caught his wrist and gave him a kiss on his lips.

“I really wanted to do that,” Sho said.

***

It was the middle of the night; Sho and the rest were sound asleep when Ohno felt something was approaching. He reached for his sword and stayed alert until he saw a shadow made of mist. It looked like a ghost, but then Ohno realized it wasn’t. The shadow was something sent by a sorcerer to deliver a message.

“Prince Sho, we request you to return immediately. The Royal Court has taken over the throne, they have sent your father to prison. Please save the kingdom,” the shadow spoke quickly as if he was under threat. It disappeared as it finished delivering its message.

Ohno turned to Sho who was wide awake as he heard the voice. His face turned pale, but he was calm enough when he spoke.

“We have to hurry,” he said.

The five of them left the inn immediately, riding their horse through the darkness of the night. Thanks to Jun’s navigation skill they didn’t need to worry about losing their way. Sho rode in front of Ohno, he was quiet for the rest of the journey. Perhaps Sho had already predicted that a day like this would come sooner or later.

Ohno didn’t know how they would free Sho’s father, they basically had no idea who was on their side and who was not. What if the whole palace turned against them? Even if Ohno could paralyze half of them with his power, it could only spare them a little time.

There were still a number of powerful sorcerers at the palace, but among the five of them, only Ohno and Jun could use magic. They needed to build a strategy, instead of returning to the palace recklessly without any plan.

“Sho-kun, we need to stop!” Ohno said.

“We have no time, Satoshi,” Sho replied impatiently.

“We need a plan,” Ohno sped up his horse and made all of them stop with his magic. “We can’t just storm in to the palace, they will slaughter us.”

“He’s right,” Jun agreed. “I know that we have to free your father as soon as we can, but we can’t do this unprepared. Someone has risked his life to send you the message, there must be a lot of people who are still on our side,” Jun continued, exchanging a look with Aiba.

“One or two of us can infiltrate the palace and observe the situation,” Aiba said.

“Nino, you will go with me,” Jun looked at Nino who nodded bravely. “I can send a message to Toma once we’re close enough.”

“I’ll use the other gate to look for information,” Aiba said, looking at Sho. “We’ll get back to you as soon as we can. It’ll be more dangerous if you return without knowing the exact situation. Ohno-san will protect you.”

“If you die, there’s no hope for Akamizu,” Jun said, patting Sho’s shoulder. “We’ll meet you at dawn. Wait for us at the edge of the outer town.”

“I can’t let you die for my sake,” Sho said, his voice shaken.

“We’ll be alright,” Aiba said.

“Let’s go,” Jun led the way and the three of them disappeared among the trees, leaving Sho and Ohno alone once again.

“Do you think we can make it?” Sho asked.

“Sure,” Ohno replied. “You have me,” he added with confidence, trying to encourage the prince.

“Thank you,” Sho said. “I feel completely safe for the first time in my life,” he continued.

Ohno smiled at the man, even though it was hard to see Sho’s face in the dark. They rode their horses out off the small path; the night would come to an end soon, they could see the weak light from the eastern sky.
“Satoshi-kun,” Sho called him, making sure that Ohno was still behind him.

“I’m here.”

“Stay with me,” Sho said. He stopped his horse, waiting for Ohno. “If the Royal Court takes over the kingdom and evicts me from the palace, would you stay with me?”

“If you want me to do that, I’ll stay,” Ohno said.

“No, it’s not because I command you to stay,” Sho bit his lower lip. “Would you be there for me just because you want to?”

Ohno looked through Sho’s eyes which reflected the stars on the sky. He had been struggling inside about his feelings towards Sho. At first, Ohno thought it was because of his obligation to protect the prince, to ensure his safety and his wellbeing, but then he realized it was something else. He loved to be close to Sho, he loved to hear his laughter, he loved to see Sho’s smiling face, and he wanted to stay near Sho as long as he could.

“I will,” Ohno said without hesitation. “I’ll stay by your side because I want to.”

Sho smiled, reaching for Ohno’s hand and squishing it. “I trust you,” he whispered.

It was almost unthinkable that they had just enjoyed a peaceful bath in the hot springs, but now they were trying to save a kingdom. The scene with warm bath and Sho’s exposed skin seemed too unreal for Ohno.

