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A White Kingdom so near lies a sacred forest full of fear. Most adventurers never go in as most have never come out. Legends has it that there is a cursed being living inside the forest, one that can give you an unknown curse. The appearance of a devil with bright yellow eyes and a horrifying smile, that image has been thrown around the White Kingdom fearing many villagers and even some knights.
Though there is one person who doesn't believe any of that stuff. A particular orange haired and mostly hot-headed knight of the kingdom. Shinonome Akito, one of the 3 captains of the White Knights. He usually doesn't care about legends and stuff since he believes that all of them are over exaggerated or straight up lies.
Devil this cursed forest that, Akito doesn't believe any of that shit. He just wanted these dumb rumors gone for good, unfortunately these rumos have been going on for years and doesn't seem to be fading away. Thanks to one of the captains, he really can't escape it now. All the knights have been daring eachother to enter the forest while others look genuinely horrified to do so.
Luckily none have actually gone to the forest themselves and even if some had gone it they usually run out after a bit. One captain have been bugging Akito to go into the forest himself. Akiyama Mizuki, the 2nd of the 3 captains. They are a tricky one to describe, usually quite annoying to some but actually useful and kind to others. They always tease some knights as a sign of friendship and usually tricks them while some aren't looking.
Mizuki has been the one spreading the rumors to tease Akito as well as the other captain. They've been quite a mischevious individual to say the least. Akito is always the one Mizuki teases about since they know that he hates the rumors about the forest. Mizuki loves seeing his reaction to all of this and wanted to know how much longer he can handle it.
Though he hasn't been the only one who hasn't been a victim of Mizuki's trickery. The last captain, Hinomori Shiho. Quite a stern and the most serious captain out of the 3, she usually takes most work seriously and doesn't tolerate such rumors and tricks around her. So Mizuki often doesn't talk to Shiho but still pulls on pranks on her no matter the consequence.
A usual day in the camp with those 3 were either loud and chaotic or quiet and composed. It just depends on who and who isn't there.
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"Ehhh lil' bro isn't here today? ..What a shameee.. I wanted to show him something too!" Mizuki did a fake cry pose to the unfortunate person who had to be infront of them.
"Yes for the last time Akiyama, Shinonome went out today." Shiho wasn't really in the mood for this, she has been working non-stop for the past few hours and suddenly got jumpscared by Mizuki who was looking for Akito. "He said he wanted to go get something out of town, now can you go please annoy someone else?"
"Waahh.. he promised to wait for me here yesterday!! What a trickster he is!" Mizuki jolted up and went out of Shihos room with a fake sad face.
"..Sigh.. I really do wonder what Shinonome is doing. Hopefully he hasn't injured himself in the process." Shiho yawned and went back to work thinking Akito will be fine.
Of course Akito will be fine.
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The forest was darker than Akito had expected. It was crowded by vines and trees. Akito didn't expect how hard it is to traverse the cursed forest, he certainly didn't expect to see actual human bones after a bit more exploring. Akito had lied to Shiho saying he went out of town, he finally had enough of the dumb rumors and stepped into the forest without anyone noticing.
He knew this place was a tricky area to explore but he didn't know what he could encounter in here. Monsters or even lost knights/adventurers, Akito was a bit of worried that he would find someone here because, 1. It might kill him, 2. Adventurers will probably think he's a monster because of his armour. Well they probably wouldn't think that first but they'll get scared of him either way.
Akito sighed and just walked more into the cursed forest. Until he saw something, a opening from the sea of trees, it looked peaceful and quiet. He looked over to see a.. person dressed in white, blonde hair with a short ponytail tied by a flower. They were sitting in a small but shallow pond surrounded by white lilies, small birds came by and the mysterious person gave them a small flower.
Akito couldn't get his eyes off the figure, either he's intrigued by them or a bit curious on how they got here. Either way he seemed interested on this figure but couldn't get himself to talk to them, fortunately or unfortunately for him the figure noticed him first and looked over and waved at him.
Their eyes looked like stars, a mix of yellow and orange made Akito feel a bit different than usual. The figure stood up from the water and walked over to Akito with a smile.
"Why hello there dear friend! What brings you here?" The voice seemed to be male, he had a cheery yet quiet voice.
"W–Well uhm.. I just happened to find this place.. yeah." Akito could barely speak properly after seeing this person face to face. Maybe it is a normal reaction when seeing someone new, or he's just nervous.
