Chapter Text
Jin sighs, flipping over the coin in his hand. His feet are dangling over the edge of the ledge, staring down at the packed out arena below him. There are still people flooding in, gaggles of children and adults alike all awaiting the knighting ceremony.
All eyes will be on him. Everyone knows it. He's not like the others, he wasn't meant to become a knight. The presssure is unbearable. There's a sort of sick feeling in his stomach, the realisation that today is the day he's been working towards for- how many years now? Atleast ten. And he can't fuck it up, he'd never forgive himself. Not only would be be screwing up his life, but the hopes and dreams of commoners all around the city!
He groans, dropping his head into his hands. Trying to hide away from the responsibility of it all. He doesn't register the sound of footsteps, too burried in his own mind. It's only when an arm wraps around his waist does he look up, wide eyes snapping to the person with a slight jolt.
"Oh-! It's just you...hey. You almost gave me a damn heart attack, watch who you're sneaking up on, man!" He mutters, frown easing away as he sees the little smile on his boyfriends face.
"I knew I'd find you here." Keigo says softly, joining him on looking down at the arena. The king isn't there yet, but he will be soon.
Jin, for the first time in ten minutes, finds his eyes finally prying away from the nerve-wracking sight of his future, and instead looks to his boyfriend. He's always been helpful at times like this, times when Jin thought he'd fall apart at the seams. But Kiego's always there to hold him together, and on rare times he does fall apart? He's there to pick up the pieces. He doesn't know what he'd do without him.
"I had to get away, was gettin' too much, ya know. I can't stand those loud idiots!" He mumbles with a sigh, turning away and instead looking at his hands balled into fists in his lap. He feels the arm snake away from his waist, and his frown is back, part of him ready to complain until there's a gentle squeeze of his hand, and he finally cracks a smile. Seeing Keigo's slender hand gentle placed over his much rougher ones.
He lets the rest of the tension drain from his body, giving up his worries and instead leaning his weight against the other. Head rested against Keigos shoulder, now both looking at the arena with more contemplative stares. He doesn't know how long they sit there, just holding one another until Jin finally sits up. Keigo humming and looking to him with curious eyes.
"It starts soon. We should get going now, shouldn't we?" Jin asks, and for the first time in a while, he doesn't split. Keigo smiles at him with a look that can only be described as pride as they both stand, turning their backs to the crowd and instead make their way down to the locker rooms.
But the peace doesn't last long. As soon as Jin steps into the locker room, Keigo trailing behind him, a strong arm wraps around his neck, pulling him closer with a loud laugh.
"Today's the day, Twice!! Ya excited or what?" Mirko barks out a laugh, Jin struggling in her grip. This woman is strong, much buffer than him. She could snap his neck with ease, and probably would if she didn't seem to genuinely like him. "You look like you're shitting your pants, little man!" She cackles, squeezing him harder as he groans. Finally managing to writhe his way out of her grip, rubbing his neck with a little nervous smile.
"Would've been more excited if I wasn't almost chocked to death." He grumbles, getting elbowed by the overly rowdy woman as he winces. Is she rougher today? She definetly feels rougher today. He doesn't usually get beat up every morning, but maybe she's just excited.
He doesn't have to worry about getting any more bruises as Keigo finally steps between them, raising an eyebrow at Mirko. "You had one too many protein shakes or something? You're bouncing off the walls." He smiles, and now it's his turn to be targeted by the woman's wrathe.
Jin doesn't really pay attention to the conversation much as they make their way to their individualised lockers, too busy chewing his lip, back in his head. These guys all deserve to be here. They're all royal blood, or something along the lines of it. Keigo is a descendant of one of the world's most beloved heroes, for god's sake!! But what is Jin? He's just a child they found on the streets. A rough scraggly kid with no family, no home, no life. He has no idea what Almight saw in him, but he's been fighting to prove it to anyone who looks his way for the rest of his life. And today...today it has to be worth it.
He's literally knocked out of his thoughts as another knight bumps into him, probably another result of Mirkos roughness. He waves off Nemuris apology, just showing her a smile and turning his attention to the squire. The sword Keigo is presented with is as glamorous as him, steel handle entranced with golden swirls, devoted to their truest knight yet. The one he's handed is much less than ordinary, and he takes it with a curt nod.
"Thanks." He smiles, taking the sword in his hands. Only then does he realise it feels heavier than usual, frowning and flipping it in his hands. The squire lingers beside him longer than usual, his long silken robe caught in the corner of Jins eyes. He opens his mouth to say something, but he doesn't get a chance because in the next moment, the doors of the room open and the King walks in.
Everyone stills out of respect, and Jin is not an exception to that.
