Within the heart of Furusato, residing in the castle's office room, a bearded king flipped through a plethora of stacked papers, wetting his finger as he perused past each thin sheet, overwhelmed by the hundreds of words meeting his gaze.
Armored guards stood at every corner of the room, their red armor shining excellently in the castle's bright lights; the swords they valiantly brandished were sheathed neatly, a leather holder concealing them securely. Though the positioning of the red-armored warriors was intended for the safety of the king, the bearded man dressed in ornate attire harnessed the grandiose capabilities of his Aura Sense further than any troop in the village.
"Oh… Regashi will not like this one bit…" Oritsu Ketsueki exhaled exasperatedly, rubbing his forehead softly.
Despite his title as king, a role that the man had earned through trial and error, Oritsu still hated bad news, especially ones that correlated to his village or family.
*SWISH!*
Terrifying the guards, the doors at the entrance to the castle's office room bursted open, expelling winds that could knock any man off balance, including the men garbed in red armor.
"I just got back and you're already digging yourself into your work! You barely said 'hello' to me!" A feminine voice bounced off of the walls, making the king flinch.
Oritsu waved at the visitor with a genteel smile, a tinge of nervousness infused in his visage. "Greetings, dear…"
Hana Ketsueki, the queen of Furusato, marched toward Oritsu's desk in a completely unrefined fashion, uncaringly slamming her palms onto the wooden surface and forcing the layers of paper to scatter across the room.
"Don't 'greetings' me, Oritsu! The only reason you left today was to welcome your son back, which you did for only five minutes!" Hana berated, her brown hair becoming prickly from her ire.
The bearded king sighed and said, "I'm frightfully aware, Hana… I'm just nervous about everything."
The brown-haired woman exhaled, slouching onto the desk. More times than not, Hana had worried about her husband's work schedule, a schedule that could be described quite easily: wake up, work; skip dinner to work; stay up late working. Not the healthiest thing a man in his prime should be doing.
"I get it; you've dreamt of being king for so long, and now that Lord Kokoro has passed, you want to uphold this village as much as possible—but you have a family, too!" Hana brushed the thin sheen of dust off the desk, her expression laced with melancholy.
Oritsu grinned lightly, his hand overlapping Hana's. "Thanks, Hana."
"Apologize by being better, dear." Hana grinned playfully, clasping the man's outstretched hand.
*SWISH!*
Once again, the doors at the front of the office room shot out a large draft of wind, annoying the king of Furusato.
"The doors weren't even shut!" Oritsu complained, looking over his wife's shoulder. "Oh, Regashi. Hello there."
The brown-haired prince ambled into the room with an amiable grin pulling at his lips. As usual, Regashi was dressed in his simple black top that was tucked into his similarly black leggings, not a single shred of fashion—or passion for what he wore—existing in the male.
"Hello to you, too, dad!" Regashi greeted, waving one hand as the other was placed inside his pants' pocket.
Oristu sighed at both his wife's and son's improper greetings, "I oughta teach you both basic etiquette…"
The king was obviously met with indifference on the matter.
"Anway, what's got you holed up in here again?" Regashi inquired, raising a brow in curiosity.
Coughing into his fist, Oritsu looked his son in the eyes. "I know you just got back, but… Lord Phoenix is planning on returning at any moment. Intel from warriors across Adonai reported that you didn't keep him down for long enough."
Regashi's mouth was agape, and his green eyes were broadening. Of course, just as he returns home after fighting for the millionth time with the same person, might the prince add, he now has to resume the fight due to some Furusato troops' delineations.
"Seriously!? What is with that guy!?" The prince seethed through clenched teeth.
Hana tapped the desk with her index finger repeatedly. "He keeps losing; he just wants to score one victory, a victory that would probably be aimed at ending you entirely."
"I knew that much!" Regashi claimed with a holler, ruffling his own hair in anger.
"Calm down. Where's your brother?" Oritsu asked smoothly, his eyes softening.
Regashi lowered his hand. "Kenji? Not sure, I haven't seen him yet."
Hana adopted a perplexed countenance. "Really now? You, not seeing your little brother? Did Lord Phoenix hit you too hard on the head or something?"