They waited in silence; holding each other’s hand. It was nearly sunrise when Jun finally returned, Sho let go of Ohno’s hand and rode his horse towards Jun’s direction.

“Kokubun has taken control for the last three days,” he informed Sho without further delay. “He made sure that everyone in the castle will turn against you by making up stories that you’ll sell the kingdom to Nanakusa.”
“That bastard,” Sho hissed. “What about my father?”

“He’s being kept in the underground prison,” Jun answered. “Toma and his troops are patrolling around the palace to find soldiers who are still loyal to your father. He’ll wait for your command to attack back.”

“How many of them are still loyal to me?” Sho asked with a calm tone but with his fists tightened.

“Two third of them are supporting you, most of the troops on Kokubun’s side are just pretending because they were threatened,” Jun replied. “We can’t ignore the fact that half of the Royal Court members are powerful sorcerers.”
It reminded Ohno of the strange radiating power from Matsuoka when he met the man during the tea ceremony. It wasn’t magic, but something evil was floating around him.

“Take me to the palace,” Sho said to Jun.

“Toma will wait for us at the northern gate, the rest of the troops will join us secretly. This is an underground battle between us and the royal court, try to make it low profile,” Jun replied, pulling the hood deeper to cover his face. Sho and Ohno did the same.

“Sho-kun,” Ohno called the prince.

Sho turned to Ohno; he was a little bit pale, but it didn’t reduce the determination inside his eyes.

“They will try to control you with darkness once again,” Ohno said. “Stay close to me.”

Sho smiled at him. “I won’t let them do that again.”

They rode their horses by taking the small path instead of the main road. Ohno felt anger inside him for the first time since he heard that the Royal Court had led a coup d’état to overthrow the king. It was a move Sho had already predicted, but he had failed to prove their betrayal. The Royal Court members could stay at the palace, waiting for the right time to seize the power.

Toma had been waiting for them in front of the gate; the three of them jumped off their horses and followed Toma towards the building. The situation was unexpectedly calmer than what Ohno thought it would be. They walked quickly to the outer castle where the middle-ranked troops usually gathered; they found Aiba and Nino were already there.

“They keep your father at the main prison,” Aiba said with a dark expression. “Kokubun has announced the transfer of power by forcing your father to sign the decree. He knows that your absence would benefit him.”

“What should we do first?” Sho asked, looking around at his comrades.

“Killing Kokubun and his friends first seems interesting,” Nino said with a light tone.

“I would have done that since the beginning if only they were stupid enough,” Sho said, sitting on one of the chairs around the table.

Aiba and Jun came up with a strategy that they could separate into a few teams. Aiba would lead the first troops to distract Kokubun’s guards. Jun would lead the guerrilla investigation to gather those who were still loyal to Sho as well as those leading the sorcerers’ team. Toma and Nino would go after Aiba to free Sho’s father from the prison.

“I’ll face the main villain in this coup d’état,” Ohno said as Aiba finished explaining his plan.

“Wait, what about me?” Sho rose off of his seat. “I can’t just sit here and watch you stake your necks for me.”

“We can’t let you die, Sho-chan,” Aiba said, avoiding Sho’s eyes.

“I’m going,” Sho raised his voice. He turned to Ohno with a fierce gaze. “I’ll go with you.”

The other troops voiced their protests, telling Sho that it would be the end of Akamizu if he died. Ohno, on the other hand only nodded weakly at the prince; Sho had his personal hatred towards the Royal Court, it would a shame for him if he couldn’t get revenge for what they had done to him. Besides, Ohno would be there, protecting him.

Aiba and Jun departed, followed by a number of troop members. Their departure left an odd silence behind them. Nino looked at Ohno with a strange expression, as if trying to tell him that he wasn’t ready for something like this. Ohno, meanwhile had faced countless wars in his lifetime, he survived all of those combats, even with heavy injuries in between.

They heard noise from the main castle; it appeared that Aiba had succeeded in provoking chaos. Toma and Nino got ready to go. Nino turned pale, he lifted his thumb to Ohno before disappearing beyond the door.

“We’ll be alright,” Ohno said, placing his hand on top of Sho’s shoulder.

