Chapter Text
Atsumu takes a deep breath, trying not to panic. Behind him, his brother was attempting to calm his two-month-old son. Cooing at him as the baby wails continuously. That’d become an even bigger problem as they hit the road.
But it wasn’t like they had much choice now.
Sometimes he wonders how they’d reached this point, despite knowing the answer.
It began with a fatal curse and the birth of royal twins.
Atsumu’s earliest memory was from when he was four years old. Crying alone in his dark room, in the middle of the night. He pondered grimly on how that reflected his life. A boy with a burden too heavy for him to carry. He’d felt that burden, even before his father drew him aside at the tender age of six, saying he had something important to tell him.
That night changed both everything and nothing at all.
Atsumu remembers how his father looked. His child self latching onto the man’s appearance for some reason. He remembers the formal robes that his father conducted audiences in. Remembers the crown that sat stiffly on his father’s head, as if daring anyone to even try to displace it.
But mostly, he remembers his father’s cold dark eyes - that seemed to reflect nothing - and he wondered if all adults had eyes like that. He wouldn’t know, since the only other adult in his life -at the time- was his nanny, who cared for him and his twin brother in their room.
Their mother died in childbirth, the nanny told them, such a cruel fate for a beautiful young queen to suffer.
He remembers waiting nervously for his dad to speak. Anything to be rid of the crushing silence. But when the king did speak, his voice ringing out like a proclamation, Atsumu wished he could take it back. Even now, with time nearing an end for him, he could barely stand to allow those words to cross his mind.
“Tsumu.”
The first-born jumps, turning towards his twin who was watching him in concern, his son wrapped gently in his arms as the baby’s cries trail off into whimpers. Atsumu’s heart hurt looking at them. Little Rai didn’t know about the deadline they faced. Was unaware of the burden weighing on his uncle’s and dad’s shoulders. Couldn’t possibly comprehend that he’d soon be without a portion of his family.
Osamu’s eyes follow his line of sight and his brother’s shoulders tense, probably following the same line of thought. It was all they could think about recently. Atsumu wishes he could just lie down, sleep, and forget the world. Pretend it didn’t exist. He knew Osamu felt the same, but as usual his brother was proving himself to be stronger than him in a way that Atsumu resented as a child.
Resented and grudgingly admired.
“Tsumu,” his twin whispers, as if there was a soul around to hear them in this cold, dank cavern. “Ready?”
Atsumu takes one last look around the room. At the rocky walls that sometimes leak water and the small wooden bed full of blankets. He stares at the desk that barley manages to remain upright after years of use. At the papers, stacked messily from the endless nights desperately seeking knowledge.
At Osamu, standing calmly by the secret entrance leading out of the castle. His back slightly hunched from the weight of his knapsack and his son in his arms. The look in his usually calm eyes filled with newfound determination. A sense of purpose that Atsumu thought only came from having someone relying on you.
Atsumu looks at all of this and says, “Let’s leave.”
And with that, a new journey began.
Ten Years Earlier
“Why do I have to study this stupid shit?” Atsumu grumbles.
The nine-year-old hates studying. Whoever invented school should have been beheaded in his opinion.
His sensei raises an eyebrow.
It's enough to have Atsumu straightening up.
Kita sensei - or granny Kita as Atsumu calls her - is an elderly woman known for being a prestigious scholar before she retired. Atsumu’s father had paid her a generous amount to teach the restless prince all about the histories and workings of the world. Atsumu didn’t know why he bothered. All this stuff was useless outside of the classroom anyway.
It's not like Atsumu needed to know who his great-great-great grandfather was and how he singlehandedly ended a gruesome ten-year war. What some dead person did in the past had little to do with him, he convinced himself. Nothing could change the past after all.
“Atsumu-kun,” the woman scolds, gently. It was somehow always gentle with her.
“Ya'll need these lessons fer when ya become king. A wise monarch learns from past mistakes and successes, so that he can lead his people well and care for their welfare.”
Atsumu huffs. “I’ll be fine without them granny. I don’t need ta know Akai-san’s birthday ta know the result of the war.”
