Accompanied song: GIFT (Hey! Say! JUMP)

Yuto was strolling around the castle in the early day. There was no work for him for the time being until the rest of the Alliance’s troops arrived. He wondered how his clan’s soldiers would reach Matsudera since he himself was here and he did not know whether his father was still alive. However, General Shida had assured him that his men would come, somehow.

His mind shifted. Even if the troops arrived, would they be useful? Ryosuke had not showed any progress from his grief so far. He remembered his encounter with Ryosuke this morning.

He saw Ryosuke exited Mirai’s chamber in the early morning, looked disheveled. He wondered whether they spent last night together, but he shrugged the thought right away as he realized it was their privacy. Not wanting to lose Ryosuke again, he called him.

Ryosuke turned to him, but Ryosuke’s eyes when seeing him were… cold. He sighed in his mind. Ryosuke had built a wall between them now.

“Ryosuke, could we talk?” He said tentatively. He could not get rid of his guilt toward his friend.

“No,” Ryosuke answered shortly. The tone Ryosuke used did not leave any room to argue.

His heart dropped. “Do you hate me, now?”

Ryosuke turned his back on him, “It will be much easier if I can simply hate you.”  And then Ryosuke walked away.

He stared at Ryosuke’s back when suddenly the said man halted and spoke, “I haven’t released you from the duty, so don’t slack off.” After this, Ryosuke turned at the corner and disappeared.

Hearing the ice in Ryosuke’s voice only added on his guilt. Stilling himself, he decided to carry out his duty as Ryosuke’s wish: protecting Mirai.

Just as his mind thought about Mirai, he saw the lady trotted down the stairs in front of the mansion. Noticing her worried face, he run to her direction.

“What’s wrong?” He asked right after he reached her.

Mirai looked at him, “Yuto-kun, do you know where Ryosuke is? I’ve searched the mansion, but he wasn’t there.”

“I saw him leaving the castle with his stallion this morning.”

Her eyes widened in an instant, “He is outside? Alone? Isn’t it dangerous?”

He managed a small smile, “Don’t worry, his shadow never leaves him.”

“So… Yuri-kun is with him?”

“Yes.”

She exhaled a relief sigh. “I was afraid that he would run away just like that.”

Seeing her worried face, he asked, “Could we talk, Mirai?”

She was a bit surprise by the sudden request, but nodded her agreement eventually.

Soon, they settled themselves in the garden before the mansion. He leaned on the maple tree while Mirai sat on the bench beside the tree.

“Did you look for Ryosuke yesterday?” He asked straight to the point.

“Yes,” there was no hesitation in her voice when she spoke. “I knew you told me to leave him alone, but I couldn’t just let him dwell in his sorrow by himself. He needed someone, Yuto-kun.”

He considered her words before finally said, “Thank you, Mirai. It seems I have misunderstood him.”

Instead of answering, she stared straight to the front where the pavement road stretched, “What should we do now?”

He gazed upward to the sky, “I think, this time we all depend on you, Mirai.”

“Me?”

He turned his gaze to her, “Yesterday, when you looked for him, he didn’t push you away, did he?”

It seemed a comprehension dawned on her, “No, he let me stay.”

“You’re the only one he allows to be close to him now.”

“You and Yuri-kun are his best friends, too, right?”

“We’re friend, but we’re also rivals, Mirai. He will never let me see his weakness. Moreover,” the guilt rose in his heart, “After he knew the truth, I don’t think our friendship will stay as it was.”

“Why do you not believe in him?” Her sudden reprimand caught him off guard. “Will you give up on him now? Will you let your friendship crumble just like that?”

He lost his words for a moment. Contemplating, he realized his mistake. “I’m sorry,” he looked at her in shame. “You’re right. I was being too pessimistic just now.”

She smiled, “We’re going to take care of him together.”

He returned it with his own smile, “Yeah, together.”

She nodded as though approving his statement. “What about Yuri-kun? There is nothing bad going between them, right?”

“Yes, he has a bigger chance than me to come closer to Ryosuke right now,” he sighed, “But being Ryosuke’s shadow, Chii can’t do much to comfort him.”

He got a glimpse of her confusion, so he added, “You heard what Ryosuke said, right? He told Chii that he wanted to be alone.  That was indirect order for Chii not to approach him and Chii cannot defy Ryosuke’s order.”

