Chapter Text
“Akito!!”
“Look who finally decided to show up!”
“Sorry my dad was home today so I had to sneak out.”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s just head to the forest.”
Akito and Toya slowly make their way to the forest together.
“Hey Akito?”
“What is it?”
“I… nevermind.”
Eventually the two make it to the forest and find a nice place to sit together as the sun starts to set. Neither say anything the entire time, and just sit and enjoy each other's company. As it gets dark the start walking back to the kingdom together. Akito’s house is first, leaving Toya alone the rest of the way back.
“I’m home. If you need me I’ll be in my room.”
Luckily no one responds and Toya walks up to his room and collapses onto his bed and grabs his phone to check his texts.
~Vivid gay squad~
11:34pm
An: sooooo
Akito: what
An: how did your date gooooooo
Akito: once again, IT WAS NOT A DATE
An: sure. whatever you say I guess
Kohane: hi
An: HI KOHANE!!
Akito: ew
An: YOU CANNOT BE TALKING
Toya: Guys please stop fighting.
Akito: fine
An: HE STARTED IT
Akito: YOUR THE ONE WHO SAID WE WERE GOING ON A DATE
Toya: *You’re
Also was that not a date?
An: SEE EVEN TOYA KNOWS
Akito replied to message: Also was th…
No????
Toya: oh
Kohane: you guys should really go to sleep now
An: Okay!!
Akito: …
Toya: Akito…
Akito: okya im sorry
Kohane: GO TO SLEEP
Akito, An, Toya: fine
Toya puts his phone down to try and sleep.
*ding* he here’s right as he sets the phone of the night stand
~Akito<3~
Akito: so like… would you want to call that a date
Toya: What.
Akito: yk like would you want to make that an actual date
Toya: I mean sure I guess?
Akito: okay, just don’t tell the girls, please
Toya: Of course
Akito: goodnight
Toya: goodnight
“OH MY GOD WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!” he thinks to himself.
On that note he decides to sleep and think more about this I’m the morning.
~~~
“What did he just do” Akito thinks to himself. Akito has always had feelings for Toya and can tell Toya feels the same, but neither have been able to tell the other how they feel. After that Akito decides to go to sleep and continue his thoughts in the morning.
~~
~Vivid gay squad~
7:37am
Kohane: Good morning!!
Akito: morning
An: GOOD MORNING KOHANE!!
Toya: Good morning.
An: sooo you guys going on another date today~
Akito: AGAIN! IT WASN'T A DATE AND ALSO YOU CANT BE TALKINF YOURE LITERALLY OUT ON A DATE WITH KOHANE RIGHT NOW!!
Toya: Akito…
Be nice
Akito: okay im sorry
Toya: Good. So do you want me to come over or not.
An: can you guys kiss already
Kohane: An you can’t just say stuff like that
An: sorry my bad
Akito replied to message: Good. So do y…
Yes
An: if you guys don’t kiss soon I might actually explode
Toya: Please don’t do that.
Akito: ANYWAYS we should probably get ready for school now
Kohane: see you guys later!
~~
*At school*
“Hey guys!”
“Hello Shirishi.”
“Toya, you can call me by my first name you know.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah”
“…”
“Toya!!” Akito yells from halfway across the field.
“Akito!!”
The two run towards each other and An can’t help but laugh and take a photo to send to Kohane.
~Kohanemybeautifulhopefullysoontobewife~
An: Sent and image
Kohane: they can’t even deny it anymore can they
An: nope
Kohane: anyways, I’ll be there soon
An: see you!
“Hi guy!!”
“Kohane!! You’re finally here!”
“An I texted you 5 minutes ago”
“Yeah. A whole 5 MINUTES”
“Kohane, you’re finally here!” Akito yells from across the field
“We should get to class now,” Toya tells the group.
Everyone nods and they start walking to class together.
“TOYAAAAA!!”
“Oh god no, it’s too early for this”
“Akito.”
“Just saying, I don’t know how you put up with him.”
“TOYA!”
“Tsukasa”
“I was wondering if you wanted to come over today.”
“Actually I’m going over to Akito’s today”
“NO PROBLEM! I WILL SEE YOU LATER!!”
And with that Tsukasa runs off while the group continues their way to their class.
*After school*
~Toya~
Akito: I’m waiting by the gate for you
Toya: I’ll be out soon.
~~
“Akito! I'm here.”
“Let’s go before the girls come.”
They head out and start walking towards Akito’s house. On the way they pass by the town square and take a moment to look at one of the flyers hung up on the sign board.
“Knights needed at the palace,” he read.
“Interesting”
Toya knows it had always been Akito’s dream to make it to the top ranks of the kingdoms knight ranks so he knew as soon as he read it that Akito would want to sign up. Personally, Toya had no interest in being a knight, but if Akito asked, there was no way he would be able to say no.
“We’re you thinking about signing up?” Toya asked.
“Yeah, but if you’re not doing it then I’m not doing it.”