"Really? Hmm do you mind staying here for a bit..? Strange request for someone you just met but..! It.. gets a little bit lonely here." The boy looked a little bit saddened when say the last part but smiled to assure Akito that he was fine.
"Huh..? Oh sure, I'll join you." Akito calmed down a little bit and went with the boy and sat near the pond.
"Thank you,, thank you-! By the way my name is Tenma Tsukasa! Nice to meet you! And you are?" The boy, Tsukasa sat down beside Akito and started asking questions about him, starting with his name.
"Shinonome Akito, one of the White Knights captains." Akito was a bit worried that Tsukasa might be a little bit scared of him but that didn't happen. Though, he felt like he's heard the name Tenma before, maybe from a book or another one of the knights spitting rumors.
"Really?! One of the captains? That's so cool! You work with other cool knights and stuff?? That's really really cool!!" Tsukasa's eyes shined after hearing that Akito is a captain, he never knew the first knight he would find would be one of the captains! "Do you like to save people from harm? Do they always smile when you do that? What's it like being one of the captains??"
"Uhm well.. uhh.." Akito was a bit surprised on Tsukasa's sudden barrage of questions but kept calm and answered.. some. "Well being a captain is.. tiring to say the least. Getting work every second is getting a bit old. Hinomori and Akiyama looked a bit more stressed than usual and I don't really blame them. It's.. getting to me now."
"..O-Oh.. I see.. sorry for asking if that made you unpleasant.." Tsukasa's voice became a bit quieter, at the same time the grass started to rot away pretty quickly. "I'm sorry."
"N-No it.. it's okay Tenma. You can ask me more questions if you want, I don't mind." Akito looked over at Tsukasa and gave him a small but sincere smile to the boy.
"Really? Well uhmm.. let me think more carefully this time!" Tsukasa's mood became slightly happier making the grass and flowers around the two sprout into a beautiful landscape.
".. .." Akito looked at Tsukasa's face which was really deep in thought about some simple questions. He thought it was kinda cute–? Well whatever Akito thought about he thought this was nice, just the two of them in a peaceful pond without anything ruining the moment.
"How about.. your life? Like outside of your job?" Tsukasa looked over at Akito who was staring at him.
"Uhh.. I have a sister who draws paintings and sells them to well anyone I guess. I live in a apartment somewhere, I barely visit though. Work has shorten the time I spend with my family and having a normal life." Akito sighed a bit, he realized that he didn't really have much time he had outside of being a captain of the knights.
"Oh.. um.." Tsukasa didn't know what to think of Akito's answer, he just stared at him with a worried look on his face.
"I'm fine though, I don't have a lot of interesting things to do in my free time anyway. All I do is just getting flowers from the plains and forests." Akito tried to change the topic a bit trying to cheer Tsukasa up.
"Flowers? What kind of flowers?" Tsukasa looked a bit happier after hearing the word flowers.
"Roses, sunflowers and lilies. Some are a pain to get but at least they look nice after everything. Especially sunflowers, they're my personal favorite." Akito smiled a little talking about flowers, it was the only thing that kept him sane during the peaceful and war times. And maybe because those sunflowers reminded him of Tsukasa..
Wait what?
"Sunflowers? I haven't quite seen one here, lilies and roses are a common flower that appear in this forest though! All in different colors too!" Tsukasa's eyes lit up again, he enjoyed this topic a lot. "Sunflowers are called that way because they always face towards the sun right? Is it some kind of power they have?" Tsukasa asked in a genuine way, he really didn't know that it's just a pretty and simple flower.
"Eh I dunno, sunflowers just like to face the sun. Even if they have powers nobody has really figured it out, it's just a simple and pretty flower."
"Hmmm... there must be more to than just being a pretty flower! If it always faces the sun then there must be some special power to it!" Tsukasa was confident that a sunflower was some kind of super flower.
"Haa–? Aren't you overthinking this? Sunflowers just face the sun to uhh.. get more nutrients from the sun or something.." Akito kinda wished he listened to Nature Class or whatever it was called in high school. He would have a easier explanation for Tsukasa to understand.
"Really—? Hm.. Akito can you promise me something?" Tsukasa tugged on Akito's arm with a cheery smile on his face.
"What is it Tenma?"
"Can you bring me a sunflower the next time we meet? I would love that.."
