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The banging of the drums fell deaf in Kenma's ears, he felt like he was vibrating on the earth's surface, and luckily for him, his good friend, Akaashi had tapped him on the shoulder and offered a sympathetic smile. During the years that they have known each other, he knew very well what that smile implied, asking permission for him to drag the prince to a serene place, much to Kenma's chagrin, every corner of the land was enjoying the festival, an event that most commoners were dying to experience. 

"My apologies, I had thought that you would enjoy…" Akaashi motioned to the gleeful crowd, the children laughing and enjoying the night with their parents, "all this, a break from your royal du—" Akaashi raised a brow when Kenma shook his head in disagreement, "Please, I appreciate the sentiment. It's actually quite nice, It obviously just isn't for me. I can't stand crowds after all." He chuckled and continued to walk with his hands clasped behind his back. 

For a prince, Kozume Kenma was quiet, mystical, and aspiring wherein Akaashi, their war strategist was poetic, kind and open-minded, to the young prince, he was grateful that he grew up with his dear friend. He didn't mind that people usually didn't take a second look at him, in fact it made him sigh in relief whenever he was attending a ball and little to no one had approached him from there. 

There had even been a prophecy during Prince Kenma's birthday, that he will be the one to bring everlasting peace to their lands with of course, something that irked the life of him, through true love. 

"Do you think that the beginning of the prophecy will commence anytime soon? You are twenty two years old now after all," Akaashi muttered as they walked around the town, having known each other since they were in diapers had its perks and right now Kenma was slightly bothered that Akaashi could basically read his mind. 

Kenma snorted at the question and asked, "You're asking me? Someone who does not believe in soulmates nor God?" it was a rhetorical question and the corners of Akaashi's lips turned upwards as he shook his head. "It's not true, I like to believe it isn't. It's just something that the people opt to presuppose in these prophecies in hopes of not lifting a finger in helping acquire the so-called peace they so badly want. Unfortunately I think it's blinding them because they're becoming so dependent on…me. I do not even like people to begin with, let alone have the ability to love them," 

"Mm, ever since your 18th birthday it's like I no longer am of use." Kenma rolled his eyes at this, Akaashi was a cunning man if anything else. He wasn't the Southern Kingdom's war strategist for nothing. "Regardless, my birthday came and went, and nothing eventful happened…well except for the fact that Lev had accidentally thrown himself in the 6 foot cake the local bakery made for me."

"It was such a mess and an irrational decision, he thought that savages from the Eastern kingdom had placed some sort of chemicals inside your cake, and so he literally dived for it."

"The Eastern and Northern Kingdom used to be allies, did they not? And the well known biochemists come from the Northern Kingdom, no?" 

Akaashi made a sound of agreement as he suddenly stopped walking and looked around carefully, "My prince, you can not just say something like that, people here are quick to misinterpret conversations from the higher-ups and spread rumors like wildfire, well…especially if it comes from the future king himself." 

"Ah it's not that I am blaming them of—" 

"KEEEENMAAAA!!" 

The two boys shared a glance that usually preceded unfortunate events, they sighed deeply as they heard a few profanities thrown around because of the overexcited knight. 

"Goddammit, Haiba!" Yaku complained as he kept up with the Southern Kingdom's Knight, the silver haired boy just grinned widely at the prince who was back to his passive look, "Can you believe our kingdom makes the BEEEEST candy apples?!" The young knight squealed as he grabbed Kenma by the shoulders and shook him, the older boy nodded at this and tried to refrain Lev from gripping too tightly on his clothes. 

Kenma was suddenly hit with a terrifying realization,

"You bastard! You are allergic to apples!" 

Lev was quick to let go of Kenma and suddenly he began questioning his decisions in life. "Oh my God! I am going to die!" He frantically moved around in circles if it were not for Yaku hitting the back of his head with a fan that they had probably bought from one of the stalls. 

"You haven't told him he isn't actually allergic to beef?" Akaashi elbowed Kenma who was staring blankly at a house's roof, "I've no plans to…Akaashi, I feel like someone has been following us." 

The four boys were well aware of how grievous the Western Kingdom's knights were. They showed no mercy and demanded respect and fear from anyone they came across with. The situation they were in right now was no different even if the Southern Kingdom's Prince was right there, caught unguarded and surprised. 

Lev was snapped out of his I'm at the precipice of (not really) death and stood in front of Kenma and grabbed onto his sword, the tall man snickered in amusement, he signalled for Lev to calm down, as he stepped out of the shadows and into the limelight, his physical appearance had dawned on the curious and alarmed boys. Red spiky hair, menacing eyes, a lanky body, and most importantly he came unarmed. 

"It's not quite fair, no? He wields a weapon and come on! look at me, completely defenseless." The man spoke and raised both of his arms. Lev retreated from drawing his sword and looked at Kenma like a kicked puppy, asking for permission if he could arrest the trespassing man. 

"We have to go," Yaku whispered to the three of them, maintaining distance from the enemy. "Now." He added as Lev visibly tensed up from his friend's tone. The foreign man had clucked his tongue in disapproval and took a step forward, his right arms landing lazily on his hip and chuckling, he taunted, "Ah I have heard that you people dislike small talk and because I dislike you, we shall engage on one."

"What now, your Highness?" Akaashi asked, their plans of departure had been foiled. "It isn't as if we do not have all night, please enlighten us, we would like to know your reason for visiting the Southern Kingdom."

"Ah! Well," The man had trailed off and put out a facade, he tapped his pointer finger on his chin and feigned consideration for his next words. The four boys were fixated on every move the man had made, even with looking at him, without even blinking, Kenma did not register what his next move was. Before anyone could react or say anything, the first knife had struck the blade that Lev has raised, which he had drawn out barely in time. The second one had hit the target squarely on the shoulder. Kenma gasped for air as he felt the strong pressure of the knife digging into his flesh, Akaashi and Yaku had unsheathed their own swords, "Please do kindly stay where you are and perhaps listen to what I have to say," 

The man grinned from ear to ear as he saw the captain of the knights were about to charge at him, "Yaku-san! Stop! Wait! You'll end up breaking the law!" Lev screeched, looking torn between the perilous situation, the two were rattled when they heard the man laughing, 

"Bah! you pacifists, how boring!" 

Kenma held onto Akaashi as if his life depended — it quite actually did at this moment, "You're surprisingly dull but…that's quite fine with me. I'm Tendou by the way and here's a short message from the Western King, Ushijima, we shall take over your lands and leave nothing of your existence in trail. You can pray to your Gods and beg for your lives," A chilling grin was plastered on Tendou's face as he grimly looked at them like prey. 

"I lack belief in God and I firmly believe that we will not immediately surrender to your king."

"I do not want you to hurt any further but oh well…King's orders is to leave the pretty prince alive." 

"Leave now if that is," Kenma breathed harshly as he sucked in for air, Tendou was seemingly amused with how helpless and submissive the prince looked, "all you were sent for." he finished, stumbling on his words as he clung tightly on Akaashi's coat. 

"Fair warning, I'll see you again sometime soon, when everything you have diligently worked hard for is in shambles." They saved the effort of not capturing or harming the Western Kingdom's strongest knight and retrieved back to the palace, panicked and afraid, it was mostly Lev who was frightful of the turn of events. 

↻

"Akaashi…" a timid voice called out from the palace kitchens, the aforementioned boy turned around to see Shoyo who was fiddling with his fingers. "Will he be okay?" He could see the tears brimming in his younger friend's eyes, he sighed deeply at this. "He won't die, that is what I am certain of. I'm not saying this because I want to fool you with setting reality aside, it's for the reason that we do have commended medical specialists working for us, do we not?" 

Shoyo visibly relaxed at this and chuckled, "Ah, you're right…mmhn, although I do have a question for you if you do not mind?" 

"Go on," 

"Why didn't you make any effort to capture the Knight? All of you were capable to do so! In that way we would know about their plans and di—" 

"That's a risky way of saving the Kingdom and it's not like we have already prepared for this. Besides, taking Tendou with us here would disrupt more chaos between the two Kingdoms, don't you think? He came unarmoured and fearlessly attacked the prince, I would like to think that he would've been able to kill the three of us if we started a commotion and I take the man as someone who wouldn't dare defy their King, especially if it's someone as tyrannical as Ushijima. He wouldn't utter a single word, he'd probably play dirty tricks along the way to the palace. It was a  risk we couldn't take."

"I'm sorry I asserted something about knowing better than y—" 

"It's fine, Shoyo. I understand that you are concerned for his Highness. Shimizu informed me that Kenma had rat poison running through his blood now thanks to the knife Tendou had attacked him with. It will take days before the symptoms present themselves and it depends on the victim's body mass, and the potency of the poison itself…"

"Kenma weighs like paper," Shoyo pointed out while he was busy overthinking his friend's situation, Akaashi hummed in agreement and said, "He will be fine, give them a few days and he'll be back on his feet just in time for the preparations of war against the Western Kingdom."

"Goodnight, Akaashi."

A week has passed and there were things that Lev had felt guilty about but got over it soon, however, he was sneaking off with the prince himself, he noticed how Kenma lost even more weight and looked weary of his surroundings, his 17 years of living inside the palace and being his mischievous self, he has never actually got the chance to explore the whole castle grounds and right now Kenma held Lev's wrist loosely as they wandered around the underground hallways of the palace. The two had discovered the network of secret passageways inside the castle and had been fortunate enough to arrive and eavesdrop on the conversation that had started inside the throne room. 

King Kainoshin Kozume had been straightforward in delivering his wishes for the kingdom, he was a good man whose presence just demanded respect and authority from anyone who sees him. The Prince, his son, Kozume Kenma was set to wed the Youngest Prince of the Northern Kingdom, the Kingdom who were their biggest rivals aside from the Western Kingdom. 

"Holy shit!" Lev gasped as he ducked his head and moved farther away from the walls and slid down, baffled and whatnot because of the news (and secret they were not supposed to find out about for days) Kenma glared at Lev and kicked him softly in the shin, he couldn't hit him harder if he wanted to, Lev was quite the crybaby, he couldn't take the chance. 

"You're not the one marrying the prince, why are you so disturbed?" 

"Why aren't you disturbed? If anything, you're the least person I know who's enamored by surprises, Hell! You punched me in the nose when I was only trying to surprise you on your 18th birthday!!" 

"Oh believe me, that felt proper. You can't possibly blame me for worrying about my own safety, right? It was the day where the people of the kingdom believed that I would magically find true love and end the wars. How foolish."

"Mmn, shouldn't we leave now?" Kenma nodded and walked ahead of Lev, "What are your plans then? Never have I imagined you being in a relationship with anyone! Let alone getting married!" Kenma looked back at him with a piercing glare and resisted the urge to hit him in the head, it could be the cause why Lev is getting more and more irrational with his choices. 

"You can stop being annoying any moment now." Kenma rolled his eyes as Lev looked at him with that innocence in his eyes and a lop-sided grin. "Ooooh I am ecstatic! I wonder what the people of the Northern Kingdom are like!" 

"That's easy, they're imaginative, ambitious and incredibly strategic. They haven't shuddered at the sight of King Ushijima paying them a visit from the last two years. It seems that to the devil of a king, he didn't like not being able to defeat an enemy who is able to recover easily."

"Then why haven't they tried to take on the people responsible for the strength of their kingdom, their brain?" The Knight had chivalrously pulled the chair out for Kenma, they were about to play a game of chess in the palace's library and Lev had never won a single game against the prince. 

"I honestly have no idea, they could possibly be scared…or that the brains of the  Northern Kingdom are completely untouchable. If my father believes that a wedding would solve this conundrum then I trust his judgement, he is the man I look up to and his decisions has saved the kingdom from jeopardy." 

"It's not like you have a choice after all, perhaps the hardest part to believe in is you getting wed to someone we have perceived as an enemy during our whole childhood." The younger boy exclaimed as he focused on the board in front of him, Kenma relaxed in the caqeutoire he was seated on, chairs that were often made from walnut rather than oak allowing the frames to be more elaborately carved.

"Which will be considered as an ally soon once we make amends with them, don't worry your little bunny braim about it." Kenma chuckled as Lev frowned at him and let out a hmph. "I am just simply looking out for my best friend!" he whined and thrashed in his chair as he crossed his arms. 

"It won't be easy, but it's not…impossible to join forces with the Kingdom that we've deemed a rival for.. I think centuries. That being said, it's only because I have heard that the Northern Kingdom are running on thin ice, their capacity to hold off the Western Kingdom will soon melt, they're probably running out of materials, because King Ushijima took control of the travels, directions and secret underground catacombs where merchants are free to enter...maybe this is their plan. The point is, at this point they may have no choice but to agree with the fixed marriage my father had planned. He must be writing a letter now, or have already written, whatever. I am doing this for our people."

"You're so selfless at times, it's pretty terrifying. You know, you never really struck me out as the martyr type."

"The people should be thankful my father is a good man, and as I said, I am only agreeing to this because it's what would benefit the kingdom."

As expected Kenma had won, Lev was already sulking, he was looking at the board, Kenma's piece threatening the other king and it could not move to any other squares, and cannot be protected by another piece and the checking piece cannot be captured.

"One more!!" 

↻

The news broke out to them after three days, this was indeed happening and he was going to live his life with a man he barely knew, Kenma thought to himself as he lazily entered Akaashi's room, the latter was caught by surprise and immediately rose to his feet. "Your Highness," he mumbled, glancing around the room nervously. "I suppose…my father happened?" he asked cautiously. 