“It’s Akaishi-san, Atsumu-kun, and while that may be true, it’s still respectful ta learn about yer ancestors. They may have passed on, but they were people just like ya with lives worth remembering. And we should respect that. Now let’s turn ta the next page.”
Atsumu valiantly suppresses a groan as granny Kita continues. It was seriously unfair that Osamu didn’t have to suffer through this with him.
The thought makes him tense up and he feels a sliver of guilt worm it’s way into his stomach. Nausea overtakes him and he’s barley able to listen to the rest of the lesson. Granny Kita notices his demeanor and decides to have pity, letting him leave twenty minutes early with a kind farewell.
“Make sure ya visit yer father fer dinner tonight, Atsumu-kun. He may be busy, but he loves ya very much.” The woman’s expression turns a little sad. “Afterall, yer all he has left little one.”
No I’m not, Atsumu thought but didn’t say, instead forcing a bright smile. “I will, granny.”
He turns away swiftly, trying to supress the anger growing in his chest. It wasn’t granny Kita’s fault she didn’t mention Osamu at all. It wasn’t even the fault of the staff, who wait on him hand and foot but leave his twin to rot, with only his older brother’s attention to keep him sane and healthy.
After all, to the inhabitants of the castle and the outside world, Miya Atsumu was the king’s only son. An alpha, born to be a warrior king. The last of king Miya’s family.
And Miya Osamu? Younger twin, second alpha son to the line of the Inarizaki throne? Well, he didn’t exist.
Atsumu storms into his room, locking the door behind him, before searching for the silencing charm in his drawers. He applies it and just in case pulls out a second charm, this one to strengthen the door and make it near unbreakable.
The staff know they’re not welcome in the prince’s room, outside of the thirty minutes allotted for cleaning each day, while the prince attended his studies. Atsumu made it extremely clear that he did not want their attention anywhere near his personal quarters otherwise. If he wants food, he goes to the kitchen himself. If he wants a bath drawn, he’d find the nearest staff member to have it ready in the bathroom across the hall.
Though the maids’ gossip about the young prince’s odd behaviour, no one dares to question it and even the newbies are forewarned to not disturb him.
Atsumu might have been concerned by what they said, if he was a different person. But the eldest son rarely cares what others think about him. They could go and shove it for all he cared. They barely knew him, anyway.
The Prince waits a few minutes, listening for any sound of footsteps or the feeling of strange presences. Magic was a force to be wary of, though his people didn’t use it nearly as much as kingdom’s like Itachiyama or Kurasuno did. Atsumu learned from an early age that the walls could have ears and eyes and knew that he couldn’t take any chances with someone watching him.
Once Atsumu feels confident he’s alone, he takes his schoolwork and approaches the fireplace opposite his bed. It was never used, and he’d heard staff members wondering at the point of it. Little did they know, this useless fireplace had a purpose, and it was a special one.
Atsumu reaches out to the surrounding wall, moving his hand over it gently until he finds a slight bump -barely noticeable to the average person- in the wallpaper. He carefully lifts the section of paper to reveal another charm, this one far more complex than the ones he’d used on the door. It had been specially ordered by the king to be reusable and long lasting. Atsumu was grateful for that since he didn’t like thinking about what to do if the charm decided to stop working one day.
The prince raises his hand and gently presses his thumb to the middle of charm. It would only work with a fingerprint and a password. One known only to him and his brother.
“Samu.”
There was the sound of a click, followed by a low rumbling. The fireplace swinging steadily inward, revealing a dark tunnel leading down from the prince’s room.
Atsumu picks up the torch from just inside the entrance and lights it, marching confidently down the barren pathway even as the sound of the fireplace shifting back into place is heard behind him.
It takes about fifteen minutes of walking but eventually Atsumu spots light ahead. He hurries his steps, grateful to be out of the passageway. No matter how many times he’s taken that path over the years, it never got any more pleasant.
The cavern he came into wouldn’t be considered a room in most people’s estimation, but that’s what it’d become to Osamu since the day their father decided he was old enough to look after himself and dismissed their nanny. Or at least his father had used the word ‘dismissed’, but Atsumu wonders if the secretive king really trusted their nanny to keep quiet about them. He supposed the woman could, since no one had found out since she left three years ago.