They received a message sent by one Jun’s underlings through the mist-figure like they experienced the night before. It was an approval message for Ohno and Sho to proceed to the Royal Court chamber where Kokubun and the rest of the members were gathering. It seemed that none of them were aware of Sho’s return to the palace.

“Let’s go,” Ohno said, making sure that his sword was fastened on his belt.

Sho nodded. Both of them and the rest of the troops headed to the Royal Court chamber beside the main castle. They were joined by more people along the way. Sho’s expression hardened as they reached the outer gate of the chamber. They were welcomed by a few guards who lifted their spears as Sho and Ohno approached.

Ohno chanted a spell and a moment later, all of the guards were unconscious. They went on through the corridors and were welcomed by a middle-aged man whom Ohno recalled as one of Kokubun’s companions during the tea ceremony.

“My prince,” he said, smiling ironically at Sho.

Ohno stepped ahead, there was no doubt that this man was the one who sent those dark spirits to control Sho’s mind.

“Don’t you dare to lay a finger on him,” Ohno hissed, gripping the sword’s handle tighter in his right hand.

“The ancient sorcerer,” he moved his gaze to Ohno. “You should have died already, you don’t fit this age.”

The man chanted something, there was a blinding light and a moment later it flew towards Sho. Ohno moved fast, drawing the sword from its scabbard and used it to block the light from attacking Sho. The light transformed into a beast – a giant spider – its many feet tried to knock Ohno down. He spelled a mantra and the spider disappeared into thin air.

The middle-aged man turned around and headed inside; Ohno and the other troops chased him.

“Be careful,” Ohno reminded Sho. “He’s the culprit behind your ordeal. I recognized his magic type.”

“Joshima,” Sho said. “He’s one of the veteran members.”

They entered the Royal Court chamber, but before they could step further, thousands of magical arrows flew at them. Ohno clicked his finger and all of the arrows fell down before they could hit any of them. The arrows disappeared, revealing Kokubun and his comrades.

“We’re taking control of this kingdom from now on, you’ll be charged with treason if you attack us, Prince Sho,” Kokubun said with the utmost confidence.

“You wish,” Sho replied, trying to suppress the anger in his voice.

“You can’t win against us. Every troop in this palace has pledged their devotion to me,” Kokubun said, looking around the hall where the troops were lifting their weapon, ready to attack Sho anytime.

“I’ll never let someone like you take control of Akamizu. You’ll only bring despair and suffering to the people.”

“So did your stupid father. He’s weak, he can’t make the right decisions. He shouldn’t be the king in the first place,”
Matsuoka chirped in, his eyes swept the room and stopped at Ohno. “He summoned the ancient sorcerer back to this kingdom in hope that he can save the prince. But everything is too late, this kingdom will meet its end if your father is still in power. We’ll end the Sakurai line in Akamizu and will build a new regime, a stronger and better one.”

“I can only imagine destruction,” Ohno said.

“Shut up, sorcerer!” Matsuoka shouted.

“Enough with this useless talk,” Joshima hissed, giving a command for the others to begin the attack.

“I’ll handle the sorcerers,” Ohno hissed at Sho who drew his own sword.

It was obvious that their main target was controlling Sho’s mind once again, but Ohno wouldn’t let them do it. He fought both Joshima and Kokubun at the same time. It had been so long since he battled sorcerers with almost the same level with him. They attacked him from every direction, forcing him to only defend himself. He couldn’t see how Sho was doing with Matsuoka; Kokubun and Joshima had pulled him away from Sho.

Ohno admitted that both Joshima and Kokubun were skilled sorcerers; they succeeded in cornering him, it was difficult to form an attack if they kept on blocking his movements. Joshima’s power was the dark spirits, he could pull them from the empty air and commanded them to fight for him. Kokubun, meanwhile could produce an unseen force, like invisible punches. Their magic was something new to Ohno, it seemed that both of their ancestors weren’t from Akamizu. Ohno had no time to analyze their origin, he was busily dodging their raged attack and trying to watch Sho at the same time. He couldn’t let anything happen to Sho.

