Age of Darkness (33 page)

As Keimaro followed Darius into the throne
room, he could still feel the heat rising in his chest.
This guy … led the
destruction of my village? He is the one who physically was present during the
massacre. He should be the first one to die!
His hands were shaking at his
sides, and his eyes were wide with disgust as he glared at Darius’s back. It
took his maximum willpower not to kill the bastard right then and there. He
could hear the clanking of armor behind him, and he knew that any loose actions
would result in his downfall. Nevertheless, that didn’t change the fact that he
wanted to rip this prince apart and burn his remains.

The boy found himself walking on the hard
marble floor once more. A hush fell as the prince moved to stand before his
father. Judal and Keimaro separated and stood on either side of the prince.
Darius’s men stood in a formation behind them as the doors to the throne room closed.
Keimaro folded his arms in front of him as the king left his throne to embrace
his son. Watching them hug, Keimaro’s eye began to twitch. He wanted to cut
them both down at that moment. All of his suppressed anger was now coursing through
his veins at high speed, making his hand tap against his bicep impatiently. The
man who had ordered the destruction of his village and the man who had carried
it out were hugging each other right in front of him. Why didn’t he just skewer
them with his blade right then?

“We should have a celebration in your
honor, Darius! Not only have you come to exterminate the rebels, but you have
also brought great honor to Faar through your military victories! I’m very
proud,” the king said with a wide grin as he gripped Darius’s shoulders.

“Ah,” Darius said with a fake smile, “that
would be lovely, father. However, there is something that I would like to test
first. Your secret weapon, isn’t it? Riku Hikari,” he said, turning to face
Keimaro with a broad grin. His eyes were filled with determination and
eagerness for battle. He cracked his neck as he took a few steps away from his
father, grasping the hilt of his sword, which was sheathed at his side. “I’ve
been riding for a couple of days now, and I’ve been very hungry for some decent
swordplay. My squire told me that you’re considered a prodigy amongst these
guards, hmm?” He slowly slid his blade from its sheath. He twirled the weapon
as it went free into the air and held it out in front of him with a nod. “Entertain
me a bit then.”

Keimaro looked at the king for permission
but was ready to draw his own sword. The king simply sighed and nodded, walking
back to his throne and slumping into the seat, knowing his son wouldn’t stop
the fight. He waved his hand, indicating for Keimaro to continue. The boy’s
heart began to race with excitement as he slid his blade from its sheath,
brandishing it into the silent air. He lowered his head, his dark hair coming
over his eyes as he smiled. “It would be my pleasure, Lord Darius.” He had felt
the heat between them the entire walk to the castle. They both glared at each
other but always smiled. Behind their facades, they both felt some sort of a
strong fire that blazed within them, wanting to battle the other. Each wanted
to see why the other was infamous.

The boy turned and saw General Mundo with a
smile on his face, folding his arms as he stood by the king’s side. Keimaro’s
eyes then flickered to Aika for a brief moment, and he could see the look of
worry on the princess’s face. He sucked in a deep breath and turned to Darius,
admiring the prince’s glittering steel. His golden breastplate shone brightly,
and he was, without a doubt, completely ready for battle.

“Begin!”

The word echoed through the throne room, and
steel clashed, exploding and sending sparks into the air. The two opponents had
slammed against one another, their blades locked tightly, and their weapons
shook in their struggle for dominance. Keimaro was surprised that Darius had
taken the same rushing initiative that he had, charging the opponent straight
on. He disengaged and went low, sweeping his leg outward and dragging it across
the ground in an attempt to take out Darius’s legs. But, the prince, who was
accustomed to battle, leapt into the air after predicting the movements. His
eyes met Keimaro’s while he was in the air. Upon landing, he lunged forward
with a yell, and his blade swept in a downward-cutting arc with beautiful form.

