Author's Note: I'm just going to sneakily update this. I promise I'll finish this one day.

Chapter 19

–

In the end, Syusuke chose to go to his meeting with Tezuka.

Ryoma convinced himself that it was for the best. After all, putting Ryoma within an international spotlight was the one of the worst things that could ever happen; he might expose himself to Yukimura's allies or even to Yukimura himself. Still, Ryoma found himself unsatisfied, discontent, and frustrated. Worst of all, he was not sure why he felt that way.

Ever since that day, Ryoma and Syusuke had not had time to be alone with each other. They were not intentionally avoiding one another… or at least, Ryoma was not. The prince felt increasingly distant as his work began to pile up, and Ryoma's bodyguarding shifts were as scarce as they were before.

Normally, Ryoma would be glad to have fewer shifts, as it meant that he had more time to slack off, but the more he thought about it, the more he missed Syusuke.

He wanted to see him.

His legs brought him to Tezuka's office without his knowledge, and he had knocked the door before he realized it. And the captain, of course, promptly opened the door.

"I want a shift," Ryoma stated bluntly. "Let me switch with someone."

Ryoma could not read Tezuka's expression as the two of them stood at the door quietly. Tezuka appeared to contemplate for a few seconds before he broke the silence.

"You do know the reason why you only have night shifts recently is because-"

"I know," Ryoma interrupted frustratedly. "I know."

The following silence was deafening and uncomfortably long. Ryoma's fingers slowly clenched into a fist, his nails digging into the palm of his hand. The bodyguard never broke eye contact with his captain, no matter how difficult it was.

"I want to see him," added Ryoma.

I want to see him so badly. I want to- I need to talk to him.

For each second Tezuka stayed silent, Ryoma's restlessness increased tenfold. He could feel the cold sweat forming on his palms as he struggled to keep his nails from etching too deeply into his skin.

"Fine," said Tezuka after a few long minutes. "I can't let you switch with anyone, but if you don't mind working extra and you are certain that you have no other work for the time being, you can replace another person on their shift and give them a break."

Ryoma let out a sigh, feeling a sudden relief. "I'm okay with that."

Tezuka nodded at him. "Find Momoshiro. He is in charge of guarding the prince until the evening. You may take over his shift for today if you wish."

Ryoma gave the captain a bow and muttered, "Thanks."

As soon as Tezuka returned to his work and closed the door to his office, Ryoma turned and ran. He did not know exactly where the prince was, but he did not care. He would find him.

It did not surprise Ryoma when he quickly found his target at the courtyard. The bodyguard knew the prince's daily schedule well enough to remember this is where he would be on some days just a little before noon.

Momo was standing in the shade next to some trees, while Syusuke practiced his sword swings under the soft sunlight. Ryoma stopped running subconsciously and gazed at the prince while catching his breath.

The sword swings were elegant as always. Syusuke was barely sweating during his practice, his hair flowing gracefully with the slight autumn breeze. Even though the two of them were not facing each other, Ryoma swore he could see Syusuke's beautiful blue eyes at a distance, glistening with determination.

Ryoma exhaled. He must be hallucinating, he thought to himself. Probably the sunlight's fault.

The young bodyguard slowly made his way towards Momo, who waved at him with a big smile. The prince quickly noticed him as well and stopped his practice momentarily.

"Hey, Echizen! What's up?"

"I'm taking over your shift. Captain's approved it already."

"Seriously? You sure love taking over my shifts, don't you? You workaholic," Momo said while patting Ryoma's head.

"It's only the second time, Momo-senpai. Don't get too excited about it," Ryoma replied dryly.

"Ain't gonna say no to a well-deserved break! Not at all," Momo exclaimed while stretching his arms. "I'll see you later, Echizen!"

Momo bowed in the direction of Syusuke as the prince himself approached the two of them slowly. Syusuke acknowledged Momo's leave by a wave of his hand, and the older bodyguard exited the courtyard swiftly.

Syusuke's eyes never broke contact with Ryoma's.

"Fuji-senpai," Ryoma greeted.

"Hello, Ryoma," Syusuke said. "I feel like I haven't seen you in a while."

