LION

Chapter 5: Brave

"They call me Kuroko Tetsuya." The fifth prince said to the young man standing before him. 

It was his first time seeing someone from the Western Kingdom this close, his skin was tanned just in the right way, not very dark like the fourth prince. He is tall and had broad shoulders and body that was clearly polished and harden from work and in his eyes wore the kind of wisdom someone who had lived a life outside the palace. His eyes are red but not the kind of red his older brother has, the kind of red that was intense like a wild fire in a moonless night, untamed but it radiated a gentleness from within. His weird split eyebrows only made him look angrier than he is, but something about this man is just so captivating, worth admiring. 

The prince wore a dark blue kimono with intricate details of white lines that somehow formed water ripples in the shoulder part down to the left chest while the rest was plain. 

"Kuroko is written with the characters of dark and child, and Tetsuya with the characters of sleepless night[1]." He said quietly. 

The man stared at him before his face turned into confusion, then to surprise, then embarrassment. Kuroko almost found it funny how a grown man, a prince to boot could be embarrass like this for a simple reason that he could not fathom why he is saying such. "What a coincident is it that we meet like this, I assume sleep evades you, Prince?"

Kagami turned around, there was no one, here? Why? Where is he exactly? 

"Ah, yeah." He said awkwardly scratching his cheek, damn he felt ashamed to admit he thought this guy was a girl a few moments ago. His eyes were the brightest blue Kagami had ever seen, it almost seem to glow in the light of the moon above them. "U-Uhm my name is—"

"Written with the characters of Fire and God[2]," Kuroko finished, he had heard of this boy, the first son and originally the heir to the Iron Kingdom's throne, a child of a deceased concubine of King Kiyoshi, who came from an affluent family, Kagami clan. "Your name however..." Kuroko decided not to go on futher, thinking about it...his name does suite him—big and ego[3].

"W-Well your name is beautiful, I guess."

The fifth prince was surprised though his face remained stoic, it was the first time someone actually flat out complimented him, well it is his name, but still—

"Thank you." He said politely.

"I-I uhm...never seen you around, are you...do you work here?"

Kuroko found the man amusing, so he didn't notice, huh. "His Majesty could say that." He said, well he isn't lying, his title as a prince is a work itself, yes? "I hope your stay is well."

"Uh...I can't say much." Kagami said as he sat there in one of the stools without even asking permission. The fifth prince didn't say anything about it and just let the man do as he pleases, after all he doesn't know, does he?

"Would you permit me, a humble soul to hear the rest of that?" He asked.

Kagami looked at him and sighed, well he could use someone to talk to anyways, "Sure." He said, "You...uhm, take a seat, I guess." The teal haired boy took a sit, hands in his lap with a posture as if a plank is attached to his back.

"What is bothering you?" he asked quietly, for a moment he doubt he'd speak of something to a stranger, but—

"Its just...I'm confused." He said, "I can't damn sleep because I'm so confused of what to do."

"What is confusing you then? Perhaps I could help?"

"No." Kagami said, "I don't want to drag anyone anymore, its enough that my brother was kidnapped just because of my stupid decision on running away. I should have thought of it first. And now...a war."