Atsumu hung the torch on a nearby rack. Other torches lit up the room, though those ones were kept active by magic. The boy then zeroed in on the only bed in the cavern. It was half the size of the one in his room but was stuffed with so many blankets one would wonder if it was secretly a quilt market.
Atsumu smirks, stalking closer to the bed. The smell of rainwater intruding on his nose, before he pounced with a yell. An equally loud shriek was heard as he landed on his twin’s body.
“Tsumu!” Osamu complains, after registering that it wasn’t a threat but just his stupid twin. “I told ya not ta do that shit when I’m trying ta sleep!”
Atsumu sticks out his tongue.
“Yer always either sleeping or eating ya lazy sack. It’s not fair that I hafta spend lessons with granny while ya get ta relax! So ya better help me!”
Osamu rolls his eyes, pushing his brother off his bed. “Ya know there’s no point ta me knowing that stuff. It’s not like it’ll matter ta me.”
“Well it doesn’t matter ta me either but I still gotta do it, and as my loving little brother, ya should be helping me ta decrease my sorrows.”
“Yer so dramatic.”
“Am not! Yer just lazy and uncaring.” Atsumu knew this wasn’t true but it would be a cold day in the afterlife before he admitted his affection out loud.
Osamu huffs, detangling himself from the blankets with a put-upon air.
“Fine, but only cuz we both know ya’d never get anything into yer thick head without me bashing it in.”
As his brother gets up, his rainwater scent floods Atsumu’s senses and he moves forward to nudge his head into Osamu’s neck and rub against the glands there. Neither of them would acknowledge it out loud but the scenting calms them both down and makes them feel safe. They’d been doing it since they were tiny tot’s barley aware of the world.
Atsumu knew his brother needed it, since the elder twin was the only other living being he had contact with. Their father having decided to deny his existence as well.
Osamu purrs quietly, returning the favour and burying his nose into Atsumu’s neck. Osamu had once told him that he smelled like the air before a thunderstorm, charged and heavy. Atsumu didn’t care too much.
The two eventually make their way to the only desk in the cavern and spend the next few hours bickering and griping over Atsumu’s schoolwork.
They somehow manage to finish before Osamu’s stomach lets out a loud rumble. The younger groaning and holding his belly like he feared his insides were about to fall out.
“I’m hungry.”
“Didn’t I leave ya extra from breakfast this morning?”
Atsumu was the sole provider of food for Osamu. He would always take extra every meal, claiming he wants snacks in his room for studying. The cooks no doubt wondering how he managed to remain as skinny as he was.
Osamu was addicted to food. Atsumu couldn’t really blame him, since it was one of the few comforts he had. His brother had to sneak up to his room and across the hallway just to use the bathroom. And they always had to be extra careful no one was around to see, lest there be questions about the prince’s whereabouts. Therefore, Osamu usually only went after Atsumu returned from his daily activities and was able to hide in his room.
The younger frowns. “Yeah, but I ate it already.”
“Well dinner will be soon, so just wait till then, alright.”
“Alright.”
They continue chatting until Atsumu’s internal clock nags him that it was time to eat. He returns up the hallway using the talisman on the inner side of the fireplace to open it and return to his room. Somehow the room always managed to feel colder than his brother’s cavern. Maybe because he rarely spent time in it.
Heading to the kitchen, Atsumu let’s his mind wander. He could easily walk the route blind folded.
A hand reaches out to hold his shoulder, causing the prince to freeze. There are few who dare lay a hand on him, and he has a bad feeling he knows exactly who it is. The subtle scent of water lily proving him right.
“Prince Atsumu, I believe grandmother asked that ya accompany his majesty at dinner, didn’t she?”
Atsumu groans as he looks into the far too serious eyes of Kita Shinsuke, his sensei’s grandson. How this kid was only a year older than him, he didn’t know. Most of the time he acted fifty rather than ten. Atsumu had honestly forgotten about the conversation he’d had with granny Kita earlier. It hadn’t seemed too important, since he rarely saw his father for dinner despite his sensei’s urging.
“Uh-I’m sure father’s busy with stuff so—”
“His majesty has ordered that ya be there tonight. He has something he wishes ta tell ya.”
