The One Who Sees You

Her figure walked away from his sight, as Iscodaya was left below the tree, completely awestruck by what had just happened. Erika Yamori, a popular girl who had feelings for the young Prince, left him with words that struck hard into his very soul.

From the background, Kei watched on, seeing a very vulnerable side of Iscodaya that she had thought she would never see. “What should I do?” she said to herself, knowing herself that she wasn’t the best at situations like this. Yet, seeing Iscodaya’s eye flinch with emotion, her body instinctively moved. “Hey~ you fine?” she awkwardly asked.

Kei began to regret even walking up, as Iscodaya didn’t say anything towards her. They stayed like that for a few seconds, before Iscodaya turned his back on Kei. “Could you please… delete the video?” He asked, his voice lower than usual. Kei immediately followed the order.

As a minute went by, Iscodaya turned back to Kei, his expression completely opposite to his regular, scornful face. Iscodaya looked more reserved, more shy, his eyes were pointed at the ground more, with his body language more tight knit. As the two walked outside of school property, Kei couldn’t help but worry about him more.

Clearly Yamori’s words affected him, it’s just that she didn’t know how. But as the two approached where they were going to separate, Kei’s mouth let out an intrusive question. “Do you wanna go and get some food?” She asked, causing Iscodaya’s eyes to slightly widen. He shily nodded as the two went to some street vendors.

Kei saw Iscodaya stuff his mouth with food, the sight of it making her smile a bit. But as Iscodaya turned to her, she quickly averted her gaze. As the two finished, Kei spoke, “You wanna go to the arcade?” She asked yet again. And just like the first time, Iscodaya nodded.

The two made their way to their destination, with Kei constantly talking to Iscodaya, even if he didn’t respond at all. When they had made it there, the two spent an hour and a half just playing; either dancing, battling in rhythm games, or shooting hoops. But as the two were playing air hockey, Kei landed a goal against Iscodaya.

“Oh~ three for me,” she happily exclaimed. But a scoff came from Iscodaya, momentarily stopping Kei in her tracks.

“Just you wait,” he muttered as he got the puck on his side. But what he didn’t see was a smile come from Kei’s face, as Iscodaya was starting to go back to how he was before.

“You sure?” She taunted as Iscodaya laid the puck down, “I’ve been waiting for a long time? Where’s your comeback?” The young boy gave off an angry grin as he stared into Kei’s eyes, setting the puck down on his side.

“Here it is.” In a split second, Iscodaya sent the puck right to Kei’s side, earning a goal. The young girl’s face was in shock, one Iscodaya chuckled to, “Spoke too soon, didn’t you, Princess?” He returned, causing Kei’s face to grin with excitement.

“I should say that to you?” The two went back and forth at air hockey. But in the end, Kei won by one point above Iscodaya’s, much to the boy’s disappointment. But as they were about to go, Kei suggested something.

“Do you have time to go around the park? The sun is almost down.” At her question, Iscodaya knew he would’ve been missing out on assignments and research back at home. But surprisingly, he really didn’t mind that.

“Sure, let me just text Kaus before he gets too worried.” The two made their way to their local park, talking about the fun they had in the arcade. But as the two conversed, Iscodaya noticed that Kei wasn’t worried about home or anything, “Say, it is almost nighttime, do your parents know you’re out this late?”

But like a switch, Iscodaya saw how Kei’s eyes drooped down, and her overall presence became smaller, just as she did when they talked about her liking Yusuke. “My parents… don’t really care where I go, so it’s fine,” her voice sounded very melancholic, something Iscodaya barely saw with Kei.

It was clear to him; Kei didn’t have a good relationship with her family. So, instinctively, Iscodaya patted her shoulder, “Then let’s go everywhere then,” he suggested as he went on ahead.

Kei watched Iscodaya, a little surprised, “Was that… his attempt to make me feel better?” She asked herself. Though she does notice how Iscodaya cares for people secretly, seeing him so open with it, really made Kei happy. When the two had arrived at the park, they took in the breath of the night, as the lights were starting to turn on.

In the park was a lake, one whose serene waters reflected the moonlight. Autumn had now come upon the land, so Iscodaya felt its slight chill. The two barely talked as they looked out on the body of water, the young Prince completely amazed by the beauty of the world.

Kei, who had grown up in the city, didn’t think of it too much, but as her eyes laid on Iscodaya’s, she saw a new beautiful sight. His scarlet eyes almost glowed in the nightsky, as for the first time since they had met, Kei realized how different the young boy was compared to everyone she had met.

“My Prince nickname suits you very well,” Kei blurted out, taking Iscodaya out of his trance. His head whipped back to Kei, with initially a sour expression on his face.

But after, Iscodaya sighed, deciding to be a little playful, “I mean, yeah, I have the looks department for that title.” A small laugh came out from Kei’s mouth as the two entered into another comfortable silence. But then Iscodaya’s thought returned to that of the confession he received earlier, and his mind wandered, straight out of his mouth, “Kei… why do you spend your time with me?”

The question hung in the air for a while. Kei was a little taken aback by his question; she had thought of maybe replying in a joking manner. But as she looked down and saw Iscodaya’s face, she knew she had to give him her genuine thoughts.

Kei stopped dead in her tracks, and Iscodaya followed as he realized her halt. Staring right into his eyes, below the moonlight, Kei remarked, “'Cause you’re funny as hell and entertaining to be around.” Her answer sliced through the awkwardness like a knife, leaving Iscodaya’s eyes wide open, but she didn’t stop. “I don’t know a lot about you, who you were before, or where you came from. But I’ll tell you this, you, the Iscodaya standing right in front of me, who I’ve been playing, joking, and hanging around for the past few months, is a genuinely wonderful person.”

And after her words, another few seconds of silence came over the two. But this time, Iscodaya’s face wasn’t down, instead, it had the slightest hue of pink. Kei was also kinda embarrassed, thinking that it was kind of cringe; but if encouraging someone was cringe, then she would bear with it.

But instead of a snarky remark or an angry one, Iscodaya composed himself. Staring right into Kei’s eyes, he smiled, the most beautiful smile the young girl had ever seen. “Thank you.”

Kei was momentarily paralyzed, but she quickly recovered as she also smiled, “What a Princely smile, you know if you get rid of those nerdy glasses, girls will flock to you more.” Hearing her remark, Iscodaya giggled.

“Yeah, whatever,” he replied as the two continued their walk. But unbeknownst to them, three pairs of eyes were staring at them twenty feet away from the bushes.

“What was that?” Remarked a young boy, his orange hair covered by a hood.

“Shh Seno, you know full well Isco’s ears are good,” another voice whispered, slicking back his red hair in worry. “Kaus, is that the girl Kei?”

But most awestruck of them all was the blue-haired boy. His eyes were wide open in shock, seeing his Prince, laughing and joking, “Your Majesty…”