Rei didn’t expect to see Taiyo in one of Kuro’s forts. It brought questions—why he was there, why Kuro never announced it—but they opted to let Taiyo rest. Whatever happened these past few months, he didn’t look like he’d be able to answer anything, if he even knew.

Once everyone had spoken their piece, Kyoumi and Sorai went back to handling post-battle things. Taiyo asked Rei to stay, so they sat around the room and just…talked. He couldn’t tell if it was reassuring or strange.

“How did everyone back home take it?” Taiyo asked curiously. “Me…not being there, I mean. Were Father’s folks concerned? Our friends?”

“Ninsei and Tezo helped look,” Rei replied. He continued on a bit quieter. “I…kind of avoided most friends, though. A lot of them tried to figure out why you’d leave, what could’ve happened to you; it got unpleasant quickly. I’ve been…taking after Mother.”

Taiyo frowned, recognizing what that meant, taking a second to observe his brother. “Oh. You didn’t…do anything because of me, I hope?”

He shook his head. “Father noticed pretty quickly. I didn’t have a dagger with me until we left the capital.”

“Good. I’d have felt bad if you got hurt because I left.” Taiyo paused for a second, then asked a little worriedly, “Was anyone from the palace fighting recently?”

“Any friends that decided to fight are still at Hiroki’s fort.” His brother let out a short, relieved sigh, and Rei continued. “Thinking on it, we’re among the youngest here. There are a few around our age, but not many.”

“Anyone interesting among them?” Taiyo asked curiously.

“I haven’t talked to a lot of them,” Rei admitted. “Socializing hasn’t really been my priority; Roken Kasper’s not bad, though. More respectful of the whole ‘my twin brother went missing’ thing than some of our friends. He’s not that much older than us, I think; half a year at most.”

“I should probably try using the modern language, huh?” Taiyo guessed after a little thought. “The northerners probably won’t understand me like this.”

“We can practice until Mother and Father come back,” Rei offered.

Taiyo nodded, and they continued on using the modern tongue. His brother’s conversation skills were a bit stiff—you could tell he hadn’t used it in a while, trying to pronounce things a bit differently—but Rei did what he could to help.

Kyoumi and Sorai returned after about an hour; the former still looked as relieved as she did when she first saw Taiyo. They both came in, and Sorai spoke up first.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“First things first, we’ll be here for another few days to see if Hiroki can spare troops,” he explained. “If not, we might be sending out a force to make sure the north can bring in reinforcements without needing to go through Gin.”

“So we’ll be with you for the rest of the campaign?” Taiyo asked.

There was a moment of hesitation; Rei sighed. “You want us to go back home, don’t you?”

“It’s too dangerous for you two,” Sorai maintained firmly. “And that’s not mentioning that Taiyo was likely here before we came. Rei, you said that if Taiyo was there, you wouldn’t have asked; now Taiyo’s here, so you’ll be fine.”

“It solves the ‘talking to people’ problem, yeah,” Rei tried to protest, “But it won’t help the ‘if you two die, I won’t hear of it’ problem.”

“We have no intentions of dying here,” Kyoumi said, likely trying to calm him. She looked at Taiyo. “You, at least, should return; it’s likely that Kuro knows you’re back with us, and regardless of why you were here, it would be safer if you were in the capital with people who can protect you. I don’t want to separate you boys this soon, but—”

“I need to be wherever Rei is,” Taiyo replied firmly, cutting her off. It caught Rei off guard, although Taiyo immediately spoke a bit quieter—but still firm—as he continued. “Kuro doesn’t know I’m one of Gin’s princes—they just thought I was a random kid. They expect our forces to go down in number; if you send me home, there’s a good chance that they will.”

That successfully diverged the conversation, at least. “Could you specify how?” Sorai asked cautiously.

Taiyo shook his head. “I’m…not really sure if I could explain.” He paused for a moment, then spoke up again. “I’ve been in Kuro’s palace, too—it’s layout isn’t that much different from home. I know that they’ve lost two—maybe three—heirs, as well as one of Shunji’s wives. I’ve overheard a lot of conversations while I’ve been here; I can actually help, if I stay.”

“Besides,” Rei murmured, glancing at Kyoumi, “At first, the reasoning was that putting me in unnecessary danger might annoy the nobles and people of Gin. If we left now, it would just look like selfish maneuvering to ensure the line doesn’t end.”

Kyoumi sighed. “I’d like to ignore them, but…”

Sorai looked at her, frowning. “Could we damn public image for once? Their safety comes first.”

“I would prefer to avoid needing to backtrack in the worst case scenario,” Kyoumi argued lightly. “There’s a chance that, no matter what I do, they won’t be happy with it—but our numbers here will go down if they’re greatly dissatisfied.”

Rei knew the matter should be handled by the queen and king, but he spoke up anyway. “We won’t fight, if it helps,” he offered. “We can watch each other’s backs—make sure the other stays safe.”

“I really don’t want to keep you two here,” Sorai said firmly.

“I think I’ll be best if I’m around everyone,” Taiyo reasoned. “And I might be able to help with what I know about Kuro now.”

Their parents exchanged glances; both nodded, albeit Sorai sighed.

“You’ll stay, then,” Kyoumi decided. “Just be as safe as you possibly can—don’t wander off anywhere alone. Taiyo, we’ll talk about your time away whenever you’re ready.”

Taiyo nodded his thanks, and they all collectively left to do other things. Rei still didn’t feel exactly proud in how it was done, but…at least he could stay here for a while longer. It’d be more productive than sitting around home or with Tezo.