Atsumu barely manages to keep a scowl off his face. It’s never a good thing when his father wants to tell him something. The first time that happened…
But Atsumu can’t ignore a direct summons from the king, especially since he sent Kita to fetch him directly. He sends a mental apology to Osamu. Dinner would be late tonight.
The dining hall was exactly what you’d expect from a castle, overly fancy and needlessly big. The table stretching long enough to seat at least twenty people, though no one ever used it except for the king and occasionally Atsumu.
His father was not even there when he and Kita arrived. Typical, that he’d call Atsumu there and then make him wait. The Inarizaki heir swore the old man made him wait for fun. He was probably getting enjoyment out of Atsumu’s squirming.
Kita was taking significantly less joy out of it, chiding Atsumu to sit up straight and cease fidgeting. Easy for him to say. Atsumu would swear up and down that Kita was not human, with his unnaturally perfect posture and manners.
After an hour had passed, Atsumu was fuming and fully intent on leaving despite Kita’s presence.
Then of course his father shows up. Atsumu barely holds in the curse words he wanted to spit. Getting on his father’s nerves wouldn’t help him.
The king takes the seat on the opposite side of the table. As soon as he was comfortable, the servants began bringing in food trays, enough to feed a large family. Atsumu wonders if they’d been watching for a cue.
His father didn’t address him, instead beginning his meal in silence. And if Atsumu ate a little more sloppily than usual, well, who could blame him? He does his best to ignore Kita’s judging eyes at his horrible table manners, making sure to set aside some of everything for Osamu.
Finally, his father finishes his meal, daintily patting his mouth with a napkin, before turning to Kita.
“Thanks fer yer assistance Shinsuke, yer dismissed.”
Kita bows and leaves the room. Atsumu wishes he could stay. Even the other boy’s stern demeanour was preferable to spending time alone with his father.
The king looks at him for the first time that evening. His eyes betraying no emotion.
“Atsumu, I asked ya ta come so I could tell ya something important.”
Atsumu tilts his head, curious despite himself. “What is it?”
“Has yer sensei taught ya about Itachiyama yet?” Figures he wouldn’t keep up about Atsumu’s education.
“Only the basic stuff. About how they have the biggest omega population in the world and rely almost solely on magic.”
“And what do ya know of the royal family?”
Atsumu hesitates, scouring his mind for any information he could remember from the yawn inducing lessons. He wasn’t very interested in other countries, despite granny Kita insisting he’d need to interact with them someday.
“They, umm, both the king and queen are omegas, with the queen being a bearer. They have three children and one is already married. They’re known fer having the greatest healing magic in the world.”
King Miya nods. “They’re also known fer something else in particular. Do ya know what?”
Atsumu shakes his head and the king smirks. “Curses.”
Atsumu feels the breath leave his body. He barely manages to keep his hand from moving to his stomach.
The smirk on the king’s face twists into a bitter thing.
“Yes, curses. It’s not surprising that a land with so many omegas would be able ta delve into all forms of magic, even those considered vile. Not that those fools care. They only want power.”
Atsumu was having trouble breathing. Was his father really implying what he thought he was?
“Itachiyama’s history is filled with violence. It’s expected that when our ancestor put a stop ta their wickedness, they would try ta get back at him.”
“T-then y-ya mean, they’re the ones who cursed our line?” They’re the ones that caused this? That forced Osamu into hiding? That deprived both twins of the ability to live normal lives?
Atsumu closes his eyes, unable to stop the memory of that night when his father first told them about their family curse from entering his mind.
“Father, where are we going?” Atsumu asks impatiently.
He hated how dark it was and his nerves were acting up. He held tightly onto his brother’s hand. Osamu squeezing back.
When his father pulled the six-year-old aside, he’d been excited that the man had decided to spend time with them. His father was usually too busy working and rarely spoke to either twin. Atsumu hopes that’s going to change now.
So when the man had not only came to their room but also showed them the cool secret passage, the twins had been ecstatic. They babbled until the king firmly beckoned them on.
“I have something very important ta tell ya, but not here. Follow me.”
