Here’s a little information on the Akitsuki Family..

Numbers in brackets are their ages~

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Chapter 1 – Exchange

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“Let’s make a vow,” the small boy stretched his pinky finger to the girl in front of him.

“When we grow up, Yori-chan is going to be my bride.”

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She stirred in the mess of blankets, covers and pillows. Her face was clammy with streaks of tears that she shed. As the salty liquid continued to overflow from her eyes, new streaks were being made.

“Why am I tearing?” Yori （夜璃）could not recall if the tears were of joy or despair. Wiping her face with the blankets, cold air seeped into the warm comfort under the covers. Waves of chill spanned from her toes to her tear-stricken face.

“Where am I?” She instinctively looked at the ceiling above her. It was nothing like the usual one in her bedroom. This ceiling had carvings at every corner, giving off an opulent tinge while her ceiling had a plain, homely feel to it. Turning to lie on her left side, a digital clock set on a night table came into view.

“06:57″ – the cyan-colored dots between the numbers continued to flash at every second interval.

“It’s going to be time to wake up for school,” Yori’s earliest thought reflexively came to her after processing the numbers.

“School …” She stayed in the same position, lost in her thoughts.

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Even under the protection of the covers, the attack of the cold did not cease; when Yori could not take it anymore, she sat herself up from the bed. The blankets and covers fell from her, revealing her fair lean body.

Holding the blankets up to her chest, Yori looked around the room. The curtains were drawn – leaving the room in a sunset-like luminosity, the dressing table on her left was in a mess, clothes were strewn all over the floor and two of the side tables were out of position; and overturned. There were more than one set of clothes – one of which she knew was hers. The other set – who does it belong to?

Warily, she laid her left foot down onto the carpeted floor. It was not as cold as she thought. With the other foot, she stood up from her sitting position, while clutching onto the covers to conceal her birthday suit. Sensing a gaze upon her, she turned 180 degrees and faced the bed.

She recalled everything with the sight that greeted her. Staring at her was a naked man sitting on the bed. He had a triumph smirk as he seized one corner of the covers that Yori was clutching on to. This man had the eyes of a wolf scrutinizing the leftover bones of its consumed prey.

“This is not the time to show any weakness,” Yori thought to herself and made a sharp tug on her side of the covers. Yet, the man did not release his hold.

“Where are you going, Yori- … chan?” He teased her, eyes narrowed by his grin.

She hated it when he calls her “Yori-chan“. It was more of an insult to her memories than towards herself and she was unable to withstand any bit of defamation to it. In a fit of rage, she released the covers, revealing her pale body to the antagonist in front of her. Many words of insults reached her mouth but did not make it to speech.

“I’m going to school.” She declared coldly, picked up her clothes and walked towards the bathroom.

In one swift motion, the man rose from his position, reached out with his left hand and took hold of Yori’s trailing hand. Before she could turn around and defend herself, he had already continued to make a quick tweak and hauled her in. Placing his right arm around her waist, the man had successfully encaged her, leaving her with no room to break free.

“Good morning, Yori-chan. I’m looking forward to our next date.” He planted a kiss on her nose instead when she lowered her head to avoid a mouth-to-mouth. However, she did not get away with this act. The man grasped her chin and lifted her mouth to his by force. With her legs locked in his, Yori could do nothing but wriggled helplessly as he thrusted his tongue through her lips, forcing in against her will. Yori closed her eyes in resentment.

The man relaxed his hold on her chin. His free hand trailed from her neck to her belly button and all the way down.

“You got excited with just a kiss,” the man teased with a wild smirk. Straightaway, she wanted to cry in shame and embarrassment, but she held back and looked away.

“And what about school, I wonder.” He whispered into her ear.

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School went on as usual. In “Fujiwara Private School”, only descendants from the prestigious Fujiwara（藤原） clan can attend. Yori was trying to concentrate on the slides that Yomi-sensei　（夜見先生）had presented in class, but the humiliation and passionate consciousness from earlier were intervening.

“Yori-sama, are you alright?” Yomi-sensei sensed the difference in Yori.