Keimaro spun away, allowing Darius’s blade
to hit the marble floor with a loud clang. His boots squeaked as he slid away,
rising back to his feet. He grunted, lashing forward. He kicked off of the
ground and leapt into the air, spinning multiple times to gain incredible
momentum while slashing downward at Darius, hoping to land a powerful blow.
Even if the prince parried the attack, it would still numb an arm from the
strength of the strike.

Darius moved away in a single instant,
rolling on the ground to evade the slash. He knew not to risk parrying the blow,
and he stumbled to his feet, facing away from Keimaro and grinning widely. “This
is it! Someone who is truly strong! It’s wonderful!” he exclaimed. He turned
and ran at Keimaro while laughing. He gripped his sword in a new way that
Keimaro didn’t recognize and lunged forward, his sword seeming much skinnier
than it had before, like a needle.

Keimaro grunted as he tilted his head, the
blade poking inches from his cheek. He felt a rush of wind hit his face, and
his eyes widened.
What is this speed?
The blade kept coming in a barrage
of blows that were all lunges, no more slashes. The attacks were so fast and
offensive that Keimaro couldn’t do anything except parry and dodge. He
staggered backward, barely evading the flurry of blows that struck him. Small
cuts began to form on his skin as part of his arms and legs were cut from the
unpredictable storm of jabs.

This is bad. I can’t do anything except
dodge!
he thought. Not to mention the fact that he
was still backing up. Eventually he would hit a wall, and that would be the end
of him.
Wait, no! The wall is where I will turn this around.

Keimaro glanced over his shoulder and saw
that he had been pushed almost across the entire room to the wall. The jabs
kept coming, like a needle trying to poke holes in a pillow. He wasn’t any
practice dummy, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to keep on the defensive. “Let’s
see what you’ve got, prince!” he murmured and kicked off of the ground. The
action took the prince by surprise, and he watched as Keimaro placed one foot
on the wall. The Royal Guard pushed off of the wall with incredible strength
and flipped backward through the air, landing where he had left. His body swung,
and his sword tore through the air, swinging with tremendous speed at Darius.

The prince staggered, not expecting the
sudden blow. Keimaro turned his body sideways and kicked out twice, aiming once
for Darius’s diaphragm and the second for this throat. The prince moved out of
range just barely, trying desperately to maintain his balance. Keimaro had to
keep the pressure to ensure that Darius stayed on the defensive. If Darius were
given even a chance to take control of the battle, it would be over for
Keimaro. He had to put everything into his offense.

Keimaro spun his sword, twirling it in the
air. He released the handle as he gripped it backward like a dagger and swiped
it across the air rapidly, pressing Darius back. He blinked when the prince sidestepped
to evade Keimaro’s blow simply by getting out of range. Then Darius took a
quick step forward and shot his needle-like sword outward in a fast jab. There
was no time to react, and if the blade hit, he would die. In that moment of
desperation, Keimaro’s Shokugan activated. It was only a millisecond, used to
rotate his body in a perfect spin so that the prince’s blade shot past him. His
irises changed back to their original dark color, and he found himself behind
Darius.

The prince’s eyes widened at what had just
happened. He gasped as his legs were taken out from underneath him in a swift
moment. He grunted and hit the ground hard on his back, the wind driven from
his lungs. He saw motion over his head as Keimaro flipped and spun over the
prince, landing upon him. The boy’s fist came crashing downward and stopped
several inches from Darius’s face, shaking furiously.

The king sat forward in his chair,
intrigued by Keimaro’s sudden turn-around. He clapped with an outburst of
laughter. “Riku, you truly have shown me a sight that I haven’t seen before.”
He didn’t seem the least bit disappointed in the fact that his son had been
defeated.

Keimaro was breathing heavily as he glared
down at Darius, restraining himself from tearing the prince apart. He bit his
lip and closed his eyes. Killing him now would do nothing. If anything, it
would only set them back more. He had to wait until the Bounts were here before
he decided to kill anyone. He slowly rose to his feet and extended a hand to
the prince, offering to pull him up. “Are you okay, milord?” Every time he said
the word
lord
, he felt as if he wanted to vomit.

