Opacho

Seven years ago...

The young Prince Hao stretched his arms while he sat down on the mansion's rooftop. This was his favorite past time in Mont St Michel. He loved spying on the wretched people down below. He would often bring some rocks with him and throw them at the unsuspecting gardener. He was disappointed that he couldn't find him today. He must have taken the day off or maybe he was fed up with having to deal with rocks raining from above him.

Something else did caught his interest. He saw a little beggar child wandering around the bushes probably looking for food. He wasn't the helpful type but he felt pity over the hungry child who seemed to be alone just like him. He slid down the rooftop and expertly landed on his room's balcony. He sneaked into the kitchen and stole some bread then went outside to look for the child in the garden. He found him leaning on a tree in the arbor near the mansion while trying to light some matches.

"What are you doing?" He asked with profound curiosity.

"I'm going to burn this place." The black child told him in a candid but innocent tone.

"Why?"

"I just like burning things and watching the fire grow bigger. Big brother used to light fires to keep me warm but he's not here anymore." He was finally successful in lighting the last match in the box.

"It would take more than just one stick to burn this mansion," Prince Hao said to him. "Here, have this first." He showed the piece of bread.

The child dropped the lighted match and hungrily took the bread from him.

"What's your name?" the prince inquired.

"Opacho. " The child answered between bites. He had devoured the bread in seconds. When he had finished, he had began retreating into the grove of trees.

"I like you. I won't burn this place while you are here." He said before leaving.

From then on, Opacho would drop by the mansion at night so that nobody would see him. Prince Hao would steal food from the mansion's provision and would deliberately miss the family dinner to meet the child in the arbor and eat with him. They had become friends over the years and would often share stories about their lives.

The Kasai prince had come to learn that Opacho and his older brother had been orphaned at a young age and shunned by their relatives. His older brother had resorted to committing unspeakable crimes out of his desperation to survive but he was caught and imprisoned. Opacho was left all alone to fend for himself until Hao found him.

When the prince turned fourteen, Opacho had told him that he met a man who had offered him a lucrative job so he won't be visiting as often as before. Months would pass by before they would meet again. During the first few meetings after he started on his job, Opacho would show up with his face and clothes splattered with blood. The prince had an inkling by then what his friend's job was. He had to remind him several times to take a shower before going outside. One time, Opacho showed up really excited.

"We closed a huge deal!"

"Good for you. Was the job from a royal?"

"Yes, he asked us to finish off a family."

"That's a tough one. Your client must have been harboring a deep resentment towards your target."

"I don't know... He told us first he just wished to scare them off. Then his representative said that he changed his mind and doubled our pay to have them killed. Our client wanted to put the blame on your kingdom by the way."

"On Kasai?" the prince asked incredulously.

"Yes, but we don't know how. We have to give him something that would be traced back to your kingdom..."

"Do you by any chance have a picture of the doomed royal family?"

"Oh yes, I have it here," Opacho took something out of his pocket. It was a sketch that was already crumpled. "The client had someone copy this from a painting. It is a pretty drawing, isn't it?"

The prince peered at the smiling couple and their daughter who was pouting. It was apparent that the girl didn't like her portrait being taken during that time. He didn't recognize the family so they must be from those two other kingdoms.

"Yes, she is very pretty, " he responded as he gazed at the daughter. "Too bad she would die soon. But this has serious implications, Opacho. A war could start afterwards."

"I guess that's what our client wanted in the first place. I was excited to tell you because you hate your family."

Prince Hao thought for a while. It did make things more interesting. "You know what, I could help you with your predicament. I know someone from the Kasai palace. She could steal an heirloom from my brother."

He had sent out a telegram to the palace servant, Kanna Bismarch the next day. The letters coming from outside the kingdom were being filtered by the head of the royal guards so he had pretended to be her ex-lover asking for something that he left with her that should have been his. Kanna was smart enough to figure out what it was. She sneaked into Prince Yoh's room while he was undergoing royal training with Amidamaru. The prince did not like wearing the star pin back then so she was able to easily find it in his drawers.

Kanna then smuggled the heirloom out during the palace servants' day off. She handed the envelope over to the messenger delivering correspondences between the Kasai king and the Duke of Mont St Michel right before he left port. She was intimately close with the guy but she loved Prince Hao more. That's what she had explained to the other Asakura twin in the accompanying letter.

Prince Hao thought it was reckless of her to even write one. He had asked Opacho to burn the letter the next time they met.

"Here's the heirloom I have promised. It would be traced back to my brother."

"I'm grateful for this. What's your plan in case a war erupts in your land?"

"The Duke is sick. I heard from Marco that the doctor had already numbered his days. I am certain that my father would come visit him. When that happens, it's time for me to go back and claim the throne."