To Ka’oa, duty had always been of the greatest importance. 

His duty as a son, his duty as a brother, and now, his duty as the sole prince of Kurigazu. 

There was nothing now that could make him waver, not after all he’d been through. Not after all that he had lived through.

… 

Except maybe the sweltering, unbearable heat that was really  making him regret every single moment in his life where he’d complained about the cold.  He’d rather be freezing then slowly cooked to death like some nobody commoner out in the desert.

“Pepi, let’s take a break. We don’t need to suffer all the way to Zau- we’re nearly there.” Ka’oa groaned, shifting in his camel’s saddle in a futile attempt to angle himself away from the sun’s harsh rays.

“We’re almost there- stopping now would be risky and you know that, sire.” Pepi  murmured back, his eyes trained completely on the path ahead. 

Classic Pepi- always tying together a lecture with a nice honorific at the end so it didn’t seem like he was completely chewing you out. 

It was starting to get on his nerves.

A lot of things had been getting on his nerves the past few days- the heat, his way his turban kept coming undone, the flies his camel kept getting distracted by, and the slow realization that the farther they got from the Zeru River, the filthier were the cities they passed through and the more uncivilized the commoners. 

But it wasn’t like complaining about it would make things any better; he was alive. His pride was battered, his life turned upside down, and his heart worn, but he was alive, and that was more than his family could say.

So until then, all he could do was endure. 

As they passed through the dirt roads of the crowded, bustling city, swerving through filthy alleyways and desperate commoners, the sight of shabbily built, dusty yellow homes clobbered amongst each other began to blur together to Ka’oa- until Pepi abruptly stopped his camel- odd.

“Don’t tell me we’re finally taking a break?” Ka’oa joked- as it turned out, they were in fact, not, taking a break- a group of soldiers up ahead had stopped them, their leader sternly studying the two and their camels with keen eyes. 

“Is something the matter, sir?” Pepi asked the leader, his eyes glancing back at Ka’oa quickly, and then the bag on his camel. 

Oh. 

“You two travelers from outside the city? Where are you coming from?” The leader asked slowly, resting a hand on the blade at his hip casually. 

So that was how it was. They’d have to tread lightly here- luckily for them, they were in a quiet part of town. If push came to shove, then, well they would have to shove as quietly and quickly as possible. 

“Saneria, sir. We’re here to visit a relative of ours.” Pepi replied coolly. 

“Saneria’s a long way from here- seems like you didn’t pack much for the journey.” The soldier pressed. 

“It seems not, sir.” Pepe’s tone sharpened ever so slightly, in the way it always did when Pepe was pissed. 

“Unmount your camels- we’re going to need to search your stuff.” The leader tossed his head towards the men behind him. “Check their bags.” 

So that’s what this was about.  Ka’oa slid off the camel’s back, taking his bag with him- and felt his blade through the brown cloth.  He hadn’t touched the blade since three days ago; when he’d cut men down for the first time. It had tainted the once pure art of swordsmanship which he’d excelled at for him; but the soldiers had brought it upon themselves. 

Over the past few days, he’d seen countless people like these soldiers- opportunistic and greedy, taking any chance they’d get to screw someone over if it benefited them in the process.

They were the scum of Kurigazu- no, the scum of the Earth.

But he’d see to it that such men would never flourish in his Kurigazu.  

Men like these soldiers, and men like his father. 

As the soldiers checked Pepe’s bags, they greedily split the bag’s contents amongst themselves, laughing like idiots as they passed around a pouch of gold- it was probably the most gold they’d ever see in their wretched lives. 

As they moved from Pepe’s camel to Ka'ao’s, they quickly noticed that the camel’s back was empty, with the exception of its saddle, and their glances all at once, fell upon the bag in his hands. 

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“Open the bag- I need to check it.” One of the men said, stepping towards Ka'ao threateningly. 

Pepe glared at Ka'ao- or at least he tried too. Pepe was way too accustomed to wearing a mellow expression as a former guard- he’d seen Pepe try to smile before, and it was sort of akin to a fish trying to fly.

But still, he’d known Pepe practically ever since they’d stepped out the womb- and he could tell when Pepe was pissed. 

And he was pissed. 

But it wasn’t like he took orders from Pepe either. What kind of king would he be if he took orders from his own guard? 

“I told you to open the bag!” The man snapped, raising his hand at Ka'ao. 

Besides, if he was going to take back his kingdom, he first had to take it back from the wretched hearts of men. 

