"Hyah! Hyuh!"

Three years after the end of the war in Ku, Prince Hikari Ku stood on a small outcropping of desert sand overlooking the city's streets. He had a blade grasped firmly in his hands, and he swung it through the air vertically and then horizontally. He was starting to work up a sweat, making his pale skin gleam in the midday sun. Hikari did not stop even as his body tired though, pressing on and continuing to slash at the wind all around him. 

In the three years that had come and gone since the end of the war, Hikari's life had changed substantially. These days, he spent his time in the streets of Ku far from the palace. He had grown used to it, and he found a special type of comfort surrounded by his countrymen. Hikari continued to train even though the war was long over, determined to defend those he cared for should conflict ever arrive on his doorstep again. He would be ready if another war came, and he would defend his friends. Protecting the people was what a prince did, and Hikari would not back down from his duties no matter what. 

Hikari finished his training drills with one final stab, and he slowly slid his blade back into its sheath at his hip. "Phew..." He reached for his water skin, tilting it back to enjoy the refreshing smoothness of water on the back of his throat. He had been training for the last hour, and he was at last satisfied with his progress. Hikari doubted any true danger would come to Ku any time soon, but in case it did, he would be ready. 

"Lord Hikari!" came the call of a man walking through the streets nearby. "Working up a sweat today, I see. If we didn't say anything, I reckon you'd train until the sun set."

Hikari turned to face the man with a crescent of a smile on his face. A small crowd had gathered to watch him train, and all of them stared in awe at his work. "I'd be glad to. It's a sign that peace yet prevails," Hikari replied. 

"Can't argue with that!" The man burst into hearty laughter before returning to his previous work of carrying a few buckets of food across the street from one merchant's stall to another. 

"Lord Hikari!" another voice called out, and Hikari recognized it as belonging to a teenage boy. "Think you could teach me how to swing a sword like you do?" The boy was even holding a wooden sword in one hand, and there was another sitting nearby where Hikari had set his other training materials. 

Hikari traded his steel blade for the wooden one on the ground and nodded. "If you wish. That may be merely a piece of wood, but don't think you'll have any mercy."

The teenage boy nodded, and he cried out before rushing at Hikari with his blade. Hikari easily avoided the attack but did not return it with a blow of his own. The boy's arms were too far away from his body, leaving his torso entirely unprotected. The boy swung twice more before Hikari finally decided to mount a counterattack as the problem persisted. He twisted out of the boy's reach before striking his opponent in the side with the hilt of the blade. The boy yelped in pain and fell to the ground in an instant. 

Hikari extended a hand to the boy and helped him to his feet. "Your stance isn't bad. Now bring in your arms." The boy followed Hikari's lead, and he nodded his understanding. Even so, the boy did not try to strike at Hikari again, too winded from the harsh blow to the side a few moments prior. 

Hikari stepped back to let the boy breathe, and when he did, someone else appeared before him. This man was a guard from the castle, and his face was creased with a deep, heavy frown. "You should stop this, my lord. Were you seen teaching swordwork to this manner of folk..."

Hikari's eyes darkened with disappointment. "'This manner of folk?' They're my friends."

The guard turned to face the rest of the crowd with an accusatory point. "They're not your friends, my prince! They are lowborns who scavenge for rotten food. They're a stain on our nation!" The crowd didn't seem shocked by the cruel words, and they didn't try to defend themselves either, instead simply bowing their heads in shame. 

Hikari stepped up beside the guard, his frown dark as could be. "They are citizens of Ku, not unlike yourself, and you will show them the respect they deserve."

The guard floundered beneath Hikari's steely gaze, and he stammered for words for a few long seconds. In the end, he gave up and shook his head frantically. "I... Apologies, my lord!" He scampered away a moment later, unable to stand the shame of being chastised by the prince. 

"That'll teach you to talk back to our lord!" came the cry of the man from a few moments prior. 

"Thank you, Lord Hikari," another man said graciously, bowing his head in thanks. 