“I’m fine.” She answered in a definite tone, without losing any prestige of the Akitsuki family（秋月家）. Akitsuki Yori (秋月 夜璃) is the daughter from the head family of the Fujiwara clan. Her father, Akitsuki Shinnosuke（秋月 真之介） , is the head of the clan and Sadaijin (Minister of the Left)（左大臣）. She is the 4th of 6 children and the only female offspring from the Akitsuki family.

“If you would like to, please go to the infirmary and rest.” Yomi-sensei was worried over her pale face and awkward disposition.

“Alright, I’ll go to the infirmary.” Yori gave in, stood up and left the classroom as the entire class lavished her with their concerned stares.

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She was lying on a bed, no less inferior than the one from the hotel earlier. Once again, she wondered if it was worth to make the exchange and agreement with Tachibana Keiichirou（橘　景一郎）. He is the eldest son from the Tachibana family, as well as a secretary to the Udaijin（右大臣）. Being the youngest official, as well as a noble, in Court, he has a high level of power even among the Executive Council. The Executive Council of the Court consists of the Emperor, Sadaijin, his deputy the Udaijin and the head of the nobles, which is the Tachibana clan. The nobles are made up of blood-related relatives of the Emperor and they are known as the Mei-batsu（明閥）- which means the clan of the Enlightened ones. The head family of the Mei clan is the Tachibana family（橘家）with Tachibana Rou（橘 滝）as the head of clan. Tachibana Rou is the younger brother of the Emperor and when His Majesty ascended to his throne, Rou and his family’s status as part of the Royal Family was taken away. The Emperor bestowed them a family name – Tachibana and conferred Rou as the head of the Mei clan. Being the head of the nobles is like having an official position in Court with a status, although less superior to the Sadaijin on the surface but holds almost equal power and influence as him under the table. Therefore, Tachibana Keiichirou’s power in Court is far more than what a secretary to the Udaijin would hold.

Since Fujiwara clan’s status is second to that of Mei clan’s, the members of Mei clan would generally select women from Fujiwara clan to marry, seeking to merge both families’ power and wealth. Also, Fujiwara women had been marrying into the Royal Family as Empresses and Princesses, therefore, the quality of females produced by the Fujiwara clan had been shown beyond doubt in their royal offspring over the years. Unlike all Fujiwara women, Yori’s marriage was only determined when she was 14 years old. In that year, around the same time as the Crown Prince’s engagement to his fiance, Yori was betrothed to the eldest son of the Tachibana family – Tachibana Keiichirou.

The usual practices of such engagement between prestigious families would first involve decision and agreement on the engagement when the children have not gone through puberty – any time before 12 years old for girls and 14 for boys was the norm. However, Yori was the only daughter of the head of Fujiwara clan, she was either to be wed into the Royal family or marry to some other family whose status was not any inferior to theirs. Her father, Akitsuki Shinnosuke, had not wanted to rush the matters of his daughter’s marriage and therefore, it was only decided when she was older. For the Tachibana family, all sons were potential rulers in line for the throne in case of abdication or the Emperor’s passing; therefore, their marriages were of the highest priority as well as importance, even to the Ministry of Royal Household（宮内省）.

The second norm was the practice of adopting the daughter-in-law to the family at a young age, even before she formally marries into the household. This is to ensure the well-being of the girl, making sure that she could accustom to the family’s customs, routines and conventions. The girl will then be known as the adoptive daughter of the head, giving her an equal status to all the other daughters in the family.

The terms Yori had exchanged with Tachibana Kei (short-form for Keiichirou) was her freedom till their wedding. She did not want to be adopted under the Tachibana family and live there till they tied their marital nuptials formally, in which she would lose her freedom officially. To retain her name, Tachibana Kei demanded weekly meet-ups as compensations to the lack of direct contact provided by her residence in the Tachibana family. Initially, she found the conditions reasonable and both their fathers had given their consent to such an arrangement.

However, after the first meeting, Tachibana Kei was not the man as he appeared to be when he made the exchange with Yori and her father. When they were alone, he would lay hands on her whenever he could; thereafter giving threats to reveal the details of their meetings to her father or brothers. When she could no longer tolerate his rude actions, Yori threatened to speak out to her father.

