Chapter Text
inspired by a twitter post
rin and his royal family lived in ukiyo.
to rin, nothing was more important than beating his five brothers. his father had three wives, one had rin and his blood related brother, one had the family’s second son, and the last had four children, three boys and a girl. rin only had one sister, who was the princess of the royal family. although his father adored his little daughter, it was unspoken that she would be the shame of the family, because she couldn’t inherit the throne, and she’d have to marry into another family.
sae, the eldest one and his father’s favourite, was probably the one with the biggest chance of becoming king. or so the people of their land thought. they were wrong. sae chased his dreams instead, desperate to make an activity he discovered a real sport. something called football, he’d mentioned.
sae being the first child, rin was supposed to be the second. but his father had an affair and the woman gave birth to the second son, kaiser. the woman was from a foreign land named elysian, meaning kaiser didn’t speak the same language as rin.
kaiser was probably rin’s biggest competition.
kaiser was a couple years older than rin, and because he was fluent in the foreign elysian language as well as rin’s language, the king usually sent kaiser out to complete trades between countries. knowing this, rin spent loads of his time learning the global language, english, just so he can outdo kaiser. his tactic worked quite well, as he was now fluent in english, and the trades between countries and different corporations were split between him and kaiser.
his last worthy opponent was the third wife’s eldest son, yukimiya. he was quite the typical nerd that got onto rin’s nerves. always pushing up those fucking glasses, rin would think. but rin had to admit, he was smart, and had a chance to inherit the throne because of his natural born intelligence. he was also older than rin, which rin never understood how or why, but he knew he was unsatisfied to be the fourth child in line. his other two brothers were too young to compete against him, but rin kept an eye on them as well in case they became a threat as well.
the king’s six sons have never fought in front of their father, and they called everything they do “friendly competition.” no one had ever brought up taking the throne, because every time they’d ask who the throne would belong to, the king would become furious.
rin believed he was superior to all his brothers, because his mother was the king’s first wife, also deemed as the queen of the land. however, his brother had angered the king, as he was their father’s favourite, and was always known to take the throne, and rin was not so sure about his spot on the throne anymore.
after sae left for his dreams, he’d only kept in contact with rin himself, sending letters home every once in a while.
“rin, i’m having a great time learning to play football here.”
“hey, tell mom i miss her. tell her i’m living and surviving well. i know she must be worried.”
“i’ve met this younger boy in the foreign land i’ve stepped foot into. he’s similar to you, rin. always hungry to follow after what i do. he’s quite messy and arrogant too.”
“hey, rin. i know you’re upset that i left the family to chase after ‘some stupid dream that would never happen.’ but i left so you could take the throne. i know it’s been your dream since we were young. as opposed to you, i despise the throne. so much responsibility weighing on my shoulders and for what? i don’t care about the people of the land, i don’t care about keeping in good contact with the other lands. i just want to play football. and i am now. it’s fun, perhaps you should visit me one day.”
to say rin was angry would be lying. he was grateful that his brother left the competition because he knew rin wanted the throne, and he was happy sae could finally find something he was interested in, since rin didn’t recall sae being anyone that showed too much happiness in their childhood. he hoped that this new ‘sport’ sae was invested in brought a smile to sae’s face every time he came in contact with it.
but rin missed sae. he missed when sae would study with him in those stupid royal classes, or when they’d go steal popsicles from the kitchen. rin missed his older brother.
“sir rin? the king asked that you see him in the throne room.” a servant outside his room door called, snapping him out of his thoughts.
he took a bow in front of his father, greeting him. “father. you called for me?”
the king nodded. “let’s just wait until your two brothers get here.”
rin’s brows crinkled in frustration. the king rarely would ever call the three of them together, knowing they didn’t get along too well. and so kaiser and yukimiya arrived as well, taking their bow.
“so, you might be wondering why i called the three of you together. it’s because the richest land as of right now, is in war. they are sending their merchants to us, offering their treasures and riches, in return that they ask us to assist them in the war.”
kaiser shrugged. “as long as they can guarantee that we will get the treasures and the riches until the war is over.” and so the foreign country was on their way here.
isagi was nervous by the extravagant palace in front of him, the decorations were over the top, and they all glimmered with prosperity that isagi could never reach.
“welcome to our palace.” one of the princes greeted, and isagi and the rest of the merchants looked at him. apparently the merchants categorized the princes in colours. the eldest one was deemed to be red, the second; blue, third was black, and the fourth was teal. the other children were still far too young for the citizens to judge.
the blue prince led them down a fancy corridor, and they stopped at the throne room.
