—then—

Sakura House
Near Gunma Town, Kingdom of Minato

Each day that slips away here is a reminder of how meaningless has life has become. He hates the uncertainty, the lack of information. He hates how closely he’s being watched, as if the guards are looking for him to screw up in some way.

Most of the time it’s one of the guards taking Yama out for exercise now, Sho helping the groom to muck out the stables, the only interaction with his own damn horse coming after she’s already been ridden, brushing her and feeding her. He wishes again and again that he could put his sister and brother on Yama, could slap the horse’s rump and send them racing off to Chiba.

His parents have visibly aged since they’ve been shut away here. There are streaks of gray in his mother’s hair, wrinkles of worry developing on her face. She’d been called the fairest of her generation, or at least that’s what his father’s always said. He’s always been rather biased in that regard. His father has lost weight, possesses little of his old strength and vigor. Sho knows that his parents loved each other once, very deeply. But now as the months pass here and the guards grow more snotty and disrespectful in their boredom, Sho is convinced that his mother blames his father for what has happened. Sho is convinced that his mother will worry herself to death knowing that her children are trapped here with them.

Hana-san has always been able to comfort his mother. She is the lifeline that keeps his mother present in the day to day. Where at first Sho’s mother took to the country lifestyle of the exile with quiet amusement and determination, she now struggles. What’s the point in patching up that shirt? Sho, finally growing a little taller, will find a way to tear it again somehow, lose a button. What’s the point in dressing for dinner? They’ve taken away her cosmetics, sold her jewels. Sho finds any excuse to avoid the parlor. His mother spends most of the day in there, sitting there in just one sad little room chiding Eriko about her stitches.

With each day that passes, the knots tightening around them all, Sho finds himself pulling back from Jun. He thinks about the stables, the day Jun tried to pass him a note. If he gets Jun in trouble, if he gets Jun sent away to who knows where, he’ll never be able to live with himself. If the guards ever find out about them, about what happened before and what they’ve shared in scarce, stolen moments here at Sakura House, it’ll be terrible. He just knows it’ll be terrible.

He doesn’t know how to tell Jun to back off. He doesn’t think he can form the words. If he tries to speak them, he’ll change his mind, and that doesn’t help Jun to stay alive here. He settles back into his old habits, hoping Jun takes the hint. When Jun slips notes under his door during the night, Sho ignores them. When Jun tries to meet his eyes in the halls, Sho looks the other way.

And it aches to do it, it leaves him feeling empty and hollow, turning away from the best and only friend he’s ever had. The person who means so much more to him than he can explain. If the guards think Jun is just a servant, he’ll be fine. After all it’s a workers’ revolution, and Jun is no different from any other Minato commoner.

He’s about a month into his self-imposed distancing from Jun when Hana-san asks to see him one morning. She still bows to all of them as though they’re royal, even little Ryota, and it makes Sho worry for her too. “He misses you,” Hana-san declares boldly.

Sho shuts his eyes, not really in the mood to be lectured by a servant when the woman ought to be smart enough to know what he’s doing is the wisest course of action. The country’s grievance is with his family, not with their servants. “We cannot meet privately this way, Hana-san,” he replies weakly.

“He idolizes you,” Hana-san pleads with him.

“He shouldn’t,” Sho says.

“He doesn’t understand.”

“They report back on us,” Sho finally explains. “The guards. The more I talk to him, the more it may be used against us.” And Sho knows that given enough time alone in Jun’s company, he’d end up guilty of far more than talking.

“You believe that?”

“I know it to be true,” Sho replies, remembering Lieutenant Kimura’s words of warning.

“I know you care for him,” Hana says, and when Sho looks at her, his cheeks burn in embarrassment to see the knowing look in her eyes. “And you are a young man of bravery and courage, putting your happiness aside, wishing to keep him from harm.”

“Hana-san, that’s not…”

“But I am his mother, and it is my duty to protect him. Not yours.”

Sho crosses his arms. “Hana-san…”

She takes a step toward him, and he sees a strength in her brown eyes that reminds him so much of Jun. “This country is falling into darkness. Every day trapped here I’ve been watching you all, seeing the darkness creep into your lives. Watching it slowly take possession of you. I haven’t seen Her Majesty smile in weeks. But there’s still light left, Your Highness. Even the smallest light, even the smallest hope is worth clinging to. And I know that my son is that light for you.”

