見習い工

***Important Notice: In my chapters before this, I've been keeping a strictly 3rd person POV.  I decided to change that--I'm going to do 1st person POV (and switch POV).***

*Hikoku*

*Daiki P.O.V.*

*Flashback to December 6*

       Keito was lying down on the futon that Mirai’s mother had pulled out.  “You two have seriously grown so big!  The last time I saw you, Keito had just been born…” she cooed, probably imagining us as babies as she beheld each of our faces.

      “Well it has been quite some time,” I said while I sipped on the cup of herbal tea she’d given me to regain my energy.  “I mean, we were informed that you two were the ones who had been holding my brother captive, but it seems many things have changed here that no one else is aware of.”

       I was impatient and they knew it—I wasn’t going to let them forget.  “I want answers,” I said, “And I want to see my brother.”

      “Please calm down,” she said, “I’m sure you will get to see your brother soon…We just have to come up with a plan first.  We can’t just go bursting into the palace—do you know how dangerous that would be for everyone?”

      “Well I don’t quite see how considering you are the Queen and King, but please enlighten me,” I said.  I was probably being a bit too rude towards them but I couldn’t quite help myself anymore.  I was still tired and cranky that I hadn’t seen Ryosuke in the longest of time.  It’d been about half a month.  That was too long—before this he hadn’t gone more than a couple hours at school of not seeing Ryosuke. 

       They didn’t speak so I continued on, “I could just leave right now.  Nothing’s stopping me.”

       “And you’d be incredibly stupid to do so,” Mirai walked in with a tranquil face that somehow annoyed me at the time, “Considering your brother is practically passed out in exhaustion, you have no clue how to get to the palace, and even if you did find your way there you’d only get yourself arrested.”

      My annoyance was growing, but her father walked in the room again, sitting down across from me.  The queen handed him a cup of tea and he sat there just as calmly as his daughter spoke.  “Anyhow,” he started, “How about a talk?  You said yourself you wanted an explanation; we would also like you two to tell us how you got here in the first place.  How about some friendly sharing of information?”

      I merely nodded; I did want information, that much was true.  “I want information as well,” Keito sat up from the futon, and the queen gave him some tea as well.

      “Alright,” I sat back in the chair, placing the cup on the wooden table in front of me, “Let’s start this talk then.  If you guys are the King and Queen Sakurai I know of, why are you living in this shack in the middle of nowhere?  And why does the rest of the world believe that you’re still in charge of the country, living in the palace?”

        “It’s a very long and complicated story,” King Sakurai sighed, taking a quick sip, “But it dates all the way back to twenty years ago.  It all started when a man came to me in the late hours of the evening.  I remember it well; I was preparing to retire to bed when a loud knocking came at the chambers to my office.  In ran my advisor who said that a man was demanding that I have a conference with him—he said it would be ‘most wise to take him quickly’.  I didn’t know what he meant at the time by that, but I soon found out afterwards.  Quickly I went to the door only to be met with a knife to my throat.  I’ll tell you, I sure was shocked.  To top things off, the man holding the knife and demanding a conference was my top alliance among the congressmen. 

        “As you must already know, Hikoku was the only country to have a constitutional monarchy where the King works together with the congress to rule the country.  It had worked this way for years and years before my time.  Back to this man, though, his name was Nishikido Kezura.  Not only had Kezura been a close alliance, he was also considered a very close friend of mine.  He’s even one of my daughter’s godfather.  I had given him full access to the palace—the guards never suspected him or anyone he brought into the palace.  It’s just the way it was.  I suppose I should have been a better friend, I never even noticed when Kezura had turned into something that wasn’t Kezura.  He had become power hungry—he wanted to get rid of the King and Queen.  He was there to assassinate me that night.

