King Make Believe

Part 41

Hirokazu

I walked slightly behind the group, wanting to have a closer look at our new home. For the time being. I needed to know that the Vaxxine Squad would be dead before I made the choice to stay or leave.

"Ayaru—hurry up!" Jae cried behind her, she'd finally remembered to call me by the fake name I'd given myself. It was my middle name. A name that only my mother and I knew.

"Okay, okay!" I shouted back. Sprinting after them as they rounded a corner and disappeared from view. I let out a strangled gasp and ran faster. I couldn't get lost here. I wasn't ready to never see Jae's face again. I didn't want to defeat them all on my own. They promised...

I ran straight into someone's back and I covered my mouth and pushed away. Ready to make a run for it. Before blood poured from my mouth like a small rain fall.

"Ayaru?!" I recognised that voice but couldn't place it. "What on earth...?" Arms wrapped around me and I was a little more lenient to standing. I struggled to keep my eyes open, and the whole, time it was merely flickers of white and black blurs. I fought through and waited until this...episode passed. I'd been fighting it back for so long after all.

When my vision finally cleared I saw an unfamiliar face staring down at me. I lashed out and they stepped back. Looking around I saw the faces of my comrades and let out a soft sigh. I would've willingly killed people to get them back if that ended up being the case.

"You finally pulled through." A voice noted. I looked around and tried to speak, but something disgusting filled my mouth and I gagged.

"Ayaru—what's wrong?" Archer asked, knowing exactly what I was tasting but he still pretending for all of our sakes.

"It's...tastes...gross..." I pushed out the base of my vision clouding as my eyes watered from the horrible taste. I heard a low chuckle and blinked numerous times before I could finally clear my vision.

A slightly overweight man wrapped in a broadly collard black jacket met my gaze sternly. His eyes rimmed with black bags proving no sleep and his dark, mysterious eyes full suspicion.

"Who is he?" I mumbled to Archer as he shook my shoulders to get my attention. He mumbled for me to open my mouth and I did, knowing he could figure why I had that little 'zone out'.

"He's the Magistrate of a number of hotels in Angeland Capital. He's offered to give a room for a lower price, considering you are unwell." Archer muttered back. Peering down my mouth as he moved my face to see my throat in better light. He pulled back and examined my eyes, I turned the back to normal for a few seconds, so he could truly see the damage the Mist was inflicting upon me. He sucked in a breath and choked.

I changed my eyes back quickly and watched as Archer looked back at the girls. They saw his face and stiffened. When we were alone he would explain what was wrong. I was sure.

"Only for three days." The man said. Correcting and adding what Archer had said. How had he heard? I looked over at him and realised there were two other men in the room. Probably bodyguards.

"You, what's your name?" He pointed at Archer. Archer looked at me quickly and then blinked.

"Uh—my name's Archer, sir." He replied. The name grunted in recognition and raised an eyebrow. He exchanged a quick look with his bodyguards, his gaze flying to me before returning back to Archer.

"Archer Crawsley, I presume?" He said, his voice becoming gravelly, and dangerously so. Archer looked at the man wide eyed and nodded once. We all sat, staring at what exactly that meant to this strange man and his power of us. "Well, Archer—your old man used to work for me. I recognised your name because he talked quite often about you."
Archer looked at the man, incredulously. "So—you're Mr...Fathington?" Archer asked slowly.

The man nodded. "Indeed I am, and I would be delighted if you could consider working—for me, I mean." He let out a low cough and shoved his beefy hands into his pockets. He looked over at me once more, nodded and turned away. One of the men holding a card out to Archer. And then they were gone.

"Hirokazu!" Jae began after Archer shut and locked the door. "What on earth did you do to yourself to cause another drowsy episode?" She walked over to me and scowled, feeling my forehead roughly. Her scowl deepened when she realised I wasn't sick.

"He's getting closer to something, something the Mist is attracted to." Archer said weakly, flopping onto the bed and looked at me wearily. "I don't know what it is, but it will either get better or worse for you."

I gulped and looked out the window. The clouds hovering around the rooftops of buildings, and the ones high in the sky, were all the same shades of grey.

"Wait, did he do it a lot before?" Miyoko asked, hand on her chin and she thought everything through rationally. I sighed and felt my chest and upper body deflate as those horrible memories rushed back. Running to the bathroom every time I finished sword training with that man. Collapsing in front of Jae because I'd refused to take a pill and squash my life-sucking power and instead tried to make friends with it.

And the very first time I'd had to feel those menacing fingers clench my heart and squash it mercilessly.

"Yeah, it was pretty common back when he was only Prince. It was a little after he turned sixteen that those episodes began." Jae said, thinking over what Miyoko had just suggested.

"The first episode occurred when I deprived myself of the medication I had been prescribed. It was supposed to suppress the Mist enough to keep my 'attacks' at bay." I said, thinking out loud.

"What idiot thought of that?" Archer scoffed. "If they had proper training, they would know that suppressing the Mist inside your chest would only cause a larger and more harmful outburst at random."

I grinned and rubbed the back of my head. "You should've been there..." I muttered. Archer watched my face. Curiosity creasing in his features.

I didn't know I was crying until Jae's arms wrapped around my shoulders. A small effort at comforting. "It's okay Hiro, that fire will never get to you again..." She murmured in my ear.

Archer stiffened and I didn't look over at him. I knew he would either understand, or not. It was one or the other. He couldn't understand but never have had the experience of losing everything you had to a fire like that. Because it never happened to you.

The cold wind from the coal infested streets washed my cheeks with stinging kisses. Stroking through my hair with gentle, soft fingers. I shivered and someone shut the window.

It was in that moment when I reopened my eyes that I realised that everyone was hugging me. Piling their body into one another's. Digging and wrapping their arms around the other's waists and shoulders. I felt someone squeeze my hand and shock ran down my spine like the small, gentle footsteps of a mouse.

They were all there for me. They travelled away from their homeland for me. They spent majority of their money, fought vicious members of our enemy for me. They got beaten up and severely hurt for me.

It seemed to all be for me. I smiled softly and closed my eyes again, hoping that the warmth of their love would stay longer than their arms wrapped around me.

Before I knew it, my conscience slipped off and away into a dismal blankness of black. And I loved it with every beat of my tainted heart.