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It’s been a long day.
It’s been a long week, really, and Akito can’t seem to catch a break.
Giving orders to soldiers, scheduling patrols, distributing rations, listening to reports. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t just a little bit overwhelmed.
But as he draws in breath of the crisp, cool, nighttime air, he can feel some of the tension being released from his mind.
It’s a nice night for a walk.
He continues to amble through the woods, making no rush to get back to the castle. He’s not… avoiding his duties. He’s taking a break, that’s all; the longer he can make it last, the better.
Stress hasn’t been easy on anybody recently. Tension between the surrounding kingdoms has been growing stronger by the day, and each minor dispute raises the risk of an all out war. Akito has never seen himself as the spiritual type, but deep down, in a corner of his mind, he prays to-
The sharp whistle of an arrow snaps his attention back to the present.
Without even thinking, he maneuvers to the side, barely avoiding the hit, and swivels around to meet the wide, anxious eyes of a bandit who only appears to be a few years younger than himself.
His clothes are ragged and dirtied, and he perches kneeled in the thick lower branches of an old oak tree.
“Yield!” Akito all but shouts to the boy. He doesn’t reach for his sword yet. He needs to try to diffuse the situation.
But the boy is already reloading the crossbow with shaky hands when Akito opens his mouth to speak his next sentence.
And with a resounding snap! The next arrow is fired and heading straight towards him.
Akito narrows his eyes.
So this is how we’re gonna have to do this.
He evades it with little difficulty, ducking out of the way and reaching to unsheathe his sword. As he twists to the side, he catches the glint of moonlight on metal in the corner of his vision.
And there, merely an inch away from his face, is a dagger.
Thinking fast and moving faster, he brings the hilt of his sword up and bashes it into the hand of the second bandit that wields the weapon.
He leaps back and glances at the boy with the crossbow, then over to the woman with the dagger.
To his surprise, not one of them meet his eyes. Neither are even looking at him, but are looking beyond him.
He stands there for a moment, perplexed. Then he is hit with a fierce wave of realization.
He whirls around just in time to parry a rough blow from a third bandit.
He stumbles backwards with an “oomph-“, and while he tries to regain his footing, the man wielding the sword charges at him.
Sparks fly when their weapons clash.
Akito grits his teeth and pushes with all of the strength he can muster against his attacker’s blade.
But he's bigger than akito.
He’s got him pinned.
This close, he is able to get his first real look at the man. He glares at Akito with an expression that can only be described as pure loathing.
This is not going to be a fight that Akito looses.
With one last burst of strength, he pushes the man’s sword away and dives out from underneath him.
Before his opponent even has time to react, Akito jabs his blade into the bandit’s side and is met with a pained, furious shout.
Finally, Akito delivers one last swift blow to the back of the bandit’s head with the pommel of his sword.
With that, the man falls to the ground, unmoving.
Akito can’t help the small, prideful grin that his lips curl into. It’s been a while since he’s engaged in open combat like this, so it’s good to know that he can still fight.
Unfortunately, the moment is incredibly short lived. Akito nearly shouts bloody murder as a sharp, piercing pain abruptly drives into his side.
Wide eyed, he looks down just in time to see the dagger-armed bandit tear the blade out of his flesh.
He turns to her in an attempt to strike back, but is instead met with a very harsh fist to the face.
It’s not enough to knock him out, but it sends him reeling. He tastes iron. Shit.
He brings his free hand up to his mouth. Sure enough, there’s blood.
He looks back up at the bandit. She glares at him; he glares back.
A busted lip won’t be enough to scare him away.
He tosses his sword to the side and replaces it with a concealed dagger of his own. The bandit clearly wasn’t expecting that, because a hint of panic seeps into her stone faced expression.
Akito makes a move before she does, lunging forward and taking a swipe at her arm. It hits, if only barely; she’s lucky she leapt backwards when she did, otherwise he’s sure she would have sustained more than just a scratch.
Akito falls back into a more neutral stance, trying to plan his next move.
What he doesn’t expect is for the bandit to advance so suddenly.
She must’ve been hoping to repay the favor of Akito’s attack, because she slashes his forearm, and akito can see the red staining his pristine uniform before he can feel it.
When he can feel it, it stings. Akito sucks in a breath through his teeth. It’s only then that he remembers the wound in his side. With the mix of adrenaline and a high pain tolerance, he’d almost completely forgotten about it.
He needs to get out of here. Fast.
But first, he has to deal with the problem at hand.
The bandit is still in front of him, wearing an awfully smug expression for someone who'd watched their teammate be taken down.
She adjusts the dagger in her grip and goes for another stab at Akito. He’s ready for it, though, and rolls to the side with ease.
