The Kingmaker

Pathetic Prince

 Morning stirs awake

Last night's dreams linger softly

Stars gather, whispering

The bowl of fishbone soup is warm in Shigehiro's hands, and yet he feels cold inside. His ravenous stomach growls insistently, the guttural rumblings echoing through the tense silence, but nobody speaks of it. If it had been any other day, Haizaki would have reprimanded him. Today, none of them dares break the solidarity they have, however weak it may be.

They have survived an attack. Everything seems like a dream. He could still hear Yani's instructions on how to swing a sword when the ship jolted. It was so sudden and unexpected that Shigehiro thought he had simply imagined it. Then another wave of explosions pierced the silence, and someone yelled, "The Black Dragons!"

Shigehiro closes his eyes, willing the images to leave him alone, but they keep on pouring until he feels as if he were drowning. The pirates' white flag with a black dragon shredding the red sun with its mouth waved against the wind, announcing their arrival. Pirates. A name he had never heard before, but that was what Yani said when he asked who those men were.

As he allows his mind to drift away, everything becomes hazy. He cannot. He must not remember the bodies that fell before his eyes. All the blood that splattered on his face, the piercing screams in his ears, and the taste of his blood when he lost his balance and bit his tongue so hard he feared he had cut it off. To avoid attracting anyone's attention, he concentrated on the agony.

If I do not scream, he told himself, no one will notice me. I will be safe.

Falling, falling... asleep. Yes, he cannot recall anything anymore. Not at all. His mind is blank. It has to stay blank.

Was that Kuroko? As if on cue, each of his senses snaps back. The person enveloped in grey with sea-blue eyes had stared at him and sent him a warning to not act as though they recognised each other.

If that were not Kuroko, who else would it be? And if Shigehiro's hunch is correct, then Kuroko has indeed given himself to the terrorists. Did he do that to save them all?

It hurts. Everything hurts. He promised the younger boy that he would protect him. He is the older and stronger one. It should have been him. Why had he let fear overtake him? He should have known that Kuroko would do something outrageous. His brother has always denied his teasing that he is a martyr. That has never been mere jest. Kuroko has the tendency to offer himself if all hope is lost.

A large, soft hand rests on his shoulder. "I have tried looking for Kuroko. Alas, it seems he has gone missing. Do you have any inkling where he is?" Mibuchi asks. He still exudes the grace that a Dancer should possess. Only his hair is unkempt and the left sleeve of his tunic is torn apart. His eyes, although tired, have fury in them.

Shigehiro sobs. His chest is heavy, and he can't breathe. Words start to flow before he can stop himself. "They've abducted him! My brother sacrificed himself; I have no idea what his worth is, but he did it to save us all!" He has no idea why he did it. It felt right, as if someone out there would be bold enough to go after the Black Dragons and save Kuroko.

"Lord Chen would surely demand us to look for him," he adds when everyone avoids his gaze by pretending they didn't hear him.

Mibuchi sighs. "And I am sure Lord Chen would understand once we told him what had happened here. My apologies..." he pauses, eyebrows scrunched in concentration. "But I will not sacrifice anyone for one life. He has done his duty for us, and we shall not waste it."