Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Corrupt Principal ❯ Unpredictable ( Chapter 6 )

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Corrupt Principal

Chapter 6: Unpredictable

By: Melissa Norvell

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"What?" Prussia uttered the word as if it were hard for him to breathe. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"Huh?" Ulysses was equally shocked. It light up his wisened features in awe.

"The Prime Minister's son?" Suzuki was outraged. His fists shook with anger when he thought about what this boy before him had done. He was truly sinister in every fashion. "You murdered your own father? You scum!"

"I don't care what the likes of you thinks," Kuromoji raised his hand out to the dair-haired prince beside of him. "Second Prince Schnitzel, execute them all!"

"Yes, master," Schnitzel nodded and pointed the machine gun at Prussia, ready to fire willingly. However, his gun was kicked out of his hands and fell to the ground with a clatter. Blank eyes looked above him to see Suzuki with his foot extended. Somehow, he had run up on him and rid him of his weapon.

"I don't think so!" Suzuki's job was to protect Prussia, and that's exactly what he planned on doing. Prussia and Ulysses stood back, shocked by what transpired before him.

A dark smile crossed Kuromoji's face as Schnitzel pulled out another fun and twirled it around in his hand, shooting the boy in the shoulder. Suzuki recoiled and fell to the ground. Out of concern, Prussia bolted forward but Ulysses grabbed him by the bicep. It only earned him a harsh glare of defiance from the prince.

"Honestly, must you be so boorish?" Prussia protested.

"If I let you go out there, you'll be shot," Uslysses was no fool. He wasn't about to let the prince die like that.

'Schnitzel Eau Cossattia...This isn;t like you. Snap out of it.' With a final, fierce tug Prussia yanked himself out of the elder man's grasp. He could hear him shout 'my lord' in the distance but he didn't comply with his words.

'What's this?' Kuromoji thought to himself as he spied the prince, charging at him. "This is purely foolish. Do you honestly think he won't kill you on the spot?" Surely his prior display would have been evidence that Schnitzel showed no discrephrencies towards anyone. The black-haired man was putty in his hands, ready to be molded and shaped at his desire.

Prussia threw himself in front of his brother as he pointed a gun at Suzuki, who lay on his side on the ground, clutching his wounded shoulder as blood leaked onto the ground below. Suzuki's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Why would Prussia put himself directly into the line of danger like that?

"Prince Prussia?"

"Schnitzel, surely you see who I am through your clouded thoughts. We are brothers, you and I. You wouldn't kill me, would you?" The man tried to desperately get through to the marionette, hoping to see some conflict in his eyes over it.

'Prussia...' Schnitzel's hands shook as he held the gun out. A glimmer of humanity shown in his eyes. "P...Prussia..."

"My lord, are you mad? This is insanity! You'll be killed!" How dare he put himself in front of a gun so willingly! Prussia was truly playing games with the reaper as he stood there with his arms out like a target. Ulysses couldn't understand why he would do such a thing.

Prussia smiled warmly at the taller prince. "Remember, the few times we were together when we were younger? We would play in the Imperial Gardens. You loved to read, and I would sketch you as you sat at the elaborate tables."

Schnitzel's eyes widened as a flicker of the past was resurrected before him. A beautiful scene of two middle-aged boys, sitting amongst the beautiful and lavish decor of the garden, surrounded with the sweet smell of the opening blossoms. His breathing became ragged and his hands shook uncontrollably. 'What is going on?'

"What's going on? Is he fighting my possession?" Kuromoji could do nothing but watch everything transpire as Prussia continued to attempt to snap Schnitzel out of his current state.

"Prussia," his brother uttered as the rings faded. 'The Commands Cenecah gave me and the ones Kuromoji gave must be neutralizing each other.'

"You wouldn't shoot me, would you?" Prussia asked again, making sure that he was talking to his brother and not some doll.

Schnitzel stared ahead, his eyes taking on a shine of their own and looking far less emotionless. The man appeared human. 'This weight on my shoulders...this resistance.' He took a step back and the gun fell to the ground with a clatter. "I don't want...to kill you..." The rings began to flash on and off as he struggled desperately to regain control of himself. The real man beneath the shallow hull would have never forgiven himself if he killed his beloved brother.

'He's losing the possession!' Kuromoji's teeth ground together in rage. "What in the hell are you doing!? I command you to kill him!"