He tried to concentrate, if he wanted to help Sho, he had to knock Joshima and Kokubun down as soon as he could. All he needed to do was pulling their soul from their body, but it wasn’t an easy thing to do when the opponents were highly skilled. Kokubun’s power hit his stomach; the strength was enough to force Ohno a few steps behind. He kneeled down, keeping his balance with the sword in his right hand. Ohno was about to rise when one of Joshima’s dark spirits move forward to him. The creature circled its long-nailed hands around Ohno’s neck, strangling him.
Ohno closed his eyes and chanted a protecting spell; the spirit let him go, but it didn’t disappear, it was ready to give another attack. He held the sword high above his head, concentrating his power, he only had a few seconds to do that since Kokubun and Joshima were ready to block him from each side. Ohno swung the sword around, it shone in a blinding blue light, it stabbed Joshima and Kokubun right on their chest, pulling their soul away.

Both of them collapsed onto the ground; their eyes were still wide open, but Ohno knew they were no longer alive. He panted hard, he had never killed his enemies if the situation hadn’t forced him to, but these two sorcerers were too dangerous. The magic he had just performed was an ancient power, it had drained his energy more than he anticipated. But the fight wasn’t over, Sho was still battling Matsuoka.

Ohno ran towards the other part of the hall, where Matsuoka and Sho were. The chamber had turned into a battlefield. Matsuoka had killed half of Sho’s troops and now, the man was cornering Sho. A long spear was in right hand, he swung it wildly towards Sho who dodged it with much effort.

Ohno stepped forward, chanting a spell in order to control Matsuoka’s soul, but either the man was too strong or Ohno’s energy wasn’t powerful enough to do it; the man was standing still. He stopped his attack for a moment and turned around at Ohno.

“Ancient warrior,” he said to Ohno with a mocking smile. “I’ll be the one who will send you to the eternal inferno.”
“Try me,” Ohno replied, glancing at Sho behind Matsuoka. Sho seemed too exhausted to say something, his lips were bleeding and some of his armor was torn apart.

“My kind is prepared to face a sorcerer like you. Your magic doesn’t work on me, if you want to win against me, you have to fight with your hands instead of magic,” Matsuoka said while running towards Ohno.

He didn’t know what kind of creature Matsuoka was, he had no idea about the natural enemy of his magic. Was Matsuoka a descendent of an ancient family who held a grudge against Ohno and the entire Akamizu?

Matsuoka’s spear and Ohno’s sword produced a spectacular sound when they clashed; both of them tried to knock down the other, pushing forward with all their might. Ohno was too exhausted, he couldn’t hold Matsuoka any longer. He jumped behind while dodging Matsuoka’s spear, but the tip of the spear made a contact with his skin, it was just a small wound, but the strange pain spread to his body like a virus.

“What’s wrong, sorcerer? Don’t tell me that you can’t win without your magic power,” Matsuoka laughed.

Matsuoka swung his spear and was ready to stab Ohno, but three swords depended him from the attack. Aiba, Jun, and Nino finally reached the chamber, more people were coming, shouting their support for king Sakurai and prince Sho.

“We made it, King Sakurai is safe,” Nino said quickly. There were a few scratches on his face, but it seemed that he didn’t suffer from severe injury. Jun’s and Aiba’s hands were bleeding, but it didn’t reduce their spirit to fight.

Ohno gripped the sword tighter in his right hand as he moved forward to fight Matsuoka along with Aiba, Jun, and Nino. Matsuoka didn’t need much time to knock down the three of them; he scattered them like flies. Ohno blocked Matsuoka’s attack and this time he felt more confidence as the reinforcements arrived. He succeeded in cornering the man and forced him to defend himself.

Both of them were exhausted; they had lost their balance and fought like drunken men. Ohno felt a strong fist hit his jaw at the same time when he gave a punch to Matsuoka’s face. Their weapons were forgotten on the ground; both of them fell down and were trying to get up, Ohno saw a movement – Sho was holding a sword in his hand and pointed it at Matsuoka’s chest.

“I’m not going to kill you here, there are many things you need to explain,” he said, gesturing towards Toma and Aiba to arrest the man.

“You’ll regret it, Prince Sho,” Matsuoka said, letting Toma and Aiba tie him up.

Sho turned to Ohno who lay on the floor with wounds all over his body. He had just realized that he was hurt, he couldn’t even move.

