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Dagger pushing back against a sword, Obi was able to lift a leg and push away the attacker with his foot, giving him a moment to look at the little boy behind him.
“This is not the time for arguing! If you don’t get out of here now-“ he was cut off by another man trying to land a hard kick against his side. Obi blocked him with a grunt as he finished through gritted teeth: “you will not like the consequences.”
“I’m not leaving you!” The young prince replied, holding out his own small dagger and looking terrified but determined. Obi landed a few hard blows on both of the bandits and kicked them away with a leap before responding with a shake of his head.
“Then so be it.”
When the other two didn’t get up, a third enemy came running out of the trees. Obi had been keeping an eye out for another person throughout the fight. He was headed right toward the prince with a dagger raised. He was fast, but Obi was faster. The Little Prince raised his dagger in defense, but Obi landed in front of him and blocked the attacker’s blade just as his own dagger lodged into the man’s stomach. The world went quiet after a sickening sound and the man fell to the ground. Obi did his best to block his charge’s view of the dying man but knew he wasn’t completely successful.
Dang. He hadn’t had to kill anyone in a long time. He was a bit surprised at the shock that went through him, but shook it off. He had more important things to worry about right now. He turned around to face the Little Prince, careful to keep his view blocked before spinning him around by his shoulders and walking him toward the edge of the clearing. Obi sat the kid down on a tree stump, facing the forest. “Wait here where I can see you, Little Prince.” He told him. “I’ll be right back.”
“But-“
The hard look Obi threw him was enough to shock him into silence. When Obi was satisfied he would stay, he walked back into the clearing.
~*~
Nine year-old Hiroki Wisteria put his face in his hands and breathed a weary sigh. Obi was mad at him, he was sure of it! He disappointed the Knight he most looked up to, besides his daddy. Obi had never given him that mean look before… some fun, overnight trip this turned out to be…
~*~
After a bit of life-threatening encouragement, Obi got answers out of one of the men that he and the young prince were just a poorly chosen robbery target, royal status unknown. They would probably be executed for that mistake. The knight didn’t feel pity for them though. They had plenty of chances during the fighting to spot the royal crests on their clothes and weapons. A few knights from the local base had already picked them up.
Obi arrived back at the edge of the clearing to find Hiroki sat in his assigned spot on the tree stump, anxiously waiting for his guardian knight. He was a bit shaken up from the fight. Not one of the men had touched him, Obi made sure of that, but witnessing the senseless violence and death in a fight like that had an effect on the body. Besides, the boy was only nine years old. His life had been filled with relative peace aside from the odd threat and heightened security, but Obi doubted he remembered any of those times. For his first time in a pretty dangerous situation, the boy had been incredibly brave…
And incredibly stupid.
Rage slithered through the knight as he thought of what could have happened. Several times, the boy refused to listen to Obi’s instructions to run and hide, insisting on staying to help fight off the bandits. While his intentions were noble, it put his life in danger, and that was something Obi would not tolerate. He warned Hiroki that there would be consequences to his disobedience, and now he had to carry them out. He took a few deep breaths to calm down, walking over to the boy. Hiroki startled a bit when he saw him, lost in his thoughts and unaware that his guard had been near. Obi took a knee and examined the boy, looking for any signs of injury.
“Are you hurt, Little Hiro?”
“No.” Hiroki answered meekly, gaze on the ground.
“Good. Let’s head back to the inn.” Obi stood and lead the way, and the little prince followed after a moment of hesitation. They walked in silence, which was rather unusual for the little boy, but he was perceptive enough to know that his guard needed some quiet.
Obi’s thoughts were racing. This was something he never thought he’d have to deal with. But Zen and Shirayuki were out of town, so their son was his responsibility. He wasn’t sure if Hiroki had ever been punished by spanking before, and inwardly groaned in irritation. Why did it have to be him for the first time?! But it made no sense to wait a few days for his Master and Mistress to arrive home. Besides, he had no doubt that the punishment fit the crime. Obi was absolutely not willing to gamble with the little prince’s life, and Hiroki would know it. They entered the village and turned down the road that led to their lodging.