He knows this is Akito’s dream and he doesn’t want to be the one to ruin it for him, so despite not wanting to, he agrees to go.
“I’ll do it”
“Actually?! Toya you are the best!”
Akito signs both of them up and they continue walking towards his house.
“Ena’s working at the palace right now so it’s just me and you.”
“So what do you want to do?”
“Wanna just head up to my room?”
“Sure”
They spend a couple hours in his room talking about what they think the palace will be like and wonder if maybe they’ll get to see Ena there.
“Ena works for the the child of the queen, Kanade,” Akito explains, “they’ve grown very close so Ena is often over helping when she can”
“Sounds interesting.”
“It’s getting pretty late so you should probably head back soon.”
“Actually I’m staying at the Tenma’s house tonight so I can stay later.”
“Still, you probably don’t want to be out walking alone when it’s dark out.”
“Fair enough, I’ll be going then”
“Alright, text me when you get to the Tenma’s.”
“I will”
~~
~Akito<3~
Toya: I made it, see you tomorrow.
Akito: see you
Toya: love you
Shit
Uhhh
Pretend that never happened
Please
Uhhhh
Bye
Akito: Toya what!?!
Toya!?!
TOYA!?!
“Toya? Hellooooo? You there?”
“Oh Tsukasa.”
“You zoned out there for a while. You good?”
“Yeah don’t worry about it, I was just texting Akito.”
“I see… are you finally gonna ask him out.”
“What.”
“I mean it’s clear to everyone that you guys have feelings for each other.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, have you seriously never noticed.”
“No.”
“Oh wow, uhhh”
“I’m just gonna go to sleep now. Me and Akito are meeting up in the morning.”
“Goodnight then.”
~~
~Vivid gay squad~
Toya: Good morning!
Akito: someones in a good move
An: is it because you guys finally got together yesterday~
Toya: No.
Akito: actually I wanted to mention, yesterday me and Toya signed up to do a knight thing at the palace
An: wait actually
Kohane: good morning
Wait you guys did what
An: well I wish you the best of luck
Toya: Thanks?
Kohane: just please stay safe
An: and try not to over work yourself too much
Akito, Toya: we won’t
An: Akito I’m specifically talking about you
Akito: WHY
Toya: she’s kinda right
Akito: anyways, Toya meet me at my house
Kohane: can me and An come too
An: I never agreed to this
Kohane: pleaseeee
An: fine
Akito: simp
An: Akito shut the fuck up and don’t act like you don’t simp for Toya cause we all know you do
Toya, Kohane: Guys…
Akito, An: sorry..
Kohane: good now no more fighting you two
Akito: No promises
Toya: Akito…
Akito: fine fine we won’t fight for the rest of the day
Toya: Good
Akito: …as long as An doesn’t say anything stupid
An: oh come on
Kohane, Toya: seriously please stop
Akito: Fine only because Toya might kill me if I don’t
An: fine ig
Toya: Anyways, Akito I’m walking over right now
Akito: k see you in a bit
~~
“Heading out now?” Tsukasa asks
“Yeah, I’m meeting with Akito. He signed us up for this knight thing at the palace.”
“REALLY!?”
“Yes?”
“Toya.”
“What?”
“I’ve told you this before right?”
“Told me what.”
“I WORK AT THE PALACE”
“Oh my god I totally forgot”
“Toya I’m amazed you forgot something like that”
“Let’s not talk about that. Anyways I really got to meet Akito now.”
Alright, just have fun and be safe.”
“Before I go, how’s Saki.”
“She’s getting better.”
“Alright then.”
~~
Toya heads out to meet with Akito. When he arrives the two of them leave to go to the palace together.
As soon as they walk in they’re hit with a wall of bright lights everywhere, very different from the lights they have at home. There people lined up everywhere some in much more formal outfits then them, which makes them wonder if they’re even in the right place.
At the top of the huge staircase, there’s a girl sitting there. It’s clear almost everyone there was only there to get closer to her. After all, she was absolutely gorgeous. She had beautiful long white hair that shines under the sunlight and beautiful blue eyes that remind him of the ocean.
She was wearing and eloquent dress that fit her colors perfectly.
“That’s the Kanade I was talking about,” Akito whispers to Toya.
“I figured.”
“She’s pretty right?”
“Not as pretty as you,” Toya mumbled to himself.
“Did you say something?”
“Nope, but I see why so many people want her now.”
“Same”
“Anyways, should we just wait down here?”
“I guess so. I heard some people talking about the princess picking someone soon.”
“I’m assuming that means she’s going to pick her knights soon.”
“Probably”
“Attention everyone!!” A lady announced, “ we are so glad so many people showed up today!”
Everyone cheers
“Today our princess, Kanade Yoisaki will be picking three people out of everyone here to serve as her knights. We are going to start with a few tests before she picks to give her time to properly assess each and every one of you. Best of luck to all!”
Everyone cheers some more getting ready for the tests.
“Nervous?” Akito asks Toya.
