For my Kingdom, For our Love

2 - Hiding Thoughts.

Tsukasa sat down on his bed and began to take off his gear. He couldn't tell his family that he was going on a suicide mission?! That's just cruel! He sighed and took the previously hidden ring out of his pocket. "Soon, my love, soon" He whispered and kissed the band as he slid it back onto his ring finger. He places his clothes in their respective spots and lays down on his bed, looking up at his bedroom ceiling. "I can't keep doing this forever.." He spoke to himself. "I'm 26 years old..uh nevermind that but i'm still living at home.. plus.." He ran his finger over the band again, it always gave him comfort whenever he needed it. "I've been away from you too long.."

"Brother~ who are you talking to?" Saki suddenly poked her head through the door. "Ah! No-one, Saki, don't worry, just me" He sat up and smiled at her. "Ok..? Anyway mom says foods ready!" She exclaimed before running back downstairs, her footsteps echoing the whole house. "That was quick" He got up and followed his sister down.

The weekend passed quickly, and seemingly suddenly, the knights were having their final practice before being sent out. A lot of families had already gathered. Tsukasa walked out of the training grounds to be met with a loud roaring. "YOU CANT! YOU CANT GO, AKITO, YOU'LL BE KILLED!" A brown haired girl was tugging out of a very familiar friend of Tsuksa's. "Ena, I have to, calm down-"

"NO! DONT YOU SEE IT? YOU SAW WHAT MOM THOUGHT! WHY DO THIS TO YOURSELF?!" She cried. She obviously didn't enjoy the thought of her brother leaving. Tsukasa thought that it might be good to intervene. He walked over to the pair and politely stepped in. "Miss Shinonome?" He had to make sure it was her since I had been a while since they last met. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes and let go of her grip on her brother. "Ah, Sir Tenma!" She bowed slightly as a form of respect. "I-Uh, I'd just like to reassure you, your brother will be in my care until our paths separate in the forest, so please try not to worry too much" He smiled at her. "B-but- Don't you know what they say about the forest?! Apparently Kamishiro's army are unforgiving-!"

Akito then spoke up. "Tenma knows the forest better than anyone in this whole kingdom, Ena, take his word for it. If anyone can stop Kamishiro, its him" Ena seemed to be processing this information. "Fine, but just be extra careful, ok? I'll see you again before you go" She said. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" Akito joked. "You're never usually like this". Ena scoffed at him. "Well usually my younger brother doesn't get chosen to go on a suicide mission, but anyway"

Akito just gave her a somewhat reassuring smile before walking off with Tsukasa. "Thanks, Tenma, she always gets super emotional with this stuff" Akito said. "It's fine, if you think that's bad, just wait until my mom and sister get here, the kingdom is going to be a river" Tsukasa let out a small chuckle. "Did you tell them what sort of mission this is?" Akito asked him. "No, I couldn't, plus, at least I have a bit of an advantage in the Hidden Forest" He explained. "Does he know? That you're going, I mean"

"I'm not sure.. maybe? Either way, very few in his army know who I am, the only advantage I get is if he sees me, still". Akito laughed. "Tsukasa Tenma, the King of contradicting his own words!"

"Hey! Respect your upperclassmen!" Tsukasa replied jokingly. "On a more serious note, what is your plan?" He asked. "Well.." Akito began. "I'm going to travel until we reach a certain point in the forest, and then pretend to be going after some of Kamishiro's army, when in reality, I'll be making my way to the other kingdom"

"That's good, and as I said, I'll stick with you until we split" Tsukasa smiled. "Thanks, Tenma"

Just then, Tsukasa could see his family looking for him in the distance. "Ah, sorry, my family are here, please excuse me" He excused himself and made his way over to his mother and sister. As expected, they were as emotional as ever. His mother instantly wrapped her arms around him, tears rolling down her face. "I'm so proud of you, Tsukasa, be really really careful, ok?" She sobbed. "I will, Mom, don't worry". His mother rubbed his back before slowly backing out of the hug. Her spot in Tsukasa's arms was quickly filled by his younger sister, Saki, who clung onto him for dear life. "Don't go, Tsukasa, you can't go..!" She begged. Tsukasa put his arms around her comfortingly. "Saki, Everything's going to be ok, so please don't worry". Everything he was saying was very repetitive, but there was nothing else to be said. There was suddenly an announcement made over the loud speakers positioned near the training grounds.

"All knights that are to be dispatched, please make your way to the stables to mount your horses, further instructions to follow"

Tsukasa released himself gently from the embrace with Saki. He hated leaving her like this, but he had to, For his kingdom.

"I love you, Mom, I love you, Saki" He couldn't resist giving them both one final hug each before leaving.

He approached the stables and mounted his horse as instructed. He had managed to do it a lot quicker than some of the other knights, due to having a lot of experience. Tsukasa had been a member of the Kingdoms knights since he was 14 years old, meaning it was over 10 years of experience. When everyone was prepared properly, one of the higher-classed knights came in to speak with them. "Alright, you know the plan. Fight until you can fight no more, Sir Tenma, you are the only captain on this mission, so you will lead until the team breaks to attack, understood?" He explained. "Yes, Sir!"

"Good, now, Queen Asahina will greet you as you're about to leave, she will explain the rest. This is the time to show those idiots what the Asahina Kingdoms men are capable of, good luck, soldiers" He said, proceeding to open the stable gates to allow the knights to make their ways into the crowded area outside of the palace walls. Queen Asahina was already waiting on her balcony, her old fashioned microphone in hand. Once everyone was out, she began to speak. "I am overjoyed to see that all of my.. wonderful knights showed up to represent their kingdom!" She forced a cringy smile onto her face. "Good luck, my soldiers, you have served this kingdom well". There was a lot of confused and concerned commotion from the gathered crowd, murmurs of this mission being one of no return, which was a nicer way to say that the knights were being sent to their deaths. While all of this was happening, the Queen simply sat there with a sickeningly sweet grin on her face. One of the younger knights made his way closer to Tsukasa. "Uh.. Sir? She didn't explain.." He said bashfully. "Don't worry, it's simple, just.. fight." Tsukasa hesitated with his words, this all felt wrong to him. "Sir Tenma..? I don't want to die yet, I'm only 15.." The young boy blurted out, causing Tsukasa's eyes to widen. The Queen sent a child on one of these missions?! But then again, Tsukasa was one of those children once, so he understood.

"If you can't fight anymore, then retreat, you're so young, and just so you know, it is so, so brave of you to be doing this, please don't let your talents be wasted on one single mission, you have so much to live for.." He explained reassuringly. The young boy thanked him and got back in line, and with that, they were off. The men of the Asahina Kingdoms knight corps, making their way to the edge of the kingdom, to the border, about to make history.