“And you would tell the Sadaijin that I did this,” he reached out and kissed her hard on the lips. She moved back and slapped him hard, causing his glasses to fall off his nose. That invited a scornful look from Tachibana Kei, now without glasses, his contemptuous eyes magnified.

“Yori-chan, why don’t you come stay over at my house?” Yori revealed instant distress at his words, giving Tachibana Kei the utmost satisfaction. She allowed him to do whatever he wanted after that night, with full conscious of his future uses of the poke at her weak point if she defies him again.

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At this point, Yori thought of herself as a weakling as she pulled the covers off her and stood up. The door to the room of the infirmary opened when she pressed the unlock pad on the right. Wanting to thank the doctor for her care, she made her way towards the infirmary office at the end of the corridor. When the automatic sliding doors opened, two familiar looking males were sitting by the couch on her right. One of them was in Fujiwara School’s uniform and the other was in a suit.

“Yori-onee-sama!” the male in uniform greeted her in delight. The other male in suit turned to face Yori when the younger one exclaimed.

“Yomi-sensei notified Setsuna and he called me up,” the elder male explained.

“Good afternoon, Shou-onii-sama, Setsuna,” she greeted both her brothers in an untroubled tone. Akitsuki Mamoru （秋月 守）, also known as Shou from his childhood nickname, is Yori’s eldest brother. He is the secretary to the Sadaijin, who is also his father. Shou is the second youngest official in Court at the age of 27. Akitsuki Setsuna（秋月刹那） is her youngest brother and he is three years younger than Yori – making him 14 years old at that point of time.

“I am sorry to trouble the both of you, but I am fine,” she bowed and turned to face the doctor in charge. “Thank you for your care,” she expressed her gratitude.

“It’s my honor to serve you, Yori-sama,” the female doctor smiled. “Akitsuki-sama, please do bring Yori-sama home and let her drink lots of water. The weather is rather ominous and she is not in her optimum condition, if I must say as the doctor.”

“Thank you for your kindess, I will make sure she drinks lots of water. We shall take our leave now.” Shou bowed to the doctor and escorted Yori out of the infirmary office with Setsuna.

“Go back to your lessons, Setsuna,” Shou commanded, but Setsuna was happily holding on to Yori’s right arm, narrating the events for his day. “I say, Setsuna, I will take Yori home, go back to the middle school section now.”

Setsuna continued to ignore Shou. Everyone in the Akitsuki family has a weakpoint for Setsuna. This is because, their mother died after giving birth to him, making him a very precious legacy from their beloved mother. Therefore, Setsuna grew up in a pampered environment with Yori as the surrogate mother.

“Setsuna, you still have lessons in the afternoon right? Please go for your lessons, or I will feel bad about troubling you,” Yori said in a gentle voice to the bouncing brother beside her.

“Yori-nee-sama, please don’t feel bad for me! I’ll go for my lessons now,” Setsuna gave in. “See you at home later,” he struck her with a kiss on her cheek and took off towards the middle school section. Kissing is how he usually displays his affections for his beloved sister.

When they were alone in the limousine, Shou questioned Yori with a poker-face, “It as Tachibana Kei, right? Yesterday was the day you need to meet him and you sneaked out of the house when I wasn’t around.”

As he looked forward, waiting for a reply from his sister, he felt her head on his left arm. She had fallen asleep, leaning on him and he had decided to let it go, for now.

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Chapter 2 :: Empty Words
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Akitsuki Shinnosuke was sitting by his work desk, which was positioned in front of a full-length glass window pane. He was reading through a proposal brought up by one of his subordinates. The small font was causing his eyes to water. Irked by the alien feel on his face, he used a handkerchief to swab the moisture off. When he felt a little more comfortable, Shinnosuke brought the document back to his eye level and continued perusing it.

“Sadaijin-sama,” his attendant entered his office after knocking. “Her Majesty had requested your presence in her villa.”