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Akito and Tsukasa's time was cut short because it was turning late. Akito promised that he would bring Tsukasa a sunflower to see. He's been searching all the stores for a perfect sunflower to bring to Tsukasa, he didn't know why he was actually trying to bring a pretty flower to Tsukasa but it made him happy at the thought of seeing Tsukasa happy..
Akito has been feeling weird ever since he met Tsukasa. Mostly he felt his face heat up whenever he thinks about him, he's never had this experience before so he had no clue what it was until a certain captain teased him about it.
"Eeh~~? You look a bit red lil' bro~!" Mizuki laughed a bit at the sight of seeing Akito covering his face with paperwork.
"I'm fine Akiyama. It's nothing.. really.." Akito was a bit embarassed since he never shows this side of him to anyone, a flustered red mess I suppose.
"Really~? What does lil' sis think about this?"
"Hinomori says I should get some rest.. now please just leave me the hell alone." Akito hissed at the annoying friend of his while suffocating himself in a pile of papers.
"Aww don't be like that! I'll get going then~♪ That person has to have stolen your heart and eyes to make you act this way lil' bro~" Mizuki chuckled a bit before leaving Akito alone with his thoughts.
"..Did he really stole my heart..?" Akito thought to himself before shaking it off and went out to the new flower shop around the main city.
There was one thing he left on his desk, it was a book about the 5 "新世界" creators.
Once upon a time, there were 5 people who is supposedly the creators of the realm we live in. The Hoshinos are the ones who control the night sky. Hanasatos are the ones who manipluate the greenery. And Azusawas mold the soft and dangerous animals.
Though there are 2 creators who haven't been properly identified clearly. The Yoisakis, and Tenmas. People believed that the Yoisakis control the underground, the ones who work in the shadows of the overworld. The Tenmas well, still unknown to some. Some believe they control the stars and the sunny skies, some also say they've made the heavens itself.
Well whatever the Tenmas are, all of these creators are highly sought after. The original ones have been either killed or lost to time. Their children have been bountied for more than hundreds to thousands of gold, dead or alive they are quite valueable.
Akito thought about this information for hours after his encounter with Tsukasa. He didn't expect to meet one of the children of the Tenmas in such,, a normal way? It might be silly to think that Akito thought there would be some grand reveal like in some stories written in the library. I mean Tsukasa's one of the children of these important people! There would be a catch to it no?
..Maybe Akito's just overthinking about this, he should just find these flowers and bring it back to Tsukasa.
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It was the next day and Akito had to "go out of town" again. He went through the forest and greeted the lone Tenma in the pond. The grass and trees around Akito immediately lit up when Tsukasa heard Akito's voice, both of them truly were a nice duo right?
"Ah- Akito! It's nice to see you again!" Tsukasa stood up from the pond and gave the knight a hug.
"Its only been a day Tenma.. but it's nice to see you again." Akito smiled a bit, just a bit to make his ears red.
"But it feels like forever!! Oh well.." Tsukasa let go of the hug and grabbed Akito's hand and started bringing him to the pond.
"Haha, wait for a second Tenma. I got you the sunflowers you wanted." Akito grabbed out 3 sunflowers that was attatched to his back and showed it to Tsukasa.
"Ooh! They look so so so pretty-! No wonder why they're your favorites Akito!" Tsukasa stared at the flowers with a curious expression as well as happiness after finally seeing a truly wonderful flower.
"Mhm,, they are pretty.. like.." Akito stopped himself and looked away a bit embarassed. His face looked more red than usual.
"Eh? Like what?"
"..Nothing. Just forget about it.." Akito slowly walked over and sat near the pond and waited for Tsukasa.
"O- Uhh,, okay then!" Tsukasa quickly sat beside Akito and started to talk about those sunflowers. "They are really pretty you know? You must've spent a lot of time finding them."
"I guess you can say that, I did spend most of the afternoon and night looking for those.."
"Oh! Really? Did you rest afterwards..?" Tsukasa looked concerned for Akito once again.
"Uhm.. well haha.." He didn't want to admit it but he didn't have a good rest yesterday. The closest he got was laying his head on his desk for a couple of minutes.
"..You didn't, didn't you?" Tsukasa sighed at Akito's lack of care for himself. "You know getting a lack of sleep can mess you up! You really need to care for yourself more Akito!" Tsukasa then thought of a great idea to make Akito rest. "Ah! How about you rest here with me?"
