Love or Vengeance/Ai Soretomo Fukushû

Chapter 1. Who am I?

"They went this way. Follow them."
"Mama, papa. Why are we hiding?" Asked young Julius.
"Shhh. You need to keep quiet." Said the mother.
"There's someone coming." Said the father.
CRASH!!!
"So this is where you were hiding." Said the man as he entered the room.
"How could you? How could you do this to us? We are just like family?" Asked the crying mother.
"You're going to pay for this." Said the father.
"I'd love to see that happen. Don't worry. I'll make this fast. Just sit back and relax.... Your Majesty."

◆◆◆ 

"Yamato. Can you come and help me, please?"
"Coming mother." Said Yamato as he came to the kitchen.
"Yamato, we need some extra ingredients for today's dinner. Can you please go to the store and buy some?" Said the mother as she handed him a list and some money.
"Okay. Be back soon." Said Yamato as he opened the door to leave.
"Oh. Yamato. Heading out?" Asked the father who was standing in the doorway.
"Good evening, father. Yes. Mother asked me to buy some things for tonight's dinner. Be back soon." Said Yamato as he ran off.
"Welcome home, dear."
"Are all the preparations ready?"
"Yes they are. All we need to do is burn the whole place down to make it look as if he died in the fire."
"Excellent. We'll finally get done with this stupid assignment once and for all."
"Not to mention that we're gonna be rich."
Suddenly the lights went off.
"What happened?" Asked the mother.
"Don't worry. The power must have gone off. It will come back soon."
CRASH!!!
"What was that?" Asked the mother.
"I'll go check. You stay here." Said the father who went to the kitchen.
"Ahhhh!!!" Cried the mother.
"What happened?!" Asked the father as he rushed back. There he saw a masked person standing on top of the mother's lifeless body with a bloody Kunai in his hand.
"Who are you? And how dare you do that to her?" Said the father as he went for his gun.
"Next target acquired. Proceeding in elimination." Said the person as he threw the kunai at the father's neck.
"Target eliminated. Mission accomplished."
"W-What's going on?! Mother, father!" Said Yamato as he came back to see his parents dead.
"I've been spotted. Proceeding in neutralizing civilian."
"Neutralize?!" Said Yamato as he turned to run away but was knocked unconscious.