"We haven't had a lord that looks out for us like that before," the teenage boy added, finally letting his defensive posture melt away. 

Hikari shook his head. "No thanks are needed. All citizens of our nation deserve equal respect."

"L-Lord Hikari!"

A woman's voice drew Hikari's attention in the direction of a set of stairs nearby. He recognized the woman as Tsuki, one of his longtime friends and a citizen of Ku. She was out of breath and on the verge of tripping over her skirt in her desperation to reach him. Tsuki nearly collided with Hikari when she arrived, and he reached one hand out to steady her. "What is it, Tsuki?" Hikari asked, keeping his voice level with the hope that it would calm her down too. 

"A brawl has broken out at the tavern!" Tsuki exclaimed. "It's one of Lord Mugen's men! He's out of control!"

Hikari wished he could have said he was shocked to hear that. If anything, he found that it made perfect sense that one of Mugen's men was stirring up trouble again. It had grown to be an increasingly common occurrence as of late, though Hikari never liked having to face it. "Understood. Let us be on our way." Tsuki nodded and started down the stairs, and Hikari took off after her. He hoped with everything he had that this would be resolved peacefully, but he somehow already knew it would not be that simple. 

For a nation at peace, Ku seemed to truly struggle with being at peace sometimes. 

~~~~~

Uncomfortable silence had fallen over the tavern of Ku. Every patron in the dining area was either glued to their seats or standing near the walls to stay out of the way of the troubling man of the hour. A soldier wearing the dark armor of Mugen's guard was stumbling near the counter, one hand on his sheathed sword and the other closed as a fist. "Do you know who I am?!" the man yelled to the barkeep. "I'm a captain--appointed by Lord Mugen himself!"

"The wars have been over for years!" the tavern keeper fired back. "That armor won't earn you any special treatment around here!" 

The soldier refused to take that for an answer, and he stumbled over to the barkeep, raising his fist high. The door pushed open to reveal Hikari and Tsuki. Hikari walked in first, and Tsuki tucked herself against the wall near the door. Hikari looked at the guard with a frown, not acknowledging the shocked expressions of the rest of the tavern's patrons scattered around the dining area. "Is this the rowdy customer?" Hikari asked, not taking his eyes off the guard. 

The soldier jolted at the sound of Hikari's voice, finally snapping out of his drunken haze long enough to stare at the prince in shock. Another patron let out a relieved laugh at the sight of Hikari. "Lord Hikari, you're here just in time!"

Mugen's soldier remained firm even in the face of the prince, and he took a wobbling step toward Hikari. "So this is where you've been since you were driven from the castle, huh?" the guard bit out. "Prince Hikari, consorting with lowlifes. Suppose that's what happens when your family forsakes you!"

The barkeep took a step toward the soldier. "You've got some nerve!" He seemed ready to lash out at the rowdy guard, but he already knew he stood no chance, so he did nothing. 

Hikari didn't move from the spot he was standing in either, instead letting out a slow breath through his nose. After peace returned to Ku, Hikari planned to go back to his regular life before combat swallowed him whole... But he was never given the chance. Instead, he was forced out of the castle by his older brother and his intimidation tactics. Since then, Hikari had been looking after the people of Ku personally. He preferred this anyway. Instead of hiding away in an ivory tower, Hikari was there with the people who needed him most. A ruler needed to know what the people needed, and the best way to do that was to spend time with them directly. Mugen frowned upon him for it, but Hikari knew it was for the best. Perhaps the rest of the kingdom thought he had been forsaken by his family. As far as Hikari was concerned though, he had simply found a new place to call home, and he knew he was all the better for it. 

The guard continued to snicker drunkenly even when Hikari didn't respond to his taunting. "The king grows weak, his mind frail. He can barely lift his sword. It won't be long until General Mugen assumes the throne." The soldier pulled his blade free of its sheath, and the entire tavern froze in fear and shock. "So you better fill my cup if you know what's good for you! In the name of the future king!"