The boy nodded and cleared his bed, rolling up the various maps and notes and setting it aside on his bedside table, patting the empty space for Kenma to sit down on. "I'm sorry, what'd he say this time?" The prince played with his tunic, tracing the carried gold lacework and rich embroidery on his clothes. "The King had always been one step ahead of you, you know. It's nothing serious, really. He just wanted me to keep an eye on you because he knew you had already found out about your marriage with the Prince of the Northern Kingdom,"

"And he knows damn well I won't resist, and that I am not the most fond of surprises. Anyways, we leave tonight, don't we?" 

"Yes we do, is Lev coming along?" The knight tagged along with Kenma like a lost puppy and gladly finished Kenma's orders without blinking an eye no matter how perilous it might be. "It's completely up to him, but it would be nice to live two months without his energetic self."

Akaashi sighed, "Perhaps, it would be nice."

Kenma had never shown enthusiasm in his entire life, Lev believes that there is no single joyful fiber in his body which he agrees to. The day came and he bid goodbye to his father, whilst Lev was practically beaming . They were finally gonna put and end to the war and he would get the chance to rub in Kenma's face that the prophecy is indeed true. 

Kenma shivered as he leaned his head onto the carriage's window, Akaashi draped the prince with a wooly blanket, his Highness' favourite of all the expensive duvets he owned. "Quite an early departure, don't you think?" Lev asked as he opened a book that Yaku had recommended him to read. 

"War does not wait. The trip will take us four days to arrive at the Northern Kingdom. The faster, the better."

"No offense meant though but…isn't it suspicious how quickly the King agreed to this marriage? I am glad though, I just thought they would take their time, thinking it through."

"The Western Kingdom had completely taken over the Eastern Kingdom, Young King Tooru used to have an alliance with the King of the North, they traded items and such…King Ushijima also must have access to whatever products that the North produces."

"I have heard that their potions are lethal!" Lev piped up, Akaashi who was resting his chin on his knuckles narrowed his eyes and said, "I have never asked you before but...how do you feel?" he motioned to Kenma whose eyes widened for a fraction. 

"Well...there have been thoughts that I might be assassinated the moment I arrive and they'll take over the South…it's ridiculous but not impossible. Other than that I am pretty fine."

The book on Lev's lap was now left unattended, and he was looking at the prince like he grew another head.

Kenma raised a brow at him and scoffed, "What? We can't easily let our guards down."

"Well! I am here! The strongest of the knights!" Akaashi snorted at his statement and shook his head, on the way to the Northern Kingdom, Akaashi had explained their culture, their fighting styles, the products made that he had witnessed took the lives of their people, In fact it seemed that the Northern Kingdom were way ahead of their time. Lev arched an eyebrow and asked, "Do you really eat books for breakfast?!" 

"Where on earth did you hear that?" 

Lev glanced at Kenma, who by now had completely wrapped himself in layers of blankets. 

"No, I don't eat nor swallow textbooks," Akaashi emphasised each word towards the prince's direction and then faced Lev, "They were and currently still are our biggest threat so I invested time to actually study them? We can't just barge in and attack without a strategized, synchronised and successful plan."

"There is no guaranteed winner in war though?" Lev confusingly asked as he tilted his head. "It all depends on the King." they heard Kenma say as he yawned. 

"Wake me up when my misery worsens." He told them and returned to his comfortable position. It would work out, Akaashi was sure of it, he truly believed in King Kainoshin. Kenma would marry The Prince of the North and they would have a higher chance of stopping the war from happening. 

After an agonizingly slow journey, the carriages finally arrived in front of the Southern Kingdom which stood impeccably tall and superior. The castle itself was made out of black stone, the curved edges accented with red and gold embellishments. The wide steps leading to the front doors whereas the royal family, guard, and servants were waiting for their arrival. Before getting off the carriage, Kenma made sure his dyed hair had covered most of his eyesight, he was still going to be respectful, he just felt homesick at the moment and couldn't be bothered to face anyone right now. 

One of their footmen opened the door to their carriage and Kenma took deep breaths, he could feel Akaashi's reassuring smile, and heard Lev's little cheers before he stepped out. The sunrays immediately hit the prince's line of vision, squinting, he was already annoyed with how hot it was, he preferred the cold and he didn't like how the winds were ruffling his hair. 

He straightened his back, and strode towards the steps, Lev, Akaashi and the guards were one step behind him. He could feel his heart pounding in his ribcage, now was not the time to be anxious, it was going to drive him insane. As he felt that the steps had suddenly run out, he was standing closer to the Queen and King of the Northern Kingdom now. 

"Your Majesties, Prince Kozume Kenma of the Southern Kingdom." A Duke had announced as he bowed in front of them, "Your Majesties," his voice sounded like silk, hoping to sweep the King and Queen off their feet. "I am grateful for your acceptance of my father's request to have me married to your son, and a true honor it is to be welcomed to your wonderful home as your guest."

"And a stranger you'll no longer be once you're betrothed to our son, Prince Kōtarō." the King gestured to the young man who was proudly standing beside his father, Kenma had no interest whatsoever, he just wanted all of this to be over. The Prince bowed once more to show respect, 

"Oh! He looks like a pudding!!" 

What in the ever loving fuck did his father just sign him up for? 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, your Highness!" Prince Kōtarō chirped as he took his hand and kissed the top of it, and he just felt like dying a little bit on the inside. Kōtarō smiled widely at him yet he didn't smile in reply, and he didn't trust his mouth at the moment although for a second, he thought that Kōtarō's expression had changed, but he probably imagined it...or not. 

"I trust your journey was well?" the Queen asked him, he responded quickly, the aftermath of the long journey taking a toll on him, he wanted to sleep all day already. He could already tell how she couldn't even care less about them at this moment, "All of you must be exhausted from your journey, please let our son show you to your chambers."

Before he could follow the energetic prince, he heard the king say, "We are looking forward to seeing your presence at the ball tonight." 

"I look forward to it, your Majesty." Kenma curtly replied as he followed Prince Kōtarō up the stairs, out of the staff that he brought with him only Akaashi stayed with him, Lev got dragged by Yaku, afraid the young boy might spill out something disrespectful and eccentric that might call off the wedding. 

↻

The prince turned to Akaashi who had his hands clasped behind his back and beamed at him, "My name's Bokuto Kōtarō!" Kenma was excellent at reading people and…he was puzzled when he couldn't figure out anything wrong with Kōtarō, maybe his choice of words so far but nothing about the man exuded negative energy, if anything, he seemed genuine with each word he says.

"A pleasure to meet you, your Highness. You can call me Akaashi."

And if Kenma noticed how even brighter the Prince looked nor how the pretty color pink dusted his cheeks, he didn't say anything, it was Keiji's problem to deal with if Kōtarō had a budding crush on him.

"So are you like the prince's personal servant or uh, something?" 

Akaashi looked...pleasantly surprised by the question. Kenma knew exactly where this one was going and out of all the things, he had expected, perhaps this one of the worst ones. "I am the Southern Kingdom's war strategist, the prince's tutor and good friend." Akaashi felt like he could trust the Northern prince with the last bit of information he had just shared, the boy nodded at his words. 

"Forgive me if I seem intrusive but why isn't there a guard present beside you?" Kenma asked as Kōtarō led them through the halls and up the stairs, the taller man seemed unbothered by the question and turned to face Kenma with a smug look on his face, "Well that is because my future beloved, I am the best and skilled swordsman in the entire kingdom!!" 

"Ah," Kenma didn't speak for the rest of the time that they had walked through the palace, peeved by the atmosphere despite the lovely and lavish furnitures and design. "If your father does not request to have guards around you most of the times, that means you are fully capable of yourself?" 

Akaashi started a conversation, Kōtarō didn't seem to mind why the two of them were curious, in fact he indulged in it. He was sincerely proud of all his achievements, talent and power.

"My father believes that you wouldn't harm a single hair in my body, after all it was the Southern King's request to wed his son to me you know. Forming an alliance would guarantee both of our people's safety and you would not dare do anything to call it off, no?"

"It was nice talking to you, Kōtarō." Kenma curtly replied as the three of them stopped in front of a set of doors, the Southern prince's chambers. "I don't suppose you would know where Keiji's chambers are?" Kōtarō made a confused noise and tilted his head to the side, 

Akaashi was flustered and elbowed the prince and said, "I am completely fine, your Highness. I would not mind staying with the Prince for a wh—" 

Kenma cut him off and was amused when Akaashi sent him a piercing glare, "Oh but I do. I am worn out and would like to rest for the ball tonight. You wouldn't mind showing your guest where they'll be staying, yes?" Kenma asked Kōtarō, wearing a look that didn't appreciate the answer no. The taller male nodded at this and smiled at Akaashi, 

"Come on then, you can meet my friends here too! Maybe they are informed about the location of your chambers!!" The Northern prince gushed as he practically pulled Akaashi away from Kenma who was devilishly smirking while waving at his friend who seemed to be blushing a deep crimson red while secretly raising his middle finger towards Kenma. 

Prince Kōtarō was dragging himself to his bedroom right now, exhausted with how enthusiastic the young knight from the Southern Kingdom. Suddenly a bright idea had popped right inside his mind, what did he have to do all the sulking for? He could freely annoy the one man who he treated as a brother, he snickered as he skipped the opposite direction of his chambers and into the lower level of the palace. Kōtarō barged in the room, announcing his arrival whilst the raven haired male was still burying himself on to the maps laid out in front of him, the prince waved at him and sat down at the table, earning a grunt from his friend. 

"You little brat, you're crumpling the damn—" 

"How'd you like your partner's hair again?" 

"Long." He answered without hesitation, 

"Oh, haven't you met the Southern prince already?" Kuroo asked, pushing his glasses back, perched on the bridge of his nose, the prince shrugged at this and said, "Mmn well he was okay I guess, he didn't seem excited about the whole thing."

"Well the prince is getting married to you, Kōtarō."

The Northern prince gasped, taking full offense to Kuroo's words, the latter laughed as he picked up his pen once again and skimmed through pages on the book that he had borrowed from the library. "Anyone who'll be wed to me shall be considered the luckiest!" he boasted as he puffed his chest and closed his eyes as he crossed his arms. 

"Did they seem…suspicious or anything?" 

"No," he trailed off as he reminisced the events from the past hour and a pretty pink flush was evident on his face, looking up from his paperworks, Kuroo bellowed at the sight and poked Kōtarō's stomach with his pen, "Oh my, is the baby prince delighted by the prince's arrival? Or is it someone else's that—" 

Kōtarō squeaked, Kuroo's eyes widened for a fraction and was expecting the prince to say more, "He's just so…regal! His beautiful slanted eyes, the way he speaks so softly and he's so humorously sarcastic," the prince daydreamed as he sighed in euphoria, whilst Kuroo was fighting the urge to retch at the sight of his friend getting ridiculously head over heels for a boy he's barely met. 

"Oh my god! You little shit, you're in love with someone who isn't the prince?!" 

"You can't expect the both of us two just…magically love each other upon his arrival right? That just doesn't work that way and besides," Kōtarō  grinned widely as he slid off the table, shaking it in the process, earning a glare from Kuroo who tried to keep his work from falling off,

"A man can die but once." He looked promising and Kuroo shook his head as he sighed, "Shakespeare must be rolling in his grave right now."

"You can't make fun of me like that! Just wait and see, Tetsurou, you'll need my wonderful self for help." The aforementioned boy rolled his eyes and proceeded to focus on jotting down information on his notebook, "His laugh might be the sound of our wedding bells." Kōtarō solemnly said while poking through Kuroo's items, the captain of the knights visibly cringed at how lovestruck the Northern prince was. 

"This is…this is incredibly discouraging." 

Kuroo didn't really know what to expect from the Southern Prince, he heard three soft knocks on his door and came in were Tora, Fukunaga and Kai who looked exasperated. "I brought in the reports and newspapers from the Southern Kingdom." Kai announced as he set the load work on Kuroo's table, the captain seemed pleased because of this and thanked them. 

"Permission to speak freely, Your Highness?" Tora asked Kōtarō who ushered him to continue whilst Kuroo snorted at him, "It's not like anyone can really stop you two from talking." he pointed out and wheezed when Taketora bared his teeth and bulged his eyes as he clenched his jaw. 

"I will have you know that I am fully capable of staying quiet!!" and of course a good 3 minutes hasn't passed yet and Tora had already started babbling about his complaints against the Southern Kingdom. "Have you seen the prince already, Kuroo?" 

The captain arched a perfectly plucked brow and asked, "Oh dear, since when did my judgements matter?" Before Tora could reply, Kōtarō was quick to reply with, "Because! When we visited a foreign country, you couldn't even wait until dinner to insult the Queen and King's taste in architecture! And you called out the Princess for looking like the Devil was too afraid to even curse her!"

"Honesty is always appreciated isn't it?" 

"The wedding is in 3 weeks,I have heard that they'll be taking your measurements today, your Highness." Fukunaga chimed in as he bowed politely, the Northern prince's mouth formed into an 'o' as he bid goodbye and went to the throne room, leaving an overworked Kuroo behind. 

There were prominent lines between the eyebrows and the prince's gaze was casted downwards, his fists balled tightly. He heard footsteps approaching and he winced as he helplessly looked around for a place to hide, it wasn't illegal to wander around per se, he just didn't want to have to strike up a conversation with one of the Northern Kingdom staffs all because he was stupid enough to get lost. 

"Kenma!" the prince whipped his head around and sighed in relief as he saw Kōtarō's face, he was now accompanied by two guards, one with a mohawk with narrowed eyes and lips pressed together, one with a seemingly younger one whose hair was kept short and his wide cat like eyes that somehow intimidated Kenma, he glanced around and shifted with the balls on his feet. 