“You are mistaken,” he mumbles, looking away from her so she can’t see him cry. He’s been out of the palace nursery for many, many years now.

But somehow he doesn’t push her away when she wraps her arms around him, holding him with a steadiness that he wishes he had. He cries as quietly as he can, knowing his burden is one he can’t tell his own mother about.

“I wish it wasn’t like this,” he tells her.

“I know,” she murmurs, stroking his hair.

The next day Sho slips a note between dinner plates, since Jun is the one who sets the table. It says only “I’m sorry,” but the next time they pass in the corridor, Jun smiles and Sho smiles back.

Hana-san’s told him that even the smallest light is worth clinging to. Seeing Jun’s smile, Sho decides to cling.

—now—

Keikarou Palace
Maku-Harihongo, Kingdom of Chiba

Queen Yuko held his hand, blinking away tears. “We will see you again for dinner?”

“Aunt Yuko, I’ll come running.”

She smiled, shaking her head and chuckling quietly. “Too charming, Minato boys. Your father was this way.”

“I learned from the best then.”

The Queen and her small gaggle of ladies-in-waiting left him alone on the main lawn to the west of the palace. The open-top motorcar they’d ridden in all morning was already being driven back to the garage. Sho hadn’t been in a motorcar in more than fifteen years. The slow farmers’ trucks he’d been inside lately couldn’t compete with the speed of a top of the line roadster. It had been a bizarre and yet thrilling experience, the Queen having ordered her driver to take them all over the capital, to let Sho see what changes had occurred since his last visit so long ago.

With his cousin booked nearly every second of the day finalizing staffing appointments, rehearsing his speeches, and reviewing security for the coronation parade and ball, they hadn’t been reunited yet. The outgoing king, his Uncle Masayoshi, and his Aunt Yuko had decided to meet with him first, once Masaki had given the go ahead based on whatever Ikuta-san had told him. They’d needed little convincing. On sight, they’d just known it was him somehow. Having his father’s face, his mother’s nose, they’d helped too.

It had been awkward, dining privately with his aunt and uncle the evening before, dredging up everything all over again and explaining the circumstances that had managed to bring him all the way to the capital of Chiba. The more Sho spoke, about the memories he’d lost and regained, about the current state of affairs in Keio, the more tired he had grown.

Because to them, it was all just an unpleasant past. All of that was behind him now, his uncle had asserted. Sho had forced himself to meet the man’s eyes, to smile even though his uncle had done nothing to help back then. Sitting in the splendor of Keikarou Palace, with its sumptuous decorations, the finely crafted furniture, the multi-course meals served on china…it was the life that had been stolen away from him. A life that seemed entirely unnecessary to him now, a life of far too much indulgence.

Sitting with them and having a fine meal, it had felt wrong. Driving leisurely around Maku-Harihongo and checking all the tourist spots, it had felt wrong. He ought to be grateful. They’d given him the same guest rooms in the palace that he’d stayed in as a boy, a handful of chambers in the east wing of the palace that had a fine view of the flower gardens that stretched almost to the trees and the canal beyond. They’d already brought a tailor to him, having him fitted for a suit to wear to the coronation and a tuxedo to wear to the ball, though it would be Masaki’s decision what role Sho might have to play in those events.

The last few months of Sho’s life, all he’d known was the journey. Struggling in Keio, the painful experience of his memories flooding back, the challenge of escaping the train and getting to Maku-Harihongo. Now he was here, and as Nino had predicted all along, they’d accepted him, and along with that, they were pampering him. Even with the hustle and bustle around Keikarou Palace, Sho couldn’t help but feel that there were more important things to worry about. Minato, its impoverished people, a country that needed help.

He headed inside. The staff hadn’t been told who he was other than a “very special guest of the king-to-be and his family,” though he suspected that a few of the older members of the staff had a good idea. Being good servants, their whisperings wouldn’t make it over Royal Bridge, at least not yet. Ikuta had assured him of that. They inclined their heads to him anyway, and though Sho had been treated that way for almost the first eighteen years of his life, it felt foreign to experience now after so many years being nobody special at all.