"No..." Schnitzel stumbled around as if he were drunk, holding either side of his head.

'He truly is possessed. At first I was in doubt but now...still...' Ulysses' eyes went from Schnitzel to Prussia. 'What are you doing, your majesty?'

"Even possession cannot compete with human nature. The mind is never fully controlled and if it's not in human nature to do, someone simply won't do it. There are things that you can't even force people to do, no matter how much control you have," Prussia stated those words with passion, only to hear the click of a gun as he stared down the barrel pointed to his head.

"Prince Prussia!" Suzuki shouted painfully behind him.

"Stand down, Ringike," Prussia commanded sternly.

"Leave, before I'm forced to kill you. I've already spilled so much blood," the dead soldiers, Kanon and Yayoi's faces all flashed through his head as he stared down his brother in warning, hoping that he would take his advice. "The last person's blood I want to stain these hands with is my family's."

"Why would you protect me? I already told you that I don't agree with your rule or you..." Suzuki didn't see where Prussia was coming from. Not only did he protect him, he protected him with his own life.

"I don't care. I move according to my own will, not some rubbish political path."

"Stand aside," Schnitzel ordered again.

"Dear brother..." Prussia's voice took on a conflicted yet affectionate tone.

Schnitzel's eyes narrowed.

"No!" Suzuki pushed himself off of the ground with such force that he felt like he was catapulting his body forward as he tacked the dainty-looking man to the ground. The gunshot rang through the air as the bullet tore through a flag behind them, ripping a large hole in the fabric.

"You can make anyone submissive under mind control," Kuromoji argued Prussia's ridiculous claims. 'That's not good. I had to really use a lot of mental strength to force him into submission.' He didn't show it, but he was actually mentally tired from fighting against Schnitzel's free will. Damn, that man was hard to break. "You can expect me to come around a lot more."

His puppet walked up to him and turned to the group with brightly glowing eyes. 'Get the hell out of here, Prussia.' His thoughts begged them to leave as he grabbed the gun he picked up on his way over to his master and began to pelt the battlefield with bullets.

Suzuki grabbed Prussia's hand and took off as the ground and everything behind them was shot up with bullets. Pieces of debris flew up around them and bullets whizzed by their heads as they took off.

"Do you mind not pulling me around so viciously?" Prussia protested as he awkwardly stepped around behind his body guard.

"Do you want to die? You will if you don't shut up and run!" Suzuki reprimanded him as they continued to run.

"What? How dare you-" Prussia argued before he was grabbed by the shoulders and slammed against a nearby wall. The prince's body jolted on contact as pain registered through his back. Suzuki grabbed his shoulders and stared into his eyes with burning intensity.

"Be thankful that your life is spared," Suzuki leveled him with a serious expression and Prussia winced below him. "You sure are frail, your majesty."

"I told you that I was frail," Prussia responded with a look of pain.

"This is bad. We've got to do something."

"How? They have that brainwashing power on their side. He's after me," the prince told him with eyes downcast to the ground.

"What do you know about this power and his plans?" Surely, there was something that Prussia knew. Kuromoji wouldn't have a reason to go after him if there wasn't anything to gain from it.

"Should I be discussing this out in the open?" Was Suzuki an idiot? He wasn't about to tell him such sensitive information just like that. It didn't matter what position he held, there were certain things that were only meant for royalty to have comprehension of.

"I want you to tell me everything," Suzuki demanded. Prussia owed him that for pulling him into his problems.

"Under what pretenses do I tell you?"

"I work for the Japanese government. Do you forget?" Suzuki narrowed his eyes.

"Do you think I'm trying to be shady?" Prussia leveled him with a serious look. If that was the case, then hiding things further would only prove to make him look more incriminating.

"I think you might be." Well, he might as well be honest since they were on the subject.

"No, no. I simply want to tell them something based on solid proof. I'd look like a crazy man if I went in there, telling them that Prince Schnitzel has been possessed. Honestly, how believable do you think is?" Even Prussia knew that he couldn't tell everyone anything like this. The eyes of skeptics were upon him, more so than anything he would be put under fire. Not to mention he could be overthrown if everyone thought he was too mentally unstable to rule. Prussia had an image to uphold and he wasn't about to lose it because of some unfathomable event that would be vastly disbelieved.