Hikari shook his head and closed his eyes. "I think you've had quite enough." He stepped forward, leveling his blade at the guard carefully. Around him, the other patrons of the tavern all moved as slowly as they could away from the scene of the battle. No one wanted to spark the soldier to violence by moving too quickly, but they were desperate to get away from the fight before it could truly break out. 

The guard looked at Hikari through narrowed eyes. "What do you want?"

"If it's a brawl you want, I'll be your opponent," Hikari replied. His grip on his sword grew tight. "You've drawn your sword. Now be prepared for the consequences."

The soldier snarled at the implication of Hikari standing up to him, and he rushed forward with his blade at the ready. Hikari easily evaded the first drunken swing, responding with a firm slash to the soldier's chest. The guard stumbled back for a moment only to rush forward again a moment later, a growl on his lips. Hikari avoided the attack by stepping to the side, and he delivered a firm hit to the guard's back. The soldier fell forward and hit the ground in an instant, slamming his chin against the floor of the tavern. 

The guard pushed himself into a crouch slowly, his head clearly still spinning from the fight. "By the... Tempest..." he managed to choke out. 

"Now... Leave," Hikari instructed, his gaze stern. "I won't ask again."

The soldier wanted to protest the point, but he knew better than to try and start another argument with Hikari. He had already taken enough of a beating for one day, and he would stand no chance of winning if he provoked the prince again. In the end, the guard offered Hikari one last yell of frustration before he ran for the door of the tavern. 

The air in the bar remained tense even after the guard disappeared from view and out onto the streets. Hikari let out a slow breath, willing the chaos in the back of his mind to calm. The fight had been brief, but it stirred something in his head that refused to settle. It felt as if his skull was alive with noise, and Hikari could only hope he was able to ease the sound sooner rather than later. 

The first person to speak up was a man near the entrance of the tavern. He let out a shaky laugh before punching a triumphant fist into the air overhead. "That's our lord!" 

The other patrons of the tavern quickly gathered around Hikari to give him their thanks and apologies, but Hikari couldn't make out the words being sent in his direction. His head still felt too full, and he was beginning to fear he didn't know how he was meant to calm the cacophony. "Apologies for the mess," Hikari finally forced himself to say when he broke through the static. "Drink in peace." With that, Hikari started toward the door himself, and a matter of seconds later, he was out on the street too. 

Hikari glanced around briefly to see if he could catch any glimpses of the soldier he had just fought, but he came up short. That didn't shock him. The guard had no doubt run off to find somewhere to lose the contents of his stomach. He had been intoxicated enough before the fight, and taking a beating like that had no doubt only made him feel worse. 

Hikari found himself feeling awful on the heels of the battle too. The heat of the evening was enough to pull him out of his thoughts though. The sun was starting to set, casting a scarlet glow across the streets of Ku. Hikari could almost hear something stirring in the back of his mind, but the words were too faint for him to make them out specifically. This always seemed to happen when he got into a battle like this, but he had thought he was getting better about it. He thought he was pushing through it. 

The last time Hikari heard the voice clearly had been during the war three years prior. Even so, Hikari hadn't quite understood it the way he had hoped. The chaos was overwhelming, but Hikari didn't understand anything about it. He thought often of what he heard during that final battle about the 'accursed clan' of Ku. No one had the information he sought though, and even if they did, nobody had a reason to give it to him. Why would they bother when he had been cast aside by so many people in order to end up where he was now?

"Lord Hikari, thank you."

Tsuki's voice was an anchor in the hurricane, and Hikari looked to his right to find Tsuki had fallen into place beside him. She bowed her head in gratitude, but Hikari shook his head to dismiss the thanks. "You needn't thank me. It is my duty," he assured her even though he knew that would not be enough to stop Tsuki from extending her kindness to him. 

