My Light In The Darkness.

There was a strange peacefulness that General Toya Aoyagi had found in walking around the kingdom of Luminaria by himself. He didn't feel suffocated by the people around him, feeling as though he had to be hyper aware about every little move. Instead, he had more time to freely admire the various architectures around the portion of the kingdom as he made his way towards the center, barely remembering the paths but enjoying the thrill of working it all out. Soon enough, he approached a small yet bustling market square, with many different stalls set up in the area. 'Perfect' He thought. 'Maybe I can find some help here'
There were an odd amount of stares and wandering gazes while he sauntered through the crowd, which he boiled down to the fact that he was still, very clearly, in his heavy, black plated Obscurian armour, distinguishing him distinctly from the local people of the town. Toya decided that the crowded newspaper stand would be his best bet at finding directions. There were plenty of people there, surely at least one of them would be able to help him?
With that, he made his way over, pushing through the seemingly outraged load of people.
"Excuse me" He leaned in, closer to the booth vendor, who was quick to give him a judgemental glare. "Would you know the direction of the Shinonome residence?" He asked politely. "Which one? The traitor or the accomplice?" The vendor cackled bitterly, sending a shiver down the Obscurian General. "I do not follow, I am looking for Sir Akito Shinonome's residence, if you would be so kind as to assist me, it would be greatly appreciated" He persisted. Once again, the vendor scoffed rudely at him. "Of course you would want-"
"Tell me before I force it out of you." General Aoyagi commanded, holding his hand over the piles of papers warningly as he gave a deathly stare to the shaken vendor. Both of them knew by his tone alone that he was serious, and that he could have the entire market in flames with the flick of his hands. In hindsight, he probably was perceived more threatening than he had wanted to be, but it got the job done nonetheless. It wasn't often he needed to use such a move, a thought that eased the guilt of it slightly.
The vendor sat back in their seat, coughing lightly into their first before speaking up once more. "Straight on from here, third left, then left again, should be number thirty four" They told him. A pleasant smile forced on the General's face as he nodded his head, thanking the vendor and turning away, content with his findings. He had never thought to look at the newspapers to see why the people were so enraged, yet by the time he realised, he was a few steps away from the stall and didn't want to push back through the newly collaborated group in front of the stall to find out. Before he had left completely, Toya could have sworn that he heard a final comment from the same seller out of the corner of his range. "These damn Obscurians, no wonder the war hasn't ended"

After a while more of wandering around, Toya found himself exactly where he needed to be, outside of a worn down, shone paved cottage, with an eroded 'Thirty four' painted onto an oval wood plank. It didn't seem to be much, but he had not known what he should have expected from the home's owner. Without a second thought, he made his way to the door, however upon closer inspection, realised that he had run into yet another issue. Standing cluelessly outside his acquaintance's door, he made the discovery that he had no way of getting inside, and was not about to trouble the Luminarian knight on the inside to let him in. Rather, he came up with a different, more frowned upon method of entry. Letting out a quick sigh, Toya swished his hand over the doorknob, muttering a string of illegible words, and pushing the door open once he had concluded. "I should not be able to do that.." He admitted quietly, ensuring that he had secured the door as it had been before.

The home was quiet when he entered, as expected. Not a single sound could be heard apart from his own boots against the hard floors. Sir Shinonome's home, despite its size, was very well kept and organised at a first glance. Each countertop was precisely cleaned, each pillow in the living area stood up right and not a single item appeared out of place. That was, except for the work driven knight who now was cooped up in his room, his eyes scanning through pages of a random book while he visibly struggled to keep himself awake beneath the couple of blankets that he had over him. The sound of someone approaching his room instantly piqued his attention.
Wearily, he turned his head, only for his eyes to light up in surprise of who was standing in the doorway. "General Aoy- Toya.." He exclaimed in a low, hoarse tone. "Apologies for the sudden visit, I couldn't help myself from worrying when I found out this morning" Toya announced nervously. "Found out..?" Akito asked subtly. "I had to deliver something on Prince Tsukasa's behalf, I thought it was you at first, then he told me" He explained, awkwardly moving over to the other male and taking a seat on the edge of his bed. "You really didn't have to do that, but thanks.. Wait, how did you get in?"
"Technically I broke in.. forgive me, but rest assured that I did no damage to your home" Toya confirmed. "That's one way, I suppose.."

"How are you? I heard that you have been absent since yesterday, which despite me only knowing you for two days, seems unlike you" He pondered. In response, Akito exhaled a rough groan. "Yeah, that's about right. It was my prince's order, my colleagues ratted me out. I'm doing better than I was previously, I haven't coughed as much thanks to something my sister found for me yesterday, didn't even know I had such a thing but hey, it worked, thankfully, because those things hurt like shit. I still cannot talk properly, that's why I'm being so quiet. It's strange though, I've sort of enjoyed just.. Doing nothing" he explained. Even though his voice was just above a whisper, it was still easy to tell the tension and croakiness that lay underneath his precautionous tone. 'Sister, huh..? I wonder what those names must have meant..' General Aoyagi pondered silently. "It makes me happy to hear that, surprising, but it is still very good to hear. Is there anything I can do to help you?" He offered. "No, not really, honestly as pathetic as it sounds, I am really grateful for just your company alone, after the other day, I had wondered when I would see you again" The former told him sheepishly. A rosy tint swarmed to Toya's face at the idea, joined by a soft smile. "Well then, let's be pathetic together"

"How did you enjoy the walk? Was it busy out there?" Sir Shinonome quizzed him. "It was nice, a lot of people around the market roaring and shouting, that part was a bit unusual for me, but then again I am not exactly accustomed to the idea of a town community, so that could just be me"
"That sort of thing is usual around here, if you think that's bad, you should see Lady Shiraishi's when it's late, that place is insane" Akito confirmed. "Where..?"
"The tavern we went to the other day, the lady who was talking about her father and all that stuff" He digressed. "I see.. It was still nice though, minus the amount of stares that I received, I do not think anyone was expecting to see an Obscurian soldier walking around the place" Toya laughed. The other gave him a disheartened look. "That's unfortunate, no one had that attitude the other day?"
Without thinking, General Aoyagi grabbed his latters hand, which was relatively warm in contrast to the time before, gently and placed it between his own. "I am sure that it is nothing, you need not to worry" He reassured him. A sudden heat rose between them, shared across both of their features, however neither spoke a single word. Instead, they found that simply smiling at each other warmly spoke louder than any words would, a silent understanding between them both.


'BREAKING NEWS - A FALTERING RADIANCE?