Chapter 56: How the Broken Heal

The capital of the land of fire was a vast city, the most populous and the most expansive. Afterall, this city was the home of many rich and powerful nobles clans that have ruled these lands for nearly a millennium.

This city was always a hub of trade and activity, goods and merchants from the entire continent came to this land to find fortune and trade. However, right now, the city was gripped by a strange shadow, everyone could feel the hands of the puppeteer but no one could find him. Rumors of war could be heard and chaos could be seen on the horizon.

Luckily, during this time, the people came to see a new light. It was a light of hope and trust, a light that protected the people. It was the young noble, the prince consort, Lord Shin Hirano. There were very few in the city that didn't know of him or had received his kindness. The youngman was kind and handsome, a stark contrast from the image of the nobles the people had gotten used to. The People often saw him patrolling the city, helping the needy, along with the guards and soldiers of the country. This had made the reputation of the royal family reach an all time high as the praises of the daimyo's wisdom and generosity spread through the country.

However, the brighter the light, the darker the shadows that linger beneath.

In one of the many noble mansions in the city, a trembling man sat tied to a chair, in front of him was a young man with a regal posture and an annoyed look on his face. It was the royal heir and the 2nd prince of the land of fire.

"You had one job." the prince spoke in a dangerous tone that sent shivers down his spine as the tied up man twitched.

"You only had to keep that drunk useless bastard away from my sister for one night!" the prince's voice grew louder and colder as he spoke, "Yet you failed at even that!"

The tied up man reeled back in fear, his entire body trembling. He had never thought that becoming a friend of the young monster of theInoue clan would cause him this much trouble. He had thought that this was a good connection he could exploit but knowingly he had been caught in the web of the spider.

The trembling man eyed the photographs on the table in front of him, pictures showing him entangled in a nude intimate position with a young woman that was in fact his father's concubine. The man had been blackmailed using these photos to sabotage his friend but after he found out that the princess had become pregnant from just one night, he fled to his clan's fief,away from the capital. He remained there until today when he suddenly woke up tied to a chair and in front of a very angry prince.

"I-i-it wasn't my fault! T-t-that bastard! _i-I-I tried to keep him but that bastard wouldn't stay! He kept braging about how he would fuc-!" the man shut his mouth, the last he didn't want to use coarse language regarding the princess in front of her own brother.

The prince sighed as he looked at the pathetic man, he didn't care about his blood relations, if he did, his elder brother would still be alive!

"You failed me… And now that bitch is carrying a child… a boy! I don't need any contestants for the throne, not until father is dead and I am named the daimyo! Now I can't even kill that bitch and her bastard because that lapdog ninja would sniff me out and even father would not stand for me killing his beloved daughter!" His expression grew uglier and uglier as he went on until his eyes regained a cold calm and he gave his captive a sinister smile, "You however… will be able to make up for your mistake… by dying!"

The tied man's blood ran white as a ninja appeared behind the prince, dressed in red as the prince pointed to the ninja, "Red here is an expert in earth techniques. Your death will bring us one step closer to war." he smiled at the trembling man as he turned and left, leaving behind his trusted ninja to do his thing.

The prince went to another room where he lit up a cigarette, it had been specially procured by his men to calm him and it worked wonders. It kept him calm and make rational decisions, this was how his current strategy came to fruition; once the young noble was found dead, investigations would point towards a plot from the land of earth.

The soon to be dead man's father was an adamant supporter of the daimyo, with his son dead that supporter would then push the daimyo to war, seeking vengeance.

"What of Lord Hirano? The nobles won't be able to force the daimyo into war as long as he remains in the capital." A shadow voiced his concerns behind him.

The prince furrowed his brows, it was true. Shin was a nuclear deterrent that kept the opposing nobles in check but he had no way of getting rid of him as the only ones that could, the akatsuki, were being pursued by the five great ninja villages.

"Perhaps we could use the Princess and her son?" Suggested the shadow.

"No, if she dies, then father won't let me be." the prince complained.

"We don't have to hurt them, just make it seem like they are being targeted. Once the daimyo sends Lord Hirano to protect her and his grandson, there will be no one to oppose you in the capital!" The shadow explained his scheme and understanding bloomed on the prince's face, soon followed by a sinister smile.

