The Maverick's Prince

Ch. 23 - Preparations

"Suguru!" You repeatedly shouted through the halls of the castle in search for your husband. You had eventually found him hard at work in his study. "Suguru!" You exclaimed with a bit more calmness in your voice now that you were in front of him. "Guess what!"

He looked up and softened his frustrated expression as soon as he met your gaze. It looked like he had been working on some serious looking paperwork, the quill quivering in his hand before settling after seeing your face.

"Hey, Y/N," he greeted with his soft, nasally voice. "Where's Satoru? I told him to watch over you after you left the table."

"Oh..." you felt a bit heartbroken at his sudden change in topic, but then again, he was concerned for your safety first. You had to appreciate that. "He never showed..." You waited patiently for any sign to continue discussing your discovery.

"That good for nothing..." Suguru hissed under his breath and rolled his eyes. "Sorry," he shook his head and brought his attention back to you. You now noticed the dark bags under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well ever since the incident, you could tell by how much he'd toss and turn at night ever since you'd started sharing a chamber. "What happened?" He asked with a gentle, intrigued smile.

"I. Have. A. Technique." You said in separate sentences, your wide smile back on your face. Suguru gave you a funny look with a bit of hesitance. He knew he already explained how jujutsu and cursed energy works, but he figured something had to have happened to convince you of this. "It happened while I was practicing my archery!"

"You have a technique? How did it present itself?" He asked, shaking his head still in disbelief before returning to the scribbles in front of him.

"I was able to manipulate the arrow using my energy! I was able to move its trajectory and control its speed! It was amazing!" You explained while walking closer to his desk, slightly leaning on its edge once you made your way over.

Suguru seemed distracted as he furiously finished the sentence he was writing. "Are you sure it wasn't a fluke?" He asked. The way he had phrased it felt a little hurtful compared to how you were used to hearing him.

"What's that?" You inquired about his distraction. "It looks serious."

"It's...like a will in a way," he described with a deep breath. He leaned back in his chair to take a break from it. "It's to protect the kingdom should something happen to me."

"What?" You giggled. "Nothing's going to happen to you." Suguru bit on the inner flesh of his mouth as he avoided eye contact.

"Sukuna's incredibly powerful," he reminded you, "and Satoru is much more powerful than I, but Sukuna will still pose a challenge -- which puts my life at risk. Satoru and I will always do our part to protect one another, but when it comes to the safety of our kingdoms, humanity even, that has to come first. He can't think about me during the fight."

"What are you saying?" Your voice dropped at the same time as your confused facial expression.

"The likelihood of my death occurring during this fight is much higher than I'd like to admit. This contract signs our kingdom over to Satoru. And don't worry, you're taken care of within these pages as well -- you and your family."

"No," you said flatly, standing straight up from your leaning position on the desk. "You have to let us help you. Kento and I, we both have techniques."

"I won't allow it," Suguru suddenly stood after digesting your words. His face was that of anger, a type of anger you hadn't seen out of him before. "I'm not allowing you to get killed, you or Kento." Suguru sighed after a long pause and sat back in his chair. You held back a bit of anger with a determined look on your face. "Honestly, Satoru should be able to handle Sukuna himself for the most part with myself as support."

"Then why doesn't he?!" You passionately whined, leaning forward on the desk now with your anger painted on your face.

"Sukuna is cunning and elusive. Any sort of support, a distraction even, will be helpful to Satoru," Suguru hesitantly explained. "This man...this thing...is the King of Curses after all."

You didn't know what else to say. You felt completely defeated, your pouted up face the only thing you could muster as you stood in front of him. Suguru saw your disappointment and immediately acted.

"Listen," his voice was as soft as it had ever been as he stood from his desk and gently walked to you. He placed delicate hands on your upper arms to encourage you to look up at him, even if it meant your pout was still on your face. "I'm going to finish these pages and then how about the two of us enjoy a night in together?"

You twisted your pout a small bit, a sign of wavering. "I want to help," you grumbled almost inaudibly.

"Something tells me that the end is almost near," he sighed, "we don't have much time left. Please...let's enjoy what we have."

Your pout fell into a full on frown as you felt something in your chest physically snap in two. It was a special kind of heartbreak, one you detested above all of the heartbreaks you had ever felt before -- given that amount was few.

Without any other words exchanged, you turned and left him standing alone. You gave him once last sad glance as you closed the large double doors behind you, a heartbroken look on his face.

With a sullen expression, you made your way toward Suguru's bedchamber. You took your time getting ready for the evening hours, washing up, changing clothes, and fixing your hair. The peaceful sunset was incredibly deceiving. The bright oranges and yellows that opened up into the dark blue sky made it look as if the field just outside of the window was on fire.

It felt like it had been ages since you left Suguru in the chancery. You were curled up on your side of the mattress attempting to read a book by candlelight despite your fatigue from the day's activities, the newest challenge in your reading journey.
Suddenly, a gentle knock coincidentally sounded on the other side of the heavy wooden door. Without needing your approval, Suguru gently pushed it open with a soft smile on his face.

The heartbroken feeling in your chest returned, the immediate need to envelop him in your arms drove you to toss your book and dart from the bed.

"Suguru," you sadly muffled into his chest as you buried your face there. "I never want to let you go." He gave his usual low chuckle as he stroked your head, fully embracing you. "I can't help but want all of the work you went through drafting those pages to go to waste," you chuckled, pulling away from him and wiping a stray tear from your face.

"I long for that as well," he sighed heavily, the soft smile spreading in relief. Your presence always calmed him, no matter the impending war that weighed on his shoulders. "But for now," he laced his fingers with yours and pulled you toward the bed, "we're alright for now." You noticed how his voice started to shake as the two of you sat on the edge of the mattress. He had again pressed your face into his chest, his chin resting atop your head as you felt him staring out of the nearby window. "You'll be okay come morning light."