"This is it. The day you've all been training for." The King says, voice deep yet kind. It's been something that can draw everyone in. "You have been training beneath me for this moment, to become Knights. You will all hold your swords with pride, hold them for your people. For your country. For me. I know I'm nothing but an old man now, but I hope that you'll follow my footsteps. Anyone can hold the sword." The king smiles, eyes flickering to Jin himself. He freezes, his heart quickening in his chest.
It wasn't the King's huge muscular build that drew people in back in the day, but his kindness. He's been the kind of King his people could rely on for centuries now, a hero in the face of diversity. Believing you didn't have to have royal blood flowing through you to be a knight. He believed in everybody. But as the King walks along the row of Knights, his body much slimmer and fragile than that of a hero, he still remains the King in everyone's eyes.
He stops Infront of Keigo, and Jin peeks to the side, too curious to hear what he has to say. The older man's hand rests upon his boyfriends shoulder, a smile etched into his face.
"My most advanced soilder. You'll be an asset, young boy." He says, and his voice is almost a whisper, it's that weak. The smile Keigo sports in return is nothing less than charming, nodding to the older man.
"I'll make sure to do you proud, sir." He nods, earning a quiet chuckle from the other.
And then it's Jins turn. He stiffens as the King approaches him, not even able to make eye contact he's too nervous. He stares straight, not moving until a hand rests upon his shoulder, similar to the man's earlier act with Keigo. Jin finally looks at King Toshinori. The man who single handedly saved him from the squalor of his past life and gave him a chance to be something nobody could have ever thought.
He shifts, bowing his head out of respect.
"You, my boy...you are the symbol of everything I believe in." He says, and Jin raises his head. Staring with disbelief. "You will be the first commoner to hold the sword in my name. Don't be disheartened by the looks of others, they are yet to come around. But I know I've made the right choice with you, my son, I trust you not to let me down." He smiles, squeezing Jins shoulder in a way that feels somehow reassuring and yet constricting. Jin nods, eyes shining with pride as he smiles at the man opposite him.
Then the King turns, and Jin is left with a new sense of honour. The King chose him, and he'll do everything to be deserving of that.
"You've all done well, don't forget to be proud of whence you came. This is a momentous occasion, it'll go down in history." Almight smiles back at them, before leaving the room, all Knights following behind in an orderly fashion.
Just as they're about to walk out the doors, Jin feels a hand brush against his own, and he looks the side. Meeting Keigos eyes with his own. They share a smile, before following the King out into the Arena.
There's alot of people here, is the first thing Jin notes as his eyes travel around the arena.
Of course alot of people are going to be here, it's a knighting ceremony- don't be an idiot!!
Jin mentally scolds himself, focused on staring straight ahead of him instead of the crowd. It would have been way too overwhelming if he wasn't following behind Keigo like a lost puppy, sweaty hand wrapped tightly around his sword.
One by one, the Knights kneel before the King and the director, amongst anyone else important stood upon the stage. One by one, they get Knighted. And it blurs by until it's Jins turn, stepping forward after Keigo. He makes eye contact with the King, both sharing a small smile, before Jin kneels.
He holds out his sword, ready for King Toshinori to take it from him and bestow the great honour of nighthood upon him. But it doesn't go exactly like that...
It all happens so fast.
One minute, Jin is holding out his sword, presenting it for Almight. And the next, there's a red glow emitting from the tip of the sword. He doesn't get a chance to react as suddenly a large beam of something shoots out, striking the King straight in the stomach.
Jins eyes widen in pure fear, staring back at the horrified expression of the old man, falling back with a loud cry. He doesn't even get a chance to drop the sword as there's a screaming pain in his arm, and he staggers back with a weak cry, clutching- clutching the air. Because his right arm is gone, and looking up, he's met with the sight of Keigo holding a bloody sword. Staring back at him with wide eyes.
"I-i- I don't understand...!" Jin starts, but the screaming of the thousands of people watching drown him out. He can't be sure if Keigo even heard him, because the next second people are on him. Thousands throwing anything they can. He gets hit with cups, hats, food, anything they can. He winces, stumbling back from the stage, eyes still locked with Keigos golden ones.
"He killed the king!"
"Treason!"
"It was a mistake to ever allow a filthy commoner to be knighted- this is all your fault!"
"Kill him!"
All eyes on him turn hostile. And what can Jin do, but what a coward like him does best?
He turns and flees.
----------------
He scews the bolts tighter, twisting the screwdriver in his left hand. He stretches the mechanical hand, testing it out, flexing each finger individually until he's happy with it (happy isn't the right word. How can he be happy? He's more...making the best of a really really really shitty situation).
It was difficult, making himself a whole arm from scratch, but somehow he managed it in the weeks he's been hiding here. It works well, but the sight of it is just a horrid reminder of everything that happened. He sighs, shoving the screwdriver to the messy table in frustration. Just staring at it with tears in his eyes.
