The Missing Crown//Hajime Kokonoi

#11

The warm water soothed my tiered body, but the soap made my cuts sting. I actually forgot about them since there was too much on my mind. I think I got them when Sanzu tossed me out of the carraige.

I held a towel around my body while standing in front of the mirror. I cleaned my cuts and bandaged them. Two on my left arm that I had landed on, especially my elbow. And one on the palm of my hand.

I can't change into any new clothes yet. This Souya guy hasn't shown up yet. So I left the washroom into the bedroom and sat on the mattress. The bed had soft white blankets, and it was quite cushy.

Three soft knocks on the door caught my attention, I stood up and secured the towel around myself and opened the door. There stood an angry looking blue haired boy. Who was also a near copy and paste of Nahoya, or well, Smiley. Ah, this is Souya.

His cheeks tinted pink, and he quickly held his hands out with a change of clothes. "Sorry for interrupting you."

"No, no, you didn't." I wave my hand and take the clothes, "I was just waiting for you, actually."

3rd POV
"Oh," Souya blinked, and his eyes drifted to her bare arm where there seemed to be bruising. Like a handprint as if she'd been grabbed. Souya was confused, yet worried, he can't help but be kind to people in need. He then saw her other arm with bandages.

"Are you okay?" He points to the bandages on the girls' arms.

(Y/n) followed his gaze, "It's just some scratches, doesn't really hurt."

"She ran away from home, said it was family drama." Souya remembered Nahoya's explanation of her being here. But her injuries told him there was more than just drama.

Souya opened his mouth to ask her something but halted, believing it would be insensitive. He changed his words, "Tell me if you need anything, I hope the clothes fit." He nods, and she tells him she would.

Souya turned to leave with the question he wanted to ask, lingering in his mind, "Were you being abused?"

(Y/n) POV
He was nice. Looks mean, but he's nice. The opposite of his brother, it seems. Though Smiley was nice to me, I don't know how it is with everyone else. I think he took pity on me, and that's why.

I looked at the clothes and found some to wear to bed, which was an all white, long sleeved gown. The fabric was thin and not silky, unlike what I'm so used to, but it was nice. The other change of clothes was for tomorrow, I guess.

Slipping on the night gown, it fits nicely and comfortablely. Then I got into bed and wrapped myself in the blankets.

                                  □●□

~ The next morning ~

3rd POV
Kisaki returned to the palace just as the sun came over the horizon. He told Hanma to be quiet and pull the carraige in without notice of others. He didn't want anyone questioning him on where he had gone, granted he could think of a lie quick, but he was stressed as it was and didn't want to deal with anything else.

Kisaki and Hanma had gotten into the palace without notice. Or so they thought.

Up on the balcony of the princesses room stood Kokonoi, his sharp snake eyes glaring down on the two arrivals.

Koko had seen them leave last night.

Now he wants to know what took them so long to return...

                                  □●□

Kisaki sat in his study, scribbling on a paper, a letter he was sending to who knows where. He was surrounded by shelves of books and had a list of names on a piece of paper that sat on an open book next to him.

The door to his study swung open, spilling outside light in on Kisaki. There stood Koko with his chin up and a downward gaze at Kisaki like he was below him. Kisaki hated Koko's looks, always acting like he's better than him and others around him.

But he can't talk, he does the same thing.

The difference is Kokonoi knows when to step back and understand who's in charge while Kisaki believes he has all the power. He flipped his open book shut over the list of names nonchalantly, but Koko noticed his obvious hindrance on letting him see the paper. But he decided not to speak on it.

"Well, how nice to find you here, Kisaki,"  Koko played nice, even with his aggressive entrance. He loves to be dramatic.

Kisaki raised a brow, "Where else would I be?"

"That's a great question," a grin grew on Koko's face, but Kisaki couldn't tell the intention in his eyes. "It's perfect you asked actually, because there's something I would like to know," he shut the door and advanced toward Kisaki's desk and sat himself down in the chair in front of it. "Where did you go last night that took all night for you to return?"

It was brief, but Koko caught it. The morph of Kisaki's expression, how his eyes got slightly wider, and shoulders stiffened. As soon as it happened, he relaxed back into normal focused Kisaki. But that change was all Koko needed, his black eyes focused and narrowed on Kisaki. Anyone else would have crumbled under the pressure of his stare, but Kisaki kept calm.

"I didn't realize you knew I left," Kisaki fixed his glasses. "Also, I don't believe it's any of your business what I'm doing, Kokonoi."

Almost amused by that answer, Koko tilts his head, "Funny for you to say that, but I have high royal status just as you do Kisaki, I have the right to know what others do in their free time." He waves his hand in the air for dramatic flair. "Especially the queen's advisor, whom we all rely so much on," his voice dripped in a sarcastic venom. "You of all people know you can't go off and do things without the jurisdiction of her majesty."

"I very well know that Koko -"

"Even the princess," Koko now had a hint of mischief in his eyes to mention her, "you must follow her every word."

Kisaki bit his tounge, he knows that Koko is now trying to agitate him. It's working. "Yes, her majesty and the princesses words are final. Is that what you're here for? For me to say that?"

Koko laughs, "Oh no, that was just a bonus." An irk popped on Kisaki's forehead, but before he could get a word out, Koko spoke again, but this time, his tone was more demanding. "So I'll ask again...where were you all night?"

"I needed to speak with the diamond minors -"

"And that takes all night? Why at night in the first place?"

Koko's pressuring persistence was pushing Kisaki to his limit. "I spoke with them once the days work was done, then I decided to stay in and Inn close by the mines since it was too dark for travel."

Koko's snake eyes burn into him. He has other ideas of where he's been, and as much as he wished it couldn't be true, it had to be. But for now, he'll divert the conversation.

"I see," Koko relaxed his posture and glanced around the room, "I'll take my leave then, carry on with whatever it is you do."

Kisaki forced himself not to comment on Kokonoi's mockery of him.

The snake eyed boy opened the door and glanced back at Kisaki, "By the way, you'll have to tell me about that list of names you have there some time..."

Kisaki's eyes widened, and Koko smiled wickedly, knowing he got to him and exited the room.

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Got some conflict there, Koko really knows how to get under someone's skin.

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Love,
Lyra.