Title: The Innocent

Meaning: n/a
Pairing: DiexKaoru; ToshiyaxShinya, KyoxShinya and KyoxToshiyaxShinya implied
Type: PWP with the barest scrap of plot to tie it together
Rating: R

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Chapter One

Logically, Kaoru knew that as the Prince, he was a necessary part of the court sessions held. And he knew that he had to be here now more than ever because his father was sick and bedridden. No King, no court, nothing got done. In such a case as there was no king available, it came upon Kaoru to take over. Such were the facts of every day life in the palace – the facts of his every day life – and nothing, really, could be done to change them. Kaoru knew this, accepted it as his lot in life, and presented himself in all his finery promptly during court sessions, his mother on his arm and Shinya walking ever so slightly behind and to the right. He took his seat in his father’s throne and watched as the rest of the court took their own, as he had been doing daily. But that didn’t mean he had to like it.
The old fart Yamamoto had been going on for hours, droning about this and that, probably with no idea of what he was really talking about. Kaoru looked around the huge hall with little interest - having seen it so many times already - but it was infinitely better than paying attention to the old noble jackass. He rested his hand on his palm and leaned heavily on the arm of the big throne until he felt a sharp kick to his shin. Barely managing to hide his wince, the young pink haired man jerked his body back to attention and glared heatedly at the beauty sitting next to him. Said beauty was staring stoically ahead and refusing to make eye contact. Kaoru leaned over discreetly to the other arm of the chair so that his mouth was near to the other man’s pointy ear, never once taking his eyes off the droning state official.
“That was uncalled for, cousin Shinya,” he murmured, deliberately stressing the family title, in so soft a voice that any human would have shivered. Elves, even those who were only half blooded, unfortunately had better control.
“On the contrary, cousin Kaoru,” the Elfling murmured back, and Kaoru imagined that he saw a slight smile playing on the fair one’s lips, still looking directly ahead. Speaking of lips, Shinya didn’t even seem to be moving his. “You were about to fall asleep - highly improper behavior for the Prince. As your cousin and advisor, I am afraid such an arduous duty falls to me to keep you awake.”
Kaoru would have laughed out loud if he could. Though Shinya’s words were said in all seriousness, the spikes and drops in power gave him all the mental images he needed to know that the Elfling was as bored as he was. He decided, however, that he would never understand how his younger cousin managed to talk and never get called out for it. He wondered if it had anything to do with Shinya’s Elvish blood - maybe they couldn’t see the pretty Elfling speaking because Shinya had them under some kind of spell.
“You’re always attentive,” Kaoru retorted softly, “You could just tell me what they say later. Or you could take a break and give Kyo the eye you’ve been wanting to give him all morning.”
Shinya snorted delicately and a hint of a smile played on the edges of his full lips, “If I’m going to suffer, you’re going to suffer with me. I don’t care if you have learned to sleep with your eyes open.” His eyes flicked to said blonde man, who stood waiting off to the side in his full jester attire to be called on. “Besides, Kyo and I make enough eyes at each other when we’re in private. Or would you prefer that we embarrass the whole Court? Kyo does like to get a little ... hm - demonstrative - you know.”
The young prince found that he had nothing to say in reply. As always, Shinya had him in the proverbial corner, and the reminder of his own lack of love life, or sex life, or anything pertaining to non-familial companionship was not helping his morning any. He sighed irritably and returned to the center of his throne, resting his arms imperiously on the arms and giving the man (who was still going on) a detached glare, mentally praying for him to end the torture.
“ ... bring in the prisoners!” the man squeaked hastily, waving for the guards by the doors to open them.
Kaoru leaned quickly to Shinya again, “Prisoners?”
“Yamamoto has been speaking of them for an hour. Have you not listened even a little?”
“Just tell me, Shinya!”
“He claims to have found two young men offering their, ah, services, in the palace entry to the men attending court.”
“Services?” the pink haired prince blinked.
“Yes. They are prostitutes and repeat offenders of the law, or so he says.”
“But ... that’s normal, isn’t it? I mean, I’ve never heard of such a thing brought to Court before.”
“It never has been, because it has been accepted as a part of life by most of the men here. Yamamoto claims to have found them offering such services before, to himself and others, as bribes to get into the palace. They carry weapons - He believes they are assassins, or part of a conspiracy against your father and yourself.”