He doesn't even know what happened.
All he can recall is the look on everyone's faces. They looked disgusted with him. But worst of all? Even Keigo joined them. He had none of the love he showed just moments before, it was as if Jin was a stranger to him.
He feels his heart ache, letting out a pained breathe. Allowing himself to feel. Before he hears a knock at the door, and roughly jerks back, whole body flailing around in his best fighting stance, holding the only weapon he has in his reach: the screwdriver.
Wide, bloodshot eyes focused on the door at the end of the bar.
Had they found him? Who could this be?
It was a miracle he even made it out of the castle alive, but to stumble across the old bar he had worked at as a kid?? Sure, it had been rundown, wooden planks boarding up the windows and door. But it's out of the main eye of the city, instead tucked into the underbelly. Deep in the shadows where no knights would look for a while.
Nobody knows about this place, he hadn't even told Keigo.
So he takes a deep breathe, gripping the screw driver tighter in his hand as he cautiously makes his way over to the door. The walk feels unbelievably long, as if time is stretched out just to torture him. But then he makes it, and it's like ripping a bandaid off. He quickly grabs the handle, slamming it open with a loud, 'hah!' , pointing the makeshift weapon at....nobody.
Nobody is there.
Jin frowns, poking his head out the doorframe to peer down the alleyway. This is the back entrance, after all. Mainly used to throw out drunkards, or to bring in stock. The last time it was used was the fire.
He sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"Think 'm going nuts..." He grumbles, lightly smacking himself in the head before slumping against the door frame.
"Aww, don't be too hard on yourself!" A shrill voice suddenly pipes up from behind him, and he almost falls over. Turning around with a pathetic yelp and waving his little weapon around in panick, staring eyes wide at the teenage girl that is suddenly in his bar.
"W-who are you?!" He mutters, gripping onto the screw driver with shaking fists. Contemplating if he's actually went fucking insane.
The girl Infront of him is short. She has blonde hair tied up into two wild space buns, a few strands loose to frame her face. Her face is round, sharp honey eyes staring up at him with slitted pupils. She sort of reminds him of a cat. Not only because of the eyes, but because of the large, fang-filled smile she's currently sporting.
"I'm whoever you want me to be, buddy." The girl winks, and Jin takes another step back, very unsettled.
"T-that makes no sense, what are you doing here?! This- this isn't a place for a kid, you know! Let's get hammered!" He stammers, waving the screw driver around the bar. The girl doesn't even seem scared, just blinking a slow frog-like blink up at him, before letting out the cutest of giggles.
"You're funny, I like you. I heard 'bout you, you're the dude who killed the dusty old King!" She beams, spinning away from him and skipping further into the bar. It's only now that Jin takes notice of the uniform she sports, the dirty sweater filled with holes and flowing past her palms. Skirt short enough to show the bruises and scrapes along her pale legs. This kid looks rough and messy, sort of like an alley cat.
His eyes widen in horror at the accusation, shaking his head. Realising that's how strangers will now see him (as if they didn't see him like commoner scum in the first place, but now he's a criminal!)
"I-i didn't kill anyone!" He mumbles, and it almost sounds like a plea. Clearly the girl isn't convinced, pushing herself to sit on the dirty bar. Her sleeve gets caught in a nail, but she just rips it free, swinging her legs over the counter childishly.
"Hmm, you're right! You didn't kill just anyone..." She nods, and a smirk tugs at her lips. He can see her fangs poking out and stabbing her lip, and it's like this girl can't have anything soft without something sharp showing itself.
He doesn't realise how true that is until she whips out a knife from God knows where, sliding off the bar with a pleased laugh.
"...you killed the king!" She says again, and Jin grips onto his hair in distress.
"No, I didn't!"
"I mean, he was old as heck anyways. A gust of wind could have blown the life outta him, but that's semantics! You got to him first, you beat death herself!" She giggles, sounding way too giddy about murder than Jin would have liked. He wants to scream, to tell this girl that he's innocent, but she just won't listen.
She hops on over, gripping onto his arm. And then her face shifts, digging her nails in (not that he can feel it, but he's keeping a sharp eye on this odd girl). She suddenly starts shaking his arm, staring at it with awe.
"How did you lose this?! In the blast- did it blow to smithereens?! Like, pow! Oh, right- I heard that it got chopped! Was it a clean cut? Was there alot of blood?! Did they let you keep the old one?" She leers, head slowly turning to face him and her face is distorted. Wide sharp grin, eyes crazed and filled with blood lust, cheeks dusted pink.
He pulls his newly made arm away from her with an unsettled look, holding it to his chest protectively. "What? No! I'd have slapped you with it, annoying brat!"