"You got lost?" Kōtarō asked as he cackled, once he was done with his laughing fit, he took a step closer to Kenma and offered a hand, "I know your clothes are already prepared for tonight's masquerade ball, but! My mother, the Queen requests that we take our fittings today, because!" the prince trailed off, recalling the reason why and Kenma liked to think that this was how the prince actually acted, Kōtarō turned over to face his personal guards and the other two looked at him, the same confusion painting their faces. 

"Oh well! Doesn't matter, let's go, shall we?" 

Kōtarō couldn't help but feel a tiny bit disappointed, he couldn't humor himself, it's not like he wanted to make fun of Kenma's appearance, because that was something terrible and besides the prince wasn't fashionably challenged and he kept a calm and a well rested bitch face it actually frightened him. Perhaps he should've seen it coming after all the Southern Kingdom has always been cold, literally and figuratively. He could notice the tiny beads of sweat forming on Kenma's forehead and he was glad he had found him before anyone else because the smaller prince looked like a gremlin that was out to cut someone's toes off. 

"You're staring," Kenma pointed out, Tora made a strangled noise and Kōtarō stuttered over his next words, "So...I would take that you prefer the cold over —" 

"Definitely." Kenma quickly said as he looked over at the prince with a blank stare, "You're really hard to get along with," Kōtarō pouted as he scratched the back of his head. "On some other things, but you're knowledgeable about relevant topics that we would both benefit from so that would suffice for now." Kenma wondered how childish the prince can get as the two guards opened the set of doors for them, "Also, not to be intrusive, but you really don't seem as someone fit enough to fight? I would presume that you don't engage in the battlefield?" 

"The King himself joins the war, my father wants to reassure himself and the people by destroying the enemy with his own two hands."

"I see." the prince's mind was definitely wandering somewhere else, now Kenma wasn't stupid, he could smell the cinnamon in the air and he assumed that prince Kōtarō got sidetracked and forgot about their royal appointment with the seamstresses. "Your Highness—" Tora was interrupted when Kōtarō had dragged Kenma with him inside the castle's kitchen. "Because of the Kingdom's abundant harvest of mangoes, our kitchen staff is highly skilled with producing mango pies! Would you like to try one?!" although of course with Kōtarō, that didn't leave Kenma space to answer because the next minute, the prince was already shoving a plate with a dainty looking pastry on it. 

He took a bite quietly, trying to avoid Kōtarō's gleaming eyes, it was sweet, creamy, and…he could taste the flavor of the fruit he hated the most. But he ate it still, out of respect for the prince. "Mmhn, really good." he gave a polite small smile to the pastry chef and the prince, "Your Highness! You're running 10 minutes late from—" 

"Crap! Right, let's make a run for it! Hitoka hates tardiness after all!" Kenma let himself be dragged like a rag doll by the energetic and it has barely been a day since he arrived but it felt like he was being wed off to another version of Lev. 

↻

"So just to clarify, you wouldn't kill us or anything in our sleep right? Send an army to obliterate us while we're bathing in your hot springs or—" Lev didn't get the chance to voice out his concerns when Yaku had kicked him in the shin, hard. The taller male let out a yelp as he clutched onto his knee and glared at his shorter friend, 

"It's almost as if you're asking to be murdered." 

"No! And it definitely makes sense, right captain?" Lev turned to Kuroo who was still overwhelmed with how bold the young knight was, "Ah seems a bit too much for me, It really isn't our style to attack in groups, you know. A complex poison injected into the victim would be satisfying enough." Kuroo replied, although it was evident that he was trying his best not to laugh when he saw how wide Lev's eyes went, "Exposing themselves to the enemy!" 

"Haiba, get a hold of yourself! And pick a side will you? Didn't you stop chattering about how nice you assumed the people of the North were?" 

Lev looked sheepish and humiliated, "Yeah, well…this guy looks scary." The three men carried on with their duties and out of the blue, as expected of Lev, he asked, "Hey captain, what would you feel if you were betrothed to a total stranger?" 

"Depends if they check all the boxes in my standards." Kuroo shrugged as he led the two to the palace's labyrinth. "Tonight is a miracle in which we don't have to drag the prince out of his room to mingle with the people at the party." This piqued Kuroo's interest, he has heard about the standoffish brat of a prince from the South. 

"Oh do pray tell, what's your prince like?" He asked, the corners of his mouth drawn to a devious smirk. Yaku pondered on the question for a while then said, "People often view him as a royalty who doesn't talk at all, well the thing is he does talk, just not without being shy throughout the conversation, he also never starts one by himself willingly, he'd rather be confronted first. He's easily irritated especially if you bring this big oaf with you," Yaku gestured to Lev who was distracted by the myrtles he saw. 

"He is also excellent at reading people and their intentions, and he gets clammy when his line of vision is too wide, despite not socialising very much, he is quite conscious about what people think of him, he is incapable of feeling anything after winning or losing, ah he is also a picky eater and hates sweating."

Kuroo gave Yaku his infamous shit eating grin and the smaller male was confused by this, "You may deny this but I've heard rumors of the prince being in love with his tutor." Yaku choked on air as he tried to recompose himself, he blinked at Kuroo several times and cleared his throat, "No, no it isn't like that. There are rumors that the prince and that giant baby are in a secret love affair but his Highness doesn't even like people to begin with so," 

"Oh...well forgive me for stating something very scandalous."

The masquerade ball was held in the ballroom, which was decorated with gold, blue and white ribbons, flowers and more decorations in the yellow candle lit room. The royal family had disregarded the theme of the ball which was to conceal their identity, as they were sat on the dais, watching their guests twirl about on the dance floor, with prince Kōtarō, of course enjoying the night with some of the maidens that arrived. It was surprising to see that everyone had given their best with their attire, not one mask were the same, and Kenma looked around in awe, even the servants who perfectly balanced the golden trays, the guards patrolling the gates and the edges of the room, the musicians playing graciously in the corner all had masks, though simpler, it was still unique. 

Kenma and Akaashi had arrived late because of Lev being picky with their outfit, and back at the Southern Kingdom, Lev had servants to help him dress, and his current situation took him forever to finish changing. Akaashi helped with making sure Kenma looked presentable, even going as far as applying a little bit of red tint on his lips and clipping his hair (Kenma was  unable to decline his best friend's pleads.)

Meanwhile as Kōtarō bowed to the maiden he just finished dancing with, he was met with Kuroo who was smirking at him. "Where's your little prince?" he asked, chuckling as he could see Kōtarō's joyful expression change. "He's so scary, Kuroo!! He's like a little gremlin who's ready to chop my head off if I looked away, I am having a really good time already," He whined, heading to the dais with his best friend in tow, "Have you seen him, Bo?" the Queen asked as she looked lovingly at her son, Prince Kōtarō shrugged. 

"Your Majesties," Greeted a familiar eloquent voice, Kōtarō and Kuroo turned their heads to the two boys who were respectfully bowing, the King merely nodded in acknowledgement whilst the Queen narrowed her eyes for a split second and looked somewhere else. As Kenma raised his head, looking as passive as ever, this monarchy was indeed full of themselves and he couldn't wait to go home, he could feel a pair of eyes staring at him, he turned his head to the left where he could recognise Kōtarō's two toned hair, and another one he wasn't familiar with, Kenma wondered if that was how he usually styled his hair or he did that for tonight's ball. There were recently two reasons why he was being stared at, : 1. He was hated by the people, 2. They were in awe of his honey glazed eyes, the taller man bristled as he bowed politely to him, 

"Prince Kozume Kenma of the Southern Kingdom, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Kuroo Tetsurou, Captain of the Northern Kingdom's knights." 

As cliché as it was, he has never heard his name sound so beautiful against one's lips before. 

"Ah, likewise." He responded, hoping that the way Kuroo practically towered over him would be enough to hide the growing blush on his cheeks, he drifted his gaze away from the captivating man and into Kōtarō's, the prince looked exquisitely fine, his mask was made entirely out of gold, suit was half - gold, decorated with feathers and flowers, whilst Kenma's resembled a ballgown, with the trumpet sleeves and the sweetheart neckline that perfectly showed the luminance of his golden locket, rose gold flowers woven onto the belt, accentuating his lithe waist, he was offered a dance and it seemed to process in his mind for a while before Kōtarō repeated himself and Kenma said yes . 

Was he possibly distracted by the way Kuroo looked regal in his black, gold and white themed suit? The way his trousers hugged his thighs perfectly, his black tunic showing off how well built his body is, God was Kenma wonderstruck by the damned Captain. Was it awful to think of someone as aristocratic as Kuroo... hot? 

Fortunately for him, luck seemed to favored him tonight as he was gliding with prince Kōtarō along the dance floor naturally, but he wasn't as graceful as Akaashi who had taught him how to waltz, he could definitely feel his friend grimacing with how he had stepped on Kōtarō's much larger shoes, the taller male chuckled and told him, "It's fine!" Kenma realized that although the Northern prince was physically and mentally elegant, he was such a swashbuckler, because just after he finished dancing with Kenma, he howled in laughter with how Kuroo looked like his soul left his body. 

The event was going fine, until it didn't . 

"Just a pretty little arm candy, your Highness?" Kōtarō was currently wiping his sweat off with several tissues that Fukunaga fetched him, the prince arched a brow and Kenma was certain that he wasn't dreaming, for the first time ever since they had arrived (which was less than a day) he was startled with how grim Kōtarō looked at the woman who had approached them, Akaashi's eye slits were narrowed as he stepped closer beside prince Kenma, Kuroo was well…holding onto the pastries in hand, but remaining cautious. 

"It would be nice if you learned your place and never disrespect his Highness again." Kōtarō's voice demanded authority, Kenma had hoped she would just leave them be yet the woman remained stiff in her place, "Ah this is how royalty handles discrimination. Learned my place? What happened to everyone being treated as an equal? And how are we certain that the Southern Kingdom is not out for your head?" 

"The reason is entirely confidential, but I do hope that you trust us in this." Kōtarō bowed, the woman's eyes surprised for a moment. 

"Yui-chan!" The woman stopped in the middle of her sentence as she glared at Kenma who remained passive and quiet throughout the exchange. Once they were left alone, Fukunaga grabbed more tissues from the kitchen staff because Kōtarō seemed worried, Kuroo approached him and they were talking in hushed voices, Akaashi was offered to dance by a seemingly polite gentleman and Kenma glanced at Kōtarō who couldn't afford to pay attention to Kuroo, too busy looking after Akaashi in the arms of another man, the captain seemed to notice this and he huffed, "Couldn't you be more subtle, your Highness?" 

Lev ushered Kenma to come near the two ridiculously good looking men, starting a conversation although that isn't really to be trusted with the young boy who was incredibly dense and honest. Kenma could hear the mohawk guy raising his voice at Lev, he casted his gaze somewhere else and unfortunately for him to his right was Kōtarō and Kuroo who were looking at him in concern. "You're like a cute lost little kitten! How are you enjoying the party so far?" 

"Oh…umm, I..it's…everyone looks stunning." He hated how soft he sounded, Kōtarō chuckled deeply and crossed his arms. "Are our parties similar in some way?" the Northern prince asked as he looked at Kenma with a fond look, while Kuroo stayed beside him. He was already hungry and thirsty, the night seems to drag on and he almost forgot that Kōtarō had asked him a question, he jolted and shook his head, 

"I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention — uh," What on earth was wrong with him? He surely wasn't making any wise decisions tonight, as he looked back at Kōtarō, and..well Kuroo, his brain short circuited. "Everyone's middle-aged."

Kuroo stifled a laugh and turned it into a cough as he stood straight, paying respect to the smaller prince while Kōtarō was full on cackling, "Thanks, I guess? The Northern Kingdom appreciates the—" he giggled as he looked at Kuroo who was chewing on his lower lip, amused by Kenma. 

"sentiment." 

"You're welcome," Kenma felt so embarrassed right now, he could tell his cheeks were heating up because Kuroo was intently staring at him even more. "Ah, I apologise for the commotion our people made. You do not need to worry, your Highness, our knights will protect you — specifically the captain because he's just oh so wonderful." Kōtarō finished his sentence with a smug smirk, Kenma raised a brow but said nothing as Kuroo elbowed the Northern prince. 

"This is why I don't like women, ours is too…wild."

"Well in another life, your Highness, I can assure you that you probably won't be taking a liking to women, you're too gay, you can barely function." 

Kenma failed to notice the blush on Kuroo's cheeks while he exchanged a conversation with Kōtarō, who honestly wasn't as bad as he first thought when they met. The Northern prince was abruptly called by his father, Kuroo offered to come along with but the Duke reassured him that it was nothing of an emergency, 

"Uh—" 

"Would—" 

Kuroo and the Southern prince both looked at each other as they shyly looked away, but Kuroo took a step forward and offered to escort him to the palace's gardens, "But I have heard from one of my knights that the Queen's garden is off-limits."

"Oh please, no one can resist this charming face even the Queen herself is in awe by my presence." Kuroo had that infamous smug look on his face as he carefully led the prince outside, "Do you mind me holding your hand, Your Highness?" 

Kenma couldn't trust himself to talk right now so he opted to nodding his head, "I do hope you're not taking any offense on me dragging you out of the party." Kuroo apologized as he removed his mask once they successfully dodged the amount of people present in the ballroom, Kenma found one reason that Kuroo should be apologetic for as he studied the Captain's features closely. 

"I don't mind at all, in fact I am thankful. It was getting…suffocating." 