"Then just tell me," Suzuki pressed. If anything he had seen Schnitzel and Kuromoji. Prussia could confide in him. He didn't think the prince was crazy at all. He was prissy beyond belief but he wasn't crazy.

"In order for that to happen, you must swear not to tell a soul or you'll be executed. I can't have this getting out until it's proven," Prussia glared daggers at the soldier.

"I won't let a word get out." That was something he solemnly swore.

"Prince Prussia, do you honestly think that you can defeat me in a peaceful way? It's always the royalty who are the cowards," Kuromoji sighed in amusement as he ran his hands through his hair. "You may have run and hidden, but I know you're in earshot. Your armies cannot stop me. I'll simply possess them just like I have your brother. Don't even think of getting him back. All attempts will be futile. There's only one way he'll come back to Titannia, and that's in a casket." Those were words of promise, and if anyone dared to challenge him, he wouldn't go down without a fight. Even if he had to kill Schnitzel before he died, he would do so without hesitation.

'So, I am his puppet. He plans on just killing me off, but he wants to exploit me as long as he can. He probably plans to do that to the entire royal family to show the public how low we are.' Schnitzel thought to himself as he stood by the boy's side. He had to find some way to break through his captor's possession and reclaim his glory as the prince. Titannia counted on him, and so did his beloved family.

Prussia lowered his head and Suzuki looked at him in shock and then looked back. They had been found.

"You're high up on my hit list. After all, I love to see beautiful people such as yourself in pain. I hope it hurts. I hope it really does rip your heart in two to see your precious brother like this," Kuromoji taunted them. He hoped his words cut like razor blades.

"Scum," Suzuki uttered in malice.

"I'm the scum? You're protecting a man who's the brother of a murderer. Don't you hate him?" Those smooth words poured from his mouth like a finely set poison, waiting to taint the mind of whoever would listen. Kuromoji had the mouth of a serpent robed in sheep's wool.

Prussia was dead silent; the Japanese boy's eyes looked to him. 'If I shoot him now, Schnitzel will kill me dead with his machine gun. I have to protect the prince, even if I don't agree with his rules and government.' With a 'huh' in question, he heard the rumbling of engines nearly. The two men turned to see a fleet of tanks rolling towards them.

'The Titannian military! I can't risk them catching onto me yet.' Kuromoji's face lit up with shock as he turned to his puppet prince. "Schnitzel, withdraw from the fight and follow me. We'll make our way out of here."

"Yes, your majesty," Schnitzel replied obediently as they disappeared from sight. Kuromoji took out a communicator and ordered a helicopter to head over to their current position. The pilot registered in affirmative as they flew over to pick the two of them up.

Suzuki looked towards the fleet and sighed in relief. "It looks like we're safe for now."

"Yes, it seems so," Prussia agreed.

"Remember what you promised me," Suzuki looked back at the blonde, whose locks fluttered in the breeze.

"I am a man of my word. I owe you that much for what you've done," he smiled gently. Truly he was thankful to have someone like Suzuki around, even if they didn't quite agree on things they had made somewhat of a bond. It was enough for the prince to view him as an ally.

Ulysses ran over to them, concern riddled on his face as he got by his prince's side. "Your majesty! Are you alright? We heard the news and came as soon as we could. Are you injured in any way? You look like you're in pain." He hoped that Prussia hadn't been shot at all. Just watching as he and the Japanese boy scurried away through intense gunfire sent a wave of panic through his form at the thought of being so helpless as to save his prince from the onslaught. If Prussia had any wounds on him they must be treated immediately!

"I'll be fine. Just take me to the convoy," Prussia ordered the old man, who replied with an affirmative. Ulysses radioed the convoy to come his way as Suzuki turned to go but instead got guns pointed to his face. Shock lit up in the soldier's face. He wasn't expecting to be held at gun point like this.

"You are not allowed to leave," Ulysses' voice pierced his thoughts from behind.

"Let him," Prussia said as the shocked man turned to his prince.

"But, my lord-"

"We've made prior arrangements. He saved me from getting shot." That was no way to treat someone who was pretty much his hero. Prussia would not have his men rough housing that boy in any way.

