Regulus' Assurance

When I was young, I was….the village troublemaker."

"Troublemaker…"

"I guess it was especially when I was nine. I was the definition of hell, haha."

To Shizaki's point of view, King being a troublemaker, or a rascal, was pretty hard to comprehend. He seemed so calm, and was usually the one to put the reins on Kamazaki, not the other way around.

"It was…pretty bad. I had started doing thievery, violence and bullying on the other village kids to take their stuff and other stupid things. This all started thanks to me adopting traits from being in an abusive family."

An abusive family..?

Shizaki stiffened up.

"I….I'm sorry….to hear that."

"Don't worry about it too much. My bastard of a father, who passed his first name onto me as a baby, was a drunkard who was unfaithful to my mom and slept with other women whom she didn't know. My mom was always bitter and hated my father, but deep down, I knew that she still loved him somehow and couldn't leave him. I guess, in a sense, she was stupid too."

Soon, every simple conversation would turn into an argument, and then a nasty fight consisting of hurtful screaming and curses, with many physical attacks as well. He could still picture the dreadful scenes vividly. After all, he was there to witness it as the only child in the household.

"Seeing that constantly hurt me, but then I slowly became more toxic to others because that was all I could see and remember as I walked back into that damn house. I always got into trouble with my bad deeds in the village and my mother would know about it. My dad wasn't usually home, but he would return from time to time. Even if he was home, I hardly doubt that he could care less about what I did. But my mom was very depressed at the time, and she always scolded me harshly and started to blame me for the family problems. Now that I look back at it, she needed someone to blame, and I was the perfect person for her to vent her frustrations on."

But in his mind, he was bound to do bad stuff again. He hated his parents, and hated what they had become. Somehow, he also had a strange desire to be hated by them as well. He would keep going with his troublemaking ways, and when his mom found out what he had done with the other village women informing her, she would go insane at him and scream at him, beating him and begging him to stop, stating that he was just like his father.

"I became known as the 'Little King of Terror and Shame'. Yukikama Kawarasuri was no more. I was a kid who, as a terrible youth, let out all of his anger on others. I met Kamazaki during this time too, but she was the first one who did not seem scared by my appearance, and I somehow slowly got closer to her through our frequent interactions. She would stand her ground defiantly, yet tried to keep associating with me in order to encourage me to do better."

Shizaki simply stared at him, and he could not respond. King had gone through all of this. He would have never known that he had been such a terrible person, and that he was from a worse family. And yet…

King smiled as he closed his eyes and faced the ceiling.

"So you must be wondering…'Where am I going with this?' 'How did you turn into the person you are today?' What are you trying to tell me from my background?' Well, I'll answer that now."

He leaned back and lowered his head as he slowly opened his eyes.

"It all started when my shitty father finally returned home after a long while. Soon, suprise suprise, my parents started fighting again. It was getting out of hand…and I don't know why….but I tried to intervene for the first time. Maybe it was due to my association with Kamazaki-san who always tried to correct my attitude and actions. Anyway it….didn't end well."

"What….happened…?"

King: "I got hurt, really bad. My father struck me as I tried to intervene. The way that he snarled and looked at me, the force that he hit me….I couldn't take it more. And in that moment, I-"

He stopped. His mouth stayed open as he barely continued his sentence. Shizaki looked at him in confusion and a bit of fear.

"You….what?"

King's mouth slowly closed and he lowered his head in his hands as he continued.

"It was all a blur....the Royal Guards came to check what had happened, and took him away. He and I, even my mom, needed attention to our injuries quickly. But they took him into custody. I had told them about all what he had done, his abusiveness to my mom and I, and although my mom was basically coerced into confirming what I said was true, she hated me for ratting him out. She absolutely hated what I did. And then, when both she and I were finally all alone, she went into a dark spiral. Soon after…"

He stayed silent, and turned to Shizaki with gloomy eyes.

"She died."

"...."

Shizaki turned his head away and stared at the ground, only able to listen to the person next to him as he continued. King faced the ceiling once more.

"With no parents to care for me anymore, Kamazaki's mom took me in. It was now her, Kamazaki, her older sister, and myself. She was a single mother, and although she found it extremely hard to care for all of us, she loved us dearly and did her best. She's an amazing woman. Also, she only decided to take me in because of Kamazaki's persistence in asking her to do so. I am forever grateful for that."

King's face finally changed into one of slight joy and relief as he reminisced about his adoptive mother.

"I hardly ever made any more trouble after being taken in, but I still had a horrible reputation. All of my mistakes, no matter how small or big, had to be accounted for. That woman taught me to be a better person, and to sincerely apologise to all for what I did. It was hard, but I strived to do just that."

"Did….did the people accept you?"

"Heh, it was very hard for most to believe. But as I slowly worked hard to make friends with others and be more loving with the small and big things around the village, while being accountable for my past deeds, they all soon accepted me."

And that was the person who appeared before Daizen Shizaki today. The reformed King, not of Terror, but of Reconciliation.

"And so….I always strive to own up to my mistakes, no matter how small, and I aim to overcome them and prove my worth to the people who I've failed. That is the story of my life so far, Shizaki-kun. I'm King, the Little King of Reconciliation. And now, I aim to fulfill my promise to that woman who asked me to protect the smile of the girl I hold dear to my heart by looking over her as I try to become a Royal Guild Member. "I have a hundred hearts at home cheering me on, and hers is definitely at the core. Let's both do our best, Shizaki-kun."

Noticing the tears in his eyes, Shizaki looked at him in awe and smiled, before patting his shoulder.

"You are….an amazing guy, King."

That was his first reply to him after hearing a beautiful story of redemption.

And with that feedback, King covered his tear-filled eyes with his right arm.

"T-Thank you…."

His story had emboldened Shizaki. Shizaki did not care about his past filled with badness, because he could see how amazing he was today. And no matter what, he also had to do his part. Clenching his left fist, he silently vowed to give the Selection and his preparation for his fate everything that he had.

"Yeah…let's both do our best, King."

Satou Yukino's back was turned away from the duo who were engaged in their conversation, and although the rest of passengers were still sleeping, his watery eyes had been opened as he tried to hold back tears of his own.

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(Chapter 19: Regulus' Assurance.)