Kuroo seemed to be delighted because of this as he stood on his feet, an infectious smile creeping up on the taller male's face, a shy small smile had also made its way to Kenma's. "Only the Queen's gardeners are allowed here actually but hey, it couldn't be bad to want to see what's in here right? Besides, it's serene and breathtaking especially at night, see how lovely the moonlight looks?" Kenma hated himself for staring so much and at the fact he took a liking with how relaxing Kuroo's voice sounded. 

"Ah sorry, your Highness. I mean my apologies — it's, it just happens…I really adore the moon." 

"It's completely fine, after all I don't really care much about it.Titles do not matter to me. And I too, enjoy the moon's presence." We're all going to die anyways, Kenma thought to himself. 

"Bo had told me all about the places he dragged you in, how are you liking your enemy's place so far, hmm?" Kuroo smirked. "It's hot, the Queen and King certainly dislike me, and I still prefer our apple pie back at the palace." Kenma replied. "His stupidity gets the best of him sometimes, I'm sorry."

"'S fine, yours too." it was Kenma's turn to smugly look at Kuroo whose eyes widened and he visibly tensed at the Southern prince's choice of words. He opened and closed his mouth for a few times, wanting to defend himself, oh boy this was surely getting embarrassing.

"So how long have you been a knight?" The prince shifted to another topic, seeing that Kuroo was barely getting ahold of himself. 

"Seven years." the Captain replied. 

"And may I ask how old are you?" 

"Twenty-three."

"Oh, you're only a year older than me." Kenma hummed as he walked ahead of Kuroo was still frozen in his place, he looked at the beautifully grown flowers, for a few minutes Kuroo had walked up beside him. "Your Highness, I suggest I walk you back to your chambers, you have a busy day, eh — week ahead of you."

"What makes you think I'm tired? — ah don't apologise, I am tired but," 

"You have wrinkles on your forehead and you almost tripped on your feet, thrice."

"Fair enough, I think this is the first time that I went past an hour in a party." Kenma said as he walked beside Kuroo, the taller male arched a brow at this and asked, "Oh? I'm surprised you even bothered to attend." he earned a soft chuckle from the prince and for the umpteenth time, he could feel his cheeks heating up and his insides churning. 

"Well, I have Keiji to scold me and my knights drag me out."

"Did you genuinely enjoy the masquerade ball?" Kuroo stopped walking and was facing Kenma who was caught off guard by the question, oh fuck what should he say? Kenma racked his brains for answers, he sighed deeply, "Yes I did, I am thankful for the lovely party thrown for my arrival. But I think…" he trailed off, questioning himself if it was right to say it, yet he decided against it. 

"Let's go." Kenma said stiffly, walking way ahead of Kuroo. As they leisurely walked through the hallways, the awkward silence was unbearable and Kenma was bothered by how he couldn't act right around the Captain. 

"I'm...I apologise. I hope I don't get you in trouble." Kenma said. 

"It's a knight's duty to protect the Kingdom's people and you're soon to be…one of us anyway." Kuroo showed him a tight lipped smile, "Right…Kōtarō's husband."

"Goodnight, your Highness."

"Goodnight, Kuroo."

Kenma couldn't be bothered to wipe off the sticky gloss on his lips nor remove the accessories on his hair, he just wanted to sleep and forget that all of that happened in one night. 

↻

At some point in the early morning, someone had loudly barged in his room, he could only have two guesses : 1. Lev Haiba, 2. Bokuto Kōtarō. The curtains were widely opened and the sunlight had yet again were blasted in his face, effectively waking him up. Kenma groaned and internally cursed whoever just bothered to wake him up so suddenly. 

"Good morning, sleeping beauty!!" 

Then came in Shoyo who smiled widely at him, he peeked through his covers and saw that his friend was setting up a tray filled with food on the dressing table, Kenma rubbed his eyes and asked, "What time is it?" 

"Past mid-afternoon!" Shoyo responded with a wide smile. 

crap, he slept in that late? "You know your Highness, we were worried about you last night. The prince and Akaashi shared some dances here and there, but you were nowhere to be found. It was expected though, it's just that…where were you? Are you alright, your Highness—" 

"I was with Tetsurou last night." Shoyo glanced at Lev who had a hand clasped over his mouth, "The mystery is solved then!" he exclaimed and Kenma quickly grabbed the nearest pillow and smacked Lev with it, "You little! — you do not get to meddle with whatever business I have, understood?" Although Lev had already raised his hands in surrender, Kenma didn't stop thwacking Lev with the pillow who was making all kinds of strangling noises, the younger male wasn't completely helpless from Kenma's morning wrath, when he's decided that he has had enough of the bullying, he grabbed Kenma who was on top of him, by the waist and squeezed the smaller prince in his arms.

"It's too early for gremlin Kenma." Lev murmured, playing with the prince's dyed locks, Shoyo had already left the room after he found out where Kenma went, relieved that his aggressive friend wasn't kidnapped or anything. "You're one to talk. You were probably out all night." the Southern Prince realised there was no way Lev was going to release him, the younger relished in the warmth that came from Kenma, "What'd you do, halfie?" he asked softly, 

Lev's eyes fluttered open and feigned innocence, "I apologise, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kenma frowned, "Oh well, did you have fun?" he asked as he buried his face in Lev's chest, "Yeah." he smirked as he twirled Kenma's hair in his fingers, "Do you not think about redying? Or perhaps changing colors! I think pink looks good on you!" 

"Absolutely not."

And if they were paying attention to the soft knock on Kenma's door, they would have seen Kuroo coming. 

"Good Afternoon, your Highness. Prince Kōtarō is asking f—Oh," Kuroo stood in surprise as he slowly stepped out of the chambers, he gulped visibly as he tried to look somewhere else, the black leather gloves he wore were squeaking as he stretched his fingers. "I apologise, I thought you heard — I am really sorry." he bowed and quickly exited the room. 

Lev grunted as he forced himself out of Kenma's bed, "Everyone thinks we're having some sort of secret love affair," the younger made a barfing noise as Kenma chuckled at him. "No offense, but I would rather chop my own toes."

"Listen, I'm thankful you didn't try to pry any further, but because I know you damn well, you'll be overthinking yesterday's events so, I didn't go insane okay? I just can't recall some things. But I'm perfectly fine. He was just so…incredulously sweet and…handsome." a soft look came over Lev's face. 

"Aaand that's it! Your beloved is waiting for you!" 

"I'm kicking your ass."

Kuroo couldn't understand himself today, Kōtarō was patiently bouncing on his toes as he waited for his...fiancé? Kuroo didn't know what to call them after all it seemed that his best friend was fancying the Southern prince's tutor instead.

"'KAAAASHIII!" the Northern prince yelled loudly as he waved at his newfound friend, Kuroo internally rolled his eyes, again, Kōtarō was definitely terrible at being subtle and his heart eyes for Akaashi was painfully obvious that he wondered about what prince Kenma would feel seeing his fut—the Northern Captain clenched his jaw as he bit the insides of his cheek, remembering how small Kenma looked under Lev, his head was spinning as he remembered how he was more breathtaking than the Queen's garden, how smooth his hand felt, how he smelled like roses, his hair that looked like rays of the sun during the day, all of it made it hard for Kuroo to focus on his work.

He looked up from the front doors of the castle to where Akaashi and the Northern prince were currently engrossed in a conversation, of course it couldn't go without Kōtarō saying something shockingly sappy, whilst Akaashi actually smiles, he felt downright offended! He tried to joke around him but all he got was a blank stare, perhaps Kenma was rubbing off on Akaashi too much. Kuroo always trusted his guts and the boy barely faltered when Kōtarō was spewing a lot of misused information and incorrect words. Kuroo absolutely loathed himself for being so overconfident from Kōtarō's warnings. He ate his own words. 

He stepped down to where Akaashi and Kōtarō was and excused his stupid son of a bitch friend was, "The prince probably made no move in getting out of his bed, would you mind helping him?" Akaashi nodded politely as he bowed and exited. As soon as he was out of earshot, Kuroo whined and slapped Kōtarō's shoulder. The Northern prince feigned hurt as he glared at Kuroo. 

"I hope you know why I am confiding you in private."

"Eh?" 

"I trust you as a prince, a friend and as a person to not tell Akaashi what I'm about to say — because I am the exemplary figure between the two of us who does not take pleasure in my suffering so would—" 

"Mhmmn, and what have you got?" Kōtarō asked with a devious smirk, tapping his chin with his pointer finger, Kuroo visibly slouched, no longer looking confident as he did before, 

"I was expecting you to say that yet I hoped you wouldn't."

Kōtarō cackled as he looked Kuroo in the eyes as he wiggled his pointer finger in front of his friend's face and said, "Each action has its own consequences."

"Oh and here I was thinking that my good pal, his royal Highness, Prince Bokuto Kōtarō wouldn't ask for anything in return because I have raised him for years and he turned into such a fine young man,"

"Ah you give me too much credit, unfortunately. Also we have met when we were…12."

Kuroo shrugged and placed his hands on his hips, "It was worth a try."

"Keiji says that Kenma prefers apple pie. That and you don't really need my help with anything," 

Kuroo's expression immediately brightened at the mention 9f the Southern prince's name, "Isn't it quite risky to go out together? It's possible that King Ushijima might be making a move now and you want to tour His Highness around the town?" 

"Why not?!" Kōtarō was grouchy as he stomped his foot on the ground, "I have thought this through ever since the announcement and if anything goes wrong, I won't let them harm Keij—Kenma!!" Kuroo snorted at him as he looked around the palace. This was royally fucked up, everyone was pining over the wrong person. 

"I hear my name, I got a feeling someone was talking terrible things about me." both men bristled as they turned their heads to see Kenma who had an arched brow with lips tugged into a smirk. And the inappropriate thoughts came flooding Kuroo's mind as he tried not to focus on how angelic the prince looked, to him at least the most captivating part of him was his sly golden eyes that held little to no emotion, Kenma looked so radiant under the sunlight. He wore a sheer blouse with elbow bishop sleeves, a ruffled collar, a purple heart embroidered on the middle, with a pristine white culotte. 

He winced internally as he stared at how the garment exposed the prince's lithe body, Akaashi cleared his throat, giving Kuroo a side eye glance before speaking, "It's getting late already, shouldn't we be heading to town now?" Kōtarō agreed as he led Kenma inside the carriage, leaving Akaashi to walk beside Kuroo. "I hope you do not get ideas," the male stated, earning a nervous chuckle from Kuroo. 

"That'd be the last thing on my mind, I respect that he is engaged with the Prince Bokuto."

"I saw you enter the so called war room earlier this morning, how are things going with the King? To be honest, I know we aren't completely welcomed in your Kingdom but we would appreciate if His Highness and I's presence were asked for, we could help with strategiz—" Kuroo cut him off with a soft laugh, the exasperated male looked at him in confusion. 

"Oh we know, but please it's only the second day of your staying here, we do not want to startle y—" 

"Knowing that King Ushijima will hear about Prince Kenma and Prince Kōtarō's engagement soon, in a matter of a few hours or less, is terrifying enough. That man works wonders and as Kenma would like to say, war does not wait. What if we were ambushed? Do we have any plans for that?" Akaashi seethed, he hated people who couldn't match his pace at work, and he lived his life protecting their land with his brilliant mind, and to protect the Kingdom's King and future King. 

"Of course we do, Akaashi. What exactly do you take us for?" Kuroo scoffed as he stepped inside the carriage, the aforementioned man rolled his eyes and slammed the doors shut, not even bothering to wait for the footman to close it for them. They took two carriages per Akaashi's request.

"I am currently working on something, a chemical we could use to anesthetize the enemy, then we wait for them to be incapacitated then att—" 

"If I were to borrow His Highness' words again, war does not wait." Akaashi's eyes widened only for them to narrow down as he snarled at Kuroo, the captain swallowed hard and slumped in his seat. "I can suddenly understand why we have never agreed to being at peace." 

And they didn't say anything until they have arrived at their destination, as Kōtarō stepped out of the carriage, skipping over to Akaashi who plastered his usual emotionless expression, ignoring the Northern prince and accompanying Kenma who had seen something he wanted to look at, leaving a sulky Kōtarō. 

"What'd you say, Kuroo?!" the prince pouted as he let himself be dragged by his friend, "Would you please walk on your own feet, it isn't ideal for the future king to be seen throwing a tantrum like this." Kuroo said through gritted teeth, "Did I do something wrong?" Kōtarō wasn't going to let this go so easily, 

"No," Kuroo sighed as he continued, "I did, we had an argument about the preparations for the Western Kingdom. You and Prince Kenma still aren't wed, there hasn't been a treaty of peace, I would understand why he's restless, I would've appreciated it if he didn't insult my other job," 

"Being the Kingdom's excellent chemist?" 

Kōtarō didn't want to cry, he couldn't cry, he felt his lower lip wobble as he finally stopped acting like a child and stood on his own feet, "I guess no amount of boasting that I'm the best will stop Ushijima from destroying and conquering our lands, huh?" 

Kuroo snorted at him, "Glad you finally realised."

"Let's do it." Kōtarō said with finality, looking at Kuroo with a determined expression which wiped the latter's smirk off his face. "What? Are you insane? That's a suicide mission!" Back then when they were younger, they vowed to each other that if the enemies had been too pressuring, terrifying the people, they would recklessly attack earlier before the war even starts, Kōtarō was a fantastic swordsman and Kuroo, an exceptionally sharp-witted war strategist. 

"Bo, we can't do that. We already have plans, all we're waiting for is your marriage with His Highness, Prince Kenma."

"But...this is the time," 

"No it isn't." Kuroossaid with finality, glancing away from the prince, "I...I can't risk losing you, Bo."

