Author: Tschubi-chan

e-mail: keiji_izumi@yahoo.com

Title: As time goes by

Warnings: shonen-ai, Au, romance, angst, fantasy

Rating: PG-13

Pairings: the ever so lovely RanxKen mixed with just a tiny bit of YoujixKen, further pairings to be revealed in future chapters

Spoilers: none...you all know Aya´s real name, ne?

Disclaimer: I asked Koyasu-sama and his gang to lend me their characters and here they are! smile Actually the poor guy doesn't have a clue what I'm doing with his beloved assassins, but what Koyasu doesn't know, can't kill him, ne?! grin

A/N: I bet you all thought I would never continue this and leave you all hanging? Guess what... you were all so wrong!!! I just stopped writing because I didn't have time to write and prepare for my language exams. At least I passed one of them for sure. I have to see about the other one.

Many thanks to all who reviewed my latest stories "The Wild Hunt" and "Always will be". You have no idea how insecure I have been about those two projects. Your positive feedback helped a lot!!!

Some of you were surprised that "Always will be" turned out rather dark without a happy end. Did I forget to mention it in the disclaimer? Oops. giggles nervously Well, Ran can't get little Kenken all the time, can he? gets hit by angry readers If you were shocked about this ending, how will you react when I finish "The Wild Hunt"? smirks evilly At least I can assure you that both "Eternal Return" and "ATGB" will definitively have a happy end. Just the question who will end up with whom is still to be answered grin.

Some last notes to "Always will be". I know that there were questions left open, as for instance how Ken hooked up with his brother and what that damned single mission of his really was. That was intended! I actually didn't plan on writing a sequel, but if I ever change my mind, I have these questions as a basis for the new story. Don't jump to conclusions now. My answer to a sequel is as of yet neither yes nor no. I still have several other projects in mind, that I want to realise first and I want to hear Portia´s opinion since I wrote "Always will be" for her birthday! .

Dedication for this chapter goes as usual to Yaoke-san with much thanks for hosting my stories at her home-page glomps her.

Second dedication goes to Portia for bugging me to continue this and encouraging me due to a case of severe writer's block concerning the beginning of this chapter. Watch out for her "Upon a painted Ocean"! It's a fantastic story!!!! smile

Chapter4 – Departing I

*Royal Castle of Weiß Kingdom, throne room*

The sun was shining brightly through the open windows of the throne room. A mild breeze moved silken curtains in a soft, fluent manner. Birds from the royal gardens could be heard outside and if Youji listened closely, he could hear Prince Ken's soft laughter accompanied by occasional light heartened growls of Storm and the soft baritone of Prince Ran.

Youji´s handsome face twisted into a scowl. Ever since the heir of Fujimiya had arrived at the castle, the redhead had hardly left the side of his young protégé. To his silent dismay Ken had made it clear that as long as he was present he didn't want to see them fight. Obviously someone had told the gentle boy how he had treated the other Prince at his arrival, because the request had been especially directed at him. Not wanting to blow up in front of Ken and thus hurt him unintentionally, he had decided to avoid Ran the best he could while still watching both from the distance.

Several weeks had passed since then and the day of the fateful thunderstorm that sealed the friendship of the heirs of Weiß and Fujimiya. Luckily for the redhead Youji didn't find out that he had slept in the same room as his charge, no worse in the same bed, that night or else he might have done something stupid that though he might not have regretted it, could have started a war between both kingdoms.

Youji, though, did notice that they became closer to each other with each passing day and even if he didn't want to admit it, he knew that he was jealous of Ran. Jealous for snatching away Ken's affection from him.

He was certain that Ken didn't even know that he liked Ran so much, yet his whole body language betrayed him. Emerald eyes that lit up whenever the other was around, a soft smile that graced his lips constantly now, words that were spoken in a soft, caressing manner, sometimes teasing sometimes playful, sometimes thoughtful or sometimes full of hidden love. The young brunette was naive and innocent when it came to love, but it was plain obvious that he held a very deep affection for Prince Ran.

Youji wanted to hate the moody redhead for stealing what was supposed to be his, but strangely found it impossible to do so. He had to admit that Ran was a wonderful companion for their sometimes shy and uncertain prince although he had feared otherwise at first. Ken had been less self-conscious lately, easily accepting a compliment from Ran as well as other people.

The whole castle had cheered when Yuushi, Duke of the Eastern Territories had called Prince Ken a beautiful and endearing young man, and Ken in return had simply smiled and then nodded gracefully in thanks instead of denying it as he would have done usually.

On the other hand Ken seemed to have a very calming effect on the moody redhead. From what the servants told and what he experienced first-hand, he seemed to have opened up a lot lately, showing bits of emotions not only around the Prince or his cousin Omi. Youji caught him one day smiling over one of the jokes a servant made. If Youji didn't know better he could swear that Ran and Ken were born for each other, but he discarded the thought with a snort and blamed it on reading too much about the legendary prophecy of Weiß Kingdom.

