#ichirui

Once upon a time, there was a prince, named Rui Kamishiro.

This prince was a lonely one. He tended to spend most of his time in his personal study, messing around with magic and teaching himself the art of alchemy. This didn't earn him the greatest reputation across his or any other kingdoms, as most people were either scared of magic or didn't truly care for it as he did. There were few who could look past this and see the kind, caring prince that he was, but he treasured those close friends very deeply.

One such friend was his personal knight, Ichika Hoshino. She had started off as just another member of the kingdom's royal guard, one that Rui took a particular liking to. Ichika would stop by his study, and she would spend hours listening to him rambling about his work. And when she was later assigned to watch over Rui personally, the two only grew even closer.

No one was allowed to know the full extent of their connection, aside from a few close confidants, but that was alright. The late evenings gazing at the stars twinkling in the sky as Ichika told him all about the different constellations, or the nights spent snuggled under the prince's covers as she listened to Rui's heartbeat, or the early mornings they would hold each other close as they watched the sunrise before surrendering to their duties- that was more than enough for the two.

But one day, war broke out between them and another kingdom. The conflict was brutal, and Ichika had to be sent into the heat of battle to protect their people. She had left him with a soft kiss, and a promise that she would return to her prince as soon as she could. And he smiled, squeezing her gently as he told her he'd wait as long as it took.

The war came to an end, and Ichika Hoshino returned home in a coffin.

To say the prince was devastated would be an understatement. Ichika had been sweet and kind, hard working and diligent, intelligent as she was beautiful- and most importantly, she had been his Star.

Rui didn't know what to do anymore. Not a day went by that he didn't miss her, that the image of her pale face didn't haunt him, that he didn't wonder how he could possibly live without her.

But, maybe there was hope for their happy ending after all.

For as long as Rui could remember, he'd wanted to learn to control time. To be able to see and change the past or the future. Few believed him to be capable of such a feat- Ichika had been one of them.

With a sense of determination he had never felt before, he worked day and night to figure out the secrets to time travel. If he could do that- if he could go back in time, if he could make different choices- then maybe, just maybe, he could save his Star from her cruel, undeserved fate.

Finally, he had cracked it. He had crafted a device- a magical hourglass, which he could use just once to travel through space and time.

In the back of his mind, a voice screamed at him about the potential ramifications of such a thing. He had no clue how this would affect the world as he knew it, and the consequences for this could be dire.

But he didn't listen to that voice. All that mattered to him now was saving Ichika.

The first time he went back felt like a dream. Or waking up from a horrible nightmare. That's what he'd played it off as when he woke up long before the war, clinging to his beloved knight and sobbing hysterically as she held him comfortingly.

This time, when the war arrived once again, Rui tried to convince Ichika to stay behind. He told her that there were more than enough knights already fighting in the war, and he begged her not to go out there. Still, despite his desperate pleas, all she did was smile sadly at him and kiss him before she left, promising once again that she would be sure to return.

Of course, he knew that she wouldn't. And she didn't. He'd failed her.

So he tried again. He made the hourglass again, and he went back in time.

When he started training alongside the knights, hoping he could join the war effort and save her directly, all he'd achieved was watching her be impaled right before his eyes.

When he finally managed to make peace with the other kingdom, stopping the war before it could even start, it wasn't long before she was killed on a different mission instead.

When he grabbed her hand and begged her to run away together, to find someplace they could love each other freely, they had barely made it past the gates before she'd been shot down.

He had tried again. And again. And again. And again.

Nothing ever worked.

He went back again. He tried to rack his brain for any ideas, anything he hadn't tried before.

Nothing. He was all out of options by now.

When the war once again reared it's ugly head, and Ichika once again wished him farewell, he broke down.

He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't keep losing her again and again. He couldn't keep failing her.

He begged again, desperately and pathetically, for her not to go. That he couldn't live with himself if she died out there.

Unexpectedly, she gave in this time. Somehow, the two were able to convince his parents that she was needed at the castle, to keep him safe.

Rui had never felt such relief in his life. This might work. Ichika might be okay now. This may have all been worth it.

Of course, things could never be that simple. Enemy knights found their way to the castle, intending to take out the royal family and end the war.

Of course, Ichika planned to protect her prince with her life. It was her job, and Rui was the most important thing in her life. If she had to die to insure his survival, then so be it.

But when the enemies came to take him, Rui gave himself up with open arms. So long as their leaders promised to stop the fighting once and for all, they could do with him as they pleased.

Ichika was shocked and horrified at this, knowing what they had in store for him. She tried to stop him, to convince him not to do this.

Still, despite her desperate pleas, all he did was smile sadly at her and kiss her, whispering against her lips that everything would be okay. That she would be okay.

Rui Kamishiro was executed shortly after this, and the war came to an end.

The knight was beyond devastated. Rui had been one of the kindest, most amazing people she had ever met- how was it fair for him to be murdered like this? How could anyone believe he deserved that? And how on earth was she supposed to go on now without him?

Some time after his execution, Ichika had been tidying up his old study when she made a curious discovery.

Tucked away, in the back of his desk drawer, were a collection of notes. Notes on time travel, and how to build a hourglass- one that would allow one to travel to the past.

Ichika had no idea when he created these, or why he had hidden it from her, but she didn't care. If these notes were true, if this worked, then maybe she could use them herself. She could save her prince from his unjust fate.

It took months for her to figure out how to put it together. Once she did, she hesitated only a moment before she went back.

Ichika was going to save her prince from death, or she was going to die trying.