Rules of the street

Chapter 12 - Assume everyone is lying.

Slight angst warning, I guess...

Rule 8: Assume everyone is lying.

It was fairly late into the evening when I ran across Hitoshi again. Or rather, he ran into me. Not that I was complaining.

"Hey, have you seen prince Shoto?" His dark eyes were filled with concern, and I realised with a jolt that I hadn't.

"Not since we talked with lord Aizawa and lord Yamada, no." He pursed his lips, his hand finding my upper arm. Thinking some more, I let the thing that had been bothering me out into the open.

"...And Katsuki's been missing for longer than that. Well, at least, I can't find him." Hitoshi immediately stiffened, eyes flying around the hall.

"You haven't?" Shaking my head, I tried not to let the memories drag me down. I wasn't alone. Hitoshi was here. I wasn't alone.

For some reason, that didn't comfort me as it should have.

He began pulling me through the crowd, faces passing, some surprised, some happy, some worried.

But not their faces.

A thin, but firm, hand collided with Hitoshi's chest, and Hawks came out of the crowd, his eyes flicking between us.

"What's going on here?" Hitoshi didn't back down, his gaze narrowing. They stood like that for a solid moment, and I was about to speak up when Hitoshi beat me to it.

"No one I've talked to has seen either prince for more than an hour. I'm worried."

Hawks' posture changed instantly, whipping around to mutter something to his neighbour before grabbing my other arm.

"This way."

Hitoshi followed without complaint, and with a start, I noticed something I hadn't before. In the rush to get me to god knows where, Hawks' shirt had slipped slightly, just enough to reveal a hint of black swirls, peeking just over where his heart would be.

He had a soulmate.

Before I could start to guess who it was, I was shoved into a bedroom. It certainly wasn't the biggest in the palace (the biggest was reserved for the king and queen, who were currently away) but it definitely wasn't the smallest, either. Hitoshi shut the door as Hawks travelled to the window, securing the bolt and drawing the thick red curtains.

"What's going on?" They looked at each other, and then me. They seemed to be sad, or maybe... regretful? I couldn't be sure.

"Whether you believe it or not, you are technically a prince." I opened my mouth to respond, but Hitoshi raised a hand to cut me off.

"Let him finish." They nodded to each other before the blond continued.

"If the other princes are in trouble, it's the duty of anyone who knows about the threat to keep at least one heir to the throne alive."

"What?!" It left my mouth before I could think about it. Heir? Threat? Duty? Trouble? They were in trouble?!

But I just got them back, I couldn't leave them again, I couldn't bear losing them, oh gods, who knew what was happening to them right now? Were they already hurt? Already dead? What if we searched the whole palace and didn't find a trace of either of them?

"Hey, just calm down, it's alright, we'll keep you safe-"

I didn't care who had said it, I just snapped.