Ryoma could feel a lump inside his throat as he swallowed. "I feel the same way."

The two stayed silent as Syusuke entered the shade under the tree, stopping right next to the young bodyguard. The usual smile was strangely absent, replaced by an expressionless and unreadable face. The charming sapphire eyes seemed to stare right into Ryoma's soul, and it took all of Ryoma's willpower to stop himself from averting his own eyes.

"I checked your schedule," Syusuke said. "I thought you don't have any day shifts for the next few weeks. Months, if I'm remembering correctly."

"I don't," Ryoma responded.

There was a long pause. Ryoma knew Syusuke was looking for some kind of explanation, but Ryoma could not bring himself to elaborate on anything. He had promised not to.

And it almost felt like he was betraying Syusuke. So instead of staying silent, his mouth began spilling out words he was not intending to say.

"But I really wanted to see you."

Surprise colored Syusuke's face. Clearly, Ryoma's response was not what he was expecting. Elegant fingers trailed Ryoma's cheek and lifted his chin gently, softly forcing the bodyguard to face the prince's direction.

"Your schedule," Syusuke muttered, "you didn't plan it yourself, did you?"

"No," Ryoma blurted out, somewhat distracted by the warmth of the fingers on his chin. "I don't think the captain can control the times on it, either."

Slowly, the usual smile returned onto Syusuke's face as his fingers let go of Ryoma. The bodyguard almost felt a pang of disappointment when the warmth on him disappeared. The prince had started to open up and initiate more physical contact with him before they stopped seeing each other, and Ryoma would be lying if he said he didn't miss it.

But Ryoma was at least thankful that the chill of the autumn wind had snapped him back to reality.

"Senpai, are you free today?"

Syusuke hid his blue eyes behind his brightening smile. "I always have time for you."

"I'm serious, Fuji-senpai."

"And I'm just as serious."

Ryoma gave the prince a scowl as best as he could, but it was difficult to hold the scowl for long when the smile of the prince face felt so genuinely happy. It was not long before the infectious smile appeared on Ryoma's face as well.

"Let's go outside the palace," said Ryoma.

Syusuke was stunned for a few seconds before quickly saying with a grin, "I'll go get ready. Escort me to my room."

–

It took almost no time for the prince to get ready and even less time for the two of them to sneak out of the palace. At some point, Ryoma's hand had taken hold of Syusuke's while they ran stealthily away from the palace walls. It felt natural – the way they held their hands together.

They did not discuss where they would be going, but both of them instinctively ran in the same direction, as if they had discussed this beforehand. Their footsteps were almost entirely in sync until they stopped at the same time.

It was the same park where the watched the cherry blossoms together. Except this time, the flowers were not blooming, and the leaves on the trees were orange and gold to signify the middle of fall. They slowly walked on top of a stone path covered in leaves. Ryoma wanted to untangle his fingers from Syusuke's, but he found the prince's fingers grabbing onto his insistently.

"Have you ever had the feeling," Syusuke whispered suddenly, staring at Ryoma out of the corner of his eyes, "that something bad is coming, even though everything is perfectly fine around you?"

Ryoma wished he wasn't the type to always meet people's eyes when they talked. It would be much easier if he could just look up at the trees instead of responding to Syusuke's gaze. However, no matter how much he resisted, Ryoma still ended up turning his head towards Syusuke.

Ryoma's eyes met with a glistening azure.

"Mada mada dane, senpai," Ryoma dodged the question. "Everyone feels that way once in a while. It's not unusual."

The prince opened his mouth for a second before closing it, as if he were hesitating to say something. Syusuke's eyes were doubtful and apprehensive, lacking in the confidence that was normally present.

A few moments passed before the silence was broken.

"I wonder why," Syusuke said, lips curling downwards, "it feels like you are about to disappear any second. Is it just my imagination?"

Ryoma's breathing hitched. No one in the world could read minds; the bodyguard knew that, but at that moment, he wondered if Syusuke read his thoughts.

"I made a promise to stay by your side," Ryoma stated, putting on a façade of calmness, "and I intend to keep that promise."

