Chapter Text
The Kingdom had been at peace for over a few centuries, subjugating and ultimately crushing any resistive forces both inside and outside the borders with practiced ease. It was most certainly the most aesthetically pleasing and economically perfected land you could find along the continent. The monarchy too was pleasing in every sense of the word. Each child of the royal family, glowing brighter and more beautiful as the years moved on. Each child more practised with a sword than the last. Each with more strategic genius than the last. Each with more charisma then the last.
It was a never ending process. The process where the monarchy held the throne. The people were happy. And after all, it's the people who build the very ground on which a kingdom’s success and honor stands on. Such was the perfected brilliance of this elegant home to so many.
The Kingdom of Mikado no Oni.
***
“Translating the name, it stands so,” the man dressed in a strangely appealing shade of grey spoke, “The Order of the Imperial Demons.”
Three of the four kids who sat so intently around the person all showcased varying degrees of surprise. Demons….Imperial Demons….It was the smallest of these four kids who popped up with the question. He had blonde hair pale enough to be considered silver. His eyes were a striking shade of blue with a depth that made people lose themselves in the hue of childish curiosity. He had a smile on his face and seemed to be the first of the kids to gather from the jolt of surprise.
“Why demons?”
Before the person could even come up with a legible answer to explain it to the young child, one of the kids, who’d shown no surprise whatsoever, spoke up. She was just a little taller than the silver haired boy. Long purple strands of hair, cascaded down her shoulders, curling prettily around the tips. Her large and gorgeous reddish pink eyes showcased a degree of impassiveness and questioning disappointment.
“You’re expected to know that Shinya.” She said, her voice cold and judgemental, “As a son of the Hiiragi Family it's a shame that you haven’t acquitted yourself to at least studying through the kingdom’s basic history.” She clicked her tongue, “The shame that you bring upon us. Asking such a question before a lowly commoner.”
The young boy, Shinya’s eyes went dark as he gave her a pointed smirk, “Of course, Mahiru-nee,” he said, “Isn’t that a part and package of who I am? Shinya Hiiragi, the apparent embarrassment of the perfect Hiiragi’s?” His smile was so emotionless and blue eyes so exceptionally stormy that it’d be next to impossible to relate him to the joyous young boy who’d been standing before them mere seconds ago. Mahiru’s face contorted into an annoyed frown, “Don’t put words into my mouth!” she said, tone evidently louder and angrier than her previous statement, “I’m merely mentioning that at your age and status, you ought to know that much!”
The tallest of the four kids, possibly the eldest, finally stood up, placing a hand on both Shinya and Mahiru’s shoulders, “Now, now,” he said, his voice commanding a certain level of respect and hoisting a feel of threat, “You wouldn’t want to waste the time we could be spending on learning new stuff now, would you?” Kureto Hiiragi had a smile on his face but it didn’t take a genius to read through that smile to find the threat that he’d just slipped at his two younger siblings.
Both Mahiru and Shinya bowed.
“I apologize for interrupting class.”
“I apologize for picking a fight with Mahiru-nee.”
Kureto’s face relaxed as he gave them a genuine smile, forcing them both to sit down with a rough push on the shoulders he’d been holding. Both sat down without a question.
“What’s the point of actually doing class? It's not like we can’t read! Nor is it that all this information isn’t in the Royal Library!” cried the fourth child, who’d been strangely subservient all this while. Mahiru sighed. Shinya facepalmed. It was common knowledge that out of the five Hiiragi siblings, Seishirou Hiiragi was undoubtedly the dullest. Well they didn’t know exactly how smart the baby Shinoa was, but given how her eyes sparkled and gleamed, she couldn’t possibly be dull. Seishirouhad no sense of time or mood whatsoever. He picked unnecessary fights and acted like a bastard before the palace employees. It would be bold to say that it was not Shinya but Seishirou who could be termed as “Embarrassment of the Perfect Hiiragis”.
Kureto glared at him, “Tell me, Seishirou,” he said, voice more tinted with anger and reprimand, “Can you perhaps not hear?” he asked, evidently infuriated. Seishirou often got the brunt of his elder brother’s anger. Shinya almost giggled, only to be silenced by a sharp smack on his knee from Mahiru.
“ Ahem! ”
At this, all four of the Hiiragi siblings looked up at their teacher in embarrassment. Their teacher gave them a warm smile before turning to Kureto, “Kureto-sama, by all means, take your seat and we shall continue the lesson.”
Kureto turned a brilliant shade of pink. And this time, Mahiru didn’t stop Shinya from bursting into guffaws of laughter.
***
The castle was bold on the blue beyond. It stood there as if conjured from the storybook of a child. It was perfect. Shinoa imagined unicorns in the courtyard, because if those towers could exist, why not? Every stone was even and square, as if those who built were set on perfection, as if they really loved what they made. They were walls made to protect a community, to echo with laughter and be the shelter they needed for the millennia to come.
The castle walls are the strongest thing for miles around, yet when Shinoa looks carefully she notices the stones. It is built of stones of varying sizes and shapes, each one unique. From a distance it is uniform grey, from up close it is a mosaic of humble rocks, each of them nobody would think anything of were they loose by the roadside. But together they are a castle, the crown of the landscape and protector of ancient peoples.
“Shinoa-chan! Mahiru-nee’s going to gobble you whole if you stand here staring at the castle walls instead of going to her dress fitting thing!”