“Not at all. Based on the type of people who showed up I’m pretty sure we'll be fine.”
“Now that you say that, I really am starting to see what you mean.”
“Wanna go around and talk to some people?”
“Sure.”
They walk around a little until they find someone who seems interesting, which is when they stumble upon someone standing alone in the corner. Toya has no idea who it is, but Akito seems to know them.
“Mizuki?!”
“Akito!?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Obviously I’m here for the knight thing”
“No I get that but why? Most to get close to Ena and I thought it would be nice for Kanade to have someone that wouldn’t be simping for her 24/7.”
“You know what fair enough.”
“Anyways now that you and your… partner(?) are here, I think she’ll be fine.”
“Oh yeah, this is my partner Toya.”
“Like your partner partner or just like a partner.”
“Just a partner.”
“Got it. I think they’re gonna start the tests soon so get ready.”
~~
The three of them get through the tests easily and use the rest of the time to analyze their competition and discuss with each other.
Overall it’s clear none of these people were actually cut out for this.
In the strength tests only a few were even able to make it through the first course, being easily beat by the trio.
There was also a personality test which revealed the most about the participants where it became even clearer people were only there for Kanade.
Finally they did a few team games with all other teams failing spectacularly with Akito, Toya, and Mizuki being the only ones to actually pass.
Eventually the tests ended and by then it was obvious to everyone who the princess was gonna choose.
“Thank you all for participating in our little test. Now for the final decision, that will be up to the princess herself. Miss. Yoiskai, if you may.”
“Thank you everyone for coming today. While it was a very hard choice, I have finally decided on who I would like to crown to be the knights by my side.”
The crowd goes silent waiting for the princess to speak.
“First, I would like to invite, Mizuki Akiyama up here.”
Mizuki stands up and slowly makes her way towards Kanade standing next to her.
“Next, I would like to invite, Akito Shinonome up here.”
Akito stands and makes his way up standing next to Mizuki.
“And finally, I would like to invite, Toya Aoyagi up here.”
Toya stands up quickly making his way up the stairs and standing next to Akito.
“It was hard to choose between so many great candidates, but eventually I decided to appoint these three I have invited up here to be the knights to protect and serve me!”
There's a mix between cheers and disappointment coming from below as people start to leave.
As people leave Kanade, along with the announcer, and the three knights start to walk off and make their way towards the actual castle.
“Now,” Kanade starts to speak, “we will be informing your schools and guardians about this so don’t worry about telling them yourself. As for school work, you will continue your studies here.
Everyone nods
“Now if you would follow me I wi be showing you to your rooms.
After a few minutes of walking they eventually reach a door near the end of the hall. When Kanade opens it, they’re greeted by a giant room. In the room there are three beds in their own separate little areas. Each area also has their own vainities, connected bathrooms, a huge bedside table, a cart for different snacks and foods, a mini fridge filled with drinks and desserts, and a dresser.
The trio stares in amazement, having never seen anything this high class before.
They quickly pick their areas with Mizuki taking the left, Akito being in the middle, and Toya taking the right.
All of the sudden, they hear the door open, and see a girl with short brown hair and brown eyes walk in.
“MIZUKI!”
“ENA!”
“YOU ACTUALLY DECIDED TO SIGN UP?!” Ena yells.
“HELL YEAH. Plus I didn’t was Kanade getting stuck with a bunch of freaks trying to take advantage of her.”
“Fair enough.”
“Hellooo we’re here too,” Akito teases.
“I see you’ve brought Toya along with you?”
“Of course! I wasn’t doing this without him.”
“Well im glad you brought him cause now we don’t have to deal with some rando trying to pull some shit.”
“Yep”
“Also just as a heads up,” Ena starts, “ Tsukasa is probably gonna be here soon at some point. He said he wanted to see Toya.”
“Wait Tsukasa??” Akito asks.
“Oh yeah I forgot to mention, apparently Tsukasa is one of the head knights at the palace.” Toya explains”
“You know he would make a general with how much he yells all the time.”
“Akito…”
“Okay I’m sorry”
“FUCKING KISS!!” both Mizuki and Ena yell at the same time.
Toya doesn’t say anything to that and Akito just rolls his eyes.
“Okay how about you guys just start getting settled,” Kanade interrupts before people start arguing, “later we will let you guys go back to your homes to grab any other belongings you need.”
Kanade and Ena leave while the trio settled into their room.
“Soooooo is Mafuyu coming today?” Ena asks,” it’s been a while since she was last here.”
“Yeah actually, she said she was gonna come and judge whoever I choose,” Kanade laughs.
“That sounds great. We can probably get Mizuki to help sneak her in”
“Good idea”
~~
“TOYAAA!!”
“TSUKASA!”
“Speak of the devil,” Akito rolls his eyes.
“Akito, be nice.”
“Fine I’m sorry.”
“TOYA I HAVE AMAZING NEWS!!”
“What?”