Ikuta, who had at least half a dozen staffers trailing him, found Sho when he was halfway up the stairs heading to the east wing. “Ah, there you are! Her Majesty said you were back. Come, come, it’s time.”

The night before, that morning in the motorcar, he’d settled into conversation with his aunt and uncle because it was something he’d been raised from birth to do, to be polite and chat amiably regardless of feeling. With Masaki, he knew it would be different. Because all this time, Masaki had been the one wishing most for his return. He maintained his composure, following Ikuta to the almost King’s suite of offices on the ground floor. He had already been moved in weeks earlier at his father’s insistence, to grow accustomed to the space being his own.

Ikuta knocked and entered first, but he was back quickly. “Your audience will remain private at His Majesty’s request.” Ikuta held the door for him, and Sho took a deep breath. They’d missed so much of one another’s lives. All Sho had to go on was his memories and the portraits of Masaki hanging in the halls of Keikarou Palace.

Ikuta shut the door behind him, and Sho stood shyly beside a bookshelf, waiting for the man at the writing desk to acknowledge him. He couldn’t help smiling, seeing that Masaki had truly grown up. His hair was still a bit of a frazzled mess, and his foot was tapping nervously under the desk as he scribbled down some notes, mumbling to himself. But then he looked up.

He was a man grown, with tired eyes that spoke of a life already given over to rule, to the governing of his people. But his smile was the same childish flash of teeth when he popped up from his chair, knocking it over in nervous excitement. “Sho-chan!”

Sho felt tears of happiness sting his eyes. As Yoshimoto Koya, he’d been all set to lie to him. How could he have ever considered something so callous, so cruel? As Sakurai Sho, he moved forward, doing his best to conceal the pain in his shoulder, the weakness in his foot. Masaki nearly knocked him down, embracing him as though he half expected Sho to vanish if he didn’t.

“Sho-chan, it’s you. It’s really you. I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to say!”

He wrapped his arms around his cousin, chuckling. “Shouldn’t you do a final test? To ensure I’m really me?”

Masaki squeezed him tighter. “Toma-kun came to me on his knees, apologizing for what he’d put you through. All those questions. He believed you, but he kept pestering until he’d done everything I’d asked. Just to be sure. And then my mother, well, I always trust what my mother says.”

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you,” Sho admitted.

Masaki finally let him go, not embarrassed to let tears of his own roll down his cheeks.

“Ahh, it really is you. You finally got taller.”

He scowled jokingly, and Masaki laughed, the same wheezing laugh he’d had as a kid.

“Yeah, it’s definitely you, Sho-chan.” His cousin moved, heading for a drink cart a few paces from his desk. He pulled the stopper from a bottle of clear liquid. “Can I get you anything? Well, uh, usually I’ve got liquor in these things, but I have to be one hundred percent sober to get all this stuff memorized. It’s just water now…”

“Water would be just fine,” Sho answered, grinning. Masaki the adult was still an odd fellow, but endearing as ever. Unlike with his aunt and uncle, he already felt so much at ease. Months ago, he’d have never imagined such a possibility, sitting in the private chambers of Aiba Masaki, who’d be crowned king tomorrow.

Once Masaki had served him, they sat together on a sofa near a full row of bookshelves. For a while, Masaki just kind of stared at him, and Sho finally had to laugh at him.

“You’ve always been creepy,” Sho told him. He remembered the Masaki of childhood, who had no qualms about digging in the dirt to find worms, who always liked to whisper in Sho’s ear about what so-and-so servant’s breasts might look like.

“I’m sorry,” his cousin said, wiping his eyes. “Ahhh, but they’ve been telling me it’s foolish for so long. They told me it was foolish to consider that you might have lived.”

“Given the circumstances, I’d have come to the same conclusion. About it being foolish I mean.”

Masaki shook his head. “We asked,” he admitted. “After it happened, we did ask General Kitagawa’s government to produce the…well, to allow you to be transported here so we could bury you. They told us you’d all been buried at Sakura House. My father left it at that, not wanting to rock the boat. I…well, I don’t think I spoke to him for about a year…”

“Truly?”

Masaki nodded. “I was angry for so long, Sho-chan. And honestly, I still am.”

“There was nothing to be done.”