Shinoa turned around to face the youngest of her four elder siblings, “Shinya-nii,” she said, curtsying slightly, “I’m not staring at the wall you see,” she continued, “I’m thinking.” She actively used her finger to tap the side of her right temple. Shinya laughed, moving closer to the young girl, “What are you thinking about, if I may ask?” Leaning in closer he whispered, “Mahiru is on the third floor window.” Shinoa giggled before announcing audibly, “You see, Shinya-nii!” she called, “I’m thinking for a valid excuse to avoid Mahiru-nee’s dress fitting!”
Mahiru’s click of tongue was audible from where the two younger royals were standing among the prickly hedges and mesmerising blooms of the royal gardens. Neither Shinoa or Shinya actually turned to face her, “Oh she totally heard you,” Shinya said, his voice still above the usual whispers the two talked to each other in. Shinoa made an expression of mock terror, “Oh no! What shall I ever do now?”
As Mahiru strutted away, a glare plastered across her face, both the siblings collapsed onto the grass unable to keep balance with how hard they were laughing.
“Oh damn, that was epic, Shinya-nii!”
Shinya wiped those tears of mirth from his eyes still drowning in uncontrollable laughter, “We’re going to have it so hard from her throughout the next week,” he said through pants.
Shinoa Hiiragi. She was now sixteen and it was her turning of age ceremony in a few days. Her elder sibling Mahiru, the heir to the throne of Mikado no Oni, was the one in charge of making arrangements for her sister’s special day. Though the younger girl seemed least interested in celebrating the occasion at all.
Per say, Shinoa was a princess with looks and brains rivalling her sister’s who was known across the continent as Utsukushi-sa. Shinoa had long purple hair which fell down in elegant waves to around the middle of her back. Those dark brown eyes held a strange level of warmth and kindness that were not possessed in Mahiru’s red orbs. Shinoa was rather short, barely coming up to Shinya’s chest but she had an aura of youthful joy and fun that automatically attracted people towards her. Such was the youngest princess of Mikado no Oni.
Over the years, Shinya hadn’t changed too much. His perfect smooth silver hair had grown a bit longer, inching well beyond his ears. His swimming blue orbs were coated in a feeling of both mischief and maturity. He’d grown a lot taller from how he was as a kid, though not close to the likes of his two older brothers.
(” They’re pillars, Shinoa-chan! Pillars! Can a human catch up to a pillar?! ”)
The older Hiiragi siblings had changed in their own way, gathering the grace and poise that came with the stopless flow of what time would refer to as age. Kureto became quite the popular despite his evidently stuck up personality. Seishirou while still utterly dumb, had gathered enough experience to know not to talk when Kureto or Mahiru was in a bad mood.
Shinya stretched before standing up from where he'd been sprawled on the moist grass. He extended a hand to Shinoa who caught it before getting onto her own feet, dusting off her grey dress.
One more major difference between the Hiiragi sisters. Mahiru Hiiragi dressed to impress. She had designers and stylists from all across the continent called for the sake of honing her appearance. Especially during grand events such as a total's coming of age ceremony. Especially since it was her beloved sister's coming of age.
Shinoa, on the other hand, dressed for comfort. She was above most frills and dressing up. She was mostly seen frollicking around the castle grounds without a care in a world with her hair loose and unkempt in her grey dress she'd purchased from a village dressmaker about a year ago. No amount of coaxing seemed to convince her to go around in something more befitting a royal.
Despite being well aware of the laws, customs, traditions and upholdings of the renowned Hiiragi family, she always seemed to focus on interests more humane, more childish. She wanted to live the life of a child free from the bondages of royalty. Well Shinya bet all five of them would adore a break from their innumerable royal duties, Shinoa was the youngest and naturally it meant that she had a wider range of freedom than the rest of them.
Shinya's eyes moved to the window where Mahiru had been standing mere moments ago. She was probably the one who wanted that respite more than anyone. From the responsibilities of having to arrange everything for her sister so that she'd be able to stand on her own two feet someday. Having to keep her brothers in check so that they're loud mouths didn't instigate a revolt of some kind.
The responsibility of upholding the future of their vast kingdom on those narrow shoulders of hers.
And suddenly the joke Shinya and Shinoa had played on the elder girl was no longer all that funny. He definitely ought to apologize on that one. He turned back to Shinoa, "Hey, why don't you go for that fitting," he said, sounding healthily cheerful, "I promise I'll get you out of the ballroom as early as possible on the day of your birthday."
Shinoa seemed satisfied with that. After all, she didn't have much to do now anyways.
As the young girl skipped off, Shinya found himself looking up at the sky. The sky that homed the soil, the air and the gorgeousness of the streaming waters of their beloved kingdom of Mikado no Oni. The sky was so very blue, almost as if it was providing the blue paint which seeped into the depths of the youngest Prince's ethereal orbs. There was the small whiff of clouds every here and there. Shinya spread his arms as a pleasant breeze blew through the the air, whistling through the loosely attached leaves on the series of greenery embraced trees that lined the gardens.
Winds…..of time……
Who knew what these winds could be….who what these winds could bring….the sky was blue and indescribably gorgeous….yet only tomorrow it might be clouded with the darkness of regret….the thunder of broken hearts….
Shinya didn't know why his mind branched into this line of thought. But he knew one thing. This unpredictability of the flow of time….this was what Shinya Hiiragi lived for.
***
I have a brief idea of how the Hiiragi Siblings look in this AU, so here!
Kureto Hiiragi
Mahiru Hiiragi
Shinya Hiiragi
Shinoa Hiiragi
I couldn't find anything for Seishirou so if anyone has anything, feel free to dm me on my Insta ID, new2theworld_