Kōtarō looked at Kenma who was laughing at something with Akaashi who was smirking, "I don't think I can risk losing…him too." Kuroo knew who he was referring to and it was unsettling that the Northern prince was being driven insane by the Southern Kingdom's war strategist. They fell silent, Kuroo couldn't bear to look at Kōtarō, knowing the prince will throw him one of his irresistible pout. 

"Does this…impulsive decision involve Akaashi?" He spoke with nothing but kindness in his voice, the two were currently standing under a roof, whilst Akaashi and Kenma were busying themselves by tasting different delicacies, Kōtarō hesitated before nodding.

"He doesn't reciprocate the feelings that started to grow when I danced with him, but I understand that. I should take the blame for this, Kenma doesn't deserve this. I must be—" 

"I know. We all have risks to take to survive, right?" 

And at that moment Prince Kōtarō felt like the Kuroo Tetsurou he knew since he was a pre-teen was no longer there. He looked entirely different for a moment that Kōtarō took a step forward to look into his eyes, 

"Woah, Bo. I know I'm charming but I didn't exp—" 

"What are your intentions, Tetsurou?" 

Kuroo cringed at him and scoffed, "I haven't done anything stupid, Your Highness. Let's get going, His Highness, Prince Kenma has barely seen the whole city." Kuroo bowed as he gestured Kōtarō to walk ahead, the latter frowned at his friend's tendency to keep secrets from him and get angry with him.

↻

Kenma was startled, awakened from his slumber, he looked at Akaashi who had dropped another thick and leather-bound textbook. His gaze was fixated on his friend's unreadable expression, he arched a brow and asked, "Have you borrowed enough?" 

"No." Akaashi frowned, looking at the books stacked on the table, Kenma tilted his head to the side, confused as he pursed his lips. "Something happened between you and the Northern prince, Keiji?" he asked as he propped his head on his left hand, lips forming into a smirk as a horrified expression settled on Akaashi's face. 

"It's been 3 days since our visit to the city and both of you were…well furious. Did you perhaps take it on each other?" Kenma taunted as he giggled mischievously, Akaashi turned all red as he pulled the collar of his shirt upwards, hiding whatever was there in his chest. "Oh Keiji, how sabbatical." 

"You're not…this isn't…this wasn't...it…it was a mistake, Your Highness. I apologise for my actions."

Kenma sighed, "I don't care. It already happened and apologizing doesn't really change anything, besides I have no interest in the Prince like that, he does seem genuine and…fun to be with, not with me though."

"But, God, I feel so disgusting." Kenma, who was staring at the neatly kept shelves, turned to Akaashi with a frown. "I can't imagine why a sane person would want to read these," He pointed at the books and raised a brow, "Must be why they're covered in dust."

"Well...no one would really read these since the material is being taught at schools. This is for us, who are not citizens of the Northern Kingdom."

"And? When are you going to read all of these?" 

"As what Lev would say "Sleep is for the weak." After the meeting in the war room is finished, I don't really have to look after you, your Highness especially with the Northern Kingdom's Captain of the knights appearing wherever you are." Akaashi seemed to hit a nerve as Kenma suddenly avoided his eyes, 

"I will get going now, Your Highness." He smirked as he adjusted the books so the spines were perfectly aligned. He picked the books up as he exited the library, leaving a speechless Kenma. "Keiji, you little shit." 

"Talking to Kenma was like talking to a wall, He seemed so pissed that I'm starting to take your word for it." Kuroo complained as he stabbed his pen onto the clean sheet of paper, Kōtarō laughed at his face and said, "He gives one-word responses though."

"Yeah? And do you know how difficult it was to carry out the entire conversation? His bratty Highness definitely knew that because as I was just being a gentleman, asking him about his favourite food, he just left! Can you believe? I never want to come across an upset Prince Kenma."

"From what I have observed, I think the prince hates small talk with a passion. Have you seen the exasperated looks he sent Akaashi during dinner?" 

"Mmhn yeah and I think I could've go on with my life if I didn't have to see the marks you left on your man," Kōtarō choked on air as he looked sideways, then glaring at Kuroo who raised a brow and his expression crumpled as he and the prince had thrown insults at each other, completely oblivious of Lev and Kenma entering the west wing of the palace, the taller male waved at Prince Kōtarō while holding Kenma's hand and whilst the pair were still far from near, Kuroo could swear that his friend whispered something stupid as he gaped,

"Oh my god, premarital hand holding! When will you make a move, Kuroo?!" 

Out of annoyance, Kuroo kicked Kōtarō in the shin, the prince yelping in pain as he sat on the carpeted floor, as Lev and Kenma had finally approached them, the young knight asked Kōtarō if he was in pain and in need of medical help,

"No, it's just terrible hanging around with someone in denial! Hey, Lev! Are you interested in using new methods out in the battlefield? Come on follow me to the front yard!" the prince didn't even wait for Lev's response, he was dragging the boy out of the hallway leaving a sleep deprived Kenma and an embarrassed Kuroo. 

The taller male looked down to see if Kenma was looking okay, "I can recommend a good tea that'll make it easier for you to sleep at night." he murmured as he played with his fingers, however Kenma glared at him as he looked up at Kuroo. "What?" the Captain asked, confused. 

"If you didn't have to say so many stupid things before I went to bed then maybe I wouldn't have such a hard time falling asleep."

Oh right . Shit, he's right. Realization dawned on him as his expression blanched, they had visited the castle's royal orchard yesterday where they both lay in the dewey grass, not a single minute passing without Kuroo complementing Kenma, and the prince not knowing how to deal with praises, he punched Kuroo in the stomach out of instinct, the captain whined as he clutched his abdomen, "Is this how you usually deal with people who only have nice intentions?!" 

Kuroo even grew the courage to play with Kenma's silky-smooth hair, saying that he's always liked boys with longer hair, with Kenma joking that he gave the prince a reason to cut it, Kuroo blinked several times and said, "Oh my god? His Highness knows how to joke?" 

Kuroo was snapped out of it when Kenma whose gaze was casted down, cleared his throat, "What I want to say is that…I think I know why I…couldn't…sleep." Kuroo sure hoped that he wasn't dreaming, was that Kenma speaking in such a tiny voice and blush dusting his adorable cheeks? "Kiss." Kenma finally looked up at him with his finger pointing on his forehead, Kuroo was certain that if he were a fuse, he would've exploded by now. And of course his stupid mouth just had to ruin it, 

Kenma looked so ashamed of himself as he shied away and avoided Kuroo's loving gaze. "You're such a sucker, Your Highness." Kenma looked at the mention of his title, and he was so red it was a priceless sight, "But alright, I do believe I owe you one for keeping you up when it was way your bedtime." With eyes closed, he didn't expect the jab in the stomach, as he peeled open his eyes, he saw the Southern Prince chewing on his lower lip. 

"Do you get off from making fun of me?" 

Kuroo pondered on the question and shrugged, "Hmm, I get off when I see you in your cute little prince clothes, especially in your silky expensive robes." Kenma hit him with his own tiny hands and that had Kuroo wheezing loudly, "God, Kenma I could hold a basket with my own left hand and you need two of yours," He pointed out and he expected to feel pain, but nothing came. He did hear a grumble, Kuroo licked his lips as he recomposed himself and asked, "Have you eaten, Your Highness?" 

Kenma shook his head as he crossed his arms, "I want apple pie." he requested earning a soft chuckle from Kuroo who ruffled his hair, "So demanding," They walked in silence together, during which they had already entered the castle's kitchen, the two saw Inuoka and Shoyo who were playfully bantered on each other, Kuroo went to the table filled with fresh fruits, he tossed an apple at Kenma who caught it in time and looked expectantly at the captain. 

"Finish that first, I have to make the crust then the filling first, your Highness." Kuroo winked at Kenma who nodded as he bit down on his apple, finally noticing their presence, Shoyo practically tackled the poor prince down, "Kenma! You actually left your room for once!" 

"Lev had already annoyed me to the point I bit his arm, please get off me, Shoyo."

"You only ever listen to Lev and Akaashi! Yaku-san isn't included because you're terrified of him and you make sure he's a good feet away from you."

Kuroo hummed as he sliced the fruit, asking Shoyo, "What exactly is the prince's relationship with the young Knight?" 

"Oh! It's amusing, really! His Highness, Prince Kenma may not look like it but he would probably die for Lev. That's how deep their relationship is for an easier and understandable explanation. And His Highness does not like people." It's nothing to be jealous of, Kuroo thought to himself as he intensely mixed the batter, aggressively throwing flour into the wooden board whilst Kenma saw the whole thing, he rolled his eyes and stood beside Kuroo who's wrinkles lessened as Kenma leaned close to him, 

"That smells really nice," he pointed out, a sweet small smile on his face. Kuroo stopped himself from smiling as he continued to fold the dough, Kenma even went far as placing his hand inside the bowl, fingers barely touching. Even Kuroo got a whiff of the cinnamon he added onto the pie filling, but he resisted the urge to grab Kenma's hand and kiss it, the prince then retreated his hand, clasping it behind him. "The dough should rest for at least an hour, I'll have the filling cool down first." 

"Do you have other duties to fulfil for the rest of the day?" Kenma asked as he clung on Kuroo's sleeve, the latter still clearly upset (it was kinda cute) "Mmhn, in fact I do. The King asks for my glorious presence later, in a few minutes or so…"

Kenma nodded as he stepped back from Kuroo who finished covering the dough and was washing his hands by now, "Do they not need me there? I am glad that Akaashi was of help since he is regularly showing up in your meetings," the taller man wiped his hands on the towel and smiled at Kenma, "I think Shoyo would be able to make your apple pies in my stead, I will see you later, Your Highness." Kuroo bowed as he took Kenma's dainty hand in his and peppered kisses on it. The prince had blushed a deep red as he looked elsewhere, pretending to not hear Kuroo's deep chuckles. 

Both of the Kingdom's alliance was a new one, fragile and a stranger to others, it was entirely refreshing that their dispute had been resolved. Prince Kenma realised as he walked along the hallways that love was difficult to make sense with, it was a struggle to distinguish it, and it made people helpless, gullible and make unexplainable decisions. 

"Your Highness," Kenma whipped his head in fear as he almost fell on his feet, the prince disliked getting lost inside the palace again yet his curiosity got the best of him and he wandered where Kuroo's workplace was near. "Y-yaku," Kenma breathed in as he acknowledged his guard. 

"Forgive me for not being able to handle myself but, I think I found something quite…bizarre."

"It's fine, at a time like this it's valid to be wary of our surroundings, Lead the way then. "

Yaku Morisuke was the captain of the royal knights in the Southern Kingdom, and possibly the man that Kenma had feared the most. He was responsible for whipping Kenma into shape back then, it was filled with rigorous training that exhausted his Highness that he couldn't feel his limbs for days and because Yaku was not one to be messed with, the amount of royal brats that he had hurt because they had the audacity to act unruly towards the Southern prince. Kenma felt shivers run through his spine when he heard the door creak, leading them to a room filled with cobwebs, disarrayed furniture and torn wallpaper. Was this allowed? A room that is located in the fifth floor of the west wing of the palace, the prince was interrupted with his train of thoughts, question after question by a chain scattered on the dusty floorboards. 

"Lev found this when he got intoxicated by the drinks during the masquerade ball, barely a day since we have arrived and he had already found…this," Yaku motioned to the mess of a room and stepped inside, Kenma had so many questions running inside his mind, if it was heavily locked how and why did Lev break it? 

"He…told me that he had seen a suspicious cloaked man. He apparently flung his sword out, tipsy and could barely balance himself on his feet, the man hadn't done anything though, only a bottle of what seemed like an antidote." He explained as Kenma processed every bit of information,

"The man seemed to possess a key? Because there were no signs of scratches that showed, the man then had ran away while Lev was determined to know just what was inside the room and so..you could probably tell what he did next." Lev too was an excellent swordsman, he wielded one of the most powerful blades in the land, per the King's request which was why he was always so prideful whenever he fought for the Kingdom because the wise King had grown fond of him. 

"What is this antidote? Have we seen it before? Has our Kingdom ever placed its hands on it before?" 

"Since we were barely given any tasks, Lev, Shoyo and I had the luxury of collecting information from the townspeople and the King's trusted advisor." Kenma nodded as he looked around for any clues, newspapers of sorts. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. We are running out of time, by now the Western Kingdom is definitely aware of your engagement with the Prince Kōtarō."

Kenma arched a brow at this, "What are your findings, Yaku?" The guard closed his eyes momentarily before he answered, "It seemed to be a complex...version of a rat poison. It's even more dangerous and amplified with different chemicals." 

"And…the cloaked man had one bottle of it?" 

"There is no other portion of it left, but he did make a mistake of leaving a small drop on the table."

"I see…is Prince Kōtarō aware of this?" 

"I could not find an excuse why I must report it to him, Your Highness."

Kenma sucked in a breath harshly as he turned around, only to step back a few steps when he was met with dark, slanted metal blue eyes. "K-k-keiji…" The aforementioned boy narrowed his eyes at the prince and entered the room without second thought while closing the doors, Kenma stepped out of his way as Akaashi inspected the room. "I hope you know that I am extremely offended that I was not told about this, Yaku-san." 

"I didn't think I could steal you away from the crown prince for a moment with the way he quickly sulks when you're not within his line of sight." Yaku retorted with Akaashi grinning from ear to ear, "My bad." 

Kenma cleared his throat as he placed his hands on his waist, "What do we do about this now? What if it was an act to rile Lev up? And if this was all planned, we're digging up information only for it to be useless in the end because while we're distracted by this theft, the enemy had already made a move."