The twins follow, panicking when the fireplace shuts behind them despite their father’s reassurance that they weren’t trapped.
They came to a wide space, still so dark that Atsumu could barely make out his hand in front of his face.
Osamu moves closer to him, silently seeking comfort as well as providing it.
The torch in their father’s possession wasn’t nearly enough to see by. The king scanned the area, searching for something. The silence down here was unnerving and Atsumu wished their father would just tell them what he needed to, so they could leave.
“This’ll do.”
He turns to the twins. “Osamu come here.”
The younger twin moves forward reluctantly. The king puts a hand on his shoulder. The most contact the two have had since Atsumu could remember.
“This will be yer new room, child.”
Osamu’s eyes widen.
“What?”
“WHAT,” Atsumu screeched, “Why does Samu hafta stay down in this creepy place?!”
“Ya know ya can’t be seen together by others.”
“I know ya said that but—"
“There are no ‘buts’ Atsumu. The two of ya were nearly caught last time. And now that yer old enough, others are starting to notice yer different personality traits. We can’t risk anyone realizing yer two people.”
“But why,” Atsumu demanded.
It didn’t make sense to him. It had been a rule drilled into their brains since they were old enough to understand words, that they couldn’t leave the room together. That they could only go out one at a time.
Being small children, they didn’t question it. Instead treating it like a game. Their nanny encouraged them to pretend to be the same person to trick others and the twins played along. But soon the game got boring. Atsumu complained about not being able to go out and play with Osamu. They were getting sick of being cooped up.
Their nanny managed to distract them with other games. In that time the brothers didn’t see others much, and never in their room.
But they’d been fine. Until the two managed to get away from the nanny a couple days prior and sneaked down to the kitchen. It was the middle of the night and there was no one around; but their nanny still threw a fit when she found them two hours later. Ransacking the food storage.
His father peered down at him. “That’s what I’m here ta tell ya. I realize it's best that ya understand the situation yer in. Have ya noticed the marks on yer stomachs?”
The twins frown.
“We thought they were birth marks,” Osamu whispers.
The king considers this. “I suppose in a way they are, but have ya noticed the marks getting bigger?”
Atsumu has noticed that the black splotch on his tummy was stretching but the nanny told them not to worry about it. The twins share a look.
“Traditionally birthmarks do not expand, but yers are unique,” he pauses. “That’s because yers are the result of a curse.”
“C-curse?”
“Yes. An old one at that. Did ya know that twins run in the family?”
They shake their heads.
“I suppose that’s not surprising since yer the first ta have been born within the last century. Yer great-great-great-great grandfather also had an identical twin. Sadly, he was killed in the war that raged at the time. Our ancestor grieved and vowed on his life to end the war himself, so his brother’s spirit could be at peace.
“However, ending a war is hardly a simple task and it took him three more years of work before finally signing a tentative peace agreement. The agreement didn’t last long though, the stirrings of violence continued and the people of Inarizaki struggled against the magical might of their foe.
Finally, our ancestor realized that peace talks wouldn’t work on those blood seeking vermin and he brought it upon himself to do one of the foulest deeds.
“He set up a trap fer the foe’s royal family and had them assassinated in secret, staging it as a burglary by bandits. It crushed the enemy’s will to fight better than any peace talks could. The throne was taken over by a distant cousin of the deceased family, who promised peace upon his coronation. And for a while, that remained true.
“But the blood of villains still ran through that man’s veins, and he gathered powerful mages in secret. These mages believed in reincarnation and they knew that the Inarizaki king had a twin who he loved dearly. They were not satisfied with only hurting him, so they created a powerful curse that would infect any twins born into his family line.”
Here their father stops, uncaring as he said, “The curse was placed so that the next set of twins in our line would die after twenty-one years of life. Just enough time to be an adult, before everything is taken away.”
The twins pale, unable to believe what they were hearing. Twenty-one years? A set date on their lives? But even if that was true, they still didn’t understand why…
“Why can’t we go out together father? Why do we have ta hide from people?”
“Only Osamu will need to hide. Atsumu will continue his duty as prince.”
“But why?”
Why, why, why, it seemed to be the only word Atsumu could think of, the only word he could hang onto in this crazy situation.