If Ran were to be Ken's soulmate, he would never have a chance at declaring his feelings to the boy and the simple thought hurt like hell. He scurried over to the open windows and glanced out into the gardens. Rays of sunlight tickled his face and the wind decided that his shoulder-length blonde hair was much fun to play with blowing some strands into his face and eyes.

A soft melancholic smile graced his lips and he sighed . On days like these he could almost forget that not only the Kingdom of Fujimiya had been threatened recently. But, other than their powerful neighbour, they didn't have the slightest clue as to who their enemy was.

Weiß was a fairly peaceful kingdom. Battles against armies from other countries, bands of robbers or anything that posed a threat to their lives were only mentioned in ancient scripts and even then, nobody was sure anymore how much of these stories were true or not.

Yet, recently well-loved and known nobles tended to disappear only to be found dead a few days later. Some of the smaller villages near the mountains had been attacked at night and robbed of money, cattle and food. A few peasants had been killed trying to defend their property, but didn't stand a chance against the weapons of their unknown enemy.

Rumours told that Bradley Crawford, son of King Takatori of Schwarz Kingdom, was to be held responsible for the attacks, but they hadn't been able to prove anything, yet.

Crawford though heir to Schwarz had been staying in Weiß for almost ten years now. He was told to be a clever businessman able to make money out of everything. He had been slowly gaining power first in the cities at the sea, later even at the court.

Youji was pretty sure that he had seen the young lord once or twice. He thought he remembered one day when the tall black-headed man graced Prince Ken with some very rare flowers as a gift.

His young charge had been overjoyed, but the blonde adviser supposed that there had been a reason for Crawford to apply such a gift for their prince. He didn't like the way the man had looked at Ken and he would be damned if he let the man anywhere close to him in the near future.

As his thoughts drifted back to the little brunette who had captured his heart so easily with one glorious, toothless smile fifteen years back, Youji let his gaze wander through the vast royal gardens. He wasn't able to make out anything other than flowers at first, but soon caught sight of the prince close to the centre of the gardens.

Ken was chasing after Storm who growled playfully and seemed to seek immense joy out of teasing the boy. It was very obvious that he didn't mind at all. After all Ken hadn't been able to run for weeks having fallen off the tree weeks before.

He also noticed Prince Ran sitting a bit off the two under a Sakura tree just being content observing the laughing brunette and his guardian. There was such a peace and tranquillity in the man's face that it was nearly overwhelming. Youji got a suspicion that no one ever saw him like that. Totally off guard, simply enjoying the brightness of the day and the cheerful boy next to him. He smiled softly when Prince Ken turned around and called him to join them. There was no shyness as it would be usually displayed from the boy's side. Just simple openness and adoration towards each other.

The thought angered him more than anything else, because it proved effectively that the redhead was probably closer to Ken than he would ever be. He had known Ken for his whole life, practically raising the boy up and being there for him all the time. Yet, this man who had been at the palace for barely more than three weeks, already managed to achieve what had taken him years.

He sighed. There was no need to be angry. If the redhead made his little prince happy, he would accept that.

But, if he ever dared hurt him, he would be there to punish him and the Prince of Fujimiya would not live to tell about it.

"Lord Kudou!"

The King´s voice startled him out of his thoughts and with a little regret he turned around loosing sight of the couple and the white wolf. He faced his Lord and uncle and bowed a little to show his respect. King Persia dismissed the gesture with a wink of a hand and looked at him gravely.

"Your Majesty? Is anything the matter", he asked formally. A hint of worry tinted his voice.

Persia turned towards several other advisers present in the throne room and nodded towards the door. They took the hint, bowed deeply in front of him, then left the hall. The King waited a few seconds before he turned back to Youji and smiled a little.

"Scratch the formalities Youji-san. No one can hear us now."

The lanky blonde answered the smile with one of his own, eyes sparkling a little with mischief.

"If you say so, your Majesty...I mean Uncle Persia!"

The King rolled his eyes as his nephew grinned at him cheekily. The lightened mood soon disappeared for Youji could sense that serious matters were ahead of him.

"What is it uncle that your advisers shall not hear....", he asked and added "yet" as an afterthought.

"Always straight to the point, Youji-san. I see I taught you well in that matter."

Persia sighed again and Youji noticed that his gaze lingered on the windows a little longer or more precisely what was behind those windows and could be still heard giggling faintly. The blonde man grew even more worried.

" What happened? Does it concern Kenken, Uncle?"

Persia looked surprised at first, then noticed where he'd been staring at.

"No and yes...well at least not directly or so I hope."

Youji looked a little confused, but decided to keep silent and wait for his uncle to continue. He knew from experience that this was the simplest way for him to gather the information he wanted to have from him.