◆◆◆ 

"The patient is waking up." Said a nurses voice.
"Mother! Father! No!!!" Said Yamato as he quickly stood up.
"Sir, you mustn't stand up." Said a nurse as she tried to calm him down.
"But...but..."
"Calm down, Tanaka-kun." Said a man that came to stand before him. "My name is detective Asuma Sukuzawa."
"Detective? Where am I?"
"You are currently in Sakumo Hospital. We received an emergency call from your home and we came to find you unconscious and..."
"And what?"
"And the bodies of your parents."
"So they're really dead?" Said Yamato in tears.
"Please, Tanaka-kun, you have to tell me all you can remember."
"When...when I came back home, my parents were already dead. I saw the person who did it. He was dressed in black and wore a mask. I wanted to run away, but then I lost consciousness and I woke up here. That's all I remember."
"A person dressed in full black, huh? Okay Tanaka-kun. Please rest up. We will contact you if we have any more questions." Said the detective as he stood up and left. But turned to a nurse. "Make sure you finish their job." Said the detective as he handed her a bottle of poison.
"Yes, sir." Said the nurse as she took the bottle.
Later that night,
"Tanaka-san, are you feeling any better? We have come with your medication." Said a nurse as she entered the room only to find it empty.
On the streets,
"What am I gonna do? There's no way I can ho back home. Where do I go now? I don't have anywhere else to go." Said Yamato as he walked on the streets.
Suddenly, a black car stopped next to him.
"Are you Tanaka Yamato?" Asked a man who was sitting in the car.
"Yes I am."
"My master sent me to get you?"
"Your master? Take me where? And who is your master?"
"I am sorry but I am not authorized to answer those questions."
"How can I trust you?"
"My master knows about your parents."
"He does?" Asked Yamato as he gave the idea a second thought. "Fine. Take me to him."
He entered the car and drove off out of town and stopped in front of a big gate.
"I have a arrived with the boy." Said the man to the gate man.
"Very well. Master is waiting."
The car drove for another seven hundred meters and then stopped in front of a huge mansion. A lady was waiting outside.
"Welcome, Tanaka-san. My name is Suzutski Ayumi. My master is expecting you. Please follow me." Said Ayumi as she walked inside and towards the living room. There, Yamato saw a tall man that was probably in his forties. "Sir, I have brought him just as you requested."
"Very well, Suzutski-san. Thank you. That is all for now." Said the man. "Welcome Tanaka-kun. My name is Mochizuki Ishin."
"M-Mochizuki Ishin-san?! The Duke of Wisseragna? Why would the duke know who I am?"
"Oh, I know more than you know. I believe you're wondering why I called you here."
"Yes, sir. I was told that you know about my parents."
"Indeed I do. I'm really sorry for what happened today."
"Father. I have returned." Said a blonde girl that was standing in the doorway.
"Welcome home, Cana. We have a very special guest here." Said Ishin as he pointed towards Yamato."Tanaka-kun, this is my daughter, Cana. Cana, this young man is Tanaka Yamato."
"Nice to meet you." Said Yamato as he bowed.
"Likewise." Said Cana as she bowed as well.
"So Tanaka-kun, about what we were discussing. What are you planning to do now?"
"I want to look for my parents killer."
"And then what?"
"I'm gonna get revenge."
"Oh. Well that complicates things."
"Why is that, sir?"
"Because I know the killer. And that person is very close to me."
"Sir, please tell me who that person is."
"She is standing in front of you." Said Ishin as he pointed towards Cana.
"What?! How can this be?" Asked Yamato in disbelief. "Why? What did we ever do to deserve this? What have we ever done to you?"
"Please calm down, Tanaka-kun." Said Ishin.
"How can I calm down? After what she's done."
"Please hear me out. I didn't call you here for no reason."
"Then why? What else is there?"
"Those two people were not who you think they were."
"What do you mean?"
"They were not your real parents. They were told to live with you and pretend to be your parents this whole time. And today, their mission was complete. And they were told to dispose of you. I learned about this in the last moment and I sent Cana to save you. I have been looking for you for years."
"This is too much to take in at once. How can they not be my parents?"
"Look at this, Tanaka-kun." Said Ishin as he handed Yamato a picture.
"That's me. But who are these two people?"
"They are your parents, the King and Queen of Wisseragna."
"King and Queen?!! What are you saying? That I am a prince?"
"Yes Tanaka-kun. Your real name is Julius Wisseragna, the second prince of Wisseragna."
"But how can this be? You mean I'm the dead prince that everyone has been talking about?"
"Yes. 14 years ago, as you know, the royal family was assassinated, except for the first prince, Victor Wisseragna, who was saved in the last minute."
"The king, is my brother?"
"I know that everything I told you is hard to take in, but everything is true. You are Prince Julius Wisseragna." Said Ishin as he bowed down along with Cana.
"Please, stand. So... I'm the prince? To tell the truth, there were times where I would see things like the palace and royalty, but I thought that was just my imagination. So, that was real? Mochizuki-san, what was your relationship to my parents? And what kind of people were they?"
"Your father, King Claudius, was my childhood friend. We were very close. When he was made king, the first thing he did is grant me the title of Duke of Wisseragna. I've always been by his side since the very beginning. I was also there when you were born. When I heard the news of the assassination, I didn't know what to do with myself. I was devastated. But after all these years, I heard rumors that you were still alive. I thought it was a lie, but then I confirmed it in the last minute and I made plans to rescue you. And I'm glad I did. Now, I shall ask you again. What are you planning on doing now? Are you still going to look for your parents killer?"
"I will. And this time I'll look for the right one. Lady Cana, I'm truly sorry for the way I behaved earlier. Please, forgive me."
"It's alright. I understand what you must have felt. It was only natural that you would react that way." Said Cana as she bowed.
"Thank you so much, Mochizuki-san. Now that I know the truth, I should being my journey on finding out who planned all this." Said Yamato as he stood up to leave.
"Your majesty, may I ask where you are going?"
"Um... I don't know yet. I can't go back home because they must be looking for me by now."
"I think it would be best for you to live here from now on, if it pleases his majesty." Said Ishin as he stood up and bowed.
"I... I couldn't. After all the help you've given me, I would cause you too much trouble."
"My prince, it would be an honor to serve you and to help you fulfill your mission."
"If you insist, then I don't have a choice. I do have to learn how to behave more like a prince, don't I?"
"I will assist you in any way possible. For the sake of his majesty, King Claudius and Queen Sylvia."
"I too, shall assist you, your Highness." Said Lady Cana as she bowed.
"But please, just call me Yamato. It feels too weird to be called a prince just yet."
"As you wish, Yamato-sama." Said Ishin.
"And you don't need to be so formal."
"Very well, then."
"So now that I have a place to stay, what am I gonna do about school? The assassins that are after me should know that I escaped by now and they should be coming after me."
"I can do something about that. Cana will transfer schools and will be attending your school from now on, in order to protect you."
"As you wish, father. I will protect Prince Julius with my life." Said Cana.
"Hehe. Thanks, i guess. Are you sure about that, Mochizuki-san? What will I tell everyone when they find out that I know Lady Cana? They'll start asking questions."
"If it doesn't displease you,  would you consider marrying my daughter?
"M-Marriage?! Are you sure about this? I mean this is so sudden." Asked Yamato in surprise.
"Yes, father. Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" Asked Cana who turned red.
"I don't see anything wrong with it. This way everyone will think of you as a couple and they won't  suspect anything."
"Very well, father. I will do as you say and marry Prince Julius." Said Cana as she bowed before Yamato.
"Wait a minute. This is all happening too fast. Aren't we rushing things?  We don't even know anything about each other."
"Don't worry about that. You will have plenty of time for that. Now that everything is settled,  why don't  you go and rest?  You must be tired after such a long day." Said Ishin as he called for a maid. "Please show Tanaka-kun to his room."
"Yes,  master. Right this way please." Said the maid.
"Thank you for everything, Mochizuki-san. I can't thank you enough."
"Not to worry. I am glad to be of service, my prince."
As Yamato left,  Cana came to speak to her father.
"Be alert all the time and take care of him. We don't know when the enemy is going to strike next."
"Yes,  father. "