I apologize for the late update, and I want to thank you for the patience.

AN OATH TO BREAK

By pseudonym08

SUMMARY: Jinnois the king's own guardian of the thunder. Like the other guardians, he is known for his seriousness and strict nature—said to have no fear and weakness. What most people do not know though is that Jinno is very much afraid of ghosts. Anyway, Jinno is always seen carrying a pet frog with him and using some sort of wand during battles. At first, people thought that the frog was just for display and the wand for fun. However, it was later found out that those two actually served a greater purpose than just mere ornaments. As to what it is, it would soon be revealed.

Chapter Eight | The prophecy

Ruka Nogi

As the doors swung fully open, they could distinctly hear the sound of a broken glass. Just a few steps in front of them, standing up and looking horridly at the broken vase was a boy of about seventeen, with sandy yellow hair and circular rimmed glasses. Upon their heavy scrutiny, he slowly looked up at them with an apologetic smile. A book lay open in his right hand.

"Uh… hi?! I'm Tobita Yuu. Please call me Inchou," he introduced, as he set the book down and wiped his sweaty hands with his pants. He pushed his glasses to the bridge of his nose and did a small bow at the sight of the king and Persona.

Ruka simply stared at him bow, surprised that his first meeting with this alleged genius would turn out like this. First off, Ruka never expected the guardian candidate to be so young. Well, he did know that Natsume's guardians would most likely be in the same age as they were. Still, with the talks in town about the talents of this mysterious person, he was pushed to believe that the candidate was at least in his early twenties. And as Ruka looked at him from head to toe, he wondered if this lad was indeed the same person who had single-handedly figured out and eventually broke the enemy's recent tactic, camouflage.

Then again there was no room for doubts, for when Ruka's gaze had traveled to that in the latter's hands, there in his right middle finger was the Hyuugan provisional mist ring. Provisional for the ring has to take its original form after the initiation rites, and the lad had been deemed worthy by the heavens as its true bearer.

"So, this is the famous guardian candidate?" Jinno asked with an incredulous tone. The boy, Yuu, merely gave a small smile in return. This was probably the first time the guardians, again with the exception of Persona and the Rain guardian, had personally met Tobita Yuu too. It sounded almost unbelievable; absurd, in fact. But then, considering that this matter certainly involvedthe king, well, he might have had reasons of his own for keeping the information classified even from his own guardians.

"Well, he does surpass my expectations," Narumi added, not sure if it was meant either as a sarcastic joke or not.

The king sighed, but decided to speak no further. He walked inside and asked a servant to clean up the mess. Then, while a woman in her late fifties immediately attended the king's demands, the former went towards one of the couches and sat. The blond lad, who was standing directly in front of him, bowed his head low and shyly sat back down. The rest of them proceeded to follow after.

The King's Study, also known as the Royal Library, was really bigger compared to the common one. It has a copy of every book the public library has, ranging from historical articles to modern writings to fictional ones. It even included those classified and restricted ones the latter was forbidden to acquire. It had two floors, with shelves made out of hardwood and as tall as thirty feet.

Fine tapestries, curtains and ornaments decorated the walls. Majestic chandeliers hung on the ceilings, and there were antique vases placed on top of small cabinets and tables. In addition to that, there were multiple lounges scattered about inside the room. Five of which were just in front of the double doors, arranged U-shaped with a small rectangular table at the center.

When all had settled down, the king cleared his throat. "I want answers," he began as his gaze travelled to that of the four-eyed blond. "You said last night that my son suddenly disappeared from your sight. Now that we are all here, and your doubts have been confirmed, please enlighten us with what you know," the king calmly added, though it was clear how hard he actually tried to sound like it.

Yuu cleared his throat as he tried to ignore the pressure of having all eyes directed towards him. He fixed his glasses to the bridge of his nose, a gesture he commonly do whenever he is uncertain or whenever he is trying to be serious. "So, umm, where do you want me to start?"

"Start by explaining the Hibarin's new technique, if you please," Narumi replied with a smile. Yuu's sweat dropped upon seeing that wide grin. But after a minute or so, he finally ignored it and started talking.

"Camouflage is a Class A water ability that envelops the user with a thick blanket of water," he explained, "This blanket of water reflects its surroundings and thus, makes the user somewhat invisible. It is activated by sprinkling oneself with a powder. This powder would then hold the water molecules in place instead of the user itself. Thus, saving energy for combat and allowing the user to do other techniques with his free hands."

"I see," Jinno commented.

"Using the technique I perfected, which could see right through barriers and other techniques involving concealment, I was able to know the enemy's whereabouts. Knowing that you wouldn't be able to locate them as much as I do and that I cannot, in any way, cancel out their barrier, I decided to conjure some illusions instead in placement of the enemies so you would be able to see them. Well, umm, I think seeing would not be the correct term," Yuu took off his glasses and wiped it with his shirt before putting it back on, "But at least you were able to know where they are."

"Illusions in placement of reality? Could that even be possible?"

Tobita Yuu sighed. Well, he had already expected such remarks. Persona cleared his throat and explained everything for the lad, "Expressed in simpler terms, Tobita's devil lens technique involved tricking one's eyes and thus, appearing as if they had seen either anyone or anything. But all of it was, in fact, mere illusions."