“I didn’t believe that then, I don’t believe it now. Hearing the rumors, offering the reward for any proof of a miracle…it’s consumed me for ages. To finally have you here, even knowing for certain now that you’re the only one I’ll get to meet again…I feel lighter. I feel grateful, so grateful to see you and know that you’re well.”

There was a strength to Masaki’s voice now that hadn’t been there when they were children. He’d been so uncertain then. Sho knew back then that he’d intimidated his cousin. He’d always been an overly confident child, merely counting down the days until Minato was his to control. But seeing the man Masaki had become, still full of humor and quirks but with purpose, dedication, devotion. He was ready for this, ready to rule. Sho could tell already, after only minutes reunited. They spent the next three hours catching up, interrupted only by the delivery of lunch - fresh shellfish, Sho’s favorite.

Sho was so proud of all the things Chiba had accomplished, thanks to all these years of relative peace. Though Masaki’s father was fairly conservative, Masaki himself was not, investing most of his own money into projects to advance science, technology, and medicine. Chiba scientists were developing vaccines, discovering new means of producing energy. It was such a stark contrast from Minato, which had barely changed since his childhood.

Ikuta returned around 3:00, an impatient look in his face. It was Ikuta who really kept the country running, Masaki admitted, since he still had royal commitments like hosting fancy dinners that took him away from the “more important” things. “Your Majesty, there’s the matter of Sakurai-san’s…companions.”

Sho said nothing, suddenly consumed with the thought that Nino and Jun were close. Perhaps they’d been invited to the palace to be given their rewards. He wanted to see them, both of them, to know what their plans were.

“They’re not going to be here for another hour,” Masaki said dismissively, waving his hand. “I have to…I still have to…you know.”

Ikuta grinned.

Sho looked at his cousin strangely. “What’s wrong?”

Masaki got to his feet, hands on his hips. “Sho-chan, tomorrow’s the coronation. And in three days, I’m getting on a train and leaving the capital. For a pretty damn long time. But we’ve only just met again.”

“I understand your obligations, Masaki, more than you realize.”

“That’s just it,” Masaki replied. “I have an obligation to you too. I’m not just going to leave you behind after all you went through to get here.”

Sho blinked. “Huh?”

“Toma-kun’s already making all the arrangements. You’re coming with me.”

“What?” But then it dawned on him, what his cousin’s rather spontaneous, slightly irrational plan was. “Wait, you’re not serious about this…”

“When that train leaves, you’re coming as my guest. Whether you come with as Sakurai Sho or under a false name, I’m not leaving you here. I want you to see my Chiba.”

The royal tour, as far as Sho understood it, would take months. Masaki was determined to visit every obscure corner of his beloved country, to greet as many of his subjects as humanly possible. Admittedly, Sho had given very little thought to what came next. With Masaki gone, he presumed he’d just stay in the capital, making decisions based on what Nino and Jun planned to do. If he traveled with Masaki, he wouldn’t see them for months.

God, he wouldn’t see Jun again for the better part of a year.

“This is a bit hasty,” Sho said weakly, heart racing in panic. Maybe Jun could come? Could he argue for that? He knew Nino was probably going to buy himself a fancy house and park himself in it, but what about Jun? What was Jun going to do?

“Oh don’t worry about that,” Masaki assured him. “It’s a big train, and you’ll get your own compartment, Toma-kun will see to everything…”

“That’s…that’s not it…”

“Your Majesty, we really must discuss the matter of compensation,” Ikuta insisted, and Masaki gave up.

“Sho-chan,” he said, “we’ll talk more later. It’ll be after midnight, but if you can stay up, we’ll discuss it. I really can’t wait to show you everything. We’ll have so much fun, I promise!”

Ikuta cleared his throat. “Your Majesty.”

“Yeah yeah, I know.”

Before Sho could protest any further, he was asked to leave. Before he could search the palace, to determine if Jun or Nino had arrived, his aunt and her ladies found him again.

He plastered on a smile, even as his insides churned and his shoulder throbbed. “Aunt Yuko.”

“My darling!” she said, immediately linking arms with him. “I’ve been charged with decorating the ballroom for tomorrow evening, won’t you come and see the amazing things we’ve accomplished! Ma-kun is going to love it!”