Persia reached between the fine sleeves of his velvet tunic and seemed to search for something. After a few seconds he managed to get hold onto the item he wanted and drew it out. Youji recognised it as a letter usually sent by carrier pigeon. The broken seal of the Fujimiya Kingdom could be still made out. The King unrolled the message and handed it to him.

He took the letter and skimmed through the message. Eyes turning wide, he looked at King Persia. The older man confirmed its content with a nod.

"Yes, it's true. King Takatori finally decided to realise the conquering plans we all knew he has had for a very long time. Currently his armies are gathering near the border of Fujimiya Kingdom. My dear old friend Botan suspects that the attack will begin any time soon.

He requests our help in delivering his son Ran and his nephew Omi safely to the border where they will be awaited by their own guards. He is aware of our situation, thus requests no further help from us although I think it is fairly obvious that he hopes I will help him."

Persia stood up from the throne and shook his head obviously not as composed as he wanted to appear. He strode over to the windows and glanced out easily catching sight of his child and the redheaded Prince of Fujimiya.

"This matter is very serious Youji-san. I am friends with Botan since god-knows-when. That is no secret. But I fear that with our interference in the upcoming war, we will draw the attention of the enemy to us. The enemy named Takatori and...let us not forget the enemy that is still lurking somewhere in Weiß and we don't have a clue about. I know that you as well as several other nobles suspect Lord Crawford behind all those recent attacks. That's why it could prove very dangerous to involve ourselves in this conflict, especially because we do not know if Bradley Crawford, Takatori´s heir is involved in this or not.

If I decide to help Botan and send our own armies to him, we might give this threat to our land a chance to attack us. We would be defenceless.",....his eyes stared at his young son, seemingly careless and laughing, and fear clenched his heart. He turned back to Youji. "You know that even now at our full strength we are no opponent to threats from outside and I fear from inside as well. We haven´t been involved in a war for centuries and I sincerely hoped it would stay that way during my reign and any reign after me.

I know I may sound selfish, but I fear for my child. I do not want to send my troops away knowing that it may endanger my only child. I may not show it all the time, but Ken is the dearest person to my heart, may Manx forgive me for saying that. I would go insane if I lost my child, my sunlight. "

Youji placed a comforting arm on Persia´s shoulder and tried to look assuring at him although he didn't feel that way.

"You are not selfish. Your worry for him is only natural and personally I do feel the same as you. We will find a way, uncle. I promise. No one will ever destroy Weiß. And no one will ever threaten Ken if I can help it."

Persia smiled sadly.

"I only hope Ran-sama and his father will understand our wish not to get involved. I will respect Botan´s wish to give Ran and his cousin an escort to the border, but Weiß cannot afford more. We would be destroyed even before we would know what happened."

"I'm sure Prince Ran and King Botan will understand. I've been observing the young lord during the past weeks and he seems very intelligent and wise to me. He'll know that there´s no evil intended with Weiß staying out of the war."

Persia nodded in thanks, then sighed again as he threw yet another glance at Ken.

"There is still one more problem. I'm worried as to how my son will react to the news and Ran´s departure. I couldn't do but notice that he seems to have grown very fond of the young man. "

Youji cringed inwardly. King Persia had pointed out what he had noticed as well and desperately tried to deny. He guessed he should be happy if the moody redhead left their country, but he wasn't.

He knew that his young charge would be very unhappy when told the news and as he had declared to himself earlier, he would rather have Ran around forever than see him gone and try to deal with a heart-broken brunette. And Youji was certain that Ken would be heart-broken.

He observed his uncle and from what his stance and look told him, guessed that the King was thinking along similar lines. He seemed nervous and fidgeted a little with his sleeves. He obviously dreaded the conversation with his son that would follow soon.

"Do you want me to tell them about the letter, uncle?"

Persia´s shoulders slumped in relief as if desperately wanting to hear this suggestion from him.

"That would be nice, Youji-san. It's just...I can't tell him. I don't know why. It's...it's...", he searched for words but didn't find any suitable. "I'm glad you offer to go."

Youji nodded in understanding and turned towards the grand doors that signalled the main exit to the throne room. His hand reached to grab the door knob, but as if on cue the doors were opened by the guards standing at the other side of the door. Before he left the hall and headed towards the gardens, he glanced back one more time and smiled at the King.

"Don't worry, your majesty.", he said slipping back into formal tone." I'm sure everything will turn out just right. You'll see."

~TBC~

A/N. It's short. It's crappy and I feel awful for posting this. sniff There should have been two more scenes in this chapter, but I couldn't seem to finish them, yet. They will be in the next chapter that will hopefully be a little bit longer. Don't kill me, because this chapter sucks so much. I wasn't feeling well and next to writing I'm also working at my parents pharmacy during the course of the holidays.

Portia? Sorry, it took so long to write this. ;(

Next project: Chapter3 of "Eternal Return" and Chapter3 of "Up where we belong"