We'll Never be Royals

✥︎ 9 ✥︎

Familiarity in These Streets

Sawamura Koushi
Present Day

It was just like he remembered.

The moment he stepped foot into the kingdom, Koushi felt like he somehow went back in time. He's walked these streets so many times, journeyed the kingdom more times than he could count. It was all muscle memory to him as he made his way through the busy dirt streets. People moved around him in haste, overcrowding the streets like they always have.

The kingdom wasn't large enough for the population it held. Homes stacked over homes, people living on the muddy streets. Crying children begging for coins. Karasuno was anything but thriving, it didn't have anything on a kingdom such as Fukurodani. Hell, even Nekoma, a kingdom swarming with crime, was better off than Karasuno.

It broke his heart to see it again, and Koushi questioned why he came back.

A little girl approached him, her face covered in dirt and hair ratted. Her clothes were ripped, barely hanging on. "Do you have a coin to spare?" Her voice was small and raspy.

Koushi knelt down next to her, offering the girl a kind smile. He opened his satchel, pulling out three gold pieces and setting them in her hands. The girl gasped, eyes widening at the amount. It would be enough to feed her family for a couple of weeks.

"Bless you!" She cried, tears brimming her eyes. She lurched forward, hugging the Omega. Koushi hugged back, patting her head. The girl ran off giggling, handing a gold piece to a nearby food cart.

He continued down the streets, keeping his head down. The hood of his long, black cloak covered his face. He wasn't sure how well people would take to him returning. He never knew how they felt after he left.

He never planned on returning... but here he was.

Koushi came to a stop in front of a shack all too familiar. The wood was rotting, the thatched roof beginning to cave in with how many holes were in it. It was in bad conditions when he lived there, it was only worse now. A couple children sat outside of the home, playing in the mud. A few others were tending to some of the damage. The door was only hanging on by a single hinge, allowing Koushi to see through the huge crack. There were more children inside.

He wondered...

Hesitantly, Koushi approached the small home. He glanced at the sign nailed into the door, running his fingers over the letters carved into the piece of wood.

'Orphanage'

Koushi frowned, his fingers felt like they were numb. With more hesitance, he grabbed the edge of the door and opened it. Inside, a few of the children were sleeping in the makeshift beds made of hay and old cloth. The small, stone fireplace was lit, a pot of stew cooking above the flame. A little boy was stirring it, humming a song.

"We're not open right now," a familiar voice rasped. Koushi's shoulders tensed, his face scrunching into a grimace.

"It's an orphanage," he retorted back, though his voice shook a little. He never thought he'd have to see this man again. "You're always open."

There was a clutter, and the man seemed to freeze for a moment. Koushi watched as Kujo slowly turned around. He looked older now, though Koushi shouldn't be surprised... he's been gone for a while. There were crows lines off to the side of his eyes and he was beginning to get smile lines. He wasn't that old, but enough to show some wising age.