         “I told him we could work it out.  I told him he’d be a fool to do something like that.  Next thing I know, he was dragging my wife through the door, knife at throat.  The whole palace had been taken over before I knew it.  I’d already lost my power—he’d already taken it.  The days passed and the annual conference was coming up.  I’d been ordered to make my last stand as King—to declare war on the other nations.  I did so for the sake of my family.  He promised safety for my wife and daughter.    Once our act was done and we’d returned to Hikoku, he ordered my wife and I to death after I pleaded for my daughter’s life.  Little did I know at that time he would take my daughter and raise her himself.  We were able to escape though.  I did try going back for my daughter once—it was a few years later.  But we’d already lost her.  The moment she saw me, she ran to get Kezura.  We had to leave if we wanted to live.  We haven’t seen her since and we’ve been living here.”

       I didn’t exactly know how to respond to it, but Keito beat me to the punch.  “So basically, you’re saying Hikoku is now under the rule of this Nishikido Kezura?”

       “Was,” King Sakurai confirmed, “Nishikido Kezura died a little while back.  Recently his son, Nishikido Ryo, took over the country and is in charge.  That’s when your brother was kidnapped.”

          “And what happened to your daughter?” I asked.

        “Erika,” the queen mused as if in pain at the memories, “Mirai tells us she’s engaged to Nishikido.  Apparently, as rumor has it around the palace, she’s the one who kidnapped your brother from Mizukoku.”

       “It seems,” Mirai joined, “I investigated last time I was there and all of the maids’ gossip seemed to point to that.”

       “So is there any maids’ gossip about my brother?” Keito asked and I agreed immediately.

      “There is,” she nodded, “I know the maid in charge of taking care of your brother.  Besides that, he usually stays in his chambers all day long, never really coming out unless for meals.  The last I’ve heard is he’s ‘moody’ and ‘doesn’t like Nishikido-sama’.  But that’s to be expected.  I’m preparing to set back out for the palace, so I’ll bring back as much information as I can.”

       “Wait, why can you go to the palace, but we can’t?” I asked.

       “I’m secretly working in the palace as a maid under a deal with Nishikido.  He believes I’m the daughter of a rich man named Yokoyama in town.  That’s how it’s going to stay as well,” she warned me as if I someone to tell.  “Anyway, if you went to the palace they would all know who you were and you’d put not only yourselves and your brother in danger, but also my plans and everything my family has worked for.”

        “And what is your family working for?” Keito mused.

       “Revenge,” she smiled sweetly, which was pretty creepy, “I’m going to help my family take back what is ours.  I’m going to restore my family to power and fix Hikoku.  We just need Nishikido and my sister out of the way.”

        I didn’t really have much more to say and King Sakurai spoke again, “Now can you explain what’s going on at your end?  How did you get here and what’s going on your country?”

       “Well, after Ryosuke was kidnapped my father and the other Kings sent us on a quest to recover my brother from Hikoku.  Basically we were coming up with a bunch of different plans to get him back, but right when we’ve almost gotten to Hikoku, they message us and call us back to Yukiguni,” Keito explained and I took over.

       “Keito and I weren’t down with the plan, so we stole a lifeboat and came here ourselves.  The leader of the quest was actually the soon to be King of Mizukoku, Yamaa Tomohisa.  He wasn’t on the same path as us and wanted to return immediately—following the orders of the Kings.  However, we were so close.  There was no way we were going back.”

       “Why did they call you guys back?” he asked.

      “We have no clue.  They didn’t mention anything in the message, probably in case it was intercepted or something.  But when we set off we didn’t know why they didn’t want us going into Hikoku anymore.  We just did it anyway.  We have to find our brother.”

       King Sakurai only nodded, sipping the tea again, quiet taking over the room.  “Alright then,” he finally spoke once more, “Now that we’ve gotten our stories and explanations out, are we on the same page?” He stuck his hand out to me and I looked at it for but a moment before grasping it. 

      “I guess this means we’re working on the same team from now on,” I smiled.

*Present December 10*

       Mirai had finally set out for the palace again, and I was jittery.  I wanted her to return already.  I know she told me that she would be away for a while, but I needed her to return now.  I needed to know what was happening with Ryosuke, what he was doing, how he was being treated.  Hopefully Mirai could speak with him…

      “Onii-san,” Keito came up to me.

      “Yeah?” I looked at him and he was dressed in a weird outfit.  “What the heck are you wearing?”

