Light of the Dragon's Eye

Chapter Seven

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Above pic is of Ichiro when he was 15. Enjoy!

AKIRA'S POV

Monster!

You are a curse on our family!

JUST GO AND DIE!!

...

Why is this happening to me? What did I do?

I keep reaching out to find a hand to pull me out of this darkness...

...but I can never find it.

YANK!!!

My eyes fly open as I feel a pair of hands pull me roughly from my bed. My first instinct is to grab my spear and fight back, but I feel extremely groggy and disoriented. But I don't know why.

I can make out two palace guards dragging me out of my room. "Wait...what are you-" "QUIET!" One of the guards kicks me hard in the stomach and I bite my cheek, tasting blood.

They drag me outside to the palace front, a little way before the gates. I'm forced face-first onto the ground, and my hands are pulled upwards behind me, tightly bound by ropes. "Guh..." I spit blood and my vision starts to clear a little, but I can't move very well. Otherwise, I would tear these ropes in half and slice off these two guards' heads.

I can see someone walking towards me. I lift my head up slightly to see a tall man in robes walking towards me. Is that...General Akihiro?

General Suzuki Akihiro, known for his bravery in the war with the lands of Seng to the west. The late emperor's best friend and most trusted adviser. Also Kasumi's father.

He sits down in front of me and grabs my hair, yanking my head up. He smirks as he looks at me. "Hello, little tiger." I can't quite comprehend what's happening. "General...Akihiro...what..." He laughs at my helplessness, and anger starts to bubble up inside me, clearing my mind and allowing me to scowl.

I try to scream for help, but my throat is raw. Akihiro laughs. "Don't bother. The palace guards are on my side. The palace servants and guests are all drunk from the birthday celebration. You see, little tiger, Hikari is falling into disrepair, and I will be the one to place it at the top of the world once more." I blink at him. "So, typical "I want to rule the kingdom" plan, huh? Seems pretty boring." He ignores me and simply keeps talking.

"You must be curious of why you are here, yes?" I snarl at him, finally able to form full sentences. "Yeah, kind of, mind explaining why I'm out here, old man?" Akihiro smiles at me, and starts speaking. "I know that it is usually unwise for the so-called 'villain' to explain their plan to the hero, but I do not mind." I raise my eyebrows.

"You see, little tiger, I've had enough of standing on the sidelines, having to watch those two princes-" he spits out the word, as though it tastes like mud. "-be treated so well, as if they are the ones who have saved the kingdom from war, as though those brats are somehow special, as if it's a guarantee that they will lead Hikari to greatness, when they have never even been in battle. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Poisoning the king wasn't too difficult-" My eyes widen at this and I growl. "You...you murdered our king?! You killed your best friend, a man who trusted you, for the sake of power?!?!?!"

At this, Akihiro winces and for a moment, his composure is broken. But within seconds, he regains his cruel expression. "It needed to be done. One small death doesn't matter to me. It was necessary in order to brighten the kingdom's future." I'm almost yelling now. "'Brighten the kingdom's future' my BUTT! You just wanted ultimate power, so you killed the king, he was a father and you killed him! You're a sick, shameless-"