Mingzhe's forces had returned to the Camelia after the war. They were scheduled to rotate out to the new outposts in a few weeks, but Mingzhe was wary of sending them out again without him after the ambushes. Not that he would have made much of a difference in that situation, but the irrational fear that the same thing was going to happen again wouldn't leave him.
And now they needed to stay close just in case any of them needed to be questioned as part of Eirian's investigation.
"Eir- Lady Ye will need to question you at some point," Mingzhe warned, frowning at the atlas and the figurines that represented their forces. All clustered inside the walls of the Camelia for now.
"Of course." Hikari didn't look shocked. "I'm actually surprised she hasn't already." Confusion was etched over his features.
"They were trying to work from the outside in," Mingzhe explained. "To get a better idea of the way the court was acting and how it could relate to the rumors."
Hikari's expression cleared. "Ah, that does make sense. Lady Ye is quite sharp for a princess."
Mingzhe raised an eyebrow, surprised at the statement.
Hikari flushed, "I did not mean that the way it sounded."
"Oh?" Amusement bubbled in Mingzhe. Hikari always got flustered when he mispoke.
"I am just- I'm-" Hikari groaned, hiding his face in his hands.
Mingzhe stayed quiet and let him work through it. Hikari always felt worse if he didn't get a minute to collect and correct himself.
He lowered his hands and took a deep breath as some of the redness left his face. "I meant, she is not what I expected. She seems…quite brilliant."
Mignzhe smiled, his eyes crinkling in pride. "She is. And she works hard. She is a hunter at heart, I think, and a protector. I have no doubt she will not stop until she finds out who is responsible for setting up the ambush."
A strange look crossed Hikari's face. Almost pensive. "That is good. It's likely that is what it will take to discover the truth." He trailed off, eyes unfocused but aimed at the atlas.
"I'll talk to her. Ask her to move up her plans to question the soldiers so we can start putting together a force that will be ready to move out in time." The idea made his palms itch, and he rubbed them against his pants.
Hikari nodded absently. "Has she made any progress yet?"
"I don't know," Mingzhe admitted. "I have not been involved in anything to do with the investigation. Neither has Chenzhou."
"That's good. That will help you." But Hikari didn't look relieved.
Mingzhe nodded, but it was still frustrating to be forced to be on the outside of it all.
"Have you considered going to the outpost with our forces? We could go together. Some space might help."
Mingzhe glanced at him in surprise. "I don't think running away will help."
"You wouldn't be running away. It's your job as the commander to command. You should at least think about it."
"I will," Mingzhe promised, even though there was no way he was going to choose to go. He wasn't going to leave Chenzhou and Eirian to deal with this mess by themselves.
Hikari changed the subject. "We can reach out to the Yins and see if we can borrow some of their forces. That way, we can keep as many back as possible."
Mingzhe stiffened at the mention of the Yins, and Hikari knew him well enough to catch it. "I'll leave contacting them to you."
Hikari frowned, concerned. "Did something happen?"
Mingzhe sighed. He'd only told Chenzhou and Eirian about the embarrassing conversation with Lord Yin before Finn's death. Even Hikari, who'd known the meeting took place, didn't know what the older lord had said.
"What happened?" Hikari pressed, eyes sharp and focused on Mingzhe.
Mingzhe pursed his lips and considered putting him off, but they had been friends for so long that just thinking about it made him feel guilty. "Lord Yin thinks I should step down."
Hikari blinked rapidly in surprise. "What?"
"That's what he came by my office to tell me that day you were there. That I should step down. Give up command and disappear, and hope everyone will forget me." Mingzhe barked out a dry laugh. "As if it would be that easy."
Hikari was silent for so long that Mingzhe turned to him. His oldest friend's face was locked in a frown strong enough to deepen the lines on his face.
"Hikari?"
The Yang heir glanced away.
A cold knot formed in Mingzhe's stomach. Hikari never had a problem meeting his eyes, even when he was telling Mingzhe he was wrong about something. "What, Hikari?"
He sighed so deeply his whole body seemed to expand and then shrink before he finally turned to Mingzhe. "Maybe…maybe he's right." He winced as soon as he finished saying it.
Mingzhe couldn't help the sharp feeling of betrayal that came with his words. After all their years of friendship and fighting side by side, Hikari was the last person he would have expected to agree with Lord Yin. He could almost see Chenzhou and Eirian agreeing, if they believed it would keep him safe, but they didn't, because they understood, just as Mingzhe did, that any sign of weakness would only make his enemies bolder. The moment Mingzhe did anything but deny the accusations at the top of his lungs, he would be guilty.
Hikari knew that. He had grown up in this world just like Mingzhe. They had been beside one another for most of it, enough that their experiences were nearly identical.
There was no way he didn't know that.
So it hurt, it hurt a lot, that he'd said it.
"I'm sorry," Hikari sounded devastated, which didn't seem fair since he was the one making Mingzhe feel that way. "I'm so sorry."
Mingzhe had to swallow a few times before he managed to get any words out. "Do- does that mean you didn't mean it?"
Hikari winced again, and Mingzhe knew the answer before he even spoke.
~ tbc