"W-What?" Akito was dumbfounded by Tsukasa's idea. "Like sleeping here? Wouldn't the knights find it suspicious that their captain is gone for a while without notice.."
"You're worrying too much! It'll be fine, trust me with this Akito." Tsukasa smiled at Akito making his worries slowly go away. "Just lie down on my lap and you can get a good sleep!"
"Okay.. wait. What?!" Akito's face turned red when he heard what Tsukasa said. "Lay down on your what—?!"
"My lap? Is there anything wrong with that?" Tsukasa asked with a genuinely curious voice. He didn't know why Akito was surprised by this since he saw humans do it as well. "Don't you humans do that too?"
"W-Well.. those people are uhm.. very very close or something y-you know?" Akito mumbled out those words trying to tell Tsukasa about these things. "And like uhhm.. they do those things because they trust eachother—"
"Don't you trust me Akito?" Tsukasa's voice sounded a bit hurt but he tried to hide it with another smile. "I mean if you don't trust me then it's alright!" Tsukasa pat Akito on his back and laughed.
"..." Akito felt bad since Tsukasa was kinda right, he feels like he shouldn't trust him. Either for his own safety or Tsukasa's safety. "That's not true, I trust you Tenma. No matter where the you go I'll always look for you. Just like a sunflower." (wow peak akito rizz)
"..You do?" Tsukasa looked down and smile, a sincere smile. "I'm.. glad."
Akito sighed and lowered his head to Tsukasa's lap. Embarassing as it is, he actually enjoyed it, the sound of the wind and water of the pond made it so peaceful. So quiet. Like the both of them are the only ones in this world. It was about time that Akito closed his eyes with a smile looking at Tsukasa's face that was looking at the tired Akito. Tsukasa was happy to see that Akito got some shut eye, though his face looked sad. He looked up at the sky and whispered the words.
"But.. do you really trust me..."
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The days and nights pass by ever since the two have met eachother. Everyday Akito has gone out in secret to go visit Tsukasa in the forest, yes he does actually work out of town but that always comes last. The other knights grew suspicious since they've never seen Akito go out a lot after the Light War. Mizuki and Shiho couldn't care less since they saw Akito genuinely happy after his adventures and decided to leave him alone for a while.
As he spent more time with Tsukasa, Akito had recorded the things he noticed about Tsukasa's powers as a Tenma. He kept a secret notepad everytime he visited Tsukasa, it explains most things in detail. Tsukasa himself didn't know about this notepad. The list below is what Akito had observed throughout their meetings.
"—Tenma has the power to control the surrounding area depending on his emotions.
—The lilies in the pond are special ones to Tenma. He would do anything to protect them, even harming someone/thing.
—The place where Tenma lives doesn't seem to have any unwanted visitors like monsters. It is like a safezone for anyone who comes across it.
—Tenma doesn't know the power he possesses, meaning he can't control it. I need to be cautious myself since I don't want to get killed just yet."
It's quite short since Tsukasa didn't have a lot of things to hide, he's oblivious and always talking about himself. Akito grew fond of that personality Tsukasa has, even if it's quite annoying.
Everything has been going perfect for the two. But, not everything can stay perfect forever right? The sunflower will soon start to mourn as their sun had dissapeared leaving behind a red pond.
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It was just another afternoon, Akito had already came back from his visit with Tsukasa earlier because of a sudden mission. He seemed a bit tired from the days events but that didn't bother him. Though he felt something was off, like he was forgetting something.
"Heyy lil' bro! What're you thinkin' about?" Mizuki's voice seemed to catch Akito off guard, they seemed a bit curious on what Akito was doing now.
"Huh—? Oh. It's nothing Akiyama. I'm just thinking that I forgot about something." Akito looked at his armour that was on a stand and had a strange feeling.
"Eh? Like what?"
"It's.. probably nothing.." Akito thought for a bit, he looked around the armour and finally realized what was wrong, his notepad about Tsukasa is gone. Did he drop it somewhere? Did he accidentally leave it out of town? Did.. somebody..
"SOMEBODY HELP!"
"Ha?! What was that?!" Mizuki looked over and saw a knight slowly limping towards the two. They immediately alerted Shiho who quickly arrived after hearing that scream.
"What happened. Tell us." Shiho's voice was stern. She wanted to know what had happened to the knight.
"Th-The.. forest.." The knight muttered out.