Not even Kaoru could miss the contempt behind Shinya’s calm voice. He wondered if it was directed at the prostitutes or Yamamoto. The doors slammed opened then, cutting off any more conversation that might have taken place. Eight guards entered, marching calmly, in rows of four; two guards on either side of the prisoners. Both were young men and both struggled half heartedly - Kaoru thought they looked more like they were trying to walk on their own than trying to escape - against their captors. Neither had a chance of escape, however, as they were held at sword point from both sides by the four other guards who were not dragging them along. When they reached Yamamoto, both prisoners were pushed to the floor roughly. One had long red hair and the other had blue hair, but Kaoru couldn’t see much more than that. Kaoru clenched his jaw when the guards placed their swords to the prisoners’ necks, keeping the two young men pressed to the floor.
//As if they could do anything now, anyway!// he raged silently.
Beside him, Shinya tensed in displeasure. Kaoru thought that if he could, he would grin sadistically - he had an ally. The murmuring nobles, who had stopped talking when the doors opened, now returned to their conversations with a new gusto. Here was something new!
“These are the two conspirators, your Highness,” Yamamoto said, bowing low.
“We’re not!” cried one of the young men, raising himself off the floor despite the blood that was drawn from his neck when he brushed against the blades.
Kaoru sucked in a breath and was quite sure his eyes widened to some impossible size. He could feel his heart race at the sight of the pale, creamy skin exposed by the scant clothing. The bold youth was quite possibly the most beautiful person the prince had ever seen. His red hair flowed down his back and framed his perfectly proportioned face, his body was lean and well built, and his sparse clothing placed his perfect legs on display for all to see. Expressive chocolate, kohl-rimmed eyes pleaded with him to have the mercy that he couldn’t find from others.
Shinya murmured something under his breath, but Kaoru had no time to ask what it was. A sudden charge in the air filled in that blank, and Kyo looked up quickly, his sharp teeth bared in anxiety. The pink haired prince chewed on the inside of his cheek semi-anxiously - Shinya didn’t have full control of all his powers yet.
//Just don’t do anything idiotic, Elf, or I’ll be the one in trouble.//
“Please, your Highness! We’ve done nothing to conspire against you, or your family, or anyone here at the court! We are simply pleasure-givers – ”
“Whores you mean,” Yamamoto spat.
//Like he can talk,// Kaoru thought heatedly, //I’ve heard the stories about him.//
“Pleasure-givers,” the redhead repeated firmly, head held as high as it was allowed and eyes cold. As if he was dragging all the shredded remains of his dignity about him like a shield. “Pleasure-givers trying to make our living.”
“Trying to bribe your way into the palace.”
“No! That was a mistake!” the young redhead insisted, managing not to lose his furor as he pleaded, “We didn’t know that he was from the court, or that it was in session! I swear! On anything you would have me swear on, I swear it!”
“But surely you must have known that you stood in front of the palace,” Yamamoto said, sounding condescending and malicious.
“We did,” the redhead admitted, without hesitation.
“You see, your Highness!” the fat man said triumphantly, spinning to face the throne, pointing down at the two young men as if they weren’t even really human.
//Oh, I’m seeing. And I’m rather enjoying the view ... you malicious pig,// Kaoru barely resisted rolling his eyes, though it helped that they were fairly glued to the redhead. He raked his eyes repeatedly over the kneeling body, trying to memorize every detail. He imagined that mouth on his skin, those hands on his body ... //BAD idea, idiot!// the prince snapped at himself, feeling his blood begin to rush somewhere other than his brain. //Yamamoto in drag, Yamamoto in drag ... // Kaoru shuddered. He was brought back to reality by the cry of the other prostitute.
“NO!”
This one, too, raised himself, more aware of the blades than his friend and ducking around them. Kaoru decided that he’d seen the second most beautiful human ever. Then did a double take and swore silently that he’d heard Shinya draw a quick breath when the young man’s movement caused his clothes to display more of his skin than likely was intended. Kaoru grinned mentally, deciding that he would have to confront the Elfling about his lapse. From the other end of the hall, he could see Kyo look intently at the young prostitute as well, then up at Shinya. Kaoru wondered what the blonde thought; if he saw the same thing Shinya seemed to. The blue-black hair of the young prostitute was held back in a high pony tail and was nicely complimented by (or would have been had it not been so smeared) blue lipstick. The kohl that thinly lined his eyes only served to make his pretty face more feminine and androgynous, giving even Shinya a run for his money. But the young man’s eyes were red as if from crying – even now Kaoru thought he saw the tell-tale sparkling of tears in them – and his face was bruised lightly.
