Night Hunters

Chapter Twelve: Heroes

"Heroes aren't always good people. They are heroes because they kill the bad guys." - Kuroko Tamaki

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The Royal City was unusually quiet and deserted, especially at this time of the day. And then again, it had been that way for the past five days, and the soldiers of Teiko have been getting pretty nervous, as the rebels—Phantom, have been suspiciously silent, with not a hint of activity from them.

There have also been whispers amongst the soldiers within the Royal Guard and even the main Guard—that the rumours are true. And that the man whom they'd been serving and committing atrocious acts in his name for the past four years is a fake, and not the Crown Prince whom they'd sworn fealty to when they've first became a soldier.

A soldier who had been guarding one of the outposts within the Royal City yawned loudly, and his companion whacked him on the head with the sheathe of his sword, a disgruntled look on his face.

"Will you stay sharp?" he reprimanded. "What are you doing—yawning in the middle of the day like that? Not enough sleep last night?"

"I can't help it." The soldier grumbled. "Even as boring as guard duty is, there is always something happening in the Royal City. But now, we would be lucky to even see a mouse in the streets."

His companion was silent for several moments. "Do you think that it's true?" he asked at last. "About the rumours, I mean. And that the King...is a fake?"

"Watch your mouth." The soldier scowled at him. "Those are just rumours. He is the King; there is no doubt about it. The citizens have no right to doubt him, not after what he'd done for us."

His companion stared at him as if he'd grown two new heads.

"Interesting way to put it." A soft voice interrupted them just then, and both soldiers turned around, one hand on their swords, only to see a familiar teal haired young woman dressed in a white shirt with black cargo pants and boots, with a black coat. Next to her is a young man of similar age with messy dark orange hair and dark eyes, also dressed in a similar fashion. Kuroko Tamaki had a cold look in her eyes. "So you mean to tell me that the chaos and terror that he'd wrecked on our kingdom for the past four years is all for our good?" She questioned coldly.

"Traitor—" The soldier never managed to draw his sword out, as a blade appeared in his chest just then, being impaled through his body from behind. Choking on his own blood, he turned only to see his companion's cold eyes, hands grasping onto the sword currently impaled through his chest. "You...traitor...!"

He then collapsed to the ground, dead.

"To be a traitor means that I have to first give my loyalty to the one on the throne." Kasamatsu Yukio hissed in unbridled fury even as he tugged his sword out of the body. "I have never sworn my loyalty to the Red King. The one that I'd sworn my loyalty to is the real Crown Prince!"

Kuroko Tamaki sighed even as she nudged the body with her foot, turning it over so that the dead soldier is now lying face down on the ground. She exchanged looks with Shigehiro who nodded, pulling out a flare gun from his pocket and fired off a green round into the sky.

"It's been a long time, Kasamatsu." Tamaki greeted the man who nodded to her solemnly.

Kasamatsu sheathed his sword, clenching his right hand into a fist and tapping it against his chest—where the heart is. "Welcome back, Commander." Kasamatsu said solemnly. "It's been two years."

"That it has." Tamaki sighed. "So? Who can we trust to be on our side?"

Kasamatsu sighed, looking very tired. "Well, you can trust most of the main Guard to flock to your side, especially if you have the Prince with you," he stated. "As for the Royal Guard... As there aren't that many of us to begin with—especially with the few that have defected not long after you did, there isn't many that we could trust."