Night Hunters

Chapter Nine: Welcome Back

"There is no greater glory, than dying for that belief." - Shirogane Eiji

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Tamaki knew that something bad had happened that night when she was on guard duty, and Takao had returned a little after midnight with red puffy eyes and with a look on his face that looked as if someone had died.

Everyone have been exhausted after the mission earlier that day to rescue Nijimura from getting executed. Having been used to going without rest and sleep for three days back during their days as part of the Royal Guard, Tamaki and Shigehiro have opted to take guard duty that night. The rest of the base was currently asleep, worn out from the events of that day. In fact, apart from themselves, the only ones still awake is probably Sakurai who is keeping a strict eye on a resting Nijimura who is still asleep in the infirmary due to the medication in his system, and Haizaki who is currently suffering from a bout of insomnia, and is currently doing an inventory check of their weapons.

"Takao?" Shigehiro spoke up, leaning against the wall opposite Tamaki who had been seated on a crate near the manhole entrance that leads to the surface. The two have been discussing in low tones about what Nijimura might know, and where the real prince had been held. "What's wrong?"

Takao looked at Tamaki with an upset look on his face, along with guilt even as he shifted on his feet. Finally, he took a step towards her, fumbling with something beneath his jacket at the back of his waist. He drew out a long sword with a black sheathe, with the engravings of green dragons visible on it. Takao held it out towards Tamaki silently.

The teal haired girl's eyes widened slightly in horror. She recognised that sword instantly the moment that Takao had held it out to her. How many times had she seen him using that sword? After all, he had that sword specially commissioned after they've graduated from the Academy.

"...Shin-chan is dead." Takao spoke hoarsely, unable to meet Tamaki's eyes even as he continued holding out the sword. "The Red King killed him." Shigehiro's eyes widened in horror. Takao met Tamaki's eyes with hesitance. "I thought..." He gulped, licking at his lips nervously. "I thought that you'd want his sword to...remember him by." His voice cracked.

Tamaki felt her breath get caught in her throat, and for several moments, she found that she couldn't even breathe. "Did... Did he get caught?" Tamaki asked at last, reaching out with a shaking hand and taking the sword from Takao. She fingered the engravings on the sword with her fingertips, feeling every inch of the dragons almost like how a blind man would read Braille.

Takao nodded, feeling a lump in his throat. "He said... He said that he's sorry." He told Tamaki, looking at her hesitantly. "He wants us...to save the prince...to save the kingdom..." He reached into the pockets of his coat, withdrawing a bloodstained paper and handing it to Tamaki with shaking fingers. "His last words..."

Shigehiro closed his eyes briefly, saying a short prayer beneath his breath for the green head before looking towards his childhood friend. Tamaki might have never said anything, but he knew that the teal haired girl misses her best friend and boyfriend, and wished that nothing had ever changed between them.

"Cornering Nijimura-san... Then the execution..." Shigehiro said slowly, looking from face to face. He might not have Tamaki's genius in strategies and tactics, but he is in no way stupid either. He wouldn't have made it as a member of the Royal Guard, even making it as part of the Intelligence Unit if he didn't have some brains. "There's no way that it's unplanned. And I don't think that it's as simple as trying to smoke us out."

Tamaki nodded slowly. "...The Red King probably knew that there is a traitor amongst their midst—within the Royal Guard. The execution... It is to find out who it is," she concluded through tightly gritted teeth. "Damn it!" She pounded her fist against the wall, causing it to echo throughout the tunnel. Tamaki then glanced at the bloodstained paper clenched in her fist before she smoothed the paper out and reading the writing on it.