“Satoshi-kun,” Sho’s voice was trembling. “Don’t move, Nino is calling the healers. They’ll be here in a minute.”

“I’m no longer an immortal,” Ohno whispered.

“What?” Sho shifted closer to him. “It can’t be.”

“You saved me from the curse, Sho-kun,” he smiled at Sho. “That night, you broke the curse,” he added,

Sho tried to smile, but all he could do was a stiff grin. It was the weirdest way in breaking the curse, but it was how it worked. Ohno couldn’t forget the sensation when he touched Sho’s bare skin, when he kissed those plump lips. Ohno closed his eyes, he felt extremely tired. His fight with Joshima, Kokubun, and Matsuoka had drained all of his energy away.

“Satoshi-kun, don’t close your eyes, look at me,” Sho said in panic.

Ohno wanted to tell Sho that he was okay, that he only needed to sleep for a couple hours, that he would wake up again, but his lips were glued, his eyes denied to stay open. Sho’s face became a blur, his voice couldn’t be heard anymore, his grip on Ohno’s hand couldn’t be felt anymore. Everything went black…

***

It was three days later when Ohno finally regained consciousness; his body was still stiff and hurt everywhere. From the corner of his eyes, he saw someone was sleeping on the edge of his bed, head facing down. There was no one in that room except the sleeping man, Ohno lifted his head a few inches and recognized it as Sho. He moved his lips to call for Sho’s name, but nothing came out. He gave up and closed his eyes again, trying to recall what happened.
The Royal Court, Matsuoka, the chaos…

“Satoshi-kun.”

He heard Sho’s voice call for him, he opened his eyes and saw Sho’s face above him.

“You’re awake,” Sho’s voice cracked. “I thought you would never wake up again.”

Ohno smiled at the prince, but perhaps he could only make a stiff grin. Sho disappeared for a while to give the command for the servant to summon the healers. He returned to Ohno’s side once again and took his hand in a tight grip.

“Aiba and the others are taking care of everything,” Sho explained. “Prince Junichi has sent reinforcements to help us rebuild our military. My father has agreed to appoint you as the highest general, once you regain your strength, we’ll work side by side to make this kingdom great again.”

Ohno nodded weakly; he squished Sho’s hand to tell him that he was okay, to tell him not to go. The healers came a few minutes later, they checked Ohno’s wounds, replaced the old bandages, and applied the healing cream. If he kept on progressing for the next three days, they told him that it would be okay to leave the bed.

Aiba, Jun, Nino, and Toma visited him that night with stories about Matsuoka and the other members of the Royal Court. Matsuoka was a descendent of an old family who was also cursed as immortal and their duty was to wipe out every sorcerers’ clan which they considered dangerous. Matsuoka was the one who influenced Sho’s grandfather to evict the sorcerers from the palace and spread lies about their desire to start a rebellion.

Sho never left his side; he held Ohno’s hand again when the other four had left the room. His touch was the best medicine for Ohno, perhaps Sho could do magic as well, the one which gave warmth to the people around him.

Ohno was finally be able to leave the bed three days later; he started walking around the little garden in the back of the palace building. Sho wasn’t there that day since he had to do his duties as a prince; the one who accompanied him was Nino.

“I thought you’ll change into a super old man once the curse is lifted,” Nino said, rising his brows as he helped Ohno walk. “I mean, 537 years old…”

Ohno snorted. “I can age normally now, I can’t waste my time like I did before.”

“Sho-chan must be happy to know that you’ll eventually die. I bet he couldn’t afford to die ahead of you and have to wait for too long in heaven until you join him.”

Ohno laughed. He still had too many things to talk with Sho from now on. They hadn’t really talked about their feelings, or perhaps it was Ohno who had no guts to do that. He had never attached himself to someone, he thought that loving somebody would only tie him up, but having Sho beside him was the best thing he had experienced in his life. Protecting Sho had become his ultimate goal, seeing Sho’s smile was the bonus.

Ohno was ready to return to work two weeks later after the incident at the Royal Court hall. The place was still under investigation, Aiba was the one who led it. He was summoned to the main palace to meet with King Sakurai who couldn’t stop thanking him for saving the kingdom.