“I’m all right, thank you,” Darius said,
allowing himself to be pulled to his feet as he gave Keimaro a small smile. “That
was quite the performance. Never in all of my years have I seen someone with
such remarkable talent and strikingly deadly blows as you. I wonder why your
talented is being wasted in the castle guarding my sister against an invisible
enemy rather than on the front lines massacring thousands of Spartans. But then
again, I suppose these assassins must be quite strong if my father had to call
me in.” Darius reached around his neck and yanked off a gold chain. He held the
chain up, letting a small locket dangle in the air. “As a token of my gratitude
for sparing my life and for defeating me … you were the first, so I must insist
that you take this.”

“Milord, I couldn’t….”

“I insist,” Darius said, placing the locket
in Keimaro’s hands and slowly closing the boy’s fingers around it. “At any
rate, I must go and bathe now. It’s been a long ride, and I’m quite fatigued. I
suspect there will be some sort of a ball, knowing you, father?”

“Yes, tonight!” the king said, rather
excited.

“Perfect, I will see you all tonight then.
Thank you for the battle, Riku,” Darius said, giving a small nod to his
squadron of soldiers as they began to file out of the throne room. Darius shot Keimaro
a swift look over his shoulder along with a sly smile that stained his lips as
he vanished through the doorway.

Keimaro watched the prince for a moment,
his heart thumping as he wiped the sweat from his brow. There was a small
chance that, in the millisecond he had activated the Shokugan, Darius had seen
him. But the prince hadn’t outright announced the discovery, so perhaps he hadn’t
noticed.
But that look he gave me sure was unsettling.

The Royal Guard felt a tap on his shoulder
as Judal and his fellow guards practically leapt onto him in a cheerful embrace
with outbursts of laughter. “Where did you learn to do that?” his captain
exclaimed, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “Were you born in a circus or
something? Those flips were insane! And the speed of your attacks were beyond
belief! Are you going to teach me how to do that?”

“That was absolutely incredible!” one guard
called out.

“You’re the man, Riku!” a second said.

Keimaro’s eyes widened at the praise that was
being thrown at him. He couldn’t help but feel warmth in his chest from these
new comrades that surrounded him. He smiled. All of the soldiers suddenly straightened
when the king cleared his throat. In unison, the guards dropped to their knees
and bowed before their lord.

“Forgive us, milord! We spoke out of turn!”
they all said at the same time.

The king burst out laughing and descended
the steps of his golden throne to Keimaro. He tipped Keimaro’s chin up and gave
him a smile, as they looked each other in the eye. “You’re something else if
you were able to best my son. I truly do feel safe around you. My daughter
informed me that you will be taking her to tonight’s ball, is that correct?”

Keimaro’s face turned bright red as he remembered
Aladdin’s story about how his eye had been cut for interacting with Aika.
However, the king simply smiled when the boy nodded his head.

“Don’t get too rowdy,” the king said with a
small smile. “You may take my daughter tonight. I trust you’ll take care of her
and keep her out of trouble. Take the rest of the day off to prepare yourself.
Judal, escort my daughter to her room and make sure that she is ready for
tonight’s feast. Also arrange to set up your guards in a perimeter around the
castle, just in case. We wouldn’t want any disturbances on my son’s first night
home.”

“Yes, milord,” Judal said, pounding his
chest in response as a formation of soldiers moved around Aika the very moment
that she stepped off of her throne. “Yo, Riku,” he called as they walked past. “I’ll
meet you up in the room, okay?”

“Sure thing,” Keimaro said with a nod as he
stood up from the ground and was suddenly confronted by the king.

The king simply grinned and touched his
shoulder. “I’ll see you later tonight then. I’ll have some men get some attire
for you for tonight’s ball. You deserve a dance with my daughter after such a
display of talent.” He gave him a small nod before he began to leave the room
along with another squadron of guards.