"We're blessed that you were appointed to watch over our town," Tsuki went on just as Hikari had known she would. "There have been more smiles all around ever since." She cast her gaze on a nearby crowd gathered by a merchant's stall. Everyone in the crowd was smiling as they spoke, and Hikari found himself smiling right along with them. Seeing his friends at ease always brought light to his heart too. He couldn't have asked for a better community to be surrounded by. Mugen may have thought he was winning when he cast Hikari out of the castle, but the truth was that Hikari loved it in the streets of Ku, and he doubted that would ever change. 

Hikari felt the tension begin to unwind from his shoulders, and he let out a slow sigh. This was what he had fought for three years prior. He wanted to see peace flourish in all of Ku. Everyone deserved to be able to enjoy themselves like this. If Hikari was being honest, he had wanted peace to come even long before the end of all conflict three years ago. Hikari had always felt there was a better solution out there than simple violence. Ku was fine on its own, and it did not need to conquer every nation in the deserts of Hinoeuma to be at peace. No one seemed to believe Hikari when he said it, but he would scream until his voice was hoarse if it would keep the people of his home safe. They deserved this peace, and Hikari was not going to give it up for anything, not even Mugen's seemingly endless bloodlust. 

"It's been too long, Your Highness."

Hikari turned around with a gasp already forcing its way out of his lips. Benkei, the right hand to his father, was standing there in the center of the streets with a smile on his face. There was a stoic set to his face though, and Hikari fought to keep his heart from spiraling out of control at the thought that something could have been wrong. "Benkei?! Is that you?" Hikari asked even though he already knew the answer. Benkei nodded, and Hikari felt his smile widen despite the fear gnawing at his chest. "I can't remember the last time you visited the streets alone." Saying it out loud made it clearer than ever before that there was something amiss, and Hikari's smile began to melt away. "Is something amiss?"

Benkei remained silent for what felt like an eternity, and that was the only answer Hikari needed to hear. Something was wrong, and it was a sign of a far greater struggle than Hikari could have ever imagined. "My prince, I must ask that you meet me at the western keep," Benkei said simply. "I can say no more. All will be explained upon your arrival."

Hikari nodded slowly, fighting down the dread that threatened to tear him apart. "Very well. I won't be long."

"Thank you, my prince. I will await you there." Benkei wasted no more time and took a step back before starting off in the direction of the western keep. The wall stood proud and tall over the city streets below, blocking off different districts of Ku's city. Once upon a time, the western keep had been used to see if any enemies were approaching from the west. These days, it was a place patrols passed through out of habit rather than necessity. Hikari dreaded the idea that perhaps it would be needed for something more serious now. He had just been thinking about how pleasant the peace of Ku was. It wouldn't do for it to be shattered out of the blue like that... Though with the trouble Mugen's men had been stirring up recently, Hikari wouldn't have called it a change that appeared out of nowhere. 

"Go on," Tsuki told Hikari, nudging him gently. "If you would like to speak more, I will be here in the city tonight." She cast Hikari a kind smile. "I wish you nothing but the best."

Tsuki's smile was enough to start to thaw the ice that had built up around Hikari's chest. He returned her smile with a grin of his own and bowed his head. "Thank you, Tsuki. I will see you soon." With that, he started off toward the western keep, forcing himself to stand up as straight as possible. Everything was going to be fine. It had to be. He couldn't let his fears hold him back now. Benkei needed him, and Hikari wouldn't let him--or anyone else in Ku--down now. 

When Hikari arrived, he found Benkei kneeled with his head bowed at the top of the stairs leading to the peak of the wall. Benkei's eyes were closed as an act of respect, but Hikari couldn't fathom why... Until he looked up. His father, Jigo Ku, was standing at the other end of the wall, his posture weaker than Hikari remembered it but projecting an aura of strength regardless. Jigo was looking out over the city streets below with a muted frown on his face, and Hikari could sense it even when his father's back was turned to him. 

"Your Majesty?!" Hikari yelped out, and Jigo turned to face him. Hikari could have sworn that Jigo's hair had grown whiter in the time since they last saw one another. The once-striking silver had given way to the white of powdery snow Hikari had never seen in the desert. It seemed like it had been a trying task for Jigo to come this far from the castle, and yet, there he was anyway. "Why have you left the castle? I would have come if called." Hikari was on the verge of saying that he would have come home if he was summoned, but he knew that was not correct anymore. He was hardly a member of the royal family these days, and Hikari was all too aware of his dark reality. 