He nodded, knowing he had little choice but to follow her. Things were happening way too fast. They headed for the ballroom, and Sho suddenly wanted nothing more than to escape.

—

Keikarou Palace
Maku-Harihongo, Kingdom of Chiba

Nino had been inside Prince Masaki’s private offices for nearly half an hour now. Jun suspected he was trying to charm the man into giving him more than was necessary, and he couldn’t help smiling at the thought of Nino trying his best to manipulate a man who’d be crowned king come morning.

It was a beautiful palace, though Jun had mostly been stuck in one place for his stay thus far. He was seated in an outside chamber full of desks and bookcases. Most likely a room where the future king’s staffers would work. A few men and women came in and out while Jun was sitting there, but none of them paid him any attention.

The whole place was alive with activity. Caterers and florists and other staff racing to and fro. In such a large place, he had been naive to think that Sho would be so easily found. And he’d also been a bit naive to imagine Sho coming to greet him. He was probably busy already, since it was likely he’d get to participate in the parade following the coronation and would have some place at the ball.

The door to the inner chamber opened, and Nino and Ikuta emerged. The two men were chuckling together, shaking hands. Their rudeness in his offices had apparently been forgiven. Jun got to his feet, tugging a little awkwardly on his suit jacket. He was still in borrowed clothes.

Nino stepped forward, squeezing his arm. “Ikuta-san already has his contacts in the Chiba State Department working on immigration papers. My parents, Jun. They’ll be able to come here soon.”

“That’s wonderful,” he replied, inclining his head to Ikuta.

“See you back at the hotel?” Nino asked. From the stunned look in Nino’s eyes, Jun imagined that the reward from Chiba’s royal treasury was larger than had been promised.

“Yeah. I’ll see you.”

A member of the royal guard appeared to escort Nino from the palace, and Ikuta held out a hand, gesturing him forward. “Matsumoto-san, your turn.”

He stepped into the chamber, seeing Aiba Masaki in the flesh. Jun barely remembered him, since he’d only come to Keio a few times and he’d been a shy boy. He and Sho had been very close, though, so he wasn’t surprised to see the bright smile on the prince’s face when he was escorted in.

Ikuta had a ledger in hand, was jotting down notes as he moved to the prince’s desk, standing just behind him. Jun wasn’t surprised to see the handful of royal guards who were also in the chamber. If Jun made any false moves, he wouldn’t get very far. Not that he planned anything of the sort.

He approached the desk, bowing low to the prince.

“Matsumoto Jun,” Ikuta said. “Former servant of the Sakurai family. He also served them at Sakura House in the final days.”

Jun was surprised when Prince Masaki rose from his chair and came around his desk. Jun had barely raised his head before the man was embracing him. “Thank you so much,” the man said, and Jun was stunned. Ikuta only grinned in reply, scribbling more down on his ledger. “Thank you for helping Sho-chan.”

“Of…of course, Your Majesty.” He tried not to smile at how affectionately the leader of a nation referred to Sho.

The prince released him, patting him on the shoulder before going back around to sit at his desk. “Sorry,” he said, “but I spent the last few hours talking with Sho-chan. I’m all worked up! He made it very clear how important you’ve always been to him. In the past and now, finding him and getting him all the way here. Thank you, truly, for everything you’ve done for him. And for everything you did for my aunt and uncle and my cousins. I understand that you were hardworking and loyal until the very end, even when it may not have been the easiest thing to do.”

“You’re very welcome, Your Majesty.”

He leaned forward, sorrow in his eyes. “Sho-chan said also that your mother was lost at Sakura House. You have my sincerest condolences.”

Jun held his head high, somewhat surprised that Sho had taken the time to tell Prince Masaki such things when he could have instead spoken of his own lost family. “Thank you.”

“Now,” Prince Masaki said, clearing his throat and getting down to business. “It’s incredibly vulgar, I suppose, to put a price tag on returning my cousin to me. Much as I might wish it, I can’t exactly empty my treasury, you know, but as a reward for your sacrifices and your kindnesses, I would still like to ensure that you are taken care of. Ninomiya-san suggested you be offered the lion’s share of everything…”

“He said what?” Jun exclaimed before remembering just who he was talking to. He bowed his head. “Forgive me, Your Majesty. I meant no disrespect.”