“SAKI’S MIGHT BE GETTING DISCHARGED FROM THE HOSPITAL IN ABOUT A MONTH!!”
“REALLY!?”
“YEAH! I’LL TELL YOU MORE ONCE WE GET MORE INFORMATION, BUT WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THIS I JUST HAD TO TELL YOU. Anyways I have to get going now but I’ll talk to you later.”
“Alright. See you soon.”
Tsukasa leaves the room leaving the trio alone again.
“Sooo wanna tell each other more about ourselves?” Mizuki suggests.
“Sure,” Toya responds.
“Fine,” Akito responds as well.
“Okay then, I’ll start.”
The trio takes turns exchanging little facts about themselves to get to know each other better. Of course Akito and Toya already knew everything about each other so they were mainly telling Mizuki more about themselves.
They spent about an hour talking to each other before it finally started getting late and the three of them met with Ena and Kanade to go to dinner.
Once they arrive at the dining hall, the trio and Ena are seated on either end of Kanade.
Dinner was amazing, certainly better than anything at home. Akito and Mizuki start to see why Ena spends so many nights at the palace.
For some reason, some of the people were either giving Toya weird looks and or not look at him or in his general direction at all, which Akito thought was weird but he didn’t question.
After dinner everyone returns to their rooms, except for Mizuki who goes with Kanade and Ena down the hall to Kanade’s room.
“So why did you need me?” Mizuki asks.
“Cause we need your help,” Ena responds.
“With what?”
“I’ll explain, long story short, Kanade’s girlfriend, Mafuyu, is from the dark kingdom, so once a week Mafuyu will sneak in to see Kanade.”
“Okayyyy and why do you need me for this?”
“Recently the palace has upped their security due to some unknown reason so I need you to help me cover for Kanade and Mafuyu.”
“Got it. I’ll be happy to help.”
“Yay! Anyways Mafuyu should be here soon. She’ll come through the back window so be prepared.”
Just like Ena said, 5 minutes later a girl came through the window so she, Ena, and Mafuyu, walked together to Kanade’s room. Ena opened the door and Mafuyu ran in to meet Kanade.
It took until Mafuyu and Kanade greeted each other for Mafuyu to finally realize Mizuki was there.
Suddenly there was a sword to her throat and Ena had to quickly explain and pull Mafuyu off of Mizuki before anything else happened.
After that was settled, they figured they should bring Akito and Toya in, because they were bound to find out at some point so better to introduce them now instead of waiting and risking Mafuyu being discovered.
They brought Akito and Toya in and explained everything and both seemed pretty chill about it.
One thing Kanade noticed though was when Toya walked in, Mafuyu seemed to tense up, but she decided not to bring that up.
Instead, Kanade asks Mafuyu about what she thought of her choice in knights. Mafuyu seemed to approve of them, still being a little unsure about Toya though.
Akito, Toya, and Mizuki leave the room so it’s just Kanade, Mafuyu, and Ena.
Ena goes to her room to leave the pair alone for a while.
~~
Back in the trios room, the settle in and get ready to go to sleep.
~Vivid gay squad~
10:27
An: so how did you guys do on your knight thing?
Did you get the position
Are you really working for Kanade
Also if you did get it what are the rooms like
Akito: chill with the questions please
Toya: For your information, we did get in along with Mizuki, and he’s we are working for Kanade.
Akito: the rooms are like REALLY nice
Kohane: also I heard that Tsukasa also worked at the palace. Is that true?
Toya: He is!
Akito: unfortunately yes he does work here
Toya: …
Akito: ow, what was that for
Toya: For insulting Tsukasa. Can you guys please try and get along.
Akito: it’s not my fault he’s so loud
An: why are you guys talking about this in the gc?
aren’t you guys in the same room
Toya: We are, but Mizuki is going to sleep and we don’t want to bother her.
Akito: what he said
Kohane: makes sense
An: can you tell her I said hi
Toya: I’ll tell her when she wakes up.
An: thx!
Toya: No problem.
Kohane: anyways you guys probably should get to sleep soon
Akito: probably
Toya: I think tomorrow we’re going into town to pick up any other belongings we need. We'll see you then!
An, Kohane: see you!
Toya and Akito decide it’s probably best for them to sleep.
~~
Toya looks at the clock. “11:12” it displays.
“Hey Akito?” He whispers.
Akito always goes to sleep around 2am so Toya knows he’s awake.
“What is it?” Akito whispers back, “and aren’t you usually asleep by now?”
“Yeah, but I couldn’t sleep.”
“Having trouble getting used to the new area?”
“Yeah.”
“Wanna come over here?” Akito suggests, pointing at the section of the bed that’s still empty.
“A-are you sure?”
“What do you mean?”
“Like with Mizuki being here.”
“I’m sure it’s fine. Plus being in this huge bed alone is kinda killing me.”
“Alright, if you say so.”
Toya gets up and quickly makes his way to Akito’s bed.
Akito lifts up the blanket as if to invite Toya in.