"Forest..? Did you go to the cursed forest?" Mizuki asked quite worried.
"Mhm.. ..my friends are.. still there.. with a paper.."
"..." Akito's face was both shocked and worried about the knights and Tsukasa himself. Before Shiho and Mizuki could ask another question, Akito ran out of the camp grabbing his sword but leaving his armour.
"He—Hey Shinonome! Wait it's dangerous!" Shiho grabbed Mizuki's arm and went after the rogue captain.
....
Akito was a fast runner and he knew this forest like he's lived in it. When he got to the center he saw multiple knocked out knights, as well as a rage filled Tsukasa. Vines overtaking the used to be peaceful pond while the flowers and wildlife have been reduced to nothing. Akito couldn't believe what was happening in front of him, his hand started to shake but he got the courage to talk to the monster that used to be his friend.
"Tenma.. are you still there..?" Akito walked to Tsukasa but kept his distance, putting his sword infront of him incase Tsukasa attacks him.
"..." No response, he just stared at Akito. ..He kept staring and staring until. A sharp vine came up from the ground and pierced through Akito's left shoulder.
"Ouch.. G-God.. I guess.. we're doing this the hard way." Akito laughed ignoring the pain on his shoulder before dashing to Tsukasa who was a bit surprised by Akito's agility.
"Annoying insect." Tsukasa whispered before another vine slashed Akito's back and barely missing his head.
Akito was a bit caught off guard after that attack but kept a smug face and started to attack back. Slashing vines and even getting close to Tsukasa.
Though it was no use, Tsukasa was too powerful for just a single knight to handle. Akito's body couldn't last another attack after getting impaled and slashed repeatedly. Akito was a bit surprised that he was able to endure all of that pain but I guess he'll always persevere whenever his friends are in need of help.
"..Haah.. You're tougher than you seem Tenma.. but.. I'm just a bit better than you are." Akito chuckled and raced to Tsukasa like his life depended on it, slashing the incoming vines before eventually reaching the blonde haired monster face to face. As he reached Tsukasa, Akito threw away his sword and pinned Tsukasa down to the pond with a smile.
"..Get.. off from me-!" Tsukasa tried to shake off Akito by letting the vines pierce through Akito's arms. Unfortunately for him, Akito didn't let go. Instead he tried to talk to Tsukasa.
"...H-Hey Ten—..Tsukasa.. I-I know this is might be a.. a weird situation we're in but.." Akito's voice felt weak, quiet. It feels like he's reached his limit.
"What.. are you talking about!?" Tsukasa's voice was the opposite, it's more hate filled, just like a monster.
"I just.. want to say s-something to you.. before well ha.."
"..Shut up.. shut up.. shut up.. ..shut.." Tsukasa kept mumbling those words and shaking his head and arms trying to free himself.
"You'll always.. b-be my... s-sun.. Tsukasa." Akito could barely speak, his voice was already wilting away like a flower. "I love you." In a split second Akito's lips went to Tsukasa's. This was the thing that made Tsukasa snap back to reality. His cold eyes went back to normal, as well as his voice.
"..Akito..? Akito can you hear me..?" Tsukasa sat up and hugged Akito's barely alive body. "Please.. can you answer me.."
"..Haa.. I guess.. that worked..." Akito's face had the look of relief after hearing Tsukasa's voice, he can finally rest.
"..Mhm. Y-Yeah.. it did..." Tsukasa didn't know what to say, his put his hand on Akito's hand. It felt cold, almost like a ghost. "Th-Thank you Akito.. I-I couldn't.. control myself."
"N-No.. problem.. Tsukasa..." His breath started to get colder, his heartbeat got slower too. "That's.. what a.. a person does when they l-love someone.. ..right?" Akito smiled at Tsukasa, a smile filled with love and happiness.
"..I g-guess..."
"Tsukasa, please don't.. forget.." Akito looked at Tsukasa's eyes and with a pained yet hopeful voice.
"I love you."
As he muttered out those words he kissed Tsukasa once again. As he pulled out he gave Tsukasa a warm, yet cold, smile.
Those words were the last thing Akito could say before the light in eyes slowly faded away. His hands fully turned cold and his heartbeat stopped. Akito had finally wilted away, just like a flower.
"I'll.. always remember that.. Akito." Tsukasa's voice was filled with pain as the tears ran down his face, he tightly hugged Akito's dead body before muttering out the words.
"I love you too..."