Prince Masaki smiled. “Don’t worry about it. You can speak plainly to me here. Just not in public, alright?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Ninomiya-san said that you have been an essential person in Sho-chan’s life and that it is only fair that you be rewarded for it. I don’t know if it was a ploy for sympathy or something. He struck me as a rather wily character.”

Jun nodded his head, heart aching at the thought of Nino willingly asking to be given less. “He is very wily, Your Majesty.”

“As I suspected. Now, before Toma-kun and I discuss the full extent of the reward with you, if there is anything else you might require, don’t hesitate to ask. The worst I can do is say no. Ninomiya-san requested that his parents be allowed to immigrate here, and I’m happy to help. As you know, I’ll soon be touring Chiba, but there’s no shortage of ministers and staff here in Maku-Harihongo who will assist you on my orders.”

“Thank you. I…I have no other family, really, but my mother was originally from Chiba. She served as Queen Kanako’s maid from childhood. She never spoke much about what family she left behind here.”

“We’ll find them,” Prince Masaki replied instantly. He pointed at Ikuta. “You’ll see to it. Spare no expense.”

“Checking birth records doesn’t cost much,” Ikuta teased.

“Well if you find Grandma Matsumoto in Minamiboso, it’ll cost money to get her here, won’t it?”

Ikuta nodded. “It would, true.”

“Find them all.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Jun bit the inside of his cheek, desperate to keep to his plan. At least knowing he might have family to return to someday, that would be enough.

“Anything else?”

Jun took a breath, meeting the prince’s eyes straight on. “I would like to decline the reward.”

“What?” the prince asked. “Why?”

“Whatever you would have given to me, I would rather see that money used for the benefit of Minato. There are specific people in Minato I want to see helped, and after that, I would request that Chiba provide ongoing support to Minato. It is a poor country, Your Majesty, one that has torn itself apart for far too long. A country that shares a border with your own for hundreds of miles and yet you sit here in this palace preparing for a grand celebration. Your people have food to eat, warm homes, well-paying jobs…”

“Matsumoto-san, you are out of line!” Ikuta interrupted.

“Meanwhile people in Keio are harassed and monitored by secret police. Basic necessities are strictly rationed and the rest obtained at outrageous costs on the black market. Families of ten are living in rooms meant for one person. Your people eat caviar like it’s rice. You can leave your own capital for months without fear while in Keio the newest usurper had government ministers and their aides assassinated on train cars full of civilians.”

“Matsumoto-san, you address the King of Chiba!” Ikuta continued, but this time Aiba Masaki held up his hand.

“I’m not the king yet.” He took a breath. “Toma. Leave us.”

“But Your Majesty…”

“I gave an order.” He met eyes with each of his personal guards. “You will all leave, right now.”

Despite how jovial the prince had been the last several minutes, his voice was firm and his eyes decisive.

“I know it is against protocol,” he continued, speaking to his guards. “But you will leave us. Matsumoto-san will not cause me harm. Go.”

In seconds, the two of them were alone. Prince Masaki leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. There was something different now, in the way he carried himself. Instead of the charming, smiling prince, Jun now realized he was in the presence of a clever politician. Jun wondered how much of Aiba Masaki’s behavior around his guards and advisors was genuine and how much was an act.

“Chiba is a neutral country, Matsumoto-san.”

“I know that.”

“You ask us to directly and openly provide aid to an unstable nation.”

“I do, yes.”

Aiba Masaki surprised him again, smiling. “Have a seat.” When Jun was sitting down, the prince leaned forward, his voice considerably quieter. “The method of regime change was not one I agreed with, but once I release funds, I cannot entirely control how they are used.”

“Your Majesty?”

“Higashiyama thought fear would keep Minato stable. He was mistaken. I’ve been in contact with one of the generals who led the coup. He sought my help personally. I provided it, knowing that my father was planning on stepping down and could not do anything to stop me.”

Jun was astonished. “You mean to say that what’s happening in Minato right now…you…you intervened?”

“When this general officially comes to power, and he should very soon, talks will open between Minato and Chiba for the first time in decades. They will formally request Chiba’s assistance. For years, Minato believed that any intervention from my country would come at a cost. That Chiba would annex you or force you into our debt. Chiba wants to help.”