"Is it a good idea to permit him to come?" Ulysses wasn't sure where Prussia was going with his commands but he didn't like it. So what if this man saved him one time? That meant nothing. He could have done it for personal gain or even to strike up some kind of underground plans by gaining the favor and trust of the enemy. He frowned deeply at that being an aspect.

The royal was getting irritated with his commander's constant questioning. "Do not question my orders. Just do as you're instructed," he sighed and crawled into the convoy vehicle, then gestured for Suzuki to come with him.

"Why am I treated like a common criminal? I saved the prince's life." Had Suzuki not proved himself enough? He wasn't planning on trying anything funny at all.

Ulysses shot him an indignant look. "If you hold the prince in contempt then I hold you in contempt."

"Some allies you are," the Japanese boy spat.

"You verbally attacked us first," Ulysses argued, his fists balled at his sides. This boy had some nerve. What an insufferable brat!

"Stop it, Ulysses," Prussia commanded, peeking out from the vehicle.

"Are you going to let him disrespect you like that?" The elder man was outraged that his prince would act in such a way. Had he no honor and pride? What was he coming to?

As Suzuki sat inside of the vehicle, Prussia hooked an arm around his neck. Shock lit up the boy's face as he now sat unbearably close to the pale prince. He was so close that he could smell the scent of roses on his body and the fur on his robes ticked his olive skin.

'He's so close to me. I've never been this close to anyone royal before. His clothes are so soft, and he is really fragrant. It's not a bad thing; I've just never been around someone like this. What am I thinking? He's royalty! Besides, just because he's regal doesn't mean that I still don't hate his form of government. I never will become his subject, nor will I bow at his feet.' Suzuki frowned as a complex web of emotions slowly spun webs around him, entangling him deep within their threads, suffocating him as they tugged him to and fro. Despite his fit of denial, deep down inside Suzuki had thought of Prussia to be a pretty kind man and someone that, if politics weren't in the way, they could become great friends.

Blue eyes looked to the boy that was close to him. The faint smell of blood, sweat and dirt wafted from his form. 'Ringike Suzuki...I'm not sure if your my ally or my enemy. Such a level-headed and quick-thinking individual. Someone as sharp as that truly must be a figure among the Japanese army. I'll keep my eye on you.'

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In darkened room, Prussia was seated on a tall, elaborate chair at a small table in which Suzuki was seated on the other side of. The two stared at each other, and the mood felt thick and tense between them. The blonde rested his head on the back of his hands and smiled a little at his fellow man. "I suppose you're going to interrogate me now?"

Suzuki looked skeptical and arose from his position, walking over to the prince. "I'm surprised that you kept your word. What kind of game are you playing?" Really, Prussia could cut the crap. They were in tight quarters and it was only the two of them. He had nothing to hide.

Prussia arched an eyebrow. "Game? I'm not playing any game. I told you that I'd keep my word, and I will. I'll inform you about what's going on....from what I know and have been told by the soldiers."

"Okay, spill it."

"Will you answer my questions if I answer yours?" Fair was fair after all. Prussia wanted to gain information as well and this would be a perfect time to seize the opportunity.

"I might," Suzuki's voice still held a hint of skepticism in its tone.

Prussia pouted, "That's hardly fair."

Suzuki placed a hand on the prince's slender arm and leaned in close to his face, leveling him with a stern stare. "What's going on?"

"That boy...he has the power to possess people." The answer was in such a dire tone that the soldier had no choice but to take his words as truth, rather than those of a mad man. When he thought about it, that look in Schnitzel's eyes did more than back up his statement.

"What?"

"You didn't know about his power? I thought it was something that the Japanese army possessed." That was odd. This boy acted naive to the revelation. Something wasn't right here.

"I didn't even know such a thing existed. How does it work?" Whatever it was, it was definitely not something the Japanese army used. He would have known about it if that were the case.

"We don't know yet. We're still gathering information but from what we know it severely alters one's state of mind. Prime Minister Kihara was possessed at the time of his death. We believe that he may have been commanded to shoot himself. The gun he'd been killed with only had his finger prints on it and the fibers found by Titannia's scientists are from the articles of clothing that he wore." That's what was so baffling about everything. Prussia had a gut feeling that Kuromoji had committed the crime but he hadn't had any way to prove it until Kuromoji admitted what he had done in a public setting. This caused him to put the pieces together.

