The Kingmaker

The Promise

 Owl sheds its feathers

Becomes a crow, loud and bold

World hears its soul's cry  

The rain is heavy and brutal, yet nothing can make Shigehiro release his brother's hand. The courtyard's stone floor chills his forehead, and he knows Kuroko is in pain too, but unlike him, the former Dancer has his head bowed elegantly. It's as if he's turned into stone, along with the hard floor. The yellow grasses bend and sway in the wind as the clouds pour their tears. Each blade swings in harmony, as if conducting a sad dance as they prepare for the approaching storm.  Raindrops bounce off the pavement and splatter back on their faces. He grips Kuroko tighter, fooling himself into thinking that he is giving Kuroko strength when, in reality, it is he who is breaking down.

His worry, once again, had been right. Winds do change. What was once a welcoming Crown Prince has turned into a brutal monarch who did not even give any reason as to why he forced Kuroko Tetsuya to leave as soon as the boy gained consciousness.

Shigehiro doesn't have to be here. Even if he has nothing to do with the prince's unexpected wrath, he cannot abandon his brother to suffer in isolation.

Hours ago, two guards threw the door to the infirmary open, their footsteps booming loudly, and behind them stood the Crown Prince, whose one eye was so dark that Shigehiro had almost lost his footing. There was something unusual about him. It was foreboding that Shigehiro felt an unsettling knot form in his stomach.

The tension in the air was stifling. Thousands of thoughts overwhelmed him as he pondered what he had done this time. 

"We have heard that Kuroko Tetsuya has awoken from slumber," one of the guards, the smaller one, announced, his tone leaving no room for argument. Kuroko, who had been resting in his cot, immediately rose to his feet, a look of deference on his face as he bowed respectfully.

 Before he could utter a word, the guards seized him by the arms and dragged him unceremoniously out of the room, disregarding the physician's protests. "Pardon me, Your Highness, but he needs to rest!"

"Your Highness! Please tell them to let my brother go!"

Their pleas fell on deaf ears, however, as the Crown Prince simply glanced over his shoulder with an expression that was impossible to decipher before turning his attention back to Kuroko.

Shigehiro ran after them, crying for them to wait and to at least handle his brother gently. He received a shove to the chest, sending him sprawling to the ground, his breath knocked out of him. Through bleary eyes, he witnessed the taller guard towering over Kuroko, his hands already ripping apart his brother's clothes. A surge of rage and terror coursed through Shigehiro, his throat constricting in a silent scream as he struggled to push himself back up. Ignoring the ache in his ribs from the forceful shove, he lunged forward, his voice hoarse with emotion. He had to stop whatever they were doing. He had to save him.

Before he could make a move, a strong hand clamped over his mouth, cutting off any sound that threatened to break free.

"Do you want to be punished too? Haven't I told you to use your brain before you use that mouth of yours?" It was Mibuchi, glaring down at him.

Kagami's piercing gaze bore into Kuroko as if trying to unravel the enigma shrouding Kuroko's very essence. "You...you are disgusting," Kagami snarled, his words cutting through Shigehiro's chest. "You're no man or anything. What are you?" His voice dripped with contempt.