The king sighed.
“I’m afraid that has ta do with an event that happened several years after yer ancestor passed on. A powerful oracle gave a prophecy regarding the ill-fated twins that spooked the people of Inarizaki. It was said that they would cause the downfall of the kingdom. People fear death and so it was decided that any twins born into the royal family, shall be slain for the preservation of our country.
“If anyone were to find out about ya two and it spread, yer blood would be spilled by the people and there would be nothing I or anyone could do about it.”
Their father knelt down in front of them, and for the first time Atsumu thought he saw something soften in his eyes.
“Do ya understand now Atsumu? Don’t ya want ta protect yer brother?”
“Of course I do!”
“Then ya must make sure that no one ever sees ya together. Ya must make them believe that Miya Atsumu is the only prince that dwells within these walls. In doing so ya will be able ta spend the years up ta adult hood together, which is far more than ya would get otherwise.”
Atsumu gulps, in front of him Osamu was valiantly holding back tears. Atsumu had already lost that fight.
That night was the first that Atsumu and Osamu spent in different places.
Atsumu shakes his head harshly, trying to dislodge the memory. The king watches from his seat, seemingly allowing time for him to pull himself together before continuing.
“Yes, my son, it was indeed their doing. And those people that have caused such suffering have now come ta me with an interesting proposition.”
Atsumu sat up straighter. It seems his father was getting to the point of the conversation.
“Ya know that Inarizaki and Itachiyama have never been on good terms. Even when we are not actively fighting, that hardly means that all is well. The current king of Itachiyama recently sent me a letter declaring that he wishes ta change that. That he wants ta put the follies of the past behind us and move into an amiable future.”
Atsumu’s brow furrows. Whatever he’d been expecting after his father’s revelation, it wasn’t this. Wasn’t the man going on about how villainous Itachiyama was only minutes ago? But now he was speaking of a bright future together? It didn’t make any sense.
“They proposed an arranged marriage ta bind our families together. Atsumu, ya were requested ta be engaged ta the youngest Sakusa child. In exchange fer a finalized peace agreement, as well as access ta Itachiyama’s magic and fair trade between our countries.”
The man pauses.
Atsumu felt ready to pass out. Forget the curse, he was going to die from a heart attack right here and now.
“Ya said no, right father?” After all, the king’s dislike for Itachiyama was apparent to anyone who’d even mentioned the topic in front of him.
“On the contrary, I accepted.” Well shit.
“Why?!”
“Because it is necessary ta do what’s best fer my people and the new trade with Itachiyama will help them. It will save lives in the famine struck countryside and make life easier with the greater access ta magic spells and textbooks. As much as I’d rather stab myself in the foot than allow vermin on my land, it is not all up ta me.”
The king frowns. Gaze drilling into Atsumu.
“It also helps with our heir situation, as early marriage is expected with royals. Ya shall be married when the Sakusa child turns eighteen. He’s a few months younger than ya so there’ll be some time ta prepare. We will go into my expectations of ya once yer older, but fer now, king Sakusa and I have arranged a meeting fer ya ta get ta know each other. They will be arriving in the summer, so take these next few months ta prepare. I expect that ya won’t let me down.”
And with that, the king left the room.
Atsumu has no idea how he made it back without collapsing. He barely remembers to bring along Osamu’s food and water, as he floats like a ghost through the castle halls, getting a few concerned looks from the servants. Luckily no one moves to stop him. He had no idea what he’d do if they tried.
The journey to Osamu’s cavern felt like a century. As he approaches, he catches the strong scent of rainwater, Osamu clearly worried and irritated by his lateness.
“There ya are, Tsumu! What the heck took so long, I’ve been starving down her—” His brother’s rant suddenly cuts off but Atsumu can’t find the strength to raise his head, staring at floor like it held the answers to all his problems.
“Tsumu…ya alright? No don’t answer that, ya look like yer about ta fall over. What the heck happened?”
Atsumu didn’t respond and his brother’s scent became increasingly agitated.
“Tsumu, look at me will ya!”
A pair of slender hands take hold of him, guiding him to the bed. The twins would often sleep down here and Atsumu felt comfortable with the fluffy blankets enclosing him. Osamu guides his head to his neck, scenting in an attempt to help. Atsumu wonders how bad he looks, to get his bottomless pit of a twin to ignore the food in his sack, in favour of scenting.
A sudden fatigue takes over his body and the young prince finds himself unable to keep his eyes open. Drifting to sleep in the comfort of his sibling’s arms.
The next few months fly by, as Atsumu does his best to keep busy and not think of his impending meeting with his fiancé. It didn’t take Osamu long to drag it out of him and he was just as freaked out, though not as verbally so.
Osamu tried talking about it with him. What did he think Sakusa would look like? Would he be nice or a jerk like Tsumu? (Oi!) Would Osamu be able to see him?
Atsumu tries his best to change the topic whenever it came up, but Osamu was just as stubborn as his twin at times.
“I’m going ta see him,” Osamu declares, unwilling to take no for an answer.
“And how are ya gonna do that? Have ya already forgotten what father said?”
“They won’t see me if I sneak.”
“And how are ya gonna sneak when there are servants all around?”
“I’ll just hafta take a path no one else knows about.”
Atsumu scoffs, no one could ever call Osamu the smarter twin when he spoke nonsense like this.
“Well I guess ya better get ta work finding that secret path then.”
His twin nods, fierce and determined. Atsumu thought that would be the end of the conversation. But a week before the meeting, Atsumu goes down to the cavern as usual, only to find a giant hole in one of the walls that he could have sworn wasn’t there in the morning.
“What the heck?!”
He throws his knapsack on the bed and searches around for his twin, not finding any sign of him. Atsumu begins to panic, his mind inventing all kinds of awful reasons for the situation.
Had someone dug a tunnel and kidnapped his twin? Or worse, had he been found by some sort of huge mole creature that stumbled upon him while digging holes through the underground? Just as Atsumu was seriously considering how to rescue his brother from a giant man-eating creature, the scent of rainwater and his twin’s obnoxious voice filled the room.
“Oh, yer back already Tsumu?”
There, from the newly formed tunnel emerges his brother, covered in dirt and who knows what else, looking far too pleased with himself for someone that nearly gave Atsumu a heart attack. Then again, that jerk might actually take pleasure in scaring him half to death.
“What the heck are ya doing and where’d that hole come from?!”
Osamu’s grin widens. “I was looking around ta see if there was a secret entrance in the cavern similar ta the one in yer room and one of the walls sounded kinda funny, so I whacked it with the hammer. The wall collapsed, revealing this cool tunnel.”
Atsumu gaped at him, mind scrabbling to catch up.
“That’s what ya wanted a hammer fer? Wait, what if ya brought down more than just that part of the wall, ya idiot! Ya could have been crushed by falling rocks or something!”
Osamu just shrugs and Atsumu fights the intense urge to strangle him. His problems would be so much easier if he was an only child.
Atsumu grimaces, shaking the thought away.
Meanwhile, Osamu has taken the knapsack from the bed and begun to chow down. Atsumu wrinkles his nose.
“Ya haven’t even washed up yet scrub.”
Osamu grumbles something that sounds suspiciously like ‘don’t care,’ while Atsumu questions his sanity. Looking back at the new opening, he wonders where it could lead, if it could really be one of those secret passages Osamu swore to find.
“Hey Samu, didja see where it led?”
“Only a little bit. I just got it open an hour ago and was starving, so I haven’t gone in too far. Also I..."
“Also what?”
“Its nothing.” To anyone who didn’t know him, Osamu would come off as cool, maybe even indifferent. But Atsumu was trapped in close quarters with him for years before they were separated. He could detect the slight change in body posture that said Osamu was feeling nervous, even a bit ashamed.
His brother was even avoiding direct eye contact, something he usually never did. Atsumu mulls it over before it suddenly clicks.
He smirks. “Awww, was little Samu scared ta explore the scary tunnel all by himself?”
Osamu glares, swallowing the last of his meal with a big gulp. “Was not. I just didn’t have the time yet.”
“Don’t worry, yer brave big brother will protect ya from the scary dark.”
“Shut yer trap, it’s not like that!”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. I was doing ya a favour by waiting fer ya. I just didn’t want ta deal with ya whining about being left behind.”
“Whatever ya say baby brother.”
“Screw ya.”
Atsumu snickers, but he did want to explore the tunnel with Osamu. They’d never gotten to do anything this adventurous together before. Not that he’d let Osamu know that.
“Don’t worry, we can go after ya wash off. I’ll even be nice and hold yer hand.”
Osamu rolls his eyes, clearly done with his brother’s bullshit.
“Fine.”
After a thankfully uneventful trip to the bath, Osamu stands freshly clean in front of the tunnel with Atsumu.
“Ya ready?”
“Hold on.” Osamu grabs a torch - one of the magic ones that didn’t go out - since they had no idea how far the tunnel went. Atsumu needed to be back by morning to attend classes, so the two wasted no more time entering. The passage was too clean cut to be anything but man made and Atsumu wondered who went to the trouble of digging it out just to forget about it later.
It was clear no one had been down here in a long time, as enforced by the third giant cobweb he walked into, much to Osamu’s amusement.
The twins bickered quietly, just to hear something other than deafening silence. Atsumu didn’t know how long they’d been walking, though it felt like hours. He did notice that the passage sloped and twisted in areas, not going in a straight line. Luckily, it’d been one path so there was no chance of getting lost.
At least it was one path, until they came upon another cavern that had four branching paths besides the one they’d come from. Osamu’s eyes lit with interest while Atsumu looked around inquisitively.
“Where do ya think these paths are supposed ta go?”
“Don’t know, but I’m gonna find out.”
“Let’s go back fer now, we can’t risk getting lost.”
“Who’s the scaredy fox now Tsumu.”
“Hey! Yer not the one Kita-san will kill fer skipping out on his granny’s lessons. I’m on a deadline okay?”
Osamu moves forward, gathering a bunch of rocks that litter the cavern floor.
“Oi, what are ya doing?”
Instead of answering, his brother moves the rocks to the entrance of the path they emerged from.
“There. Now we won’t get lost ya big baby. Let’s go down one more tunnel before leaving alright? Or are ya too chicken?”
Never one to back down from a challenge, he strides down the tunnel directly opposite them, leaving Osamu to catch up. The two shove at each other, gradually picking up the pace before full out racing down the tunnel. Atsumu sees an opening up ahead, just making it out before Osamu and turning to gloat.
“Ha I win!”
“No fair! Ya aren’t the one who has ta hold the torch!”
“Yer just making excuses fer being a turtle.”
“No I’m no—”
Osamu suddenly freezes, eyes going wider than he’d ever seen on his normally calm twin.
“What’s wrong?”
Osamu seemed to be struck speechless, pointing wordlessly upwards.
Atsumu raises his gaze as well, gazing in wonder as he finds himself confronted by the last thing he’d expected from an underground tunnel.
The starry night sky.
The air was crisp and clean; in the distance Atsumu could make out trees and rooftops. They’d somehow ended up outside. Not only outside, but outside the castle walls. Fortunately, there was no one around at this time of night to question their presence. They were alone at the base of a small hill, several miles outside the capital city.
“Woah, this is so cool!”
He turns excitedly to his twin. “Can ya believe this Samu?! We’re outside the castle!”
Osamu didn’t move his gaze from the stars, having lost room in his world for anything but them.
“Hey Samu.” Atsumu elbows him, startling the other and drawing his eyes back to him.
“Yeah, it’s nice.” Back to the stars as if drawn by a magnet. “Really nice.”
As he watches his twin star gaze, it hits Atsumu harder than the hammer his twin used that while he was allowed out to play in the castle garden, Osamu hadn’t been allowed out of the cold walls of his cavern. Had his twin even had the chance to really feel the wind on his face as he ran in the sunlight?
The answer was a resounding no and Atsumu’s stomach tied itself into knots. Osamu had seemed alright. Bickering with him over homework and such as he always did and eating like there was no tomorrow, that Atsumu hadn’t really thought too much of the basic things he’d been lacking.
The older twin takes a deep breath and makes a silent promise to the stars. No longer would Osamu have to stay cooped up all day. Atsumu would figure out a way to let him wander the outside world once again.