"And if it isn't? Where would the man get a hold of the key to this room? Why didn't he hurt or at least say anything to Lev?" 

"It probably isn't a theft…the guards of the Northern Kingdom are uptight and rude to anyone who dares enters the palace uninvited. Unless the man was a wizard or such, that would explain why, I suppose."

"This...this must be an act of betrayal." Kenma said lowly, loud and clear enough for the two to look at the Prince. "No guards were alarmed of the situation, no deaths were reported either, no one had an idea of what was happening because of the party, what time did Lev start to drink?" 

"Just…I think..somewhere close to midnight."

"And there were even more guards on patrol right? Did Lev see where the man had run off to?" 

"He said he saw the man jump out of the window," 

"Wait a minute, no offense, but are we sure this is actually true?"

"I...that is what I am unsure of," Yaku trailed off, looking apologetic as he gazed at Kenma. 

"But you did say that there was residue found on the table, and you couldn't find it within the room, have you searched every cabinet?" 

"Yes." Akaashi sighed, pushing both the prince and Yaku out of the room, "It's getting late, Your Highness do you not feel like retiring to—" 

"No, I want to help. I am rusting Keiji, I need something to busy myself with, I want to reassure the people that we are safe from Ushijima's hunger of power."

"Your Highness," Yaku hissed as he looked at Akaashi who was contemplating whilst Kenma rolled his eyes. "I am no longer the shell of the man I used to be," 

The trio made their way to the area where Lev said the man ran off to, while studying the pathway, Kenma shuddered because of the cold, cursing himself for wishing the hot temperature to just drop, As he looked at the statues and the bushes, he could feel a pair of eyes watching him. So this was how it felt like to be examined. He then turned to Akaashi who was already staring at him, "Yaku." 

"Alright, meet me here again tomorrow, midmorning."

↻

Kuroo strode forward, peeking his head through each hallway and sighing in disappointment when he wasn't met with the familiar blonde hair that he so loves to play with. He glanced down at the plate of apple pie that he brought along with him. The meeting had lasted for 3 hours, Akaashi darted out of the room as soon as it had finished, whilst the Prince had asked Kuroo to stay a little longer with the King. 

"Goodnight, Your Highness." 

"Rest well, Yaku."

Kuroo's ears perked as he rushed to wherever he heard Kenma's voice, the prince looked his way and Kuroo was vibrating. "Your Highness!" he called out to Kenma, basking in the prince's presence, Akaashi bowed respectfully as he left the two alone. "What is it, Kuroo?" he asked, obviously worn out for tonight, his eyelids felt heavy as his head was drooping, the captain of the knights held onto the smaller male's shoulder and gently shook him. 

"Your pie got cold. Shall I walk you to your chambers, your Highness?" Kenma nodded tiredly as he let Kuroo guide him by the waist. "Where were you?" Kuroo smirked as he leaned in closer to a drowsy Kenma, he liked all of the prince's sides but sleepy Kenma was his favourite after a span of just a few days, he had already decided that this side of Kenma was much more vulnerable, open and adorable. He could spoil the younger however he wanted. 

Kenma seemed completely at ease around Kuroo, the taller male had opened the doors for the prince, chuckling to himself when Kenma quickened his pace and immediately flopped onto the bed. Kuroo clucked his tongue in disapproval, setting the plate down onto the bedside table, he sat down next to Kenma who was half asleep already. "At least eat the pie I made for you, your Highness."

Kenma opened his eyes and hesitated before he sat up straight, covering himself with the covers of the bed, making grabby hands. "Let me take the pleasure in feeding you baby," Kenma's expression blanched as he kicked Kuroo's muscular thighs under the blankets, the older boy tilted his head to the side and asked, "Oh? You do not seem to like it?" 

The Southern prince shook his head and shivered, "Don't ever say that again." he said in between chewing his food. "I…I know that I am asking for too much but..I want you to inform me about your whereabouts—" Kenma raised his hand to interrupt but Kuroo was ahead of him, "No, I know I am not your mother, it's just that there has been a report that Semi Eita was seen around the city."

"Semi?"

Kenma had heard of him, he was what the people called the "Silver Knight" he had fought the Eastern Kingdom before, alone and had defeated them, and had fearlessly challenged Dateko and their mighty walls, he wasn't as feared as Goshiki, the King's lapdog as they would call him, the young boy was born and raised to be a killer, he would follow King Ushijima's orders without missing a beat whilst Semi, on the other hand kept his composure throughout missions, instead of Goshiki who was a nervous wreck, eager to please the tyrant King. 

"They are starting to make their move, everyone felt uneasy and fortunately no one was harmed, he kept his presence unknown but Tora, although he had the attention span of a goldfish was keen on following Semi within the outskirts of the city," 

"He was unharmed?" 

Kuroo nodded, "The Silver Knight said nothing, he smirked and left." Kenma finished eating, placing the plate down on the bed, "Shit, shit," he felt his hands fly up to his hair, tugging on it as he covered his face with his hands, he shook his head in disbelief, Kuroo took the empty plate, placing it on the bedside table once again and moved closer to the visibly prince in distress. 

"Hey, we've prepared for this. Besides the outcome of our alliance was unclear, Ushijima not calling off the war still expected but we hoped for the other. Hey take deep breaths, okay?" Kuroo held both of Kenma's shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "Kōtarō made quite a fool out of himself today during the discussion, he was charming Akaashi and he put too much weight onto the table and ended up breaking it —" Kuroo was now wheezing as he reminisced the past chaotic events from today. 

A small smile appeared on Kenma's eyes as he leaned into Kuroo's chest, the captain smiled warmly and rubbed him on the back. "Promise me that you won't give up on living?" Kenma made a sound of agreement, Kuroo didn't believe him so he had to distance himself for a moment, immediately missing the warmth that came from Kenma. The prince's smile faltered as he frowned, "If anything ever happens, please assure me that you will keep moving forward?" Kenma slouched as he nodded nimbly. 

"Hey," Kuroo lifted the prince's mood by pressing a soft, sweet kiss on his forehead. "Can you please stop talking like you're about to die?" Kenma hissed as he closed his eyes, readying himself for another kiss from Kuroo. "My, this is something inevitable, your Highness. Victory is always uncertain at war."

"It all depends on the King." Kenma fired back, waiting for Kuroo's response. "It doesn't always work that way Kenma, the Northern King's life was at risk once when Nohebi attacked us once, they were poisonous and lethal. He was knocking on death's doorstep if it wasn't for Fukunaga who found their location, so it really isn't all up to the King and his decisions."

"A good, wise King could lead his people to peace—" 

"Not every Kingdom has that type of King, you of all people should know, I've heard that the Spine-chilling Knight of the West had attacked you and your men when you were at your Kingdom's festival."

"Yeah well I was the only one hurt, his presence was ghastly. I would never want to encounter him in my entire life again. The horrifying part was that he came unarmed, just dressed in a suit, and maybe brought poisoned knives..but that was all."

Kuroo hummed as he placed a kiss on Kenma's temples,

"They are confident with their fighting skills, hmm? But you do not have to worry your pretty little head about it too much, you and Prince Kōtarō will be leaving the Northern Kingdom for now. You two will be heading to the Crow's Island. His Highness may be a skilled swordsman but I think it's time for our well trained guards to shine out on the battlefield." 

"Kuroo, honestly why are you making this sound so…easy?"

"Because, you won't get enough sleep. And I will have to take my leave in a few minutes or so, in that way you wouldn't look like a sleep deprived gremlin all the time."

"Who said you would have to leave?" Kenma raised a brow as he leaned on the headboard of the bed, a shit eating grin was now plastered on Kuroo's face as he moved closer towards the prince. "Oh? His Highness would like me? A humble Knight to keep his bed warm?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, expecting a smack from the prince but nothing came, 

"I'm…afraid, Kuroo."

"I know, and it's okay. I'll stay, I promise." 

"We're unsure of that but I would like that very much, please." Kenma leaned in and captured Kuroo's lips with his own, earning a surprised gasp from the captain but his confidence soon took over Kuroo as his hands wandered down Kenma's lithe body, holding him by the waist and squeezing it. Suddenly, Kuroo was pulling away from him, the taller male had his eyes closed shut, while he chewed on his lower lip, muttering a, "Fuck,"

"I-i'm sorry, I just…it felt like—" Kuroo's gaze was fixated on Kenma wholly, every action he made was watched by the older male. "Kissing you…makes me feel like I am only punishing myself for the near future," 

"It scares me knowing that I would probably never be able to stay by your side by then, after the war is over…you and Kōtarō are definitely stuck in a sad marriage, me? Who knows, right?" Kenma was never good with words so he leaned in once again, kissing the man who, in the first time in years made his stomach do somersaults. This time it was calmer, softer and more intimate. The prince pulled away for a bit, grabbing Kuroo's perturbed face with his own much smaller hands and whispering,

"Then win the war for me."

Kenma squealed in surprise when Kuroo went back to squeezing his waist as he explored the corners of Kenma's mouth, the prince's hands went to grab on Kuroo's dishevelled hair, ruining it in the process. "I would do anything for you, Kenma." He smashed their mouths together once more with an almost bruising pressure, leaving Kenma scrambling to prop himself on the bed. 

"I'll wait for you, Kuroo." he smiled contentedly as he snuggled closer to the taller male's chest, arms reaching out to wrap around him. And suddenly, the bed was no longer cold and Kenma slept peacefully. 

↻

He jolted out of his bed, only to find an empty space beside him, he rubbed the sleep out his eyes as he looked around his room where there were no signs of Kuroo Tetsurou. He got off the bed and he found a letter tucked in his dresser, 

"I'll be preparing honey glazed blueberry pancakes for his Highness. Good morning by the way my little ray of moonshine."

Kenma fought back the smile creeping on his face as he entered the bathroom, as he washed his face he couldn't help but feel like something was out of place. Akaashi had explained that he found him and Yaku because Keiji trusted his gut and had an intuition they were doing something stupid (to which Yaku argued that it wasn't at all) He finished dressing up. Clad in a white shirt with a ruffled neckline and black trousers, he decided to visit Kōtarō and ask him about their departure in a few hours, he was surprised when no servant came out to greet him as he walked past the hallways, it was eerily quiet that Kenma did not have a good feeling about it. 

As he knocked on Akaashi's door, he was surprised that it was empty and the sheets were neatly kept, and his belongings seemed to have gone missing, Kenma quickly left the room and went straight to the throne room where he saw the palace's staff crowding the entryway. He could feel the tense atmosphere in the room, his expensive leather boots had unfortunately made his presence known, the servant quickly shooting him daggers with their own eyes, Kenma's eyes widened at the sudden behaviour, then returned to their normal emotionless look. 

"You were behind this! Weren't you?!" A young lady had accusingly pointed her fingers at the Southern Prince, there were still people blocking his view, making it hard for him to understand the ruckus, "You're a goddamned monster!" screamed another man, everyone standing at the doorway was angrily yelling at Kenma whose eyes were filled with confusion, he took three steps back only to feel a solid built chest. 

"Your Highness," He could hear how fragile his voice sounded, Kenma whipped his head and was faced with Prince Kōtarō whose eyes were rimmed red and a stiff upper lip. Kenma wanted to say something but he could feel the dryness in his throat, he was not able to find the right words to say as the Northern Prince had grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him inside the throne room where the castle's servants had cleared the way as they stepped aside. 

The prince could not stomach the sight of what he had to witness, he closed his eyes, feeling queasy of having to see the Queen and King of the North stacked on top of each other, bathing in their own blood, with their heads missing. They were gruesomely murdered under broad daylight since the blood seemed fresh and the perpetrator left no trails behind nor any clue. 

Kenma looked at Kōtarō who was looking intently at his now murdered parents, "I...I don't understand, our security has been tighter than ever," his voice breaking and lips wobbling, Kenma was utterly clueless and confused as he wrapped his arms around a stiff Kōtarō, "I'm sorry, Your Highness. We should be making a move by now, the Western Kingdom had managed to infiltrate the castle and we have no idea if…there are people here who have double crossed you."

"Akaashi was missing this morning," Kōtarō sniffled as he wiped his tears, Kenma pursed his lips and nodded, "So was Tetsurou, do you think they had an idea that this was going to happen?" 

"I've never doubted Keiji, maybe he did...or worse is that King Ushijima has—" 

"Kōtarō, no." Kenma said sternly, "He's an intelligent man," he pointed out the obvious, he could hear his name being called and he saw Lev and Yaku approaching them, the two boys were dishevelled and panting for breath as they barely made it inside the throne room. 

"Goshiki, it's Goshiki. Taketora and Kai had captured him not without a fight though, but he's currently locked up in the cell—" 

"Shit, haven't we had enough people who work for the West inside this castle already?" Kōtarō said through gritted teeth, Yaku was taken aback as he bowed his head in respect, while Lev was puzzled. "I apologise, your Highness. Please forgive my inconsideration." 

"Who works for the West, Kōtarō?" Kenma asked stiffly, the Northern prince sighed heavily before answering, "One of my father's advisors, I had just discovered his letters exchanged with the King of the West yesterday when I was rummaging through drawers inside his room, I was inside there because he told me to meet him there earlier and my curiosity got the best of me when I had seen the Western King's seal."

"Traitors be damned." Lev murmured, he casted a glance around at the tiles that were splattered with blood, acting like the whole place was diseased. "Let's go, now." Kenma led the way, ignoring the servants' distinct chatter about him and his men, Kōtarō had soon followed after, a dark expression taking over his once cheerful and bright self. 