They’ve had plenty of sleepovers before and done things similar to this, so they quickly got comfy. Akito could tell Toya was still having a hard time sleeping, but running his fingers through Toya’s seemed to make him relax. Eventually both fell asleep peacefully in each other's warmth.
~~
“Oh I am so showing Ena,” Mizuki thinks to herself before taking a photo of the two cuddling.
~~
When Akito wakes up he sees Mizuki getting ready and already knows what will happen later.
Toya’s still asleep so Akito does his best to stay quiet and not move.
“Morning love bird~” Mizuki teases.
“What do you want.” Akito rolls his eyes.
Mizuki says nothing and instead shows Akito the photos she took
“I am going to kill you.”
“Try me,” Mizuki smirks.
Akito just groans and asks Mizuki if there’s any coffee so they can actually wake Toya up.
Mizuki quickly runs to the back of the room and comes back with a cup of coffee and sets it on the night stand.
Akito shakes Toya awake for a good 5 minutes before he finally sits up and rests his head on Akito’s shoulder and wraps his arms around his waist.
“Morning partner.”
“Morning…” Toya says sleepily.
“Here, have some coffee.”
“Thanks…” he smiles
“So how did you sleep last night Toya~” Mizuki teases.
“The best I’ve slept in a while.”
“Mizuki, just be quiet.”
“Alright then, I’ll just go show Ena this photo then.”
And with that Mizuki leaves to go tell Ena about what happened last night.
Akito attempts to get up, but his partner is still clinging to him so he just stays there.
~Vivid gay squad~
An: good morning you love birds~
Akito: did Mizuki send you the photo
An: yep
Akito: oh goddamnit we’re never living this down are we
An: nope
“Akito!” Ena yells as she swings open the door.
“What do you want.”
“You and Toya better get together after this,” Ena says before slamming the door and leaving.
“Let’s just pretend that never happened,” Akito whispers to Toya.
“Good idea. Also beware of Tsukasa, cause if he finds out about this… your gonna be in for one hell of a ride.”
“I can’t be that bad though.”
“Oh yes it can. You should have seen what happened last time a girl tried to kiss me.”
“Wait a girl tried to kiss you.”
“Back in my old school, there weren’t many boys so some of the girls would try to get with the guys there which lead to this one girl trying to kiss me.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, but don’t worry about that, she was never able to actually do it.
~~
Eventually everyone goes down for breakfast which ends pretty quickly.
The trio then get ready to go back to their houses.
“You gonna be okay going by yourself or do you want me to come with you?” Akito asks Toya.
“Could you come, please.”
“Of course.”
~~
They stop by Toya's house first and to try and avoid seeing Toya's dad, Akito climbs through the window, which luckily isn’t too high up, and they quickly grab everything Toya needs and leave before anyone spots them.
After that they go to Akito’s house, which is much easier so they’re done in about 10 minutes and head back towards the palace.
After about an hour, they finally make it back to their room and get everything set up.
Mizuki is already back and is with Kanade and Ena in Kanade’s rooms.
~~
For the next few weeks everything went great except for the occasional blackouts that seemed to be happening every week which has never happened before.
The trio does training everyday together, with Akito being the strongest out of the bunch beating the others in almost every competition they do. Sometimes Kanade and Ena will come out and watch.
The trio also continued to help with Kanade and Mafuyu’s relationship and they seem happy together. The trio also seemed to be growing on Mafuyu who started trusting them more and more with the exception of Toya who she and almost everyone else in the palace still seemed weary of for some reason.
Saki was also finally discharged from the hospital which of course Toya was the first one Tsukasa told.
They even let Toya leave the palace for a little to go see her.
Toya and Tsukasa spent hours catching up with Saki, telling her all kinds of stories about the palace and what they would do. They even got Saki a phone to make a group chat so they could continue to talk.
Akito and Toya still slept together because neither Toya or Akito got used to sleeping alone in the rooms.
Every morning was a similar routine of Mizuki being the first to wake up, Akito waking up shortly after her, and Akito having it wake up Toya with a cup of coffee. Of course, every morning they would text the group chat about what they had done the previous day, and Toya always texted the Tenma’s as well.
This was the same routine they would do every morning before the day.
~~
“What!?” was the last thing he said before without thinking, giving Akito and quick kiss on the cheek and being knocked out.
The next thing he knew he knew, he was in an unfamiliar room, in a bed, alone. He sits up and looks around, but sees nothing.
There’s a clock that reads “11:12pm” and he tries to go back to sleep, but without Akito by his side he can’t seem to relax, so he tries to imagine Akito running his fingers through his hair, which doesn’t work and he ends up staying awake until 4am.
~~
It’s 4am.
Akito’s awake and he feels cold.
It takes him a moment to realize why.
Next to him is only open bed.
The blanket where Toya was is a mess, almost like he was struggling.
He doesn’t know what to do.
Toya’s phone is still on the night stand so there’s no way he can contact him.
He tries to go back to sleep.