“How?”

“Science. Technology. Our achievements will help Minato stabilize. We will not send soldiers but doctors. Scientists. Engineers. Chiba will train Minato to build better. To farm better. To take better care of its people. It will not come that cheaply, and I do expect a bit of backlash here. Why else do you think I’m spending the next year going from door to door and meeting my subjects? It’s not just for a friendly chat. In my speech tomorrow, I cannot make any formal announcements yet, but once Minato is more stable, it’s going to happen and I will need my entire country behind me.”

Jun was hesitant. “Why would you do all this?”

“Politically, it’s to stabilize the region,” Prince Masaki admitted. “We wish for more trade with the nations to the west. Minato being a minefield between us and the west has prevented that. And then personally, for me, I believe Chiba has sat back getting fat and remaining indifferent to suffering for far too long, just as you said. We allowed the Western War to kill thousands. We allowed General Kitagawa to overthrow the monarchy. And my parents allowed our Minato family to be killed. Indirectly, Matsumoto-san, my parents are responsible for what happened to your mother as well.”

He paled. “I don’t hold you or them responsible…” It was General Kitagawa who was, and he was long dead.

“I’ve had fifteen long years to come to this conclusion,” the prince said, and Jun was moved by the determination in his eyes. “But it is rather remarkable that you’ve come to me now with such a request. Because what I need is help. I need eyes and ears in Minato. Not a spy, but someone to assist in the ongoing negotiations. Someone I can trust who supports this agenda as much as I do. I’m wondering now if perhaps you could be that person.”

Jun had come to ask to take his reward and funnel it into Minato as best he could. And now here was an incredible opportunity falling into his lap. It wouldn’t just be his reward money. It would be an ongoing thing. Minato might not ever be fully stable, but Chiba’s help would be an incredible step in the right direction.

“It would be an honor,” he said, unable to keep from smiling.

“I know you’ve only just arrived here and that getting here was truly dangerous. But with the craziness tomorrow with the coronation, I don’t think anyone’s going to pay much attention to a train headed for Keio. It’s loaded up with food, medicine, some other basic supplies as a gesture of goodwill. In exchange, General Kimura has promised complete immunity and protection for the train and my representatives…”

Jun couldn’t help but interrupt. “I’m sorry, General who?”

“Kimura,” Prince Masaki repeated. “General Kimura Takuya, my contact in Minato. He was a war hero, and he is the one who has sought our assistance. The task ahead of him isn’t easy, but he’s well-respected by both the army and the people. If there’s anyone in Minato who might make a difference, it’s him.”

He’d been there. At Sakura House. Kimura Takuya, hero of the Western War. For months, a smirking shadow in the corner, always watching them. Jun had polished his boots. Kimura Takuya had…

“Matsumoto-san, are you alright? Was it something I said?”

If this was the only way he’d be able to help Minato, help Ohno, help everyone who had gotten Sho to Chiba, then he supposed he had no choice. He didn’t dare tell Aiba Masaki about the role General Kimura, then Lieutenant Kimura, had played in the demise of the Sakurai family.

“What time does the train leave tomorrow?” Jun asked, ignoring his pain and confusion. “I want a seat on board.”

—then—

Sakura House
Near Gunma Town, Kingdom of Minato

A handful of soldiers had arrived from Keio that morning, and the entire house is in a confused sort of hush. The family’s been sequestered to the parlor, all five of them sitting around the rattling heater, since their arrival. Jun’s been in the chilly kitchen with his mother and Amami-san, Lieutenant Kimura keeping an eye on them. His mother and the lieutenant have been chatting quietly, but he’s been out of earshot. Whatever they’re discussing, they don’t mean for him to overhear.

Lieutenant Inohara is in the parlor with the family, so the remaining four guards have been meeting with the new arrivals elsewhere on the grounds. If he peeks out the kitchen window, he can see them gathered by the stables, their boots tromping in the snow, breaths visible in the winter air. Unlike the guards already here who merely carry pistols in a holster at their side, the new guards have rifles strapped to their backs. Amami-san thinks they’re replacements, that the current guards will be rotated out. It’s been a long assignment for them. General Kitagawa doesn’t want them getting too “comfortable” here.