The man swung at him and Ka'ao neatly dodged; blowing off the cloak of his hood in the process and exposing his face.  The man’s face, furious and indignant, faltered- and he froze. The other soldiers froze too, their eyes lingering on the faded crimson eyeliner which marked his eyes. 

The mark of royalty. 

And he couldn’t be any gladder they’d noticed- it left them perfectly exposed. Before the soldier could collect himself, he grabbed the hilt of his blade from the bag and slashed it out of the sheath and through the soldier’s throat at the same time, his blood turning the sand beneath his feet crimson. 

And then chaos ensued. 

Two guards shot towards him, blinded by their rage, and Pepi leapt onto their backs swiftly, drawing out the daggers strapped to his legs and slamming them through their skulls in unison. 

Classic Pepi. 

Two other soldiers armed with daggers charged at Pepi ‘s turned back; but Ka'ao promptly cut them off, sliding behind Pepi and sweeping at the sand below their feet, throwing them off balance and shifting their foothold. Pepi, the opportunist sneak that he was, swiftly charged past Ka'ao and thrusted his daggers into their necks simultaneously, slamming their corpses against the sand. 

And then there was one. 

The leader was fumbling at something on his kilt- why he hadn’t retreated or tried to call for backup, or tried to do literally  anything but stand there was beyond Ka'ao, but whatever.  He wouldn’t complain about an easy target. 

Speeding towards the man, he  steadied his blade in preparation for the killing blow; and then found himself face to face with the barrel of a gun. 

“Move and I will blow your head off.” The man threatened, his face wet with sweat.  “Drop your sword or I will kill you where you stand.” 

Shit.

“Do it!”  He screamed. 

Ka'ao dropped his blade- it was worth a lot but certainly not his life- and raised his hands very slowly. 

“You’re Prince Ka'ao. The survivor.” The man wet his lips- probably ecstatic at the prospect of turning Ka'ao in to the King, and the reward that would come with it. 

A shadow loomed over Ka'ao, and he could practically feel Pepi’s panic and rage from behind him.

“Drop your gun right now.” Pepi threatened. “Or else.” 

“Or else what, you’ll stab me?” The man sneered. “Go ahead, but I'll put a hole in his head before you can even try.” 

Judging by the choked sound Pepi made, Ka'ao was guessing he didn’t have a solution to that. 

He was also guessing Pepi hadn’t quite figured out the advantage they had just yet.  This was a grim situation they’d found themselves in, sure, but the soldier was in just as much trouble as them. For one, if he did shoot Ka'ao, then Pepi would kill him.  So his only leverage over the situation was threatening Pepi with Ka'ao’s life- but surely he knew that if he followed through with that threat, his own life would be over. 

Maybe that was a risk he thought he could take- he probably figured that Pepi would never endanger Ka'ao’s life like that. And he was right. 

But he could make him think Pepi would.

“Y-” 

“Do it, Pepi.  I'd rather die here than be dragged before my wretched father and tortured.” Ka’oa found that the best way to lie was to mix it in with some truth- he really would  pick death over being dragged back to the palace like a dog. 

“You be quiet.” The soldier threatened. “Or-” 

“You’ll kill me?” Ka’oa finished. “Go ahead. It would be far more honorable than seeing him again.” 

He could feel Pepi trembling, ever so slightly from behind him.  This was probably hard on him- even pretending to be fine with sacrificing Ka’oa was probably eating at him like crazy. 

But only he knew that. 

To the soldier, Pepe was nothing more than a stone-faced, vicious guard. 

“You wouldn’t. You drop your daggers or I will shoot. I’m warning you; I'll do it.” The soldier’s grip was starting to tremble.

“Do it! Kill me and then kill yourself in the process!” Ka’ao shouted. 

The soldier trembled, his fingers slowly drawing away from the trigger- the slightest mistake and the gun would fire. Ka’oa could see the seed of indecision he’d sown blooming in the guard’s eyes- nothing he did would sow a safe outcome for himself in this situation. 

He’d sealed his own tomb- and he knew it. 

The soldier dropped the gun, his grip loosened by his sweat, and he reached for it slowly- only for a wooden club to slam into the side of  the man’s head, knocking him clean out on the floor.  A figure wrapped from head to toe in a white cloak stood before Ka'ao, dropping the wooden club with a sigh.

Who the hell? 

Ka’oa pulled himself to his feet, yanking his blade off the ground and pointing it at the newcomer.  The figure stared at him- not even their cloak could hide their unimpressed gaze- and pulled away the cloak which covered the lower half of her face, before smiling at Ka’ao amusedly. 

“You’re smaller than I thought you’d be.”