......…

When the news spread that Princess Yukina was bearing a son, the daimyo was over the moon from the news and had called shamans and priests to read the child's fortune. Many of the fortune tellers stated that the child would be a great and strong prince! The monks of the temple of fire even foretold that the prince's name would be echoed throughout the world as he would be a great and noble warrior, undefeated and unchallenged!

The daimyo was thrilled at the divinations as many nobles congratulated him. However no one truly took these predictions to heart, afterall the birth of a royal child was a golden time to please the royal family and gain donations for their religious sects and institutes. Such predictions were very common and only existed to please the parents of the child and were in no way indicative of the future.

Sadly, the very next week, the princess had fallen gravely ill so the daimyo dispatched Shin to check up on her. Shin sent back the report that the princess had been poisoned by a maid under genjutsu. Luckily the princess felt the odd taste of the food and had refused to eat. If she had taken just another bite, even if she lived, the baby would have died.

Since moving the princess at this stage was dangerous, he commanded Shin to stay there and protect them and not to return until the child was born and the mother and son could be brought back to the capitol.

Back at the capital, the news of an assassination of a noble's son by the land of earth ninja spread throughout the city and the grieving father pushed the daimyo for war. Without Shin to keep the nobles in check, the pressure on the daimyo increased, yet the man refused to start a war when his own kingdom was plagued by the shadows of conspiracies.

Thedaimyo also refused to call back Shin as he didn't want to endanger the lives of his daughter and grandson, luckily he was able to rely on Konoha for aid as the hokage sent a jonin squad to fill in the presence left behind by Shin.

The hokage offered to send jonins to protect princess Yukina but the daimyo didn't trust anyone else with the safety of his family.

Hence, Shin began to live at Nagoya Castle as the queen consort and Yukina's mother went back to the capital to aid her husband.

When Shin had arrived at the castle, Yukina told him to stay by her side at all times as she didn't trust anyone. Soon after, Shin accompanied Yukina and Minori for a walk by the nearby river. Yukina insisted that no one follow them and since Shin was there, there really wasn't a need for anyone to do so. Regardless, Shin instructed the guards to follow from a distance incase there was a need.

Nagoya Castle was situated on a hill, there was a river that flowed from the mountains and crossed the forest close to the castle and then flowed into a lake at the foot of the hill.

The water was cold and refreshing all year round but since it was winter now, the water was freezing. Still, Yukina liked the sound of the rushing river, she said it reminded her of the noise of the city but it was actually because the loudness of the river drowned the thoughts in her mind.

Shin walked at the front, his senses always at full attention, it was a habit at this point. Pineapple walked ahead of Shin, leaving behind small paw prints as she walked elegantly on the snow.

The princess was in the middle along with Minori who helped Yukina walk across the snow filled forest.

The soldiers remained at a distance, unable to see clearly ahead as they had to stay away from Yukina's sight but they perked up their ears for any sound of trouble.

Everyone was dressed warmly but Shin had just opted for a regular black and red Kimono. Seeing this, Yukina asked in curiosity, "Don't you feel cold lord Hirano?"

Shin looked back at her before turning his head to the front again, "No, it will take a blizzard to make me feel even slightly chilly." Shin replied. His insanely high chi had ensured his high resistance to the elements.

"Hmmm~" The princess hummed at his response before a mischievous smile bloomed on her face and she slowly crept up to Shin and plunged her cold hands into his shirt. Contrary to what she expected, instead of Shn's exclamation, it was Yukina that moaned in relief as Shin's body heat warmed up her hands instantly.

Minori was left red faced at the princess's bold actions but couldn't find the words to express herself.

"Wahhh~ So warm~" Yukina moaned as Shin backed away.

"Princess, please try to restrain yourself." he pleaded but he was set up for disappointment.

"I. Don't. Want. To~" The girl smirked before grabbing Shin's hand and lacing her fingers with his, "I just took this hand after so long, I am not letting go no matter what!" she showed her tongue to Shin and started to walk, dragging Shin along her.

Shin looked at Minori for help but the poor girl was still in shock, she looked around as if looking for the princess this imposter had replaced.

Once by the river, Shin was able to free himself as the princess immersed herself with sounds of nature and Shin substituted himself with Pineapple to trick the princess. Shin sighed as he thought about the princess. Deep down, he did feel sorry for her but this was just how things were and considering her fragile state, he had to be lenient with her.

After a long while, Shin was busy meditating by the river when he felt Yukina trying to sneak up on him once more but chose to ignore her, a bad decision as the girl plunged, not her cold hands but, a lump of snow into his shirt.