Yuu nodded. "And I-"

"I don't see the point of further explaining the technique. It still doesn't answer the fact that Natsume Hyuuga suddenly vanished from our sight… does it?" Akira Tonouchi interrupted, hardly surprising everyone upon his dropping of the title he had never—save this day—fail to address. Prince. Such was the tension that people vaguely noticed it. Or they had, either way, already chose to ignore.

Everyone began to gossip.

"That is because the power used was no longer a simple concealment barrier," Yuu coolly replied, trying not to cause any commotion. But then, considering the weight of this new information, he knew doing such would already be futile. He sighed for the second time before proceeding, "My powers were voided."

"Your alice was voided?" Misaki, the king's own guardian of the sun, asked, "How?"

Tobita Yuu sighed. "It was an alice."

The people present began to whisper amongst each other. "An alice?! I thought alices like that no longer exist nowadays!" Akira pressed on.

Their muffled whispers turned to loud mutters, asking questions and finally stating their opinions upon the matter. Yes, it was true. Alices like that mustn't have existed today. It has been years since that event had happened, and all people having such alices were killed. It was stupid to think that one had survived. It was unlikely. Such dark times those days were. It was the time when everyone and everything began to change literally. The future became dimmer than ever.

As the people talked, they would glance every so often at the king who, after such a revelation, was awfully silent.

"Maybe Tobita Yuu was just mistaken," Akira suggested. "Perhaps it was just a higher degree of camouflage. An official? A trump card behind their sleeves? Although I would like to think not, still, what if Prince Natsume was already in the hands of the Hibarin king? Maybe we should start by-"

"I do not think that I was mistaken," Yuu replied, "And at the same time, I do not think that Prince Natsume fell into the wrong hands. Moments before my powers were voided, I could still sense the presence of his attacker. It doesn't have any killing intent. So, I guess there's nothing much-"

"Don't be ridiculous! That is a lie! You personally do know what the Hibarins have come here for! So do not ever tell us as if his disappearance was just nothing, because…" Ruka exclaimed, restraining himself to stand up and grab Yuu's collar. His hands were clenched as it pounded the table beside. Everyone suddenly kept quiet as they could only stare at him in complete understanding. Ruka… "Because… If there is one reason why Natsume suddenly vanished, it would most likely be… be…"

"Be silent, Ruka Nogi. You of all people should know better," the king finally spoke. He looked at the boy. Though at first glance, it appeared to be a glare. However, with no one other than Ruka knowing, it was actually more of a gentle rebuke. The king had genuinely understood the situation. The king had… known.

"I see no point in continuing the matter further. This argument is closed," the king proceeded, tearing his eyes away from the confused lad.

"So what do you expect us to do? Nothing? We'd just leave-"

"I didn't say that we do nothing," the king sighed, "I have thought about this already. And although I know that it is still too early for this, I nevertheless find it necessary that we proceed with the rites. My son, Natsume's guardians must be chosen."

.

Tsubasa Andou

Tsubasa Andou's house was part of a small village at the far end of town, close to both the Northern Forest and the Northeastern Shore of the kingdom. His father specifically chose that place for reasons Tsubasa was not told about. Or perhaps he just forgot about it. Either way, Tsubasa had nothing against his father's choices. After all, it was a good place, very peaceful for it was far enough from the town noise.

Upon returning back home, Tsubasa took his usual shortcut, passing a few houses and the river that cuts through the four different kingdoms of the country. It was a little bit off-road and thus, the pavement wasn't completely cemented. Luckily, it hadn't rain last night and the ground wasn't muddy.

"Tsubasa-nii, play with us today!" One of the children ran next to him and tugged his shirt. During his free time, or whenever he passed by their houses and had nothing better to do, Tsubasa would often play with the kids. However, today was one of those very few ones with an exception. He turned towards the lad, knelt down and ruffled his ebony hair.

"Unfortunately, I can't today," he smiled, "My old man is waiting for me back home."

The boy frowned. So did the other kids. "But you promised us!"

"When I have the time later, I'll come back and play with you guys," he told them. The kids' eyes lit up as they smiled back at him.

"Yay! It's a promise then, Tsubasa-nii!" they cheered, running off and finally disappearing behind the thick trees.

Tsubasa's eyes trailed towards where the kids had ran off. A smile still decorated his lips. He never had to worry about the kids playing and running around in the forest. For what it's worth, if there was anyone who knew the secret of the woods better than he and his father do, it would be no other than them—the children. They had practically lived and played countless of times here. This place was no alien to them.

And so, with that thought in mind, Tsubasa stood up and wiped off the dirt on his pants. As he looked up however and was ready to go, he had so inadvertently bumped someone by the shoulder. The man was tall and had auburn-colored hair. He was carrying a bag of fruits, probably from his gathering at the forest. And upon the unfortunate encounter, several had fallen off from his grasp.

Tsubasa helped the man pick up the fruits. And after giving the last one, he scratched his head. "I am sorry, sir. I was being careless a while back," he apologized with a smile.