“welcome, merchants of eunoia.” the king greeted, and isagi and the merchants kneeled. “you three are the merchants that brought over your land’s treasures, correct?”
they nodded, gesturing to the boxes full of valuables. “alright. the maids will show you to your rooms. you guys will be staying here until the end of the war as hostages to have your country keep their promise.” isagi was afraid. he didn’t want to stay in this foreign land, much less away from his family. he wasn’t quite friends with the other merchants, so he was basically alone.
isagi looked around the throne room in fear, and he caught a glimpse of the “teal” prince. legends of this land had said that the first prince was everything to the family, including to be the most handsome out of all of the king’s children. however, isagi was sure the prince who caught his attention was nothing but a god that was the embodiment of beauty.
the prince didn’t seem to notice isagi’s staring, as isagi took in all his features. not only was he tall, he was dressed with expensive jewelry, a thick gold necklace with a teal gem attached around his neck, a thick gold bracelet, and a gold headband with a fan of turquoise by his ear.
isagi looked back at himself, a dirty white and blue scarf around his neck, and his clothes weren’t tattered, but they were not flattering.
he was then escorted into a room with the other two merchants he’d come with. “so, i know we’re not really friends, but how about we introduce ourselves? we’re kind of stuck with each other until the war is over anyways…” one of the merchants spoke up, a gentle smile lighting up his face. “i’ll go first! i’m hiori.”
“i’m kurona. nice to meet you, you.” isagi already felt at ease with his two companions, glad he’s met some kind people instead of cunning liars.
“i’m isagi! nice to meet you guys.”
throughout the day, isagi thought about the “teal” prince. curious, he asked his friends. “hey, do you guys know anything about the royalty in this land?”
kurona was too invested in unpacking his luggages, but hiori nodded. “there’s six of them. i did a lot of asking around and ‘researching’ before coming here. i always do this before heading off.” hiori sighed, leaning against his bed. “the eldest one, sae, left to play a new sport he tried to invent. apparently he was the one who was supposed to inherit the throne, but since he left, that sparked the competition between the second, third and fourth son.
the second son, kaiser, is the only child the king’s second wife provided. he’s a mix from elysian.”
“elysian?! that’s across the globe from our hometown, eunoia, and even further from here, ukiyo!” isagi was surprised he’d ever even be able to be in the same place as an elysian, a prestigious land which was never open to the outside world.
hiori nodded once again. “apparently the elysian woman, the king’s second wife, was from a rich family too. so that’s why this land and elysian has a good relationship.” hiori’s voice forced into a hushed whisper. “but the second wife was in an affair with the king before he married her, that’s why kaiser is the second son.”
“now the third son, he’s quite a mystery.” hiori’s voice was still barely above a whisper, so isagi scoot over to sit beside him. “his last name is different, it’s yukimiya. but his first name is kenyu. i heard no one calls him that except his mother though. he’s older than the fourth son, but his mother was married into the family two years after he was born. lots of things about this son is a mystery, but no one talks about it or questions it since he’s royalty. his mother was also the one with the most children, aside from him, she had two younger males and the only princess of this land.
and now to the last competitor for the throne, the teal prince. his name is rin, and he’s the blood related brother of the eldest, sae.” hearing his name, isagi sat up straighter, and kurona decided to quietly join them, on the other side of hiori. “him and kaiser split all of the international trades, since he’s fluent in english.”
“that’s it?!” isagi leapt up, unhappy that there was only so little hiori could say about him.
hiori was surprised by the sudden movement. “um… yeah? there’s not really anything special or interesting about him, since everyone calls him sae’s little brother. it seems he’s the most attentive to the king though, and follows through with orders, and the king takes a liking to him. i don’t know if you guys noticed, but it’s his head accessory that was the most extravagant. kaiser and yukimiya had one chain of feather and jewel on their headband, but rin had two. in ukiyo, it’s the amount of accessories they have that shows their importance and social status.”
“is he the next king, king?” kurona looked up from picking at his nails.
hiori shrugged. “right now, it’s the three of them with an even chance. but some people predict the younger brothers may grow up just in time for the king to choose them.”
“what a difficult kingdom. in eunoia, it’s just the first son who’s born.” isagi slumped against the bed.
hiori laughed. “it was supposed to be the same here too, but the eldest ran away.”