"We'll round up the horses and you two will be taking your leave." Yaku said as he caught Kōtarō staring at his own two hands in trepidation, "It would only arouse suspicion if the prince's horse had gone missing, so the only possible option is that you take our horses." 

"I know," Prince Kōtarō responded, as he looked in despair at the stables. Lev's horse had a cream colored coating and a rich blonde mane whilst Yaku had a caramel like colored coating and much smaller in comparison to Lev's. "The two of us will try to cause a distraction so none of the servants are aware of your departure." as the two boys were completely out of sight, Kōtarō had already jumped on the horse, soothing the petrified animal. Kenma on the other hand, took Yaku's horse who was much more calm, he noticed Kōtarō who had shot him a downcast look. 

The main road would be an easier path to take but it offered no protection to the two princes, and the Western Knights would have probably spot them immediately while they were a mile away. "I honestly can not decipher that the King's lapdog had been taken in custody, Ushijima must have flipped a table by now," Kōtarō grimaced as he looked back at Kenma, completely unaware of the branch that was about to hit his face, "Your Hi—" 

It had managed to successfully thwack the Northern prince's face as Kenma stifled his laughter, only to clear his throat instead. "Where do you think Kuroo is?" Kenma asked as he looked at the trees, unimpressed. The Prince didn't have the time to answer when both of them had heard leaves crunching and twigs snapping in the wake of royal guards pursuing after them. 

"Crap." Bokuto muttered as he frantically looked around, and suddenly deciding that taking two horses were too much of an ideal escape plan. They went deeper into the forest, camouflaging themselves behind trees, voices were audible as he heard hooves sounding against the dirt. "After all the hide and seek games we've played, you are certainly putting my teachings to a shame." Kenma perked up at the voice of Keiji but was stopped by Bokuto who looked at him with pleading eyes, but Akaashi wouldn't…betray them? Would he? 

"I could stop pulling my hair out if I were rest assured that the crown princes were guided with someone whose brain cells worked," this time it was much lower, only for Kōtarō and Kenma's ears to hear. The clopping of footsteps had told the two princes that their hiding spot had been found, 

"I'll meet you later in the afternoon, head over to Sawamura's stall in the city, leave the damn horses once you reach the road and you'll need these," Akaashi had chucked two cloaks towards them, he then nodded as he walked away. As Kōtarō straightened up, Kenma wondered if he had actually seen the prince smile in glee at Akaashi's presence, or not. 

"No turning back anymore, Kenma."

When he didn't receive any response, he saw the smaller prince lost in his own thoughts, "Are you…regretting this?" He asked softly only for Kenma to send a dismissive sigh. "No, I just...hope Kuroo is safe. How long are we travelling on horse?" he shifted to another relevant topic, thinking about how ruthless Ushijima is, he shuddered at the thought of Kuroo experiencing his wrath. 

"Thirty minutes, I suppose then we can make a run for it towards Sawamura's stall. The man is a good one, he originally lived in the Crow's Island but moved here because he sold the hand crafted products his husband, Sugawara, produces." Kōtarō explained. 

Kenma had turned to face the Northern Kingdom palace and back to Kōtarō's hopeful eyes, "Come on then, we have a long way to go, Your Highness." He nudged his heels on the horse's sides, shooting the prince a grin. 

It was…a mess to simply put it. 

Everyone was panicking, news had probably arrived, they were packing up their stuff, while some were crying in disbelief that the King and Queen were dead. They were scared for their lives but nothing can be done to repair it. As Kōtarō had silently led him to a small looking shack, Kenma saw a man with his arms crossed who was visibly concerned. Kōtarō cleared his throat and the man had sighed in relief, "You took for what seemed like an eternity, Your Highnesses." he chuckled as he quickly opened the door for them. Kenma saw a couple of bags stacked against one another, "I'm Daichi Sawamura, Your Highness." he introduced himself respectfully while Kenma nodded in acknowledgement. 

"We best make a move now, it'll take half a day to arrive at my hometown. The boat must be leaving in the next two hours now," Akaashi had entered the room, armed with swords and a shield. "I entrust our safety to the most skilled swordsman in the entire kingdom." He told Kōtarō as he handed him the weapon that he left in the castle, while he was completely drowning in sadness, he showed Keiji a small smile as he quietly thanked him.

As the four men had started to travel on foot, Kenma was getting even more restless. "What's wrong?" Akaashi asked while handing him a flask that the prince rejected. 

"He must've seen this coming, he was telling me weird things yesterday before we fell asleep..he's stupid."

"I saw him today, at the break of dawn, he was antsy and had brought a couple of chemicals with him and a bag that I could guess contained maps? They were peeking out of his satchel after all and he told me he was going to perfect the thing he was working on."

Kenma's eyes widened for a fraction, he blinked several times and had stopped in his tracks, Akaashi raised a brow at this. "Your Highness," The second in command had grunted in disapproval, "Please do not do something reckless—" 

"I have to find him, you go without me. I'll catch up with you later on once I have Kuroo by my side." this caught Kōtarō's attention who frowned at him, "He's fine, probably. He can put up a fight, Kenma. Quit worrying about him for a while and focus on your own safety, will you?" He spat out, while Kenma flinched at the sudden tone of his voice. "I'm sorry," Kōtarō was snapped out of it as he bowed his head, while Daichi glanced at the ocean, "I just…can't lose more people, I hope you understand."

"And that's why I'm going after him, the West King's lapdog had been caught and who knows what they're going to do to Kuroo if he's captured?" Kenma asked as he discarded of the bags he was carrying earlier, "We'll all be safe." he said as he bid goodbye and darted out of the dock, leaving an astounded Kōtarō and a disappointed Akaashi. 

"I think a realization had dawned upon the prince." Kōtarō asked why and Akaashi sighed deeply. 

"His pretty little head thinks…the prophecy might come true if he finds Kuroo. That's why he's determined to go back and risk his life."

↻

The brown earth, the torn, blasted earth, with a greasy shine under the sun's rays, the earth is the background of this restless, gloomy world of automatons, his lips were dry, his heads are debauched with stupor—thus he staggered forward, and into the pierced and shattered souls bored the torturing image of the brown earth with the greasy sun and the convulsed and dead soldiers. Kenma stared in shock, the West had pulled out a surprise attack, there were many fallen knights scattered in a myriad of colors, the Southern Knights were sent to fight alongside the Northern Kingdom, who at the moment had no leader and their future King was currently on a boat that led to his safety, completely abandoning his people while Kai, the second in command of the royal army was left to deal with this mess. 

He saw how the colors of his own Kingdom clashed with the Northern, blue and red, mixed into a painfully slow death. He could hear some soldiers begging for their life, the Western Knights were nowhere to be seen, Kenma whipped his head to look at the tree's branches. He kept moving forward, dodging the corpses while holding in his breath. He was in the mountainous parts of the North, just miles away from the Southern Kingdom. Kuroo had told him once that his father had built a small cottage in here, where he usually worked at when he was done with his duties at the palace, after all he prioritized his main job. 

He fell on his feet plenty of times, a complete stranger to the steep hills, he let the path take him to his destination and he found a cottage with grass that grew taller than the house itself that Kenma wondered if Kuroo meant for it to look this to hide it from the eyes of enemies. Before he could enter the grass, he heard singing. Kenma's eyes shook in fear as he froze in his tracks, 

"Break them, break them, and break them good! Say what? Tear their fragile hearts! Break them, watch them shatter like glass. Then break their?" Tendou had risen from the wheats, wearing a hair-rising grin that sent shivers to Kenma's spine. He kept a stiff upper lip while Tendou was looking amusingly at him, "Well go on, little prince. What is there left to break?" 

Kenma's chest tightened as he thought of that stupid all knowing look on Kuroo's face, his strong arms that held him during the nights that he was far too afraid to say that he was scared of losing him. 

"Little prince? Well, I usually say souls but for your case, I'd go with heart. " Tendou laughed maniacally as he had drawn his sword out, fresh blood dripping from the silver blade. "Wh—" 

Swords clashed against swords and the sound of grating metal screeched across the hills. The ground trembled as the enemy cavalry charged into the grass, Kenma who was tossed to the dirt looked up, choking on his own saliva, his jaw dropped for a moment as he watched Lev who was clutching onto his side, shit he's injured. Kenma cursed as he swayed on his feet, dehydrated and exhausted from his journey, he moved to where his satchel was. Out of the corner in his eye, he could make out a shadow in the pine trees and so he propelled himself to where it would hurt less. 

Spear met Sword, the Southern prince barely drawing his sword out on time, he removed his weapon to take a closer look at his assassin. Kenjiro Shirabu. The trained killing machine was extremely hot headed and annoyed when he missed, this was no different as he had already fired arrows to the prince who was escaping his line of sight and entering the forest, hiding under a fox's den, he could still hear the telltale of metal rough-and-tumble against one another and Tendou's horrifying voice. 

"Ah Lev Haiba, the prince's royal guard." Tendou mocked as he easily matched the younger boy's blow for blow. Rapid thrusts of steel did nothing to faze the opposing nation's feared commander, who parried each and every strike with ease.

"Satori," Lev growled, though Tendou only smiled wryly as he chuckled dryly. The longer the fight had continued on, the sooner Lev had lost his patience, he grew frustrated and struck his opponent in midair, using the momentum to bear down on him. He aimed at him with his blade and had managed to cripple Tendou who laughed loudly through the pain. 

"Aiming for my legs, not bad." He gasped out as he laid his head down on the dirt, he coughed up blood and he looked confusingly at himself while Lev was seething above him. Tendou clucked his tongue and arched a brow at the younger male. "You little brat, stabbing me with that," He was running out of breath and Lev saved the time and effort from killing him, he pulled out the same poisoned knife trick on the Western Knight, "Before you die, I must admit that I lied to Yaku-san." He whispered while Tendou's eyes grew wide at the sudden confession. 

"You bastard!" he wheezed as he glared at Lev who grinned at him, " You were the one capable of that damned poison?" he lashed out, eyes threatening to bulge out of his eyes, while Lev had picked up Tendou's sword and finishing him with it, "You underestimated me too much, sir."

As the young Knight turned around he was met with Kenma's unreadable expression. "Shirabu must still be lurking around, we should go now. Kuroo…must have left." He waited for Lev to move his feet, a few minutes passed and the taller male licked his dry lips before hesitating to speak, 

"I'm sorry, Kenma. I really tried to solve the conflict earlier so you'd be happy with Tetsurou but I had ruined it and managed to anger King Ushijima." he croaked out as tears fell down the boy's face, Kenma was absolutely crestfallen. He walked forward and took Lev's face gently with his hands, "This was bound to happen, you do not need to feel the—" 

"I'm really happy you found someone you learned to love in a span of a week, Kenma. I really am." They stood at a standstill, "I could not be more than proud with how brave you were — however we have more battles to fight—" and in a matter of seconds, Lev had grabbed Kenma once again and flipped their position, taking the arrow for the Southern prince. Kenma heard the way it flew graciously in the wind, hitting Lev squarely in the back of his chest. He staggered on his feet as he swayed side to side, Kenma couldn't believe his own eyes, 

"No, no, no. Lev, please — you did not just," Any moment now his emotions were going to pour out, the thing he had bottled up for years, all because he was stupid enough to not make a decision and should've just grabbed Lev with him and made a run for it, escaping Shirabu's wrath. The tell-tale of footsteps had worsened the situation for Kenma, 

"An eye for an eye." Shirabu muttered as he narrowed his eyes at the two of them and carried Tendou's body. Kenma let out a scream, he just wished he was dreaming, this couldn't be true…but of course it could have been. Lev had always trailed after him like a lost puppy, waiting for orders and he was trained to protect the prince, no matter what the cost was. And suddenly Kenma wished he wasn't, Kenma wished that Lev had been treated the same way he had been, the way he should've been. There was no way of hiding it now, he let the tears fall as he caressed Lev's dirtied face. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you till the end, Kenma. It is my duty after all…" he managed to speak as the prince had carefully removed the arrow from his back, while Lev laid on his side, he grasped onto Kenma's shirt for the last time and said, 

"Keep on moving forward, Kenma. It was what mother would've wanted for you…well us, but my time had come." Stubborn as he was, Kenma shook his head while repeating Lev's name like a mantra, "I have failed as a brother, I should've taken that one for you!" Kenma screeched as he held onto Lev's blood and dirt stained armor. "But then," Lev paused as he looked into Kenma's golden eyes, "Everyone wouldn't be saved. I am rooting for you, Kenma." The prince sucked in a breath as he held onto Lev's cold hands with his warm ones. "I love you, I...I apologise for not being able to take you to my own wedding," and for the last time, Kenma pressed a gentle kiss on his younger brother's forehead. "Carry on, Yaku and the others know I'm here." Lev Haiba was born from a disaster of a night, the Queen of the Southern Kingdom had slept with one of the royal guards, regardless, the King had accepted Lev and protected him under his name. 

"It was a pleasure serving you, your Highness." Lev smiled as he felt his eyelids close. Kenma brought his sword along with his own, body feeling heavy and his vision blocked by the tears that pooled in his eyes. He had just lost his younger brother, he couldn't possibly know what was the worst that could happen. 

It took him three days of travel to return home where he saw that the city he once looked over at his balcony was now engulfed in flames, he stepped out of the horse that he bought on the way, he was going to collapse out of exhaustion anytime soon and he hated how he absolutely had no idea where his father was, as he entered the castle painted with blood, he sucked in a breath, readying himself for what has to come. But before he could enter the throne room, he had found something that would haunt his nightmares for an eternity, there was a near-permanent display of the decapitated heads grinning down from their spikes, and the most noticeable of them all was the King with his eyes filled with worry, Kenma fell on his knees as he gasped for air, and at that moment he knew that he had lost his family. The Southern prince had laid his body on the carpeted floor, tears prickling his eyes as he screamed out of anger. 