As he looked at him, Tsubasa was surprised to see a pained expression on his face. "Do not ever lose that expression, young man," was the stranger's mysterious statement as he patted Tsubasa on the shoulder. Then, the man immediately walked away without saying anything further.

Tsubasa simply stared at his retreating back, bewildered by the encounter and feeling strangely familiar about him at the same time.

Do not ever lose that expression. What does he mean?

"I see that you still haven't changed, Tsubasa," he heard another familiar voice coming from his right. "I thought you would've gotten more serious this time around," the person added mockingly.

"I could say the same thing to you. Akira would surely kick your ass the moment he sees you," Tsubasa responded, smirking coolly at the intruder before turning around, all thoughts about the recent stranger gone with the wind, "Li-ttle Ha-ya-ma…chi."

.

The moment Tsubasa slid the door open, he could immediately smell the faint scent of spices and herbs. Upon the scent, his stomach suddenly grumbled. "Tsubasa, is that you?" he then heard his father ask from across the room. Tsubasa smiled as he scratched his head. His father was cooking, chopping off some ingredients at the kitchen when he arrived.

"Yes, it's me," he replied as he unstrapped his sword and armor before placing them on the corner of the room. Beside where he placed his things was a wooden table with a frame on top. The frame contained the wedding picture of Tsubasa's late (and real) parents. He never had the chance to see and know them properly. But he was happy that he was at least given the opportunity to see their photo whenever he wanted. He tried to find contentment by looking at the only picture his adoptive father had of them.

He smiled.

Yes, Tsubasa Andou was an adopted child. His mother died when she bore him. His father died in battle, long before Tsubasa could even reach the age of three. Makihara, one of his father's best friends, decided to adopt the poor boy and teach him everything that he needs to know. This led him to quit his job of being a knight without Tsubasa's knowledge, even declining the recognition offered to him by the king as one of the best fighters in the kingdom.

But well, Makihara never regretted his every decision. He had devoted himself in teaching the boy. And he really did a good job in doing so. Ever since then, Tsubasa had treated him like a father; and Makihara considered Tsubasa as his son despite a mere fifteen-year gap.

"Father, could you still remember Hayama-chi?" Tsubasa asked with a laugh as he entered the kitchen. "While heading back home, I happened to meet h-"

"So, any news of that missing comrade the others were all talking about?" Makihara asked, cutting Tsubasa midway.

"Ah… Nope! Not really," he replied, "But I do found a ring that appears to be the Hyuuga succession ring."

Makihara suddenly stopped. The knife suspended mid-air. His eyes turned a bit serious. "So," and so does the tone of his voice, "what do you make of it, Tsubasa?"

Tsubasa had noticed the sudden change of his father's tone. But he dismissed it and masked his expression with that of his usual untroubled one, desperately trying to ease the aura of tension he had been feeling from his father. "I don't know," he replied, "It must've been a fake one, I think?" He smiled.

Makihara wanted to beat the sense out of Tsubasa in that very instant. "You silly lad!" he murmured as he frustratingly looked away. The boy could and should not remain ignorant of everything around him anymore! He had tolerated that attitude before, feeling no threat from it. But now that everything had turned to worse, it was time to get serious on things. "Tsubasa," he began, trying to let him understand by making his voice more serious.

He turned towards the lad. But then, with one clear look on Tsubasa and his smile, he immediately changed his mind. His features softened. Makihara sighed. No. He couldn't afford to break it to him just yet. Well, he doesn't have to. He really doesn't have to tell the boy of what he should do—of his role in the prophecy. Somehow, in his own way, he had already begun fulfilling it. He would someday learn.

'That brat!' he thought. Makihara smiled. Now, he had fully understood. "Can you please go to the market for me and buy me some fish?"

Tsubasa hesitated for a while. But then, he simply shrugged. "Sure," he replied before leaving the house.

When Tsubasa had left, Makihara turned back to his unfinished work and continued chopping the remaining vegetables. After he was done, the brief silence reminded him of the time years ago—the time of which the prophecy was announced and eventually to the time Tsubasa's father had died right before his very eyes, protecting the baby Natsume who would one day become a great king.

To think of it, it was actually his fault why Tsubasa's father had died. He hadn't rightfully fulfilled his role of being a good knight, and allowed himself to be swayed by the enemy. Remembering that thought, he knew then that he didn't have the right to receive the 'best fighter' award of the kingdom. It really wasn't supposedly his. And as a way of redeeming himself, he had rejected the award and promised himself to train Tsubasa the best that he could.

'Well, what's the point of regretting about it now?' he thought and then, smiled. They will gather here soon enough. Everything… everything is falling into place.

.

Between blood and water, the scale shall break

Once unreachable bird soon will shake

The fortunes of the past and the forgotten land

An oath to break, a hero's final stand

When I say Misaki, I was referring to Misaki the teacher. Otherwise, I would be spelling out their full names to prevent misunderstandings. :) Was the chapter boring? Confusing? Well, I sincerely apologize. Please bear with me for a while. I haven't found any beta-reader as of this moment. Anyone willing? XD

Please review and/ add. They are highly appreciated. :)