“hold on, i’m gonna head to the bathroom quickly.” isagi got up quickly.
kurona pointed down the hall. “it’s all the way down, down, and you turn right, right.”
isagi was lost. kurona said the bathroom was down the hall and to the right, but that was a damn wall. “are you joking?” isagi mumbled under his breath after peeking around the palace for a solid five minutes.
“from what i recall, eunoia merchants have no business on this level.” isagi jumped in fear, and he turned around to see the male he'd been thinking about. holy crap! it’s the prince! “ah! i’m so sorry!”
he scanned the prince once again, his turquoise and gold accessories complimenting his beautiful aqua-teal eyes. “what are you staring for?” isagi was so scared of this man. “s-sorry, sir. i will be going now.”
rin was annoyed. how in the worlds was he attracted by some fucking merchant?! a lowlife who’s never even touched a sense of royalty, and rin seemed to be interested in it?!
“holy shit…”
the door creaked open and rin’s head shot up in surprise. “better watch your language, young man.”
“father!” rin got up quickly and bowed in respect. “sorry. i’ll watch my tone.”
the king sat at the chair by rin’s desk, and rin sat on his knees before his father. “rin, i have lots of expectations for you, and you know it.”
rin nodded, hands in his lap. his father continued, “i know you think of your brothers as competition, but for this trade, i ask that you all work together. the merchants of eunoia are sly and cunning, and they might be here for more reasons than one.” rin knew what his father was worried about. it was rare that eunoia would ever share their treasures, and even if other lands offered to support eunoia in war, they’ve never agreed. so why would they offer their valuables all of a sudden to ukiyo, a land in the middle of competitions for the throne?
“i understand, father.”
the king got up, preparing to leave. “i know what you’re thinking, rin. about that merchant. you better dispose of that idea before i dispose of your right to compete for king.”
and then the door was slammed shut.
rin shivered against his bed. was it wrong for rin to like someone?
“i’m bored…” isagi flopped onto the carpet of the floor. it’s been three days since their arrival at ukiyo, and aside from being in the throne room and using the bathroom, they haven’t stepped foot out of the palace.
“can we go and shop?” hiori sat up from his bed.
kurona smiled. “let’s go, go.”
the three took a deep breath of the fresh air outside. “ukiyo is such a nice place. if only it was like this in eunoia.” hiori commented.
isagi frowned slightly. although he had escaped war and will be staying in this beautiful land until the war has passed, he thought about his parents, who were now old and faced difficulties to take care of themselves. he missed his friends, too. those energetic little brats who always pranked him or they’d trick the vendors and get free food.
hiori and kurona must’ve sensed his frustration, because they put their arms around isagi and dragged him away. “it’s okay, isagi. the government promised to take care of our families and friends because we came here and offered goods in a foreign land to keep our land safe.”
so isagi had fun. he, along with hiori and kurona tried a lot of new, traditional ukiyo foods, and bought some souvenirs for their family and friends. but what isagi was not expecting was to see rin. there he was, once again in his majestic turquoise and gold clothing and accessories, and he was at a small snack vendor, arguing with the owner.
“guys,” isagi called to hiori and kurona. “let’s go see what’s going on there.”
a crowd began to form around rin, while the vendor argued uncontrollably. “sir, all of these little trinkets you’re selling are illegal. where did they import from?” rin sighed, rubbing his temples.
the vendor stomped his foot. “these trinkets are all legal! i bought these parts all here, at the other vendors! if there’s anyone selling illegal things, it’s them! the parts i bought were just put together by my wife at home!”
rin picked up a couple of trinkets and examined the back of the pieces. “they’re made in eunoia.”
he turned to his assistant. “were there any imports from eunoia marked down in the past half a year?”
his assistant flipped through his heavy clipboard, and shook his head. “no, sir. aside from the imports we received through the eunoia government a couple of days ago, there was no transaction history.”
it was known that citizens were free to travel around the world as they pleased, but taking materials from another land and selling them would get you thrown in jail. “no transaction history, huh? so all of your cute little trinkets are illegal.”
the vendor shook his head furiously, covering his products with his arms. “absolutely not! you’re a fucking liar!”
“excuse me?” rin quirked an eyebrow at the vendor, and that’s when the vendor knew he screwed up.
“no, sir! i meant that–”
rin shrugged. “it doesn’t matter what you mean. you either tell me where you got these pieces, or you can spend your life in jail.”
the vendor looked around in the crowd, and suddenly he pointed to the three merchants. “it’s them! they’re the eunoia merchants who gave me these!”