It’s quite bold of her to go about attacking people without wearing any armour, he observes. She’s a seasoned fighter, Akito will admit, but she’s lacking in terms of defence. It leads him to a golden opportunity: her head is exposed.
It’s a clean shot.
A punch to the temple and she’s laying still on the ground. Out cold.
With slightly shaky hands, he slides the dagger back into its sheath and looks down at the two motionless figures. They aren’t dead, and he doesn’t expect, nor want them to be. He’ll come back later with a patrol to pick them up and give them a trial, but first…
He looks back at the tree that shelters the younger bandit only to realize he's gone. Nowhere to be seen. Alarms start going off in Akito’s head; he can only imagine the kind of backup the boy is bringing.
He really needs to get out of here.
As he hurriedly leans down to pick his sword up off the ground, he feels a drop of rain hit the back of his neck.
Then another. And another.
And more and more and more until it becomes clear to him how little time he has before he’s caught in a downpour.
Fantastic.
He wastes no time sheathing his sword and continuing his trek back to the castle, an uneasy feeling settling over him.
Perhaps it’s the adrenaline starting to wear off, or maybe the effects of blood loss are finally beginning to get to him, but he’s just starting to feel… bad.
Each wobbly step he takes, the exhaustion that weighs heavy on him grows harder to ignore and so does the pain in his side. He thinks he's starting to get a headache, too.
The rain is really picking up now.
Akito does not relent trudging forward.
He needs to get back. If not just for his own wellbeing, but for Touya’s, and the citizens’, and all of the people he's sworn to protect in his knightly oath.
…He's starting to feel a little bit faint, though.
Case in point. He’s barely able to make it two more steps before his knees buckle, a cloud of darkness engulfs his vision, he collapses and lands hard. He can feel mud and dirt clinging to his face and clothes, but he can’t seem to find the strength to push himself back onto his feet.
He forces his eyes open and tries to get up, begs his aching legs to work, wills his arms to move underneath him and push him back off of the ground, all to no avail.
He feels lightheaded and dizzy, even when he's not standing; the distant crash of thunder and harsh sound of rain pelting the ground next to him do nothing to help him in his hazy state.
At some point his eyes must've closed. He knows this, because the incessant flashes of lighting seem to have been replaced by enticing darkness.
The amount of effort it takes to open them is virtually painful.
Get up. Is the only coherent idea that his delirious, exhausted brain is able to form.
But even then, he can barely hear his own thoughts. It might have something to do with the shrill ringing in his ears, or maybe the thick, noisy sheets of rain are at fault. He can’t tell; he’s too tired to think about it.
A subtle throb has made its way into his skull and raw fear grips his heart when his vision begins blurring in and out of focus.
No.
This can’t be how he dies.
It’s pitiful, really. Shinonome Akito- Aoyagi Touya’s personal knight and royal battle strategist -exhausted, weak, and bleeding out in some god forsaken fucking forest.
A miserable little sound pulls itself out of his throat as his eyelids fall shut.
He just needs to rest them a little, then he’ll keep moving.
Just for a moment, he thinks to himself.
He doesn’t have the strength to open them again.
—
Two hours ago, Akito left for a “Quick walk” . Forty five minutes passed with no sign of his return, so Touya chalked it up to him staying out to observe the moon. Another hour goes by, he still isn’t back, and it’s begun raining. Now Touya is worried. Twenty more minutes fly by and he decides to take charge.
He throws on his cape, lights a lantern and makes his way down to the stables. Before he’s even out of the castle doors, though, he’s interrupted by a familiar voice and a hand on his shoulder.
“Touya? What are you doing at this hour?”
Ah, Tsukasa.
He turns around to meet his eyes. He’s smiling, but there’s an obvious note of brotherly concern etched into his features.
“Tsukasa, hello. I was just…” He nods in greeting, “Akito left for a walk in the forest two hours ago.”
Tsukasa raises his eyebrows and his eyes go a little bit wide.
“Two hours?! Really? Should he not be back by now?”
Touya sighs,
“Yes, he… really should’ve been back a while ago. I worry that something has happened.” He gestures out the window at the vast forest outside of the kingdom walls.
“I am going to go look for him.”
Tsukasa’s concern is back.
“You’re certainly not going out there on your own, are you?” He gasps.
“Ah, well…” is Touya’s response, he eyes the window again.
“Please, let me accompany you.” Tsukasa smiles warmly. “Two heads are better than one.”
And just like that, there are two people going out to search for Akito. They saddle up, Touya leading with the lantern, and venture out into the forest.
There’s a trail that Akito has always loved taking, even when they were kids. He’d often sneak Toya out into the woods to play games about brave knights fighting evil dragons, and they’d always follow this same exact path.
Touya smiles fondly at the memory, but it doesn’t last. This trip into the forest is much different than those they would go on as children.