"This is the only place where we would not be heard," Jigo replied, and Hikari felt his blood freeze in his veins. "Hikari, I have devoted my life to expanding our borders. Many a dawn has been stained crimson by my ambition. Now, at the end of that path... I realize that it has all led to nothing." Jigo walked over to the side of the wall, pressing one hand against the stone before him. "Hikari, I would ask you... What do you want for our nation?"

Hikari stepped forward so he could see over the wall. The people of Ku were getting ready to settle down for the night, and the streets were growing emptier by the minute. Hikari could make out the familiar figures of his friends on the ground below, and they brought a smile to his face despite the unease mounting in his chest. "Friends. Allies. Friends that will grow together with us. Allies that hold the same ideals as us. With that, we could realize a world without conflict. Without bloodshed."

Jigo's face grew stoic, and Hikari found himself fighting to not turn and face his father fully. "I charged you with overseeing the city so that I could take your measure, Hikari," Jigo explained, and Hikari felt his lungs grow tight enough to nearly stop his breathing. The situation had been complicated in many small ways. Mugen had been wanting to get rid of Hikari for a long time, and he was more than happy to oust Hikari from the castle entirely when he had the chance. Jigo hadn't wanted to spark any conflict, so he instead framed it as giving Hikari a task outside of the castle's walls. It wasn't enough to stop the rumors that Hikari had been cast aside by his family, but it gave Hikari a new sense of purpose if nothing else. Mugen may have wanted him gone, but Hikari was making the most of it, and Jigo was too. 

"And I do not find you lacking in the least," Jigo went on. "You've brought joy to the people. Community." Silence fell long and heavy between father and son, and Jigo turned to face Hikari with something dark but hopeful in his eyes. "Hikari, I want you to be the next king of Ku."

Hikari felt all the wind in his lungs vanish in an instant, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Your Majesty... Are you...?" Hikari's throat went tight, and he shook his head. There were a million reasons something like this could not happen. Hikari was only a half-blood, and he had been told as much countless times since his birth. He was born of a concubine, and that alone made him unworthy in the eyes of many. Beyond that, Hikari was far from the strength of Mugen. What better leader could there have been than the general of Ku? Even if Hikari didn't agree with Mugen's methods, he knew where he stood with his brother, and he knew there was nothing he could do to change it. "I'm not worthy. My brother, he..." 

"He is consumed by the same ambition that led me astray. He would see the world kneel before him," Jigo finished for Hikari, and the young prince pressed his lips together into a thin line. Jigo's face grew darker, and he took a step toward Hikari. "There is a plot stirring among his troops. We must act with haste. I shall make the proper arrangements and do what I can to keep Mugen's machinations at bay. Please consider what is at stake, Hikari."

In a moment of weakness, Hikari forgot himself. "Father..." For the first time in countless years, he didn't refer to Jigo by the same title the rest of Ku did. For just a few breaths, Hikari was Jigo's son and not the prince that had been forsaken from the moment of his conception. 

Jigo did not wait for Hikari to press the point further. Instead, he started toward the steps leading off the western keep's apex. Benkei rose to his full height once Jigo was gone, but he did not follow the king immediately. Instead, he glanced over his shoulder at Hikari. "I, too, hope that you will take up the mantle of king, Lord Hikari." 

Much like with Jigo, Hikari didn't know how to respond to Benkei's words. He remained eerily still as Benkei started off the wall. Hikari could only stare after his father and Benkei, his chest threatening to burst free of his ribcage if he gave it even an ounce more power. None of this could be real. That was the only explanation... But he hadn't fallen asleep, had he? This had to be his life regardless of how improbable it was. 

