Princess Yukino's Choice

The stench of rotting corpses wafted from the cracked ground into my nostrils. If I weren’t used to so much death in my life, I would have vomited immediately. My feet searched for gaps in bodies to walk across. This year’s Sovereign’s Tourney by far had the largest number of casualties on both sides.

Everything had gone according to plan.

In the distance, I noticed a middle-aged man staring at the long crater that had formed. His silver armour and equally shiny white hair reflected the dried blood stained on the cracks of the ground.

“It’s been a long 10 years, King Alucard,” I announced my arrival.

“Indeed, Emperor Nobunaga. Though we have kept in contact several times in between,” King Alucard replied.

We scanned the lands for any familiar faces. There were no signs of either of our generals. Only piles of footsoldier bodies remained in No Man’s Land. It had been one whole day since the black knight’s defeat, yet there was no sign of anyone.

“I found a part of my general, at least,” King Alucard said as he picked up a head from the ground. The man looked like a barbarian who grew up in the wrong era.

Without hesitation, King Alucard squeezed his palm. The general’s head imploded into a waterfall of blood, with his brains slowly crawling from King Alucard’s hand to the ground.

“Stephen was supposed to be one of the strongest soldiers we’ve ever had in history. How disappointing for him to meet his end to someone half his size and double his age.”

“Don’t disrespect one of our strongest and smartest warriors, friend. Kawa has been a reliable pawn for decades now.”

“I can see that, seeing as he and your mage managed to kill the black knight.”

“You have to thank my champion, Aki Kurokawa, for that. None of this would have been possible without him.”

Watching Aki Kurokawa’s actions throughout the Sovereign’s Tourney was a joy. His strategies in attacking multiple areas of the map while quarantining their strongest member were genius. Not only that, his encouragement evolved the skills of all the generals and even some foot soldiers. He was the greatest investment I had ever made.

But he was now missing.

“This is peculiar indeed. You don’t think ‘he’ is involved, do you?” King Alucard alluded. I knew exactly the person he was talking about.

“Impossible. My gravity magic ensured that almost every bone of his was broken. He couldn’t even be considered a human in the state I left him in. Remove such far-fetched thoughts from your head.” The image of Misao’s broken remains resurfaced from the depths of my mind. He, too, was a soldier with great potential. If only he didn’t get emotional over the death of his enemy. His betrayal forever irritated me.

“Fear not, comrade. I trust you.” King Alucard kept his hand on my shoulder, attempting to calm me down.

I decided to manoeuvre my mind away to the positives of the war. With these many corpses, our mana absorption will be plenty for the next 10 years. Maybe even more with the sheer quantity and quality of this mana. This year’s Sovereign’s Tourney was a resounding success.

“Are you not worried about your daughter, Emperor Nobunaga? She looked as though she was right behind death’s door when she was fighting my champion,” King Alucard commented.

The answer was simple. I made proper countermeasures to ensure that she would survive the Sovereign’s Tourney. The necklace she has carried with her since she was born is proof of this.

“She’ll be fine. My dear Yukino is stronger than you think.”

“And what are we gonna do about the rest of the generals? Is it safe to leave them to their own devices?” King Alucard began sweating bullets from his forehead. This situation has not happened since the beginning of the Sovereign’s Tourney.

“We’ll be fine. Even if they somehow find out the truth, they have to come straight here. We’ll kill them and take their mana if that happens.” I couldn’t control the smile on my face.

Aki Kurokawa. What are you planning?

—-----------------------

“Show me where Yukino is. She’ll be the one to decide.”

I had to see whether she was safe first. I could only trust Misao if his promise that Yukino was alive was true. Furthermore, if we were going to attack Emperor Nobunaga, then we needed approval from his daughter.

“As you wish. She’s in the next room.”

The Aogiri representatives, including myself, rushed out of the door and entered the next one.

Her pitch black hair flew with the breeze, flowing like a heroic cape. She stared absentmindedly at the open window with her onyx-like pupils. Thankfully, her porcelain-like skin was undamaged and was pink with life. Bandages covered every inch of her body and arms.

The young girl turned towards us at the creak of the door. In a second, her eyes grew wide. I couldn’t hold back anymore. I had never moved so fast in my life. My tears formed a trail behind me.

My arms wrapped around Yukino gently like I was holding a fragile vase. I kept my hand at the back of her head, placing it on my chest. I felt bad for my tears sprinkling the top of her head, but I couldn’t help it. I had to touch her. I had to make sure she was real.

“Yukino! You’re alive! You’re really alive!” I screamed out with crying joy.

Whimpering and sniffles came from below my head. Yukino was tightening her grip on the back of my clothes, pulling me closer. She looked up at me, her eyes red from all her crying.

“I was so scared, Aki… I really thought I was going to die…”

Riku and Chiyo watched the scene before them, struggling to hold back tears themselves. Mr Arakawa lightly smiled, happy that all of his students were safe. Natsu and Anastasia stood back and watched from afar. I couldn’t possibly understand the mixed emotions they were feeling at the moment.

“What happened? You were so damaged before, but now you look fine,” I asked. Her wounds healing this quickly was nothing short of a miracle.

“It’s probably this,” Yukino replied while holding her necklace. It previously had a green gemstone in the centre, but now it was empty.

“That’s the necklace your mother got you, right? I remember you had it since we were kids,” Riku commented. He had recognised it all the way back then.

“But it’s devoid of its magical energy,” Chiyo realised, “So it contained powerful healing magic this whole time.”

Yukino nodded. So the keepsake she had since she was young saved her life. No wonder her parents were okay with her fighting on the frontlines. They trusted the magic in the gemstone would protect her.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder. Natsu was behind me. From the determined look in her eyes, I could guess what she wanted to do. I moved aside to give Natsu and Yukino some space. The two stared at each other, animosity still lingering between them.

“You’re the Aethelheim general, aren’t you?” Yukino’s voice was terrifyingly cold. Her hostility increased the pressure of the room tenfold.

“That’s right. But I am here as Natsu Fukuyama, not as a general.” Natsu answered firmly.

“What difference does that make?”

“I’m not here fighting for Aethelheim anymore. I’m here to fight for what I believe in. I’ll only follow where my heart guides me from now on.”

Natsu suddenly outstretched her hand towards Yukino.

“I’m not going to apologise for what I did to you. It was my mission at the time, and I dedicated my life to accomplishing it. But that mission is no more now. I have a different goal, and I want to work alongside you to achieve it.”

“And what is this goal?” Yukino narrowed her eyes.

“Stop the Sovereign’s Tourney once and for all. End this cycle of constant bloodshed.”

Yukino did not move. She stared blankly at Natsu’s eyes.

“I need an explanation on everything before I decide,” she finally announced.

As though on cue, Misao walked into the room. Yukino was shocked to see the man presumed dead in her history turn out to be alive. Once she recovered, Misao summarised the story he told the rest of us. Somehow, Yukino’s expression remained fixed throughout his narration. Even when he completed, Yukino just stared down at her hands, contemplating Misao’s words.

“Can everyone leave the room, please? I need some time to think alone.”

Everyone slowly shuffled out of the room at her command. But when I was about to leave the room, Yukino stopped me.

“Please stay, Aki,” Yukino whispered, just so that I could hear it.

I closed the door and sat at her side. I felt her fingers intertwine with mine and the weight of her forehead on my shoulder. Her hands were rattling while her body felt heavier as she held on to me for support. If I weren’t here, Yukino would have disappeared into thin air.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore. I don’t know what to do. I just want it all to end,” Yukino whimpered weakly.

“It’s a lot, I know. No one is forcing you to make a decision now.”

“But I have to. Everyone outside is waiting for my choice.”

Yukino understood that everyone depended on her decision. After all, the goal of this mission was to kill her father. A normal person couldn't comprehend such a thing to do. Yet, we expected this young girl to accept it all so fast just because she was the princess of Aogiri. It was the curse of expectations.

But to me, Yukino, was my first friend in this world. She was the one who was my anchor in this war. It was my turn to be hers now.

“Let’s start with letting everything out of your mind. Just keep talking. I’ll listen to every word,” I spoke softly and gently.

“You, sure? Don’t regret this, okay?”

“How could I? I never get tired of your voice.”

Yukino took a deep breath, trying to hide her blush.

“All my life, my father was the goal I set for myself. I wanted to be skilled in the sword like him. I wanted to be as kind to our people as he was. He was always so far from where I stood, yet I continued running, trying to touch his back at least once.”

“Mmhm.” I made a sound, showing her that I was listening.

“Now imagine that that goal was wrong. The idol I respected was an evil monster. The parent who cared for me and showered me with love also tortured soldiers for the sake of it. While he was busy making my mother and me happy, he caused suffering for thousands of others. The worst thing is that I know it’s true! I’m not just mad and disappointed in him! I’m disappointed in myself, too!”

Yukino failed to hold back her barrier of emotions. She cried out as many tears as possible while she gripped me tightly. I remained silent, letting her release as many of her emotions as possible. For the first time in her life, she wasn’t the princess of Aogiri. She was a young girl crying in grief.

“I have to take responsibility for Father’s actions. I’ll fight him with my own hands and put some sense into him.”

Yukino affirmed herself in her decision. She raised her head and stared into my eyes with resolve. She really was stronger than anyone else I know. I shaped my hand into a fist and placed it at her heart. It was our way of passing on courage.

“Don’t forget that you’re not alone. You have the generals of Aogiri and now the generals of Aethelheim on your side, too. We’ll make sure to be victorious in this final battle.” I smiled confidently at her.

But Yukino didn’t seem satisfied; she stared up at me with puppy dog eyes.

“What about you?”

Huh? What could she mean by that?

“Of course, I’ll be by your side all the way. I’ll personally have your back forever.” The words came naturally from my mouth.

“Hehehehe..” A light giggle came from in front of me.

“Was what I said funny?” I was dumbfounded by her reaction.

“Have you never realised that you’re a natural flirt?”

My brain ceased functioning. The systems were stuck in a deadlock. Steam blew from the top of my skull as my face turned bright red.

“No, I’m not!” I retorted with embarrassment.

Yukino laughed out loud, catching her belly. Geez, what was she playing at?

“Hey, Aki. You said that I could speak my mind completely, right?” A light smile was plastered on her face.

“Of course, I’ll listen as long as you want. Unless you just want to laugh at my face.”

It happened in an instant.

I felt a soft sensation on my mouth. Yukino’s mouth parted my own, letting our tongues touch. Our mouths pulled each other together, refusing to let the other leave. Time stopped for an eternity as we kissed.

“I love you, Aki Kurokawa,” Yukino confessed.

My mind was in a daze. All my receptors had short-circuited. I tried to answer, but her slender finger kept my mouth shut.

“Don’t answer yet. I’ll hear it once all of this is over.” Yukino’s smile had never looked so beautiful in my life. The sheer beauty of the woman in front of me had been imprinted in my brain.

We continued to stare at each other, not wanting to leave. But this moment could not last forever. Both of us got out of bed, hand in hand.

“Ready to give your answer, tiger?” I playfully asked.

“It’s now or never,” Yukino confidently replied.

The two of us opened the door, leaving our personal dreamland.