“It wasn’t just me, Your Majesty,” Ohno said. “Prince Sho and the rest of the kingdom’s troops are there for Akamizu.”
“You defeated Matsuoka,” Sakurai said with a proud tone. “He will be prosecuted under Akamizu law.”
The king heaved a deep sigh before continuing.

“I have commanded the preparations for your coronation. You will once again become the great General of Akamizu.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Ohno bowed deeply. He actually didn’t aspire to that high position, but if the king wanted him to take it, he couldn’t decline.

Sho was waiting for him outside of the palace entrance; his lips quirked in a smile as he saw Ohno.

“Can we go for a walk?” he asked.

“A walk?” Ohno raised his brows.

Sho didn’t answer; instead, he grabbed Ohno’s hand and led him outside of the main palace, but he didn’t stop there, he kept on walking towards the exit of the castle, to the city.
“Where are we going?” Ohno asked.

“To the river,” Sho replied.

Ohno decided not to ask more questions. He squished Sho’s hand, ignoring the gazes from the people around them. They walk at a speed that nobody could take a look twice at Sho. Both of them slowed down as they reached the riverbed which was located quite far from the city; nobody was there since it was already winter, the air was chilly enough to freeze their bones.

They sat down side by side, ignoring the cold sand, Ohno chanted something and the comfortable warmth surrounded them.

“How did you do that?” Sho asked.

“I don’t know, I just did,” Ohno shrugged.

“Why don’t you just admit how powerful you are, I won’t make use of it anyway,” Sho said while shaking his head.
Ohno smiled, letting Sho rest on his shoulder. They listened to the river flow and drowned in their run of thoughts for some time, before Sho opened the conversation.

“I’m sorry for making you a mortal.”

“I have to thank you for releasing the curse,” Ohno answered.

“You will be crowned as general tomorrow, it means you’re no longer my personal guard,” Sho said with pride and a sad tone at the same time.

“I can be your personal guard if you want me to,” Ohno replied, caressing Sho’s cheek with the tip of his finger.

“I can ask Nino to do that,” Sho said, shifting from Ohno’s shoulder onto his lap. “I can’t believe the ancient warrior is in love with me.”

The words Sho said were innocent and somehow, it sent a prickle to Ohno’s stomach. This was the first time for them to talk about what they truly felt.

“Perhaps the crown prince is too handsome and has a great personality that the ancient warrior can’t resist,” Ohno answered, gaining a soft chuckle from Sho.

“You’re so bad at flirting. What did you do for the last 500 years?”

“Flirting is not included in my duties, both as a sorcerer and warrior,” Ohno said silently.

“Oh, whatever,” Sho rose from his lap and attached his lips to Ohno’s, the latter welcomed him happily, wrapping his hands around Sho’s body and pulling him closer.

The darkness fell around them, but they didn’t move from where they were. It felt so peaceful and content with Sho in his embrace and the sound of the river. Ohno finally could grasp the importance of time as he wasn’t an immortal anymore and he would enjoy every moment with Sho as best as he could.

***

As the royal court members were replaced, there were many regulations that Akamizu needed to adjust. Sorcerers were welcomed to work at the palace, the best among them were recruited as soldiers. They adopted the system from Nanakusa and conducted joint military training which was led directly by Ohno and Prince Junichi.
Jun had gotten a new position as the captain of a special unit with the best sorcerers under his command. Aiba was inducted as the advisor for the crown prince, Toma was appointed as the captain for the defender soldiers and Nino got his first task as a middle rank soldier who worked directly under Ohno (even though his task was only to note Ohno’s schedule).

Sho had returned to his capacity as the crown prince. He worked harder than anyone, he conducted diplomatic missions to the neighboring kingdoms in order to have closer ties with them. Ohno was always by his side, they had traveled to four different kingdoms for the last six months, but this time, they were on an official mission, with a bigger team.

“Are you ready for the next journey, General Ohno?” Sho asked him in the morning of their departure to Amaterasu Kingdom.

“Of course, Prince Sho,” he replied with a bright smile.

“Don’t give me that smug face, it makes me want to kiss you.”

“Well, go ahead,” Ohno grinned.

Sho pulled him closer and gave him a wet kiss before stepping outside towards the horse stable. Ohno followed behind him while wiping his lips; the journey to the other kingdoms always became their personal enjoyment.