      “King Sa—I mean Sakaguchi-oji-san is taking me out fishing.  He asked if you want to come help.”  Sakaguchi was the Sakurai’s alias that they’ve been using for the past twenty years.  At first I didn’t quite understand it—as all of the people in this village knew who they were and there was no hiding that.  But soon I came to understand that if anyone did happen to stumble upon this village that was younger, they wouldn’t know who they were, so having an alias was continent.  Also, if worse came to worst, they could try to disguise themselves and everyone in the town had the same alias to call them.  Someone wouldn’t be saying, “Oh that’s the Fujimoto family” while another called them the Sato household.

      As for the oji-san…Well King Sakurai had insisted we call him Uncle.  The queen wasn’t any better, immediately saying we should call her aunt as well.

      “Alright,” I grumbled, “I’m coming.  I need something to take my mind off of all of this stress…” I ruffled my hair and headed out to the river with Keito. 

*Yukiguni*

*Mao P.O.V.*

      I let out my first sigh of relief in all the weeks since Ryosuke had gone missing—the trial had been a draw.  The votes were exactly even to my surprise.  While this wasn’t the best news—I’d been hoping for a heavy vote on not disowning Ryosuke—but a draw would have to do for now.  The judging had come to a conclusion as well.  They’d come down to Ryosuke not being forgiven for his treason, but he wouldn’t be disowned.  When more evidence was brought before the trial—which Jun had been able to convince the others that Ryosuke would have to be present to defend himself—the trial would be resumed and the final verdict would be reached. 

      So until I had Ryosuke back safe and sound, I didn’t have to worry about him being disowned. 

       “Jun,” he walked out of the main courtroom, and I pulled him over to the side, “I’m sorry for being so snappy with you recently.”

       He sighed, running his hand through his hair, “No…It was my fault too.  I’m sorry it took me so long to come around.  You know, it’s just my…”

      “The fact that your pride is bigger than you?” I smiled, fixing his suit.  “It’s alright.  I know you, and I know how much you love our sons.  As much trouble as I gave you, I didn’t really think you wanted our Ryosuke disowned.”

       “Of course I don’t Mao,” and as we were secluded in the corner of the courthouse, his eyes finally gave away the barrier they held.  I finally saw the sadness and anger and fear that he constantly hid away behind a mask of pride and strength a King is expected to have. 

      I quickly embraced him while no one was in sight, “Everything will work out…Right, Jun?” I needed some kind of assurance from him.  I needed his support.  I was falling apart. 

        I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders, “Right…Everything will turn out alright.  I promise.” 

       And while his words brought me the assurance I needed at the moment, his promise echoed around the room—it was an empty promise and both of us knew it was just to make me feel better.  He couldn’t promise me anything in this situation. 

       Suddenly the doors to the courtroom opened and we separated as a stream of people left the room.  Shortly after, King Ninomiya confronted my husband.  I knew they were in an argument and I could hear the acquisitions he made against my son.  Yuriko came to me though and held my hand briefly, “I’m so sorry Mao,” her eyes held that familiar sadness I was getting accustomed to seeing now, “I’m afraid Kazunari probably won’t allow us to make trips here very often anymore…But I believe things will go back to normal soon.  Just wait a bit.  The royal families are just a bit strained right now.”

      “I understand, Yuriko,” I nodded, giving her hand a squeeze, “I will try to keep in contact as much as I can.”

      “I will as well,” she gave me a weak smile before letting go of my hand and she made her way to her husband.  “Kazunari, this will solve nothing.  Please, let’s go quickly.  We have to catch the train as well still.”

      In anger, I saw him turn quickly and leave with her as my husband only had enough time to rub the sweat from his nape before Ohno approached him.  This time there was no fighting, just a simple nod, and Rosa smiled to me, before they swiftly took their exit as well.  The only ones to stop and talk kindly were the Aiba’s.  “Don’t worry, Jun,” King Aiba was saying as I sat with Yuka, “We’re still alliances and I’ll do my best to help you whenever I can.  I support your decision as well in there.”  He clapped him on the shoulder.