–

At some point, they walked back to the castle. It was getting dark, and it would have been dangerous for the prince to stay outside the castle walls for any longer than necessary. As much as Ryoma loved breaking every rule in the book, he would rather be safe than sorry.

Especially now, he added inside his mind. If Yukimura is coming, we have to be prepared for anything.

Syusuke was safely escorted back to his bedroom. On their way back, Ryoma would sometimes catch Syusuke staring at him with those sapphire eyes; and Ryoma's breathing would pause as he got lost in them every time without fail. The young bodyguard could not help but blink and look away for a couple of times it happened. Those eyes always distracted him from his own thoughts.

Syusuke was still giving him that look. The look when the prince wanted to say something but did not want to actually voice it.

"If you have something to say, say it," Ryoma said curtly.

A smile, and then, "If I say that I want you to come over more often, even if you have to take on more shifts like today, would you do it?"

Perhaps it was Ryoma's imagination, but the heat was getting to him despite the chilliness of autumn.

The bodyguard was finding it hard to look at his prince. "Mada mada dane," he responded, "you only need to say the word. I'll be there."

Slender fingers brushed his bangs, fixing the messy hair in front, then the hand trailed upwards and landed on top of the bodyguard's head. Ryoma felt a couple of pats.

"Good night, Ryoma," Syusuke said gently.

"… Good night, Fuji-senpai."

And the door to Syusuke's room was closed. Ryoma lingered outside for a couple more minutes before Kawamura arrived to take over. He greeted the older bodyguard briefly before slowly walking back to his own room.

The corridor back to his own room felt impossibly cold and empty for this season.

Just as he approached his own room, he heard a sound from inside the room. It was a faint sound of something dropping onto the wooden floor, but it was enough to alert the bodyguard, nonetheless. Ryoma's placed his left hand on the hilt of his katana.

If it's who I think it is, I should have nothing to worry about.

Ryoma opened the door cautiously, and he was greeted by a familiar face.

"Hey, long time no see, Chibisuke."

Echizen Ryoga. Of course. Who else would be inside my room unannounced at this hour?

"What do you want?"

A grin appeared on the face eerily similar to his own.

"Hey, don't be so cold to your brother. It breaks my heart," Ryoga replied jokingly. "I'm sneaking you out of here, of course. Tonight's the night. You ready?"

Ryoma's heart grew cold and stopped beating for a few seconds.

"Tonight?"

Ryoga approached his brother with a playful frown and lightly knocked on Ryoma's head. "Didn't I send you a letter about this a couple months ago? Or was that a few weeks ago? Granted, I didn't give you an exact date, but," Ryoga paused, "don't tell me you didn't get my memo."

The harsh reality of his own situation took several long moments to seep back into Ryoma's brain.

"… I'm not leaving," Ryoma said with an air of finality.

The playfulness in Ryoga's expression was gone. "Why?"

Ryoma had no answer for his brother.

"Maybe you don't understand how serious this is, but your life is on the line here. We've spent years planning for this, and you want to throw all of this away?" Ryoga questioned. "The people here will never be on your side, Chibisuke. The politics will never allow them to help you. When you need it the most, do you really think that prince you love so much will come and save you?"

Syusuke's gentle smile surfaced within Ryoma's thoughts.

"It's not his job to save me," Ryoma replied, "but it's my job to save him and stay by his side."

Ryoga sighed dramatically and shook his head. "Nanako is going to lecture me when I get back."

The younger brother gave a mischievous smirk. "Shouldn't you have tried harder to convince me to stick to the plan?"

"Will you change your mind if I tried?"

Ryoma shook his head.

"Exactly. I know you too well to waste my time on that," Ryoga said and ruffled Ryoma's hair. "I'll be in the area for a couple more months, probably. You know how to reach me if you need help."

And just like that, Ryoga stepped outside of Ryoma's room and disappeared from the palace. Ryoma stared at the door of his room with an anxious feeling nagging at his heart.

There's no turning back now.

Author's Note: I wonder if people have already forgotten about this fic LOL. If you're still here, please drop a review or follow. The follows from the past half a year is the whole reason why I'm still here.