Suzuki looked thoughtful for a moment before he spoke. "So, that kid's story made sense. I wonder...if he truly is who he claims to be. It's hard to think that the Prime Minister's son would kill his own father." Not to mention, going through with such a thing was just barbaric.

"It's not that hard to fathom."

"Huh?"

"To be honest, there is a decent amount of deception and corruption among the high ranking officials. When you think about it, it's only practical to perform an inside job. Among everyone there, only those closest to them would kill them, or even know of ways to pick them off." Many of the royalty of the olden days killed each other for the throne. Betrayal and murder was something that had a rather bad track records for any royal family, much less those of lesser positions. With great power and wealth came a great crime.

"I guess this is true for my government as well, especially if the Prime Minister knew of this power." That would make things a lot worse on many different levels.

"Maybe he didn't. If he knew it existed, would he have been possessed so easily?" Surely he would have tried to take preventative action against a mental threat.

"We need to find out what's going on." Now, more than ever, Suzuki was driven to find Kuromoji or at least find the secret of breaking that evil possession of his. If he couldn't the Japan and Titannnia would fall into ruin and despair.

"We've been investigating the matter but it will take time to get the results from all of the testing." Time was definitely not on Prussia's side.

"Is the Prime Minister really in that casket?" Suzuki was curious.

"Yes, they have performed all conclusive tests on him. We waited to announce his death for that reason. Sometimes, public knowledge must be postponed. If we go saying things without cause, we'll be thought of as tyrants," Prussia wanted to make sure that whatever semblance of peace was still intact. The last thing the royal family needed was more attacks on them from outside sources that were not related to Kuromoji.

"The public already thinks horrible things about you," Suzuki argued. Keeping knowledge from the public for their own personal gain was wrong.

Prussia rested his head in one hand as the other one gently rested on the hardwood table. "I must find a way to keep their suspicion from spreading."

"We also need to find a way to stop Prince Schnitzel. He's not even human. I can see why he's called the puppet prince. He probably doesn't even feel pain," Suzuki didn't know what it was like to be possessed, but he imagined it was just an extremely numb state where the victim didn't feel anything. It was like moving yet not existing all at the same time.

"I think he's in a lot of pain right now," Prussia's expression saddened. "He'll never be the ruler he once was, if anyone accepts him at all. He will surely be dethroned over this." Schnitzel's entire legacy was completely destroyed, thanks to Kuromoji. Everything his brother worked so hard at building was for nothing.

"If he gets out of this situation alive, will it matter if he loses his position?" Suzuki would have liked to have thought it was better he escape with his life than his legacy.

"Sometimes, it's better to die than to go on existing in pain. Tell me, is it better to live a life of misery or die early on and avoid it?" Blue eyes filled with inquisitive nature and a hint of sorrow bored a hole into the soldier's heart.

Suzuki held his stern expression. "You can always turn it around if you're still alive, you can't alter death."

"I suppose you're right."

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Kuromoji is sitting on his throne, with the broken prince nearby. Schnitzel was bowed before him with one knee bent and his head down. His eyes glowed with their rings of possession as Kuromoji disregarded him, thinking to himself as his face was marred with vexation.

'I refuse to let my father rest in peace for what he's done. He just gave up Japan to Titannia without a second thought.' He picked up a picture laying nearby on a small table. A young Kuromoji and his father, standing side-by-side smiled back at him in a sickeningly cheerful manner. It was enough to make his blood boil.

Out of rage, he threw the picture with a disapproving frown and it smashed into the wall with a shatter as glass and broken remnants of the frame was scattered about the room. Schnitzel's eyes trailed to the picture lying just beside of him.

"What are you looking at?" Kuromoji growled in fury.

"The picture...my lord..." Schnitzel responded despondently.

"Don't bother with it. He is out and the new is in. We won't back down at this point and we won't look back. There is only forward for if we glance back even once, we'll become lost in nostalgia." Walking over to the helpless photo, he drove the frame into it with his foot, smash and ripping the photo as he snubbed it out like a cigarette that's been discarded. "Now, onto my next plan of action. The Prime Minister's funeral has been destroyed, and I managed to make myself known. The next step in my plan will be to kill the First Prince of Titannia...He won't be expecting an assassination attempt this soon."

A dark smirk of mirth crossed his face as laughter echoed through the darkness of the room.

...To Be Continued