118 Decision

*** Heyu's POV ***

[ Yuki…]

I like everyone had heard Yuki as he bared his soul. I had never seen or heard of any other aristocrat with the strength or courage to do what Yuki was doing. I was so entranced at listening to what Yuki had to say that I had no longer felt the movement of time.

When I had seen Yuki mid way through deciding his clothes earlier I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if I was any later in the room. His room was about as messy as the thoughts that I had when it came to Yuki himself.

" From there the young boy was trapped in a soul space…" Yuki continued to talk and I watched him intently afraid to miss out on any details.

I couldn't imagine what it would have been like for him. A mere boy with a great burden on his shoulders. He has said the " Heir to a great tradition of keeping tama safe" more than once and it resonated with me.

I thought back to my time when I had first picked up a sword. I haven't always been a guard for the kingdom of Vance. Before then I was living in a place I would rather forget. The responsibility and burden on my shoulders I had ultimately made me run away and join the Vance army to escape it.

Yuki on the other hand had embraced it as best he could.

[ At least I can have order in my living space. ]

His story had left my heart in disarray. He had gone on about the mission that some Vance assassins had tried to commit and the capture of Yuki's father. It bore a small hole in my heart as I thought about what it would have been like in his shoes.

" That was when Ren.. and Ki.. found out something important about the boy. The reason why I no he cannot and will not ever marry Princess Rosali" Yuki said firmly.

I looked over at the second prince of Tama and watched the confusion rise on his face. I too was not prepared for what Yuki said next.

" The boy had angrily spread a truth he did not want anyone to know. Something that had followed him since birth twisting any plans he could have.. He had told them.. He could never love a women. As Ren had put it.. He had the heart of a maiden." Yuki said as he paused.

There was a brief tension that piled up in the room.

I watched as Nathan and Yuki stared at each other neither saying a word.

[ No wonder him and the princess didn't have a spark.. Wait…]

The moments I had with Yuki flashed inside my head. His awkward movements around me when he first met.

His past embarrassment and actions.

He couldn't have…

[ Was this the reason he said he was grateful for us ruining the engagement?! ]

I distracted myself by looking over at Sora his hands seemed to be clenched into fists.

I couldn't say I knew exactly what to say right now.

[ What can you say.. To this? To any of this? ]

Sora stood up abruptly.

" Yuki.. I" Sora shouted.

" Please wait.. I am trying to hold myself together" Yuki said in a calm tone.

Sora and Yuki stared at one another I stood up quietly and used my hand to gently move Sora back to a sitting position.

Yuki then smiled at me gratefully before he took a breath. Yuki's mother Airi had not move from her position for a very long time. Loki on the other hand seemed to look really relaxed.

[ Did he already know all of this? ]

I feeling bubbled up in my chest I couldn't explain. Although all of this seemed to be a first for almost everyone I had known Yuki the least and it bothered me. Yuki would probably make a terrible general for the Tama kingdom...but as a friend it seemed he was second to none.

I mean.. Nathans own father had chewed Yuki up more then once it seemed and still it looked as if they were best friends. Sora had betrayed him and yet here he was. I.. had in a small way caused the death of Ki Akiyo, a crime I will never forgive myself for.

Thinking about it now.. Yuki had become a sort of glue for all of us. Holding us all together in a strange way. His magnetism drew everyone in this room to follow him all the way into an underground cave system full of strange peoples.

Yuki was now up to going to high school. I was only a little surprised to hear that he had made public servants out of the bandits had that attacked Sora and him previously.

The more I had heard about Yuki's last few years the more respect I had gained for him. I could only guess as I looked around the room that everyone here in one way or another were running away from their problems.

Nathan had once told me about his family.

Sora was running from the pain he felt.

Loki I wasn't sure but I was definitely scared.

Yuki had always in the end faced everything sometimes even alone.

When it came to the moment that Ki had died in his story he had taken a brief detour to talk about her. What she was like as a person and how Ren had left his side. He spoke about how lonely he felt and how much he was glad he could at least make a few new friends.

He then spoke about a person who had helped pull him from the shadows a woman who had let him cry in her lap.

The little details that I and everyone else had missed seemed to weave the story into something that had left at least me with a heavy heart.

Finally he began to wrap up is story with the court case and what it was like traveling with us.

" Sora.. you always have the most energy when i look at you I feel like I can scale mountains."

" Loki, You may be cheeky but you have guided me like a star and reminded me to do my best"

" Nathan you have helped me remember what it is like to be a friend and your art always inspires me"

"Heyu your serious nature leads me to want to be more like you." he said as he looked at me with a smile.

He then looked at Kibbles who was next to Sora and smiled before he looked at his mother.

" You are all irreplaceable to me."

" I cannot and will not allow any of you to be hurt by the politics of the older generation" Yuki said firmy as he stood.

" I will tell you now that in future I plan to get both the emperors to stand down from their thrones and make Leopold and Romeo to take their place!" Yuki said with determination.

" YUKI!" Nathan said as he stood angrily.

" I will not be a play thing, I will not allow any of you to be toyed with and my parents are not your parents or anyone else's property." Yuki said firmly.

" Yuki you can't be serious" Nathan said again this time quieter.

" I will not allow you to hurt the king of Vance" Sora said as he too stood.

" Who said anything about hurting anyone?" Yuki replied shaking Sora and Nathan.

" What Yuki means is that he will force them to abdicate not put them to death" Loki added.

" How exactly do you plan to do that?" I said joining the conversation.

" I don't know but I have four years to decide.You can either join me when the time comes or you can try and stop me.. You can even do nothing at all. The choice belongs to all of you. Four years.. You have four years to decide." Yuki said before leaving the house in stride.

It didn't take long for his mother to stand with a single tear in her eye and follow him out.

Everyone else was frozen in place like they had been electrocuted.

" He can't be serious" Nathan said first breaking the ice.

" Oh he was serious" Loki replied.

" Was all of it true?" I said cautiously.

" All of it" Loki replied with certainty in his voice.

" Heyu I don't feel so good" Sora said next to me.

" Between Sora and Yuki I don't know who has lost more from the fighting.. But I can tell all of you Yuki had said all of this because he cares about you all." Loki said as he took a sip of tea.

" How… how do you know any of this anyway." Nathan said shaking.

" He told me" Loki said with a smug smile.

I decided to keep quiet as they argued. Everything that had happened this morning had been so shocking that I was left with nothing but confusion.

What was I going to do?

[ Four years is a long time. I mean I could leave now but what would be the point? ]

I held my head in my hands.

I need to go for a walk.

I stood looked at everyone in the room and left.

[ Yuki… ]

My thoughts cut off as I looked at the morning sun and a breeze flicked through my hair.

[ What am I going to do? ]