      “Thank you, Masaki,” he seemed to groan a bit, “However, you siding with me will make Kazu a bit angry as well.  I’m afraid we may have lost our strongest ally.”

      Masaki shrugged, “While it may be true to an extent, I know that Kazunari still considers us a better ally than Hikoku.  With the discovery of the Sakurai family’s deaths and Nishikido’s take over as well, I’m certain if Hikoku attacks he will back us up.  You and Kazu have always had hot tempers.  But when it comes down to it, you two always do the right thing.”

       And my husband smiled at his words genuinely, letting Yuka and I smile as well.  “Ah we must be off,” he said, and like that, Jun and I were left alone again before Yuya came to stand beside us.  

*Yuri’s P.O.V.*

      “Yuto, Hina!”  Yuto and I had been playing in the snow with the three younger ones and we had almost finished building a snowman for them when I saw Yuto’s parents at the gates and a couple of guards waiting behind them.  “Come quickly.”

       “Won’t we stay for supper?” Yuto responded, getting up and brushing the snow off of his clothes.

       “No, we’re leaving immediately,” his father called, “Grab your sister and hurry along.”

      Yuto only looked at me and I shrugged.  “I’ll see you soon I guess,” Yuto said, grabbing his little sister’s hand. 

      “Onii-san, we didn’t get to finish the snowman yet!” Hina complained.

       “Sorry Hina, but Otou-san says it’s time to go.  See you Yuri,” he waved to me. 

       “See you Yuto,” I said, “Bye Hina.”

       She waved goodbye before yelling out, “Bye Sato!  Bye-bye Saki!”

       I was left to play with Saki and Sato before their parents too came and got them.  At least the Aiba’s came over and said goodbye to me as well though before they left.  My parents hadn’t returned yet and neither had Yuya. 

       I was about to go inside to finish waiting until I heard one of the guards talking.  I turned to look, making sure they weren’t talking to me or if my parents had returned with news.  But looking back, there stood a girl I didn’t know.  “Her majesty should know of my arrival,” she said, “She’s accepted me as her apprentice.”

      There was some chatter for a while before the gates finally opened and she walked in.  I had no idea who she was so I could only stare at her.  She came straight up the path though and smiled when she saw me.  “You must be Yuri-kun!” she smiled widely. 

      She was already using my first name so casually?  Just who was this girl!?  “Who are you?” I asked directly. 

       “Me?” she seemed to giggle obnoxiously, “I’m going to be apprenticing under your mother.  I’ve been studying a form of snow healing for the past six years, and I entered the contest this year at the hospital to become her apprentice.  I’ll be studying alongside her for the next year, Yuri-kun~!”

      I shivered.  Seriously, this girl was too close to him for them just meeting.  “So…you’re staying here?” I asked nervously.  “Okaa-san didn’t say anything about this…”

       “That’s right!” she sang out, “That means I have a new little brother.”

       “Oh…okay,” I nodded.  I didn’t really want an older sister—I only wanted my older brothers back, “So what’s your name?”

       “Oh mine?” she asked stupidly.  I was honestly surprised she could even get this apprenticeship considering how bubbly, annoying, and dumb she came off to me.  “My name’s Suzuki, Emi!  Yoroshiku!”

Another chapter up :3  So like I said in the beginning, I think I'm going to make a switch to 1st person POVs from now on.  The 3rd person was getting diffiuclt--I kept wanting to write "I" and by the time I finished this chapter, I noticed I wrote it all in 1st person.  And honestly I'm too lazy to go back through and make it all 3rd person again.  

I'm finally getting some more backstory in here and everything...Next chapter is back to Ryosuke so look forward to it! :) I will update as soon as possible!! 

Also, a big thank you to all of my readers again and especially those who comment!  Thanks to Eka-chan and Riena82 who has returned to reading as well!!!  Please keep commenting and tell me how you like it :D  Also thanks always to Rei-chan and the others who are reading and have been supporting me too :3 次回まで！楽しんで下さい

(Posted 木・2014年06月12日)