When the confusion on her face vanished, he continued, “That’s why, right now, you have the biggest chance among us to deal with Ryosuke. We’ll do anything to help, though.”

She smiled once more, “Alright, for the time being, I’ll do your parts to take care of him, too.”

**********

Ryosuke sat on the perch of a cliff, his horse was secured way behind him, grassing under the trees canopy. Below him, the vast farming field lied under the borderless sky. He could see many little moving dots which he assumed as Matsudera’s people harvesting their crops.

Looking at the serene view of the nature, it felt like everything was alright. However, when he remembered the bloods stained the palace grounds, he knew that it was just an illusion. Just like his own life… full of lies.

“Father!” the six years old Ryosuke run toward King Shohei who just dismounted his horse.

Seeing him running, his father smiled, crouching down with his arms opened. Soon after, he was enclosed by his father’s arms.

“How are you my little prince? Were you good?”

Ryosuke nodded, “Un! I’m a good boy, Father. I helped Mother planting flowers.”

His father stood up while carrying him, “Woah, you are heavier, now. You must have eaten a lot.”

He laughed, “Lady Maeko gave me very very delicious cakes.”

His father frowned, “Hmm, it seems Father should tell Lady Maeko to stop fattening you.”

He exclaimed, “Eh? But you said if I eat a lot I will grow fast.”

His father only chuckled.

“Which side of you should I believe in, Father?” He muttered as another scene from his past replayed.

“Father…,” the eight years old Ryosuke called hesitantly.

His father turned his back on him. “Don’t come to see me unless I summon you. Seeing you only bring me pains!”

A lone tear escaped his eyes and he brushed it off right away. Why did he easily shed tears now? Had he become weak?

“To whom do you need to look strong, Ryosuke?”

Mirai’s voice suddenly slipped in between his father’s memories and then various scenes flashed in his mind.

“You should be strong, stronger than anyone else, Ryosuke.”

“Promise Mother that you’ll always support your father, will you, Son?”

“…Ryo-chan will always support me, right?”

“Marry Lady Mirai and be strong for me, Ryosuke.”

He repeated the question to himself. “To whom do I need to look strong?”

The mountain breeze flowed past him, swaying his tresses. The rustle of the leaves reminded him that he was not alone. He bet Yuri was watching him from somewhere right now. The Nakayama and General Shida would not let him leave the castle if they were not sure he would not run away.

Shrugging the thought off, he replayed another fragment of his past.

 “Ryosuke, look!”

He saw a pendant hanging before his eyes. He looked up to his father. “A star?”

“It’s for your mother,” a twinkle in his father eyes. “Next week is her birthday.”

“Woah, so cool! Mother likes stars so much.”

“Really?”

“Un! I like stars, too, Father.”

“Your seventh birthday is still several months ahead. You want a pendant like this, too?”

He shook his head, and made a circle with his arms, “Bigger!”

His father chuckled, “That big?”

He nodded firmly and his father patted his head while giving him a smile, “Just wait then, Ryosuke. I’ll give you the biggest star.”

He remembered that he really waited for his father fulfilling his promise. Every year in his birthday, he waited for him to come and bring him the star he promised. But… he never came.

He reached into his pant pocket and took out a white-gold pendant. The star pendant glinted under the sun. Staring at his mother’s memento, his mind recalled the view of Nakayama’s troops lined up in the training ground with their sky-blue uniforms and star emblems.

“You did give me the biggest star, Father,” this time he let his tears flowed down his cheeks silently.

“Thank you for seeing me today, Ryosuke,” his father smiled.

“But you took its glow. You gave me the darkest star.”

Another breeze flowed as though reminded him of another thing. He wiped the tears off from his cheeks. Staring to the view below, he put on the necklace around his neck then brought his sword into sight. He unsheathed his father’s gift for his second coming-of-age.

A Gift of Perseverance

The words craved on the steel glinted strongly that he narrowed his eyes.

“It’s up to you to believe it or not, but your decision will definitely affect Hakumei and its people.”

He gazed upward to the sky and asked, “What should I do now?”

**********

Mirai startled when suddenly she heard a knock on her balcony door in the early night. She walked cautiously toward the door.

“Who is there?”

“It’s me, Yuri.”

Raising a brow, she opened the door and saw Yuri sat on the balcony rail.