Hikari barely remembered stumbling his way off the wall and into the streets of Ku again. He only breathed once he was certain no one was going to come out of the shadows to strike at him. "Me... A king?" Hikari managed to whisper, forgetting for a moment that he was in danger. Mugen was planning something, and he was willing to take the throne through force... Or so Jigo implied. If word of Jigo's plans got out, then Hikari would become a target. 

Hikari forced greedy lungfuls of air down his throat, but it did nothing to quell the fire in his stomach. Jigo spoke of a plan sparking among Mugen's troops. Hikari didn't know for sure what his brother was planning, but he knew that Jigo wouldn't say something like that lightly. Perhaps the drunken soldier from earlier in the afternoon wasn't a coincidence after all. Perhaps he was a symptom of a much greater problem, a sign of the danger Mugen was planning to bring to life in the streets of Ku. Perhaps that was the first sign that Hikari would see of the coming peril. He hadn't seen it for what it was at the time, but it felt strikingly obvious now. 

Hikari tried to regain his composure, but his mind continued to race anyway. Mugen had always been a brutal man. He believed Ku's glory could come only through the strength of combat, and he was willing to prove his power by any means necessary. Mugen was the most disappointed out of anyone when he learned that Ku was no longer going to be starting wars for the sake of expanding its borders. He had resented Jigo for his decision, and the hatred had settled in his troops even after Mugen forced himself to begin playing politely around his father. 

Mugen had never been Hikari's favorite person. Hikari would never dare to say it aloud out of the fear that it would come back to ruin him, but if he was being honest, he feared his brother more than any person should have. Mugen was his flesh and blood, but to Hikari, he had always been terrifying. Mugen yearned for violence in a way that Hikari had known very few people to lust for it. Hikari had hoped he would never have to see that bloodlust come to life again, but it seemed as if the wars of Ku ending years ago would not stop him. If Mugen was given the chance to sit on the throne, then he was going to find a way to continue the battles of years past. He would start new ones if he had to. 

But Mugen couldn't pull something like this off alone. Secrets as large and grave as this had a way of revealing themselves, and Hikari was going to find a way to pull them into the light. It wouldn't be easy, but he would do it one way or another. At least someone in the city had to know the truth about what Mugen was plotting, and Hikari was going to find them. He wouldn't be able to do anything without more information, so he would simply have to get his hands on it. Asking Mugen's guards was out of the question, but there had to be somebody else who was willing to talk to him. Hikari's reputation was hardly the greatest at the moment, but he couldn't bring himself to care. If it was to protect his people, then he would do anything. 

Hikari started off through the streets, his hand drifting to his blade's hilt on instinct. He would do anything and everything in his power to keep himself from having to use it again. The people of Ku were at peace, and they had been for years. Hikari would do everything he could to make sure that peace held strong for as long as possible. Perhaps Mugen would resent him for it, but that was a price Hikari was willing to pay. This peace had been hard-won, and Hikari would not surrender it now. 

He just hoped he didn't have to spill more blood in order to secure the peace Ku so desperately deserved. 

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And there's the halfway point of Hikari's chapter one! Woohoo!

Man, I forgot how dense the opening chapters of Octopath II are. It seems like so much more happens in them compared to the Octopath I openings. I'm really happy with the way this one is shaping up though. I definitely missed writing in this style, and it's nice to be back to it again. 

I don't have all that much to say about this chapter in all honesty. I'm really enjoying getting into Hikari's perspective though. I've written quite a few stories for Octopath, but I've never done anything from Hikari's point of view specifically. With the Octopath novelizations, I get in a character's head a lot more than I would just by playing in the game, and I'm already starting to get a feel for Hikari. I love this guy. He's such a good character, and he's a perfect protagonist for this story too. He just doesn't know it yet. 

Okay, rambling over. Next time, we'll gear up for an investigation and then prepare for a boss fight. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital