TSUKASA THE SKRUNKLE and the other characters ig

Ah yes my 2 favorite AUs. Royalty and hanahaki what could go wrong?(Everything)

(Not connected to the previous oneshot btw
Also let's pretend surgery isn't an option here cause #plothole)
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If there was one rule of the world Tsukasa remembers; it's that the lowly are unfit with the high. He was but a knight, his only purpose was to serve and protect his master, even at the cost of his own life. He was a mere pawn that could be replaced at any given second. And once he's done his job, he was trash, ready to be discarded. A harsh reality he'd come to grips with.

So a friendship with the prince was something he had not been expecting. Why was he, the prince, interested in having a close relation with a mere knight? He didn't know but it felt nice.

He knew from the start a friendship like their's would never work. After all, the low are unworthy to be with the higher ups. It didn't help that he was growing infatuated with him.

He loved the way he looks at him, his hair, the way he laughs, his personality. The way he's carefree yet holds a sense of responsibility over his people, how he is able to connect to those considered "outcasts". Everything.

Yet, as he watches Rui speak fondly to a maiden, his heart aches. He expected this, he was a lowly knight and he was a prince. Though their friendship was deep, it was not intimate enough for mutual attraction. And even if he did return these feelings, society would never accept them. A man falling in love with a man, a peasant in love with a prince. It was all too "otherworldly" for the people

So as to save the prince and his friendship, he just admired him from afar. It hurt, yes. But it was better than ruining the reputation of the prince he had grown to adore.

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Tsukasa heaved a sigh of relief. He had just finished a rather grueling training session. "Yo~ Tsukasa!" Rui cooed. "Your highness." the knight bowed. "Enough of the formalities! We're friends, aren't we?"

Yeah. Friends.

"Mhm. Anyway, what're you doing here? I thought you had some bussiness to attend to." Tsukasa questioned, putting his armor back into his locker. "Dealt with it. Just wanted to spend some time with ya!" he beamed. That face. It almost hurt to look at it. Wait, it did hurt. What the hell?

Tsukasa felt his lungs close in on themselves. "Tsukasa? You okay?" Rui asked. He must've been making a face for Rui to suspect anything. "Please excuse me." he rushed to the bathroom and coughed up a bunch of... rose petals? What?! Had he been cursed by a witch on an expedition or something? He shook his head. 'Think, Tenma, think!'

He tried to conjour up some explanation. Wait... explanation. The library! There's a lot of books on mysterious spells and illnesses there, hopefully it'll hold the answers he needs!
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Now he wishes he never looked. Hanahaki, a lethal disease which results in coughing up flowers, specifically, the favorite flower of the one you love. It's caused by unrequited love. So he doesn't even need to tell Rui to know his answer? Now isn't that great!

Oh well, at least no false hope. Wait. Fatal?! Tsukasa groaned. Just his luck. The only cure was to confess and *hopefully* they accept.

That's out the window. And either way, they won't last with their roles in society.

Tsukasa shut the book and rubbed his forehead in frustration.
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With the stage of hanahaki he was in, he was at least able to go on with his usual duties. Nobody suspected much and he could easily hide the petals. But it still hurt to breathe, especially when he was around Rui.

The prince's prescence makes his day but at the same time, brings him pain he's never even experienced in combat.
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Hanahaki was fast developing. Soon enough, it wasn't just petals Tsukasa spat out, it was full on flowers. There was blood now as well. Things weren't just a game of luck and hope anymore.

He was having a conversation with Rui. The prince was deep into the topic and seemed to be enjoying himself. Tsukasa could feel flowers climb up his throat but it would be rude to leave Rui now. He tried to ignore the feeling but apparently his body seemed to disagree.

He hacked up a bloody rose. The two stared at it, processing what happened. "Tsukasa?" Rui asked, concerned. The blond looked away. "You... hanahaki." Rui realized, having read about the disease before. The prince heaved a heavy sigh.

"Tsukasa. Who is it?" he asked seriously. Tsukasa merely shook his head. It's you, he wants to say. "Can't tell you." he mumbles instead. Rui looks at his dear friend. "Fine. Just... tell them. Alright? I don't want you to suffer." he says, unaware that he was the cause of Tsukasa's suffering.
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"Captain, are you sure you are in top condition to fight?" a soldier asked. A sudden war sparked between them and the rival kingdom, leaving their troops completely unprepared.

"We're lacking soldiers  We already recruited more than half of the abled fighters in the kingdom." Tsukasa sighed. "But still... your disease." "I'll be fine."

No. He damn well knew he was far from "fine". He knew he was gonna die, might as well do something actually useful.
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Tsukasa can't exactly say he hasn't been expecting to write a will at an early age. He just wasn't expecting the reason to be an illness. He's gotten to the point of no return as he entered his final stage of hanahaki. In the midst of battle, he sought refuge in a tent nearby and started writing.

His family didn't have much of a fortune and neither did he, but he might as well give them his salary after he passes.

He also wrote a seperate letter adressed to Rui. He basically just wrote his confession there, pouring his feelings he so desperately wanted- no- needed to say that the universe forbade him to.
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Tsukasa lay on the ground, his sword left discarded a few centimeters away. Maybe there was the lifeless body of his opponent but he didn't care. Roses, complete with stems and thorns, drenched in blood, surrounded him, mocking him. His breaths were heavy and laboured as rain pelted against his skin. His throat burned and blood trickled down his mouth, as if he wasn't bloody enough as is.

His eyes widened at the realization. He was going to die. He was gonna die without ever telling Rui how he felt. He was going to die, not with the honor of defending his nation people think he will, but with the shame of a coward whe couldn't even try to tell someone his feelings.

"I love you... Rui." he uttered a confession as his eyes fluttered shut and his breathing came to a halt. Running was heard in the background as the enemy retreated.

"TSUKASA?!"
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When the knight fell, the prince fell harder. Yet, Rui had realized his feelings far, far too late.

He thought he just admired Tsukasa, that his feelings were purely platonic. Yet as he doubled over coughing in the bathroom, he knew it wasn't. He gripped the letter his dear knight had left him, a heavy weight in his heart formed with each sentence.
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The prince sat, his back against the headstone of his love, petals fell into his palm as he coughed. "I could've saved you. I'm sorry. I realized too late." he apologized, grazing a hand over the grass.

"You said in your letter you want me to forget you. Heh, you left a huge mark on my life, how do you expect me to achieve that?" he asked nobody in particular.

"I'm sorry, Tsukasa. I love you too. I'm sorry." he choked those words out like a broken record, his throat burned as he hacked out petals.

(What's better than hanahaki? Hanahaki where the LI realizes too late!)