“Obi?” Asked the small voice.
Obi stopped walking and turned to him, keeping his expression level.
“Are you… mad at me?”
Obi had to steel his heart against the wide, anxious eyes of his little prince. Man, this was going to be difficult. He let out a big sigh before crouching down to the boy’s eye level. “I’ve gotta admit, Little Hiro… I am angry.”
“Am I in trouble?”
Obi didn’t see the point in beating around the bush and gave a curt nod. “Quite a bit.”
The boy turned away to hide his quivering lip. He’d never been in trouble with Obi before, and the guilt of letting him down was crushing. He didn’t speak any of this out loud, but Obi knew how he felt. Steeling his heart once again, Obi stood back up and offered his hand.
“We’ll talk about it in a bit. For now, let’s get back inside and have some tea to help us calm down.”
Little Hiro took his hand and the comfort it provided. The Knight was angry with him, but he still loved him.
At a table in the lobby of the inn, the tea helped. Obi didn’t want to approach this with rage burning in his chest, so he took the time to finish his cup. Hiroki quietly sipped, anxious but unaware of his intended punishment. As a youngster, Obi himself had suffered the wrong end of braches, leathers, cooking instruments and even a shovel at one point, but he immediately rejected those thoughts. This would be done the right way. No injures, trauma, or irrational fear of everyday objects. Just discipline.
Obi decided he was calm enough and glanced over at the boy, who was watching him closely. “Are you done with your tea?” The question seemed a bit ominous to Hiroki, but his cup was empty, so he nodded. “Let’s go upstairs and have a chat.”
When they reached their room, Obi sighed. He already hated this. He sat on one of the beds and motioned to the boy. “Come here, Hiroki.”
The boy paled. No nickname? This was serious.
“Do you know why you’re in trouble right now?” Obi asked after the prince was in front of him.
“Kinda.” Came the small voice.
“Tell me.”
The boy lowered his gaze in embarrassment, but answered. “I didn’t listen when you told me to leave.”
“That’s the gist. But it goes deeper than that, Hiroki. What’s my job?”
Little eyebrows furrowed at the question. “You’re daddy’s Immediate Knight, and our family’s guard.”
“Right. And since your parents are away for the week, I’m your guardian right now. It’s my job to keep you safe. So if I tell you to run from what I perceive is a dangerous situation-“ Obi had to fight to keep his voice level. The anger still lingered under the words. “Why do you think I would say that?”
“To… keep me safe...” The boy seemed to realize the point he was making.
“That’s right. So why didn’t you?”
Hiroki responded with a watery voice. “I was worried about you…”
“That’s not an excuse. You know I’ve been protecting your family since way before you were born. I know what I’m doing. You have to trust that I can handle the situation.”
“But Obi, I thought I could help you...”
“Your intentions were honorable, Little Prince,” Obi acknowledged. “It was very brave of you to want to help. But you don’t have the training yet to handle a fight.” Obi gently lifted the boy’s chin to look into his eyes. “What if I wasn’t fast enough to protect you? What if something had happened to you that I couldn’t stop?” Hiroki’s eyes widened in fear as his imagination no doubt ran wild with those questions. “When you don’t do as you’re told, you make it harder for me to protect you.” Obi’s voice nearly broke at this next question. It was harsh, but the boy had to understand. “What if you had died today?”
Hiroki gasped. “Obi, I didn’t mean…”
“How would your family have felt?” Hiroki’s face scrunched in guilt and shame as silent tears spilled over. “You have to think about how your actions affect other people.”
“I’m… sorry…” Hiroki managed to squeak out.
“Obedience to your parents or your guardians means your life, do you understand?” A tiny sob escaped the boy as he nodded. Obi took a deep breath to steady himself and put his hands on the boy’s upper arms. “I will not allow you to put your own life in danger like that. Do you know the punishment for your disobedience?”
Hiroki tensed, but all he could do was shake his head.
“You’re about to find out.”
~*~
It was over.
Thank God, it was over.