The girl seems taken aback at first, looking up at him with her smile gone. Instead there's a little pout on her face, although she looks more curious than upset. He goes still, eying her nervously as she just stares at him. It feels like the girl is judging his entire existence, digging into his soul with just one look to find anything she can about him. And then she looks at his forehead, probably noticing the ragged scar slashed there, and apparently that pieces something together for her, because she just laughs again and let's go.
"You're weird, i love it!" She beams, hands clasped behind her back as she smiles up at him. He would say she looks almost cute, like a child finding a toy under their bed, one they had lost and have been searching for for a while. "Back to what I said anyways, I can be whatever you need!" She hums, spinning on her heel and taking in the look of the bar.
He copies her, looking at the scorched walls, ruined furniture and overall trashed place.
He snorts with a deadpan face. "Can you be a cleaner?"
The girl bounces away, way too quick to keep up with but he tried anyways. Stalking behind her nervously, eying the knife held loosely in her hand. "Hmm, nope! I'm too cute to do that, buutttttt I was thinking something more along the lines of a buddy!"
The girl throws her head back to look at him, almost bent in half backwards in an uncomfy position that just wouldn't look natural on anyone. Anyone but her. She makes it look somehow fluid.
"A buddy? I ain't being friends with a kid!" He tilts his head to the side confused, as the girl nods.
"A friend, a sidekick, a partner in crime, a best friend! All of the above, really!" She giggles, unbending herself and literally scrambling over the bar as something catches her eye. Jin just sees her as a yellow blurr as she does.
He's still debating if she's a hallucination or not. He has been deprived of sleep lately, and he's not the most...sane person ever.
He thinks back to when Keigo would hold him, remind him of his name and that he was safe. He'd hold him through his splits, and never made him feel insane...
Jin scrunches his face up, now glaring at the girl. "I dont need a sidekick, I'm not a villain-! And- and I don't even know you..!" He scoffs, folding his arms over his chest. It feels weird, he realises, having never done that with his prosthetic arm yet.
He sees the girl looking at his wall. The wall full of pictures, scribbles and plans. It's messy, really unorganised and hard to follow, just like his own mind. The girl hums, lazily waving a hand behind her head as she inspects the wall.
"Stop being so humble, man, it's actually getting sorta lame now. I'm Himiko Toga, and I'd be a great sidekick! I'm small, super good at stealth, and whoooo is this guy?" She mumbles, grabbing her knife and roughly stabbing it at one of the photographs. Apparently, she's easily distracted.
Jin normally would panick at a picture of Keigo getting stabbed, having treasured it to all his heart, but he flexes his prosthetic arm against his chest and looks away. "He's nobody." He mumbles, hearing Togas curious hum. Glancing over her shoulder at him.
"Well, Mr.Nobody looks super punchable." She nods, and Jin scoffs.
"He is. He's also really kissable!" He mutters, before his cheeks go darker and he scowls. "He is not punchable, and I don't need a sidekick! I have a plan. I'm getting my life back." He says, eying the board blocked by Togas head.
Toga looks back at him, clearly unimpressed and almost...dissapointed? Or maybe bored, it's hard to tell, even if she does have a really expressive face.
"Uh huh...what's your plan?" She hums, shifting to press her small hands against the bar. Leaning closer and looking at him in a way that tells him he's definetly being judged right now.
He shifts, frowning down at her uncomfortably. He looks back to the board, staring at his boyfriends- (are they even still together after all this?? He chopped his arm off, that's not a love language!) face.
"I'm gonna talk to Keigo, he'll sort all this out." He mumbles quietly, as if it's a whisper to himself. Maybe it is, because he definetly isn't talking to this little delinquent. He's already caught up in enough crime, he doesn't need to be associated with an actual, fully fledged criminal.
"Uh huh, sure he will, bud." She nods, patting his shoulder condescendingly.
Jin blinks, looking down at her. Not too happy about his plan being judged. He huffs, swatting her hand away as he turns on his feet. Heading towards the door.
"He will, I know he will!" He glares in determination, hearing the sound of movement behind him and stopping at the open door. Looking over his shoulder to see Toga slumped over the bar with a curious expression.
"Can I come with??" She mumbles, as Twice pauses. She looks sort of...sad. Like a kid wanting to be brought along on a trip. But then he sees the knife in the girls hand, and turns away from her.
"Absolutely not, I know what I'm doing. I'm gonna die!" He says, walking out the door. There's a sound of an annoyed groan, and a slump of a body to the floor.
"Good fun getting arrested!" The girl calls out.
"I won't! I will, thank you!!" He snaps back just as the door closes.
He huffs, pulling the hood of his cloak over his head, looking down both sides of the alleyway. Left is the city centre, and right is further into the outskirts. Even bordering towards the wall.
Jin takes a deep breathe, before turning left and heading left, straight towards the castle in search of clearing his name.