He tries to convince himself it’s all a dream and when he wakes up Toya will be right next to him.
Eventually the sun starts to rise.
And he sees Mizuki wake up.
She looks at him, surprised at first but that quickly changes when she sees the look on Akito’s face.
He looks like he’s about to cry?
She tries to get his attention, but he’s completely zoned, lost in his own thoughts.
The suns fully up now.
Akito still hasn’t moved a muscle.
Mizuki gets Ena to see if she can snap him out of it.
It doesn’t work.
I took them until then to realize why he was like that.
~~
Of course, waking up isn’t any easier.
Usually Akito would be the one to wake him up, with a fresh cup of coffee. He also didn’t have his phone, so no “good morning texts” from any of the groups chats.
Instead he’s woken up at 8am sharp, with the loud opening of the door and yelling until he’s fully awake.
The sun’s up so Tiya is finally able to take a look around the room.
It’s… empty besides the dresser, bed, and nightstand.
After another half an hour, the same guy who woke him up came back and practically dragged him out to breakfast.
Once he’s seated he’s greeted with unfamiliar faces.
Everyone seems happy to see him.
Breakfast is quickly over and everyone is told to go back to their rooms.
Toya follows and goes back to his room.
He’s laying there, unsure what to do when someone walks in.
This time the person that walks in is someone completely different.
The strange man approaches Toya and the next thing he knows he’s being knocked out and carried down a hallway.
~~
He doesn’t know what to do.
Ena and Mizuki manage to get him changed and down to breakfast and get him some food.
When they return to the room they hear Tsukasa start to approach.
“Do you guys know whe-“ he starts. He suddenly pauses when he sees the state Akito is in.
“He’s missing, no one knows where he went,” Mizuki tells Tsukasa.
“From what we can tell, there was some sort of struggle based off of the way the bed was left,”
Ena adds.
“His phone’s still here so we have no way of contacting him,” Mizuki adds on top.
“Give me a minute,” Tsukasa says, sounding panicked before running off.
~~
The next this he knows, he’s in another unfamiliar room.
This time he’s chained up on the wrists and heel.
He thought he was in a cell, but it was way too nice for that to be the case.
His train of thoughts is suddenly broken when someone starts to approach him.
The guy pushes what Toya assumes is a button that opens the cell door.
The guy approaches Toya and suddenly he feels a shock in his wrists.
He flinches
Another shock
He flinches again
Another shock
He flinches again
Another shock, and another, and another
They keep coming until his wrists feel numb.
He no longer flinches and the shocks have seemed to stop.
He feels like passing out
He hasn’t had any food or water since breakfast, which was hours ago.
The guy leaves and Toya's left in the dark cellar, alone.
He passes out only minutes later.
~~
“WHAT DID YOU DO WITH TOYA,” Tsukasa yells.
“I have no idea what your talking about.”
“I KNOW YOU DID SOMETHING WITH HIM HARUMICHI”
“And how do you know that?”
“BECAUSE WHY ELSE WOULD WOULD HE HAVE BEEN TAKEN TO THE DARK KINGDOM”
“How do you know that’s where he was taken?”
“BECAUSE WHERE ELSE WOULD HE HAVE BEEN TAKEN AND I COULD SENSE THE TRACES OF MAGIC! I KNOW KNIGHTS FROM THE DARK KINGDOM WERE THERE”
“Well I can’t say your wrong”
“AND WHAT DOES THAT MEAN”
“He was, in fact, taken to the Dark kingdom, but you're wrong in the sense that I was the one who did it. It was bound to happen soon.”
“AND WHY IS THAT?!”
“Have you never noticed the traces of magic?”
He takes a moment to think.
“Also…”
“WHAT”
“Have you checked on Saki yet today?”
He freezes
“What. Did. You. Do.”
“Pulled some strings and I was able to get them to take Saki as well.”
The next thing he knew, Tsukasa fist was coming at his face.
He tried to dodge, but Tsukasa's punch was faster then he thought it was and it hit him right in the eye.
He tries to open his eye, and suddenly another fist has connected with his other eye.
Next is his jaw.
Tsukasa’s pretty sure he shattered a bone, and decides to leave it there before he gets in trouble.
He races back to the palace to tell the other about what happened.
~~
He wakes up after god knows how long when he here’s a scream next to him.
He assumes there’s someone in a cell next to him.
Toya prepares for the worst.
As if right on que, someone walks into his cell.
He feels numb everywhere.
All he can see are black sparks that seem to be coming from him.
Suddenly he feels a sharp pain in his body.
He wants to scream but he can’t.
More sparks fly out.
There’s another pain and suddenly everything seems to disappear.
The sparks are gone, the man who walked into the room isn’t there anymore even though he’s sure the guy never left, even the walls of the cell seem to be disappearing.
He’s surrounded by nothingness
It’s pitch black
He can’t see, hear, feel, smell, or taste anything
The numbness starts to go away and is instead replaced by a sharp pain everywhere.