The little boy stood in front of Obi again, crying freely. Obi felt a pang of guilt before he reminded himself that no amount of tears were worth the boy’s life. He laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. Hiroki flinched but didn’t pull away, so Obi slowly pulled him into his chest and wrapped his arms around the boy as he cried. Hiroki melted into him and Obi let himself breathe. For a moment, he thought Hiroki would be afraid of him. But the boy was clinging to his shirt and sobbing fiercely as he tried to calm down, and Obi continued holding him. After the sobs quieted into hiccups, Hiroki clutched his shirt again and mumbled.
“Mm’sorry… let’chu down, Obi.”
Once again, Obi sighed. “The only thing that disappointed me was that you were put in danger. But you promise to listen next time?” He felt the nod on his chest. “Then it’s all forgiven, Little Hiro. Please don’t make me do this again.”
“Never, ever.” The boy mumbled again as he relaxed even more into his guardian’s lap, closing his eyes. A small chuckle escaped Obi as he leaned back against the headboard.
“Doubtful, but here’s hoping.”
~*~
“Have a chat, huh?” Zen asked, and Mistuhide chuckled.
“What’s so funny?!” Obi yelled, irritated.
“That’s going to end up being the code word for when any of us is in trouble with Zen or Izana.” The older man replied, and he and Zen laughed out loud.
Obi scowled. “Laugh all you want, Master, but it was terrible. I’ve never sighed so much in my entire life.”
“Seriously though, Obi, you did well.” Zen turned from his spot on the balcony to face his friend and Knight. “It was an important lesson for Hiroki to learn. I’m sorry it had to fall to you, but you did the right thing. Any of us would have done the same.”
The relief across Obi’s face was palpable, and Mitsuhide nodded. “At least now the little guy understands not to be reckless with his own life, and hopefully there won’t be too many more spankings in his future. Although, he is your kid, Zen.”
“What is that supposed to mean?!”
“Nothing at all, Your Highness.”
“The rest of the week went on as usual, Master.” Obi continued his report. “Little Hiro was back to his normal self after a nap and a hot meal. I was afraid he might look at me differently since then, but he hasn’t.”
“That’s good to hear. Thank you for handling the situation with so much love and care. I know I can always count on you.”
Obi gave a small smile to his master. “Yes, sir.”
“Is that all?”
“Hmm… maybe one more thing… Little Hiro knew that I would include the incident in my report. He seemed afraid that you might be upset and punish him as well.”
“Aww, poor kid!”
“I can see that.” Zen answered. “He’s a worrier, and he’s never been in that much trouble before. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him.”
~*~
Zen entered his son’s room for his nightly check before bed, but was startled to find him still awake.
“Hey bud!” Zen whispered.
“Hi daddy. I was waiting for you.”
Zen sat down on the side of Hiroki’s bed and hugged him. “I’m sorry my meeting ran so late. I missed you this week.”
“I missed you too.” The Little Prince squeezed his father tightly before pulling back and shyly asking, “was your meeting with Obi?”
“Yes.” Zen answered, and watched his son’s reaction closely. His shoulders slowly drooped and his gaze was glued to his lap.
“I guess… he told you what happened…”
“Yes, he did. How are you feeling?”
Hiroki whimpered as he began to cry. “I’m so sorry, daddy! Please don’t be mad! I promised Obi I’d listen next time-“ The little boy was interrupted by a hand laid gently atop his head.
“Please don’t cry, Hiro.” Zen comforted. “Everything is okay.”
Hiroki wiped his eyes. “You mean… you’re not upset?”
“No, son. I love you, and I’m sorry that you had to go through that, but I’m happy that you learned what you needed to learn. The incident is done, there’s no need to come back to it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You know, growing up is mostly about making mistakes, accepting correction, and learning to move forward. It’s not always fun, but it makes you a better person and a stronger Prince. You might even come to appreciate it when you’re older.”
The Little Prince scrunched his face. “I don’t think so.”
Zen laughed softly. They stayed up for a little longer spending some time together before Zen tucked him in and headed to bed himself.