Crack
"AHHH!"
Agony could be heard within his voice, those hoarse vocals ringing throughout the square.
Yet the people cheered.
Warm red blood slid down the man's back, pain aching through his shoulders as his beautiful crimson wings laid on the floor. Blood covered the roots of the wings. The very wings Ryu had called pretty when they were still children. The wings he cherished so dearly were stripped away from him in mere seconds. Those wings of his that once resembled his sister's own wings back when they were still young children; free and innocent from all the pain and corruption from this world.
His normally shiny, gorgeous, black, and red scaled wings now lay dull and covered in blood, swept aside recklessly on the cold, rough stone floor. The sharp pebbles etched into Kaito's knees. The pain reminded him of the day where he heard his sister's screams and his father's sobs. The day where he felt helpless and ignored, cowering behind his dad. None of them remembered this now. His father was gone, and his sister was too young at the time to remember any of those cruel memories.
Still throughout, Kaito remembered.
A small smile settled over him, gentle and distant. His mind wandered through those glorious memories he had with his family and friends. Picnics with Ryu, staying up late doing Akari and Iroha's makeup, giving shoulder rides to Haru. Memories that would just stay frozen, and never happen again.
A burst of pain went through Kaito's body again, though this time he held in the scream, not letting them get to him once more.
Smiling into the sky, Kaito thought of the future he wanted, the future he could've had.
Yet still throughout, he was robbed of this wondrous future.
Thud
Blood dripped down the floor, still warm from the life held within the person just seconds ago, the young man's black and red hair shone against the glaring winter sunlight and those unnaturally vibrant gold eyes glittered as it faced the snow. Cheers could be heard from the back of the crowd of people attending this wondrous execution of an awful draconian, the man who the people had grown very suspicious of lately, with their suspicious confirmed after discovering a love letter sent from the young noble himself, Kaito Hoshino, to their beloved crown prince.
A pale blue carriage with gold accents stopped to a halt suddenly as the prince's personal guard noticed the commotion and the blood spilling from the center, with a person sitting beneath a guillotine.
"Why did we just stop?" A voice sounded from the inside of the carriage, gentle as the creamy honey and calming like the ocean waves.
"Ah, sir, there seems to be a disturbance in the town square. The people seemed to target a new man this time."
"Who?"
"Sir Kai-Kaito Hoshino," The sobbing from the guard could be heard from the inside of the carriage, and that one name the young prince painstakingly heard caused his heart to shatter into a million pieces in just split seconds.
"W-What-" His voice broke, tears pouring out from the prince, Ryu's hazel eyes. The fabric of his silk shirt dampened from the tear drops, the wind in the air brushed harshly against his body as Ryu stood stiffly against the carriage, trying to not fall down.
Loud, muffled cheers could be heard, though Ryu ignored them all, looking only at where Kaito kneeled down, body lifelessly in place and head limply rolled to the side, a trail of blood coming from where it had dropped from his body by the guillotine.
Footstep echoes died down as the guards approached Ryu closer.
"NO-"
The sudden outburst of sound from the young prince jolted the guards back, unsure of what to do, their crown prince seemingly unstable after the death of his 'soulmate'.
Confusion spread throughout the audience, the villains of the current show, yet still oblivious to the harm they had caused to their beloved prince.
"What's going on?"
"Why is the prince up there?"
"Is he crying because of the assassin? Didn't we all say that man would kill our prince?"
"Sir Hoshino was an attempted murderer!"
"Isn't that the prince?"
"Mommy, why is the prince crying?"
"SILENCE," Gasps echoed throughout the city courtyard, murmurs whispered amongst the people. "Please stay calm and return to your homes. Those on the podium please stay still." A tall, charming [some high up rank] stood at the entrance leading into the palace, his silky blond hair blowing in the wind. Light drizzles of rain fell down, the crimson colored blood on the podium spread out, footsteps running up the podiums steep stairs.
Skin only slightly warm, Ryu prayed to the gods that his Kaito, his boyfriend, his soulmate, still had a chance of being alive, though deep down the brunet knew already that the one person who truly understood him in and out was never coming back.
That once bright smile which lit up his face and those around him was never coming back. Only the dim, once unnaturally bright golden eyes looked up, lifeless, at Ryu's face.
"P-please, come back... smile once-once more for me my an-angel," tears streaked down his soft, porcelain like face. Ryu's once carefree and bright personality shattered the moment his sun disappeared. Almost as if he was like the plants that thrived off the sun, photosynthesizing and absorbing all of the water and sunlight around them. Kaito was his sun, and Ryu basked under it, the 'sunshine' giving him motivation each day to work harder, to strive further, and to never give up no matter what obstacles were in his way. But this was different. Without a reason to continue with his regular work and not just abruptly run off to the small summer cottage his family kept for when royal work was too hard and a break was needed.
His flowing silk shirt soaked underneath the rain; tears and raindrops combined, the salty and iron like taste of his pain and blood from sobbing into Kaito's body sunk itself into his tastebuds.
The castle guards looked at Ryu in pain in pity, knowing how happy Ryu always was when beside Kaito, Ryu's very own sunflower even in the darkest times.
Dark clouds covered the sky, and the town square was a mess. Mothers looking for their children and looking on with pity at the young prince; guards shooing the plebeians away and back to their homes; everyone escaping from the pain they had caused for their supposed 'beloved' prince. Though none of them would ever understand how much Ryu cared for Kaito no matter the consequences.
What was the point of living if the only reason for you to stay was already dead?
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YOU ARE READING
Just a Lifetime More | ONC 2026
Romance"Kaito?" The world seemed to tilt. "Um... who are you?" Ryu's chest tightened. He'd known this boy once. He'd loved him. And now... he was a stranger to him. -- ONC 2026 p r o m p t s: [m a i n] 29. You will meet many people in your life. Many...