He doesn’t know how long he’s been here.
Hours, days, weeks, maybe even months?
There’s no light down here.
After a while the pain starts to go away.
His body feels fine, but his mind is still numb.
He can’t think clearly
He can’t think properly
He can barely think at all
~~
Tsukasa races back.
He doesn’t have time to use the door so instead he opts to climb through the back.
He opens the door to the room and everyone including Kanade is now there.
He quickly explains the situation to everyone.
He looks like he’s on the verge of tears as he explains the situation with Toya and Saki.
No one knows what to do.
They couldn’t tell the higher ups because they were certain that would just lead to a war which could make the situation even worse, but they were bound to find out eventually.
There’s no way the 5 of them could do anything because Akito is in no shape to even move, Kanade can’t run for more than a minute, Ena could help, but she has no experience so that would be very helpful, and Mizuki only just became a knight.
Sneaking in wouldn’t work either because they don’t even know where Toya is.
They’re stuck.
The best thing they can do is wait for things to play out and hope it goes well.
~~
The next thing he knows he’s back in his room laying on the bed staring at the ceiling.
He can’t remember anything that happened before he came.
Someone walks in and this time he’s escorted to a training ground.
They give him some armor and a weapon.
First they test his skills on dummies.
Once they realize his skill level they immediately bring in other people for him to fight.
A week ago he would’ve refused or fight
After they finish Toya starts heading back to his room when he sees someone he thinks he’s seen before.
“Have I met you before?” He asks the strange girl in the hallway.
“Toya?” She replies, “do you not remember me?”
“No sorry,” he sounds disappointed, “am I supposed to?”
“My name is Saki Tenma, Ring any bells?”
“Tenma? That feels familiar…”
“Toya. I’m basically your sister. Do you remember Tsukasa?”
“I think I do.”
“Can you describe him to me?”
“Yeah, he has hair that’s similar to yours in the way that it goes from yellow to pink except his hair is a lot shorter, he’s also usually pretty loud, is around 173cm, and was like an older brother to me.”
“Okay now so you remember me or anyone else.”
“I think I’m starting to remember more about you, mostly that you were in the hospital for most of your life.”
“Okay, anything else?”
“There’s this guy, I can’t remember his name, but he had orange hair and he was around my height.”
“You’re thinking about Akito.”
“Akito… sounds familiar but I can’t quite pinpoint who he is exactly.”
“Okay that’s a good start but for now I think we should get back to our rooms before anyone finds us.”
“Good idea.”
~~
As expected, it didn’t take long for the higher ups to notice one of the knights protecting the princess was missing.
They go around questioning people in the castle, when they eventually make it to the other knights.
The group tries their best to hide what they know, but the higher ups see right through it.
“I’m gonna go outside to think more about this,” Tsukasa tells the group.
~~
And of course, he’s knocked out once again.
Although this time feels different.
When he wakes up he’s on a bed in an unfamiliar place.
“Look who’s finally awake!” Someone says.
“Okay what the fuck am I this time.”
“You, my friend, are at my house.”
“What”
“Don’t worry, I’ll bring you back before dinner,” the strange man chuckles, “ I’ll explain everything. My name is Rui Kamishiro.
I’m a sorcerer and I technically work for the palace, but I choose not to most of the time.”
“Okay… and why am I here?”
“I just wanted to ask you a few questions.”
“Is that all?”
“Pretty much.”
“Did you really have to take me here for this?”
“Yes, Now first question, what do you know about Tsukasa Tenma.”
Before he can answer, he hears the door open.
“Rui! Sorry I’m late!”
“Ah you’re finally here!”
“Wait what is happening.”
“Wait Toya!? Why are you here?!”
“I should be asking you that! I don’t even know where I am!”
“Rui, you did explain this to him, right?”
“Yes, but I think they did something to him, cause he can’t seem to remember anything past last week.”’
“Toya what the fuck did they do to you?”
“I don’t know. All I remember is a dark room… oh and they chained me up.”
“They did what!?” Both men yell.
“Rui, I am going to kill them.”
“Be my guest.”
“Okay can you guys please explain what’s happening?” Toya asks.
“Long story short, you got kidnapped.” The shorter man told him.
“Well I figured that much out, how else would I have gotten here.”
“No like you got kidnapped from the White kingdom.”
“What”
~~
“Has anyone seen Tsukasa?” Mizuki asked.
“He said he went outside right?” Ena responds.
“Yeah, but I was looking around and didn’t see him.”
“Oh my god please don’t tell me he went to the Dark kingdom by himself tk find Toya.”
“I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Let’s wait till later tonight to see if he comes back.”
“Alright”
~~
“Toya, do you seriously not remember anything.”
“Nope”
“Okay one more thing, do you remember me?”
“No, but you look familiar. I do remember seeing a girl in the hallway who kind of looked like you.”
“Do you remember anything else?”
“There’s this one guy, he has orange hair and is about my height.”
“I see. Anyways Rui I should probably be going soon, we can talk more later.”
