What It Means To Be King

Chapter 39: To Those Who Bore A Heart That Feels, They Are Humans Too

I really like this chapter tho. 4k words, and some character complexity, so it took me a while. Happy reading! 

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Leo. That was it, that was his name. Charles had every right to not believe that the name could be a pseudo, or just some nickname people call him due to the color of his hair. Strawberry blond, or if you look closer, the exact hues you'd find on most lions. Charles hadn't been able to study him closer, out of the fear of the scalpel that Leo had pocketed in his coat. Briefly, he wondered if anything was kept there to prevent the scalpel from cutting a hole through the fabric, but when he saw that the scalpel was actually an innovation of a pocket knife, he gaped silently. 

The smirk he saw earlier, Charles would've easily brushed it off, telling himself that he had seen wrong, that it was too brief for a person to be sending any sort of threat and warning. However, from the very beginning, Charles already knew, already had the hunch that Leo had his eyes on him, in a complete aggressive way. A few minutes of connecting the dots told him that both Leo and Anubis were definitely close to Shao Long, and for some reason that's unknown to him, the both of them had decided to come. And from first-hand experience, Charles was confident that like him, Leo had the same disgust towards the physical display of affection presented by Anubis towards his 'big brother' so that meant Leo didn't just come because Anubis wanted him to. And because Leo solely had his eyes on him, Charles concluded that Leo and Shao Long's relationship is fairly good. 

Does that add up the his list of enemies, he wondered. Well, he was the principle of the enemy of your enemy is your friend. And if he applied the situation onto Shao Long, Leo would make a very good ally, considering he was able to be buddy buddy with Anubis, and worked together to defeat more than 10 beefy men in less than 10 minutes without breaking a sweat. The scalpel he was holding looked to be as good as a weapon as claws to a lion. And if Charles' memory served him well, he could've sworn he had seen Leo on a screen somewhere. 

So that was one threat currently leading them, or just literally going anywhere the orange bulb was lighting up, not that anyone else would've noticed. Because Gion trusted that Anubis wasn't going to harm them or anything of the sort, he decided to follow him, which drags Livio as well, and because if Gion and Livio both got separated from them, the already useless group of princes would be even more useless. Plus, they were going the same way, so why not just tag along? That's how they ended up in this kind of situation, with Albert and Ciel grumbling at the fact, wanting to stay as far away as possible from the two leading demons upfront. Until of course, Anubis with a cheeky and innocent smile turned to them and spoke. 

"If gangsters come from behind, we won't be able to save you in time." 

That being said, Albert and Ciel changed their strategy by huddling closer to the middle, not wanting to be the last of the party, which earned them a round of chuckle from Leo, who pretended that it was a cough from how stuffy the air was. 

Another threat that Charles probably should concern himself with far sooner than he was with Leo, was Anubis, the Egyptian kid that was happily humming to himself as they trod at the front of the group, occasionally chatting with Gion, who didn't seem to be that interested in answering his questions and returning his statements. He had heard Anubis talk before, he recognized his voice. He realized as well that from his name, Anubis would most likely be from Egypt. He didn't really expect this though. Not the white locks that were so heavily in contrast to Shao Long. Not the almost glowing gleam of gold in his eyes, nor the overwhelming presence that pushed the air out of the lungs of people who saw. There was an aura around him that screamed power, screamed dominion.