It’s just after 1:00 when one of the new guards comes into the kitchen. “You may go about your day. Please see to it that dinner is made for my team as well. We’ll be staying.”

“Of course, sir,” Jun’s mother says, inclining her head.

Barely able to keep himself from running, Jun leaves the kitchen. Upon reaching the parlor, he finds only four members of the Sakurai family. “Nii-san went upstairs,” Eriko says.

“He’s studying,” Queen Kanako clarifies.

“Thank you.”

Jun decides to take the back stairs, holding his breath as he walks past some of the newer soldiers who are now trampling through the house in their wet, muddy boots. For once he doesn’t find any guards standing outside Sho’s door. Maybe some of the guards aren’t so keen to return to Keio yet. But he doesn’t care, tapping gently on the door with two fingers. It’s rare to get time with him alone.

“It’s me,” he says.

Sho opens the door. He’s got half a dozen books open on his desk behind him, taken from the family’s library downstairs. Most of the books were sold a few months back, but the ones remaining were allowed for the children’s schooling. “I was studying this morning, got interrupted. Now they finally let me go again and it’s your turn to interrupt.”

Jun grins, closing the door and heading over to the desk. “Nakamura’s Chiba Almanac,” he reads from one book cover. His smile fades as he continues. “Geography of the Eastern Nations. Guide to the Borderlands. Sho-kun, what are you reading these for?”

Sho says nothing when Jun turns to look at him.

“Sho-kun?”

Sho pulls him close, hugging him tight. It’s been ages since he’s been able to, and Jun leans into it, pressing a kiss to Sho’s neck. He misses him. They’re in the same house all day, but he misses him.

“I’m working on something. You can’t tell.”

Jun doesn’t let him go. “Something dangerous?”

“You can’t tell.”

He squeezes Sho tighter. “Stop, don’t do something so stupid. Especially not now. There’s twelve of them here now. Twelve.”

“I won’t do anything right away. I have to plan first.”

Jun finally steps back, sighing. If the soldiers come and examine Sho’s reading materials closely, it’ll be over before it even starts. “You should at least rip the covers off the books.”

Sho chuckles quietly. “I probably should, huh?”

He wants to kiss him. He hasn’t been able to do that in so long. Instead he reaches out his hand, takes Sho’s in his own. Their fingers twine together. “If you need help, let me help.”

Sho rubs his thumb across Jun’s hand. It sends a pleasurable shiver down his spine. “We’ll see.”

Before they can do much more, there’s a heavier knock at the door. It’s Lieutenant Kimura, and he and Sho have barely stepped apart when the soldier opens the door. “Matsumoto, your mother needs you.”

“Of course.”

He hurries downstairs, already missing the warmth of Sho. Amami-san is in the kitchen, quietly packing food into a satchel. Before he can ask why, his mother’s there, taking his hand and pulling him to the pantry.

Once inside, she takes his face in her hands and looks at him with a seriousness that makes him think he’s in deep trouble. Does she know what he does when he gets moments alone with Sho?

“Jun, I need you to listen closely to me.”

“Of course.”

Her voice is a mere whisper, and she looks half-hysterical. It’s very unlike her. She knows something. But what?

“You can saddle Yama, can’t you?”

“Huh?” He shrugs. “Yeah, yeah, I know how to do it.” At least he’s got a good idea, after watching Sho do it so many times.

“You’re going to have to be quiet as a mouse, my darling boy. The groom will exercise the horses in one hour, just before it gets dark. I’ve spoken with him, he knows, which means you can take Yama back behind the stables, down the southern path toward the trees where they won’t see you. With the other horses out in the paddock, they will probably not notice. There will be more snow tonight, it will probably cover your tracks.”

“What are you talking about? Why would I take Yama out?”

“Noribetsu Ryokan, it’s an inn on the northern edge of Gunma Town. That’s where you’ll go. I have a lot to explain and very little time. You must do what I say.”

“I don’t understand, Mother.”

“The family is in danger, Jun. They’re in danger and if we don’t act swiftly, it’ll be our fault for not helping them.”

Hearing her words, knowing she’d never exaggerate or lie, he nods.

“What do I have to do?”

Part Nine