“See you later Tsukasa~”
“Toya you should probably leave too before anyone finds you.”
“Alright.”
That was the weirdest interaction he’s had all week.
His mind still feels a little numb and he still can’t think straight so he tries to go back to sleep, but something feels off.
Despite being so tired it takes him almost an hour to actually fall asleep.
~~
“Hey guys, sorry that took longer then I thought it would.”
“Oh Tsukasa! You’re finally back!” Mizuki exclaims, “where did you go?”
“Sorry, I went to take a walk in the forest.”
“Ohhhh, for a second we thought you went to the Dark kingdom to try and find Toya,” she laughs.
“Very funny, but I’m not that dumb,” he laughs back, “anyways, have you guys gotten any other news about Toya?”
“Not yet, we are still looking into things.”
It’s been about a week since Toya and Saki have gone missing. The only thing they knew was that they were taken to the Dark kingdom, but they have no way of knowing where in the other kingdom or even if they’re still there.
~~
This time he wakes up earlier and gets ready before the guard comes in.
When the guard comes, Toya’s first take. Down to breakfast, once again surrounded by unfamiliar faces.
After breakfast he goes back to his room.
There isn't much to do so he usually takes a walk in the forest.
For some reason he always feels nostalgic when walking through the forest there so he does it everyday.
Sometimes he would find Rui wandering and would go over to his house.
Sometimes he would see Tsukasa there and it was clear they were close with each other.
Sometimes he would see them fighting, although it was obvious to him they weren’t serious and were just doing it because there were others around.
Rui and Toya have gotten pretty close.
It’s been almost a year since he was taken.
Rui was pretty much his only friend because Saki was never around and when they were together they were always separated almost immediately.
~~
“Akito…” Tsukasa whispers, which is something Akito never thought was possible.
“What is it.”
“I need you to come with me.”
“Why?”
“Just trust me.”
“If you say so.”
Akito had slowly been getting better everyday.
Now he can actually get out of bed and eat by himself.
He still doesn’t do anything during the day, but he’s slowly getting better.
He’s able to start training again, still destroying Mizuki and getting close to beating Tsukasa sometimes.
Even though he’s technically supposed to be one of Kanade’s knights, sometimes he’s sent out on patrol with Tsukasa.
One time the ran into this sorcerer in the forest who Tsukasa ended up fighting, but Akito swears he saw someone watching from the other side.
The battle ends in a draw and they leave shortly after.
~~
“Rui? Why are you here?”
“Hey Toya! Wanna come over today? We have a surprise for you.”
“We?”
“Me and Tsukasa.”
“I guess I’ll come.”
“Great! Meet at 5.”
“Alright, see you then.”
~~
“Okay Akito, just follow me and don’t ask any questions.”
“Okay?”
They start walking towards the forest.
“Why are we at the forest?”
“I said no questions.”
They continue walking until they reach a little house in the middle of the forest.
“Where are we?”
“A friend's house.”
“A friend?”
“Let’s just go in.
They open the door, but no one’s home.
“Are you sure it’s okay for us to be here. It doesn’t look like anyone’s home.”
“Yeah it’s fine, he just went out to get someone.
Tsukasa takes off his armor and sets it aside when they here the door open.
“I see you’ve already made it Tsukasa?”
“Yep and I brought Akito.”
“Hey isn’t that the sorcerer you were fighting the other day.” Akito asks.
“He is.”
“So isn’t he the enemy?”
“Technically yes.”
“So then WHY are we here!?”
“You’ll see soon enough~” Rui tells him and gives a cat-like smirk.
As if right on que there’s a knock on the door and Rui goes to get it.
“You made it!” Rui greets Toya.
“So why did you need me?”
Akito can’t see him, but he knows that voice.
Even though it’s been almost a year, but he can recognize that voice everywhere.
He looks at Tsukasa who is smiling.
“How did you- you know what I’m not even gonna ask.”
“Sooo are you gonna go see him or not.”
“Right!”
~~
“Do you guys know where Akito went?” Ena asks.
“I’m pretty sure he went out with Tsukasa,”
Mizuki tells her.
“But they’re not on patrol right now.”
They probably went to find out more about Toya.”
“Probably. I hope they’re not out too late cause there apparently have been a ton of Magic sightings coming from the Dark kingdom and forest.”
~~
“TOYA!!”
“AKITO!? What are you do—“
Suddenly he’s cut off by Akito who runs at Toya and pulls him into a tight hug, refusing to let go for any reason.
At this point both are crying tears of joy, refusing to move or even separate a little in any way.
After a LONG time, the two finally get off the floor and move to Rui’s couch.
Toya rests his head on Akito’s shoulder and for once, he feels comfortable.
“So where have you been this entire time?” Akito asks Toya.
“I don’t really know. One night some people came and they knocked me out and next thing I knew I was in a different room.”
“Well that’s… quite the story.”
“Yeah, I don’t wanna talk about what happened after.”