"Haha," Regashi released a faux laugh, deadpanned. "He's growing older so he doesn't need to 'rely on his big brother' anymore."
The queen flapped her hand. "He's still only sixteen, Regashi."
"And I fought my first bad guy at 12, like almost every other person in this world. Thing is, he hasn't. I've been sheltering him." Regashi explained, leaning onto the desk, his chin resting on his hand.
Oritsu chuckled. "I still remember fighting alongside Nozomu. Boy, he was ruthless!"
"Still is," Hana remarked snidely.
The king rubbed his head. "I… suppose he still is, hehe…"
Silence filled the room in an instant, the only noise that spawned was from the clanking armor radiating from the warriors at every corner of the room.
"Interestingly enough, I had asked Nozomu what we should've named Kenji before he was born. He had no clue, but he did come up with the name 'Tanjo.'"
Regashi blinked. "Tanjo?"
Hana shrugged. "I prefer the name 'Kenji,' dear."
"I know, I know." Oritsu exhaled, smiling.
Unknowingly, the brown-haired prince had dived into a sea of thoughts, reminding himself of his encounter with the teenager, who looked exactly like his brother, Kenji.
"I wouldn't trust Nozomu with a child," Hana revealed openly with a comedic tone.
Oritsu adjusted the papers on his desk. "I would trust him with the village funds, though. The man hates spending money."
"Hey, mom, dad? I'm gonna go—check on Kenji and all." Regashi suddenly declared, pointing toward the room's entrance as he departed slowly.
"See ya, son!" Oritsu waved, smiling.
"Stay safe, Regashi! Don't torment your brother too much!" Hana jested, watching the prince leave.
XXX
Tanjo continued to wander around the village, no particular destination in mind. He was here to explore, for some odd reason. Kronos had wanted him to learn something, but the teenage boy was incredibly clueless as to what he was supposed to discover.
"Leave it to the God of Time to leave me stranded—he probably knows that I'm stumped!"
In the midst of Tanjo's fit of annoyance, a voice interrupted the boy's thoughts.
"I do."
Tanjo jumped to his toes, his eyes darting to the source of the voice, which just so happens to belong to the god in question.
"Kronos! Did you at least find what you were looking for?" The blue-eyed boy queried, balancing himself. "I've been losing my mind here!"
"To answer your question: yes, and no. And, I'm painfully aware of your ignorance." Kronos stated, his voice as bleak as usual.
The boy frowned. "If you hate me being oblivious, then just tell me what I need to find! Surely nothing can be more important than finding Darrien to the point that you're willing to have me squander time in search of something!"
"Call it an experiment, one that I know will work. Other than that, I believe that I informed you on why you're here with me." The God of Time spoke tonelessly, folding his arms.
Tanjo narrowed his eyes. "To become more motivated, I know."
"Then follow along." Kronos ordered, indifferent.
"It's hard when you've knowingly placed me in a village with Regashi! A complete copy of the man who tortured me and—completely possible—might have the same history as in my own universe, skipping over the destroyed village part!" Tanjo yelled at the god, thankful for the area being momentarily secluded.
Kronos inhaled. "Piece of advice, to expedite this whole trip, stick close to him, He's more than half of the reason why I brought you here."
Controlling his emotions, Tanjo closed his eyes. "Just give me a hint, Kronos. Please."
"You're smart enough to solve it yourself. I'll give you the credit of hypothesizing that Regashi might have the same history as in your own universe, however. Look further, and stay close to the Ketsueki family." Kronos unveiled verbally, his voice becoming more stern than before.
Tanjo sighed. "Fine. I'll play along. This better be worth it!"
Kronos' body started to disappear, his face still as placid as can be.
"Tanjo, I'm the God of time—trust my process."
XXX
Little bit of a milked chapter, but I do not wish to rush things faster than how I did at the start of this story—God, how I resent my past literary prowess. With that aside, I will say for the millionth time that I plan to have a lot happen, and relatively quickly, but not too quickly. So bare with me here and stay tuned!
Have a Great Day!
Peace - Cr1ticalz_