The path itself is muddy and an awful slipping hazard for the horses, which slows them down considerably. Eventually, Touya spots something at the end of the trail and brings the horses to a halt.
He has to squint to see through the midnight dark and thick sheet of rain, but his worst fear is confirmed when he holds the lantern up and inches a little closer.
There, laying in a heap next to a large deciduous tree, is Akito
Touya nearly falls off of his horse as he scrambles to the ground and rushes over to him. Tsukasa shouts something, but it’s not important to Touya right now.
He brings the lantern up to Akito’s face. His complexion is unusually pale, and when Touya rests a hesitant hand on his forehead, he finds that he's freezing cold.
Then he notices the blood.
It’s staining his silvery royal uniform,
Dripping somewhere from his face and pooling on the earth underneath him. Touya takes a shaky breath.
What happened ?
He hears footsteps pounding on the ground behind him, and before long, Tsukasa is standing next to him. “Touya, wha-“ he begins, but cuts himself off when he catches sight of Akito, “Oh.”
Touya doesn’t acknowledge him. He can’t, not when Akito is right in front of him in such dire condition.
“We need to get him back to the castle.” Touya says. Tsukasa nods slowly, taking the lantern from his hand and hurrying back to the horses.
Touya attempts to scoop up Akito as gently as he can, but he makes a pained sound anyway and curls closer to him.
“Sorry, sorry,” Touya feels like his heart’s been pierced by a sewing needle.
“You’ll be home soon, don’t worry.”
The rain is beginning to grow lighter, but thunder and lighting still echo through the mountains every couple of minutes. He lifts himself off of the ground, cradling Akito, and with a sunken soul, follows the light of the lantern back to Tsukasa and the horses.
His friend’s head lolls on his shoulder, and Touya can’t help but grimace. He can feel how shallow Akito’s breaths are now, each inhale sounds labored and his throat catches on every exhale. The sooner they can get him medical attention, the better.
Tsukasa holds the reins of the horses in one hand, and the lantern in the other. The only way to bring Akito back, really, is to sling him over the saddle and walk one of the horses back to the castle.
So that’s exactly what they’ll do. It’s not ideal, since Akito’s wounds are still open, but what other option do they have?
Touya takes the lantern and reins back from Tsukasa and waits for him to mount his horse, then they begin their trek back to the castle. Tsukasa leading and Touya trailing behind.
It’s quiet, with the exception of the occasional rumbling thunder in the distance. The smell of petrichor is strong now, but the storm doesn’t show much sign of stopping.
How did this happen? Touya wonders. How could it be that the best knight in the kingdom was nearly killed tonight? Perhaps a better question would be who . Who is capable of this? And who would want to kill him?
It makes Touya’s head hurt.
Was it a person, or an animal? Wolves, maybe? No, wolves wouldn’t have left him half dead. It must’ve been a person… But who? Thugs? Thieves? Touya doesn’t even want to consider the possibility of a neighboring kingdom hiring an assassin, but he might have to.
“…ouya,”
Maybe that’s their goal, to make him think it’s an attack against him, to elevate the conflict even mo-
“Touya!” Tsukasa looks back at him with a concerned expression, but he smiles once Touya meets his eyes.
“Please, try not to worry. We need to focus on helping Akito.”
Oh, right. Touya nods solemnly, ”I know. Sorry.”
Tsukasa is right, Akito is the top priority. And… Touya was spiraling. They can find the culprit once Akito’s condition is stable. Well, if his condition…
No, no. Don’t think about that, Touya.
He takes a deep breath and sets his eyes back on the path ahead of him.
Soon enough, they make it back through the gates. Touya takes Akito back in his arms and rushes into the castle after requesting that Tsukasa send a doctor to his chambers.
First thing is first. He lays Akito on the bed, takes off his wet cape and jacket, and tosses them on the wooden chair by his desk. He can get a servant to pick them up later.
He’ll wait for the doctor to assess Akito’s wounds, but now that he can see him in the proper light… he can’t tell if it’s better or worse than what he first thought.
If the blood on his face wasn’t worrisom enough, Akito’s cheek has a nasty bruise on it. He has a cut on his forearm, too. Touya hopes it’s not deep enough to need stitches.
On his torso… Touya grimaces. It doesn’t look good at all. It’s obvious to him where most of the blood came from now. He’ll definitely need to ask the doctor about that when she gets here.
Right on cue, Tsukasa noisily bursts through the door with an indigo haired girl- Asahina Mafuyu- following not far behind.
“Asahina-san, Tsukasa,” Touya backs off to the side as the girl sets down her equipment and scans over Akito. She doesn’t say anything, just starts pulling bandages and pastes out of her doctor's bag.
He can see Tsukasa’s anxious gaze flicker from Akito, to Touya, then to Asahina-san, and back to Akito again. The doctor is completely tuned into her work. Silent.