//Bruised?// Kaoru blinked and looked back at the redhead quickly, noting the bruises on his neck and face as well. The prince grit his teeth, //Probably from the guards. Mental note to self: RAISE HELL!//
The redhead looked worried and hurriedly clapped his hand over the mouth of the blue haired man, hissing at him, “Toshiya, shush! You’ll get in trouble too.”
But Toshiya merely removed his friend’s hand and continued calmly, “We are already in trouble, Die. Your Highness, we stood by the palace because we hoped to find higher paying customers. There was nothing more to our reasoning than that. Word on the street has more to do with the regular customers and the changing rates than court sessions. We are innocent of these accusations against us.”
“Filthy whores!” Yamamoto raged, and the guards held their swords once again to the necks of the young men, “Liars! Assassins!”
“NO! We’re not! We’re not!” Toshiya cried out and tried to jump up, but Die caught him by his arms and held him closely, whispering gently. The pretty young man began to cry softly into Die’s chest, “We’re not ... I swear ... we’re not ... ”
”Calm down, please, Toshiya. I need you to stay calm. It will be all right, you’ll see,” Die murmured, with as much conviction as a condemned man could muster.
”You should be hung at dawn! Two less whores to pollute our fair city!” Yamamoto shouted for the whole hall to hear. Kaoru growled under his breath. “For plotting against and attempted assassination of the Prince, I sentence you – !”
“That. Is. Enough!!!”
The hall fell silent as the exclamation reverberated through the Court. The Queen, the advisors and administrators, the clerks and the nobles, the guards, the prisoners, Kyo and Kaoru, all moved in unison to stare at Shinya, who had risen from his plush chair and had indeed been the one to speak. Kaoru was sure he’d never heard Shinya ever raise his voice like that. Shinya drew himself to his full height and pulled his flowing robes about him, giving off an air of power. It was quite impressive. Despite all eyes being on him, the Elfling never once looked away from the two young men. He fairly glided when he walked normally, but none in the hall had ever seen him look so like a deity as he did when he approached the young prostitutes and knelt before them. Kaoru thought Kyo looked more worried for Shinya than jealous of Shinya’s keen interest in the two prisoners.
The Elfling tipped up Die’s chin to make the redhead look him in the eye and Kaoru felt a stab of jealously run through him. Die’s tensed body relaxed just a little, and he looked dreamily back into the flashing eyes of the Elfling. Toshiya’s lips twitched down ever so slightly. Whether he was jealous of Die of Shinya, Kaoru wasn’t sure. The prince checked on his blonde jester. Kyo gnawed on his lip, but sensing Kaoru’s eyes on him, quickly stopped and glanced back at the prince, as much to assure Kaoru that nothing was wrong as to distract himself from the potential danger Shinya was placing himself in.
A series of motions drew their attention back to the floor. Apparently having decided that he had seen what he needed to, Shinya moved to take hold of Toshiya’s chin, and stared into his eyes as he had Die’s. Toshiya’s body relaxed and his eyes took on the same glassy stare that the redhead’s had. Die shook his head as if to clear it and locked eyes for just a brief second with Kaoru, but it was all the prince needed to feel a sudden rush of warmth through his body. Tension built to near impossible to stand heights until finally the Elfling stood and turned to look at Kaoru.
“They are innocent.”
And Kyo was running onto the floor even before Shinya’s eyes rolled back into his skull as he fell to the ground. Or - Kaoru would have grinned, had he not been worried, as he abandoned his throne - more appropriately into Toshiya’s arms. The blue-haired young man instinctively cradled the Elfling to his chest, but his eyes were scared as Kyo stumbled to a halt beside him and took Shinya’s limp body into his own arms, holding him and listening for a heart-beat.
“Is he all right? I’m sorry! I - I didn’t do anything, I swear I didn’t,” he muttered, glancing wildly at Yamamoto and his guards.
“We know, Toshiya, it’s okay,” Die said immediately, placing his arms around Toshiya’s shoulders. “Just be calm.”
“Is he all right?” the prostitute whispered nervously.
Kaoru knelt by Kyo, and held his hand under Shinya’s nose, then over his heart. “He’s breathing and his heartbeat is steady,” he said, more to himself than the others. Then leaned back on his heels and squeezed Kyo’s shoulder, “I think he’s just exhausted. Give him to me,” he glanced back at the others, “and follow me.”
Though Kyo’s eyes blazed, he very carefully shifted the Elfling into Kaoru’s arms. Toshiya fell back into Die’s as the prince lifted his cousin. Kaoru’s robes swirled behind him as he walked quickly out of the Court, Kyo right on his heels. They stopped in the entry, realizing that neither Die nor Toshiya had followed them. Kaoru hoped he didn’t look too angry.
“Well, what are you waiting for? I said ‘follow me’ – that’s not a request.”

~chpater one ga owarimashita~

NOTES

Incase anyone's confused:
Shinya=Half-elf, Kaoru's cousin & Kyo's lover
Kaoru=Prince
Die & Toshiya=prostitutes
Kyo=Court Jester & Shinya's lover