↻

"Phase 2 and 3 has been completed, Your Majesty." Reon Ōhira had reported as he bowed respectfully. Semi Eita stood along the captain of the royal guards, with his head held up high, in pride. The King nodded his head in acknowledgement and motioned for the two men to come over, he was currently sat in this lavish throne, the chandelier swinging brightly above them. The King's crown rested lightly on his head, while he plotted new plans and gave orders to his most trusted men. 

"Your Majesty, Tendou is in critical condition as what Shirabu had reported," Kenjiro was not only a trained assassin but also the King's physician, "We are afraid he may never wake up due to the poison that had entered his body, this one had a much more complex structure, it was not an entirely ordinary poison, Your Majesty." Reon finished as he looked up at Ushijima, awaiting his orders. 

"Take the Northern Kingdom's physician. Is that all? Semi? Do you have anything to say?" he glanced at the Silver Knight who kept a passive look, 

"Nekomata had managed to escape, I'm—" 

"It doesn't matter, we have eliminated the current leaders of each kingdom, now we await for their plans. Do they build an empire or do they run away?" The two men had stared at him so he continued speaking, 

"We managed to instill fear within them, I expect you to retrieve Goshiki and return him safely to me by nightfall. Send Yamagata and his men to look after the Eas—" King Ushijima was rudely interrupted, the man stopped mid-sentence and chuckled darkly. "The Northern Kingdom had really changed you, and you're furious that it's all in ashes now. What's wrong? You're usually vainglorious during our victory?" 

"Our victory? All you've done were use your pawns, you barely lifted a finger, your Majesty." He mockingly said as he stepped out of the shadows, and he was certain that his insolence towards the King would end up having his head placed atop a pike. Semi snickered at him, whilst Reon gave him a condescending look. 

"I admit having the Black Knight back is quite…amusing. No one dares to defy our Almighty King after all." Semi amusingly said as he watched the man step down from where Ushijima's throne was placed. The King arched a brow at him and sighed heavily, "The aftermath must've taken a toll on you, you are excused from training today."

He was in a terrible mood, if any of the servants dared to even look his way, he felt like he would snap their pathetic little necks. Despite the late hour of his arrival at the Western Kingdom, Ushijima had immediately requested for his presence, the two had discussed their plans within the next few weeks. As he exited the throne room, with Reon and Semi in tow, the Silver Knight cackled at him. 

"It's nice to have you back, Kuroo." the aforementioned man was stopped in his tracks as Semi faced him with a devious smirk on his face, Reon on the other hand had shook hands with him, the raven haired male cocked his head to the side, "I am pleased that you managed to carry out the mission successfully." 

"This fabricated plan was after all Washijo's dying wishes," Kuroo pointed out as he shrugged, "The former King would be proud of you." It didn't matter, it didn't before and it doesn't now. Kuroo, although he had won several battles in the past, and got rid of his enemies, he felt like he let himself down as he returned to Ushijima, and to think he had the gall to mock Goshiki being a dedicated young man when here he was, abandoning his friends and lover as he dug himself deeper into his grave. "Yeah if Ushijima hasn't slit his throat." He bitterly said, he wasn't fond of Washijo either who had treated him like garbage when he first arrived at the palace, reminding him of how he was a rat of an orphan every day. 

"I remember the bloody King mentioning something about fulfilling the prophecy if we were not able to attack both kingdoms and the Southern prince's knight?" 

"Ah that," Reon hummed in thought as he turned to look at Kuroo whose eyes were filled with regret and despair. "The King's son was said to bring peace to their kingdom through true love." Semi snorted at that and shook his head, "How must he feel after destroying everything he loved?" The Silver Knight bid goodbye to the both of them, and Reon too retired to his chambers, leaving a devastated Kuroo to retreat to his own quarters. 

As he sat down on the mattress, it didn't feel like home anymore. What felt like home was finishing a boring discussion with the Northern King and having a loud Kōtarō annoy him for the rest of the day with his many questions, what felt nice was seeing the Southern prince's smile that others weren't privileged of witnessing. He dug through his pockets and much to his chagrin he forgot that Kenma had handed him his handkerchief the night before chaos had ensued. It had the prince's name neatly embroidered on it, he bitterly smiled as he held back his tears. 

"My sincerest apologies, my love. I didn't stay."

↻

The darkness had fully covered the sky as Kenma's vision swirled, he hasn't eaten in days and as he ran with each step sending red-hot pain lancing up his spine. But he couldn’t stop, because stopping meant death, and the young prince had much to do before he would allow that release to take him. Gravel crunched underfoot, he was grateful that his light footsteps barely left any traces. He was so focused on running away from his own kingdom that he did not notice the root buried on the ground, his hands flying out to instinctively to catch himself. If he was lucky, he had hoped that Akaashi was out there looking for him yet he was probably in a foreign island with the love of his life, lucky. 

His body screamed at him to move, war does not wait. What was there left to break? He pondered back to Tendou's question, and what was so bad if he laid down there? He was drained and ready to accept death who was knocking at his door, maybe Akaashi would even find him here but that was his wishful thinking, he was setting reality aside because the only person who would go after him tonight was Shirabu who was apparently sent to kill him, again. 

The knight was even more vicious than before, he must really hate losing. Kenma thought to himself as he laid on the ground. 

"I'm sorry, Kenma. I really tried to solve the conflict earlier so you'd be happy with Tetsurou but I had ruined it and managed to anger King Ushijima."

"I'm really happy you found someone you learned to love in a span of a week, Kenma. I really am." 

"Keep on moving forward, Kenma. It was what mother would've wanted for you…well us, but my time had come."

Those words rang in his ears as it lit the burning hatred he felt for Ushijima and his men. Body rebelling at every motion, he dragged himself onto his feet again and staggered forward into the forest once more.

He'd been followed for hours and clearly, Shirabu had the advantage of the situation as Kenma highly disliked sweating and moving in fast paces, he couldn't see his pursuer through the thick trees that separated them. He would die tonight, or tomorrow…he didn't know if Ushijima had planned an painfully slow death for him. 

He heard Shirabu bellow in rage and surprise, Kenma was wise enough to carry a knife and a bear trap that his father used for their hunting expeditions, and Kenma staggered to his feet with strength he didn’t know still remained in his legs.

He ran and ran, after all it was too late to turn back. 

Every part of the prince was numb as he carried himself to the deeper parts of the forest — he couldn't tell how long it had been and then in what seemed like an endless forest he had stumbled upon a ledge and before he could stop his limbs, he tumbled off it. Pain surrounded his entire body and squeezed it viciously until he came to rest on the rotting forest floor.

Once he peeled his eyes open, he could make out a light and torches? On his hands and knees, and a freshly opened wound, he breathed in and out as he slowly got up. If he was well rested, he would've noticed the figures who had pointed swords and spears at him. The last thing he saw before fully losing consciousness was dark brown hair that was swept outwards and eyes who were fixated on him. 

Pain was radiating up his side again, but it had dulled somehow, no longer all-consuming but a constant aching presence that dug into his skin and refused to let him sleep longer. Once Kenma had awakened only did he realise he has not seen the familiar stars painted on his ceiling, he was inside a tent and his mind was telling him to inspect his current location yet pain shot throughout his body, eyes watering and barely keeping himself quiet. Where was he? He tried to struggle with the confusing slop of his brain, but everything seemed so far away, as though it had happened months and months ago

The tent flapped open as the man he had seen the night before, Kenma outwardly stared at him and he could nothing in his eyes but…pity? 

"Prince Kenma, I presume?" he spoke softly as if the Southern prince was a petrified pet who needed coaxing to come out of his shell, he nodded and arched a brow at the familiar man. 

"King Oikawa?" in a lieu of response, the man chortled at him. 

"I no longer hold onto that title," he grimly said as a chill ran through Kenma's body, right. The Eastern Kingdom was the first to experience Ushijima's greed for power. The former king strode over to the bed and said, "I'm sorry for your loss." The older male had definitely went through so much more than he did, Kenma couldn't remember the last time he had seen this man, flirtatious, an excellent and well-rounded leader. He was gifted with the ability to pinpoint his men and enemies weaknesses, it was truly shocking when news broke out that Ushijima had taken over. 

"I…apologise for being such a burden," he bowed deeply, ignoring the pain he felt, as Oikawa frantically reassured him that it was fine, another man had entered the tent, raising a brow at the situation, "You really suck at this," Kenma lifted his head and saw the legendary Knight of the East. "Your Highness," the Southern prince was flustered, did he have any rights still? 

"Is there anything you wish to—" Kenma's thoughts were clouded with memories of his friends, he didn't want to think about Yaku's mortified reaction when he saw Lev's body up on the hills, he couldn't get rid of Kuroo's stupid promise inside his head. Oikawa's words were blocked by the terrified blood-curdling screams he heard when he darted out of the Southern palace, he didn't fight…he couldn't. 

"The camp does not mind another one joining us, right Oikawa?" Iwaizumi glanced at the former King who looked at his knight before turning to Kenma and nodding his head. "That tyrant king is really something. With how he took care of the conflict and holes and shit—the black knight had even made his debut yesterday, turns out he was responsible for the downfall of both Kingdoms."

Black Knight? The West had definitely a Silver Knight, that he was certain of, but a Black Knight? 

There was a pregnant pause in the air as Oikawa awkwardly looked around the tent while Iwaizumi was still blabbering about how terrifying Ushijima's brain worked. "W-wh-who is the Black Knight?" Kenma stuttered as he gripped tightly onto the sheets. 

Iwaizumi pursed his lips as he pressed his index finger to his cheek and propping his chin on the rest of his clenched fingers, "His name they say is Kuroo Tetsurou. His identity was hidden ever since the day that he escaped an abusive orphanage, heard he was trained by Washijo himself, apparently the old geezer had a vision. The fall of the two rivaled Kingdoms, everything after that was fabricated." Kenma felt like he was being choked by the branches of the dark forest with the information he had tried to process, 

"Kuroo?" By any God, saying his name felt so foreign on his tongue. He started to palpitate, heart beating rapidly out of his chest. He worried over nothing. His younger brother had followed him to the hills where they thought Kuroo was and sacrificed himself for nothing, He left Akaashi and Kōtarō out of concern for the man he loved only for it to mean nothing in the end, "Kenma? Are you—" 

"May I ask for a blade or…anything to cut this with?" He pointed at his hair that reached his shoulders, remembering how Kuroo had always played with it when he got the chance made him shudder in disgust, Kenma wrinkled his nose when he remembered how he was pining over Kuroo that he lost focus on his Kingdom's safety, he could also hear Lev whispering soft reassuring words in his ears whenever he got a panic attack. It was time to take back down the crown. 

Oikawa was startled whilst Iwaizumi looked amused, "Oh? This just took a turn, how amusing. What are you feeling, Oikawa?" he asked, a smirk plastered on his face. The former king squinted his eyes and stood up straight, arms crossed. "No, Kenma. I am getting you a pair of scissors and you're staying. We're not fighting against Ushijima. That man has managed to conquer all three Kingdoms with ease."

"You don't have to keep me around—" 

"You're right," Oikawa cut him off, his expression rigid as he explained himself. "But I have received orders from the Northern prince, who is currently residing with Kageyama Tobio. That if I were ever to stumble upon his Highness, I shall take him under my wing and ironically you were the one who fell right into our camp." he grinned while Kenma's eyes started to water but he quickly wiped it off while looking at the two men who had saved his life. 

"Don't look at me like that shithead! We've got wagons to load!" Kyotani roared as he signalled for Kindaichi to follow him, obliviously unaware of Kenma's title although he didn't mind, it was refreshing to be yelled at by a hormonal teenager. His roots had started to show and it was going to take some time for him to get used to his hair that barely reached his chin. He had originally planned to cut it with his own if not for an opposing Oikawa who insisted that he let Kunimi do it for him. Iwaizumi had found Hanamaki bent over a table, studying the map that he had pinned on the surface. He was the son of a sailing merchant who had abandoned the seas when his parents were executed by pirates, his time in the ocean had given him excellent navigating skills. "The weather will hold on for a while even though we had lost a day's time," he glanced over Iwaizumi's shoulder, narrowing his eyes towards the Southern prince. 

"He's having a rough time." Iwaizumi spoke while Hanamaki shrugged, "He doesn't even seem capable of taking care of himself." 

"Well for the record today is his first…actually I have no idea since when he ran away. I even thought I heard crying inside his tent, we can just show him the ropes and he'll be fine. He was the brain of the Southern Kingdom after all."

"He's right, you know." Hanamaki flinched as Oikawa approached them, "He crawled in half-dead in our camp, he may be a giant pain in the arse but we are taking him to Kitagawa with us. With his new appearance, I doubt anyone would give him a second glance." There were bigger things to worry about after all, now with the Black Knight who had betrayed the trust of the Northern Kingdom back in Ushijima's hands, the tyrant King was sure to make a move soon. 

While Kenma stood atop of the hill, Oikawa stood by his side with his hands clasped together in his back, the Southern prince was thinking. It seemed like the ending of the beginning and he was not going to throw Oikawa's kindness to waste. Lev told him to keep moving forward and that's exactly what he would do, he'll need time to recollect his strength and peace of mind, he'll gather his soldiers, reconcile with his remaining friends and then strike where it hurts the most.