“Touya, why don’t we step outside for a moment?”
Tsukasa waves Touya over, worry and sympathy written on his face.
Touya crosses the threshold, shuts the door, and listens as Tsukasa starts talking.
“Maybe we should just stay out here while she works. I don’t want to hover.”
“Good idea,” Touya murmurs, nodding. He feels like Asahina-san isn’t the only person Tsukasa is trying to take stress off of. He appreciates it, but… that won’t make him worry any less about Akito.
They stand out there for a few more awkward moments, only interrupted by the odd crash of thunder every now and then. It feels like an eternity before Asahina-san beckons them back inside the room
Touya catches the scent of fresh herbs when he steps back in. Asahina-san stands with her hands folded in front of herself and says,“He will live.”
Tsukasa’s shoulders slump a little, and he smiles. He already looks relieved.
The doctor is a little more solemn, though.
“I cleaned and dressed all of the lacerations, but I will need to check up on him again first thing tomorrow.”
Tsukasa grins ear to ear, “Thank you, Asahina-san, thank you!”
He approaches her, for what Touya worries will be the tightest, most rib crushing hug anybody in this kingdom will ever witness.
Thankfully, Asahina-san doesn’t seem to mind. Briefly hugging him back before smiling and saying,
“We’re not out of the woods yet. He is still at risk of infection, but I’ve done all I can to prevent it, for now.”
Touya nods, “I understand. I’ll keep an eye on him. Thank you very much, doctor.”
With that, she packs her supplies and bids them farewell, but not before handing Touya a vial of translucent, greenish liquid. “Herbal medicine,” she tells him. “If he wakes up, have him take it.”
Once she’s gone and Touya has tucked Akito under the blanket, the room is quiet.
After a few moments, Tsukasa pats Touya on the shoulder and smiles sympathetically.
“What a night,” he sighs, shaking his head,
“I’m going to go to bed, as should you. We can talk to Akito and figure out who did this tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Is Touya’s response. He doesn’t meet Tsukasa’s eyes. “Goodnight.”
The prince leaves.
This whole situation feels strange. Akito almost died . He would’ve died had Touya and Tsukasa not gone looking for him.
He steps into the bathroom to change into his sleepwear. They were just one decision away from losing him.
Tomorrow will certainly be busy. Between determining the culprit and keeping Akito’s condition stable… Touya will be lucky if he manages to get a wink of sleep with how restless he feels.
If that does end up being the case, at least he’ll be able to keep an eye on his friend for the remainder of the night.
When he returns to his room, he realizes, with a slight jolt, that Akito is awake.
Well, awake is an overstatement, really. More like, Akito is conscious. He stirs with a groan and just barely cracks his eyes open.
“Akito!” Touya rushes over to the bed, fumbling to get the vial out of his pocket, “Are you- how are you feeling?”
Akito doesn’t respond, and instead shifts his bleary eyes around the room until they meet Touya’s. His expression softens.
“…Touya?”
It takes every last ounce of Touya’s self control not to wrap Akito up in a hug right then and there.
Jostling him around would do more harm than good for his wounds, and the last thing Touya wants is to hurt him any further.
He’s grateful that Akito is okay, though, and he hopes the smile on his face can show that.
“Oh, right.” Touya says quietly, uncorking the vial “The doctor told me you need to drink this,” He holds it in front of Akito.
The other boy doesn’t really say anything, just hums distantly in response as he reaches for the bottle, hand trembling slightly.
Touya helps him sit up, and before long, what little medicine there is in the vial is gone. He places the empty glass container on his desk as Akito falls back against the pillows with a soft, ‘ whump ’.
“Can you sleep now…?” His voice sounds shredded.
Touya glances over at Akito.
“Sorry?”
Akito has his good arm slung over his face, and the injured one is resting by his side.
“Go to sleep…” He mutters, barely awake.
At that, Touya relaxes. He even smiles a little. “Okay, okay.”
He blows out the lantern on his desk and lays down under the covers next to his friend, who’s breathing has finally steadied. Akito shifts closer to him, and, for the first time tonight, Touya is able to wrap him up in his arms without worrying about whether he’d live or die within the next hour.
He still needs to find out who attacked Akito in the first place. Leaving whoever it is to run rampant through the streets… Touya dislikes the thought of it.
Sooner or later, he’ll have to explain the situation to the public, but he’d prefer to avoid causing panic. Hopefully, he can get the case sorted out before it comes to that. But for now-
Akito nestles into his embrace, exhaling quietly. Touya can practically feel his heart swelling.
He tucks the poor, injured knight’s head under his chin and holds him close, ever so mindful of his wounds.
For now, Akito is safe, and at the moment, that is all that matters to him.