Shin opened his eyes and instantly tried to take out the freezing snow inside his shirt. Yukina laughed at him dancing around and shaking, trying to get the snow out, Minori also trying hard to suppress her laughter. Once Shin was successful, he looked at Yukina with vengeance in his eyes, "That's it! No more mister nice guy!"

He grabbed a lump of snow and rounded it into a ball ad with expert aim, threw it at the princess. The girl felt the impact on her face and was shocked before returning fire, "Minori! Attack!" she commanded the girl.

Facing the pincer assault, Shin was able to contend with both of them as he was faster and more agile. While engaged in an easy battle, Shin was hit in the back of the head with a snowball and everyone froze. Shin turned around and saw a smug Pineapple.

"Betrayal!" Shin pointed at the cat before falling to the ground, limp and sticking out his tongue while closing his eyes.

"Oh no!" Yukina exclaimed, "Oh! Lord Shin! Niooooo!" she yelled in a low voice as not to attract the attention of the guards. She kneeled beside him and cried, "No! You are too handsome to die! Wait, I know how to wake you!" she exclaimed.

Shin had a bad feeling but before he could open his eyes, a softness assaulted his face. Shin opened his eyes and saw Yukin pull back with a triumphant smile. She looked as if she had just won a death battle with a great foe as she smiled, "Are you awake now, my lord?" she asked him.

"P-princess!?" Minori cried in shock, looking at her as if it were a stranger.

After a few days, there was another incident as Yukina refused to let anyone get close to her, including the doctors. Yukina had grown paranoid after the attempted assassination and didn't allow anyone close to her apart from Minori and Shin. Not even allowing doctors near her and insisted that Shin do the regular checkups instead as he was just as qualified.

While such a thing was unorthodox, no one could blame the poor girl since none of the doctors were able to heal her when she had been poisoned and yet Shin healed her within the day. At this point, one might question the doctor's abilities or even if their treatment was intentionally lacking and they too had been put under a genjutsu or were conspiring with the enemy.

......…

During their interactions, Shin had seen the truth hidden beneath her smiling eyes, it was mania. The girl had broken and in an attempt to heal itself, the mind had rewritten itself, removing all the pain and making her own reality.

If someone asked her about her husband, she would name the Inoue family but her words would be empty, like a child that is repeating what it heard without having any meaning associated with them.

The weeks that followed were hectic to say the least, Yukina insisted on keeping Shin and Minori close to her as she trusted no one else and even had a panic attack when another maid tried to help her dress or give her food.

Shin was not having the best of times, dealing with an emotionally unstable pregnant woman was not an easy thing. The mid-night cravings and odd hour walks were one thing, but the way she flirted with him when she thought no one was looking was another.

Regardless, Shin did his duty and stayed by her side, taking care of her. During this time, he got to know all her tendencies, how she had a sweet tooth like Shin, how she looked adorably drowsy when she woke up in the mornings, how she flirted with Shin but became incredibly shy whenever Shin reciprocated in revenge.

Yukina had also rubbed off on Shin, the man often teased her which turned her into a tomato. For someone who acted so aggressive, she was still far too green to contend with Shin. Somewhere along the path, between switching sugar and salt in the desert, changing pillows to disturb sleep and pining demon masks to the walls behind the mirrors to scare the living soul out of one another, the two found themselves enjoying each other's company more and more.

......…

"What about this one?" Her voice a soft whisper as she gently caressed a scar on his arm.

"A missing nin from Ame, he was a sneaky one." Shin explained. Since his life force was so high, he shouldn't have any scars but he did, his body was covered in them.

"What about this big one?" she gently traced her finger along his chest.

"It was by a friend." Yukina felt the sadness in his words as she snuggled closer to him, as if in apology.

She decided to move away from the upper body and saw a gnash on his leg, thinking about changing Shin's mode, she asked about that one. Unluckily for her, that scar was much deeper than it appeared to be.

"That…" Shin hesitated before speaking, "That was from my brother." he told her. Yukina's eyes teared up as she hugged the young man, trying not to warm him but his heart.

Just as Yukina was broken by the fate life had forced upon her, Shin too was filled with cracks from the cruel twists of life.

The sleepless night passed, and many more since then. The two that were broken, found solace in each other; counting scars and weaving dreams. Hoping for a future unlike the past.