“Prepare the car,” he ordered the attendant who was still in a 90 degree-bow position. Shinnosuke stood up and left the document on the neat desk. Glancing a little to the right, a metallic photo frame caught the attention of the minister. He took it up and held it closer, smiling unknowingly; it was like a reflex arc. Whenever he looked at the picture in the frame, he would experience a warm, fuzzy emotion welling up in him. A beautiful woman with a swollen tummy would be first noticed when one looks at it. She had long, flowing black hair that looked soft and nice to run your fingers in. Her eyes were of warm hazel, her tenderness and loving nature could be seen in her eyes even though it was only a picture. She was twinkling with happiness as seen from her breathtaking smile as she lovingly leaned onto another figure in the picture. He was carrying a toddler with one arm and hugging her with the other. In his strong hands, the toddler will be the next to capture anyone’s attention for she looked like the woman. The same black hair but a little wavier, the bright eyes that shimmers in happiness and the smile. They have the same smile. Shinnosuke ran his forefinger across the glassy surface of the frame.

“Yori … her name will be Yori,” a tender voice resonated at the back of his head. When he decided that he had reminisced enough, he gently set the frame back to its original position on the desk, picked up his blazer from a nearby metallic coat stand and strode towards the now-ajar door, held open by his attendant.

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Seating himself on an armchair facing the Empress’s, Shinnosuke felt uneasy at the soft squishy feel.

“Akitsuki-dono, please have some tea,” she motioned towards the tray with a teapot and two sets of cup and saucer containing a clear brown liquid. The aroma of the fruit fusion tea had pervaded the room causing Shinnosuke to feel a little groggy from the overbearing smell. The Empress lifted her cup towards her mouth and took a small sip.

“The Crown Prince had sent back some of the best tea leaves from Great Britain,” she replaced the cup onto the saucer. Shinnosuke kept his silence.

“Akitsuki-dono,” she looked earnestly into Shinnosuke’s eyes. “Yori will have to leave for the Tachibana family now.”

“Your Highness, I beg your pardon?” Shinnosuke widened his eyes.

“Well… when I say now, I don’t mean immediately,” the Empress explained when she noticed Shinnosuke’s expression had changed. “It would take a few days for the Tachibana family to prepare for her arrival.”

“You know that’s not what I’m asking!” Shinnosuke raised from his seat and rose his voice. “I’m sorry for the insolence… Your Highness,” he retreated with the realization that he was speaking to the Empress and not the Fujiwara subordinate from before.

“It’s alright…” she started again when Shinnosuke retook his seat. “She will have to go over someday, and the earlier the better it will be for her own good too, don’t you agree?” When someone in the Royal Family says “Don’t you agree?”, it is a given to agree, there is not much room for dispute. However, Shinnosuke wanted to save Yori. He challenged the Empress by looking straight into her face. The Empress was the daughter of another family of the Fujiwara clan and a previous subordinate of his. After taking a better look at her, he realized that she had not aged much over the years, still looking very much like the day she wedded into the Royal Family; young and haughty.

“They promised to leave her alone till she graduates,” he said in a calmer tone.

“Things have changed, the agreement will not hold when against the circumstances that we will be facing,” the Empress finally divulged her concerns.

“The Crown Prince… he knows?” Shinnosuke questioned.

“He doesn’t… but he will be returning soon,” she said, taking another sip off the porcelain cup. “She will only be adopted into the Tachibana family. I will see to it that the engagement will not take place so soon.”

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Shinnosuke walked down the long corridor towards the family room. Along the way, he was deep in thoughts and was ignoring the usual greetings from his servants.

“Master, welcome back,” another one of the servants greeted him with a 90-degree bow. It was not till Shinnosuke walked past before he stood up straight and continued down his original route.

“Master seems to be in a bad mood today,” the servant thought to himself.

When he reached the entrance to the family room, a servant standing by the closed doors greeted him.

“Master, welcome back. The young masters and young mistress are in the room.”

Shinnosuke did not wait for the servant to open the doors for him. He pushed open the double doors and marched into the room.

“Otou-sama!” Chito was the first to noticed him. The group of five greeted him unanimously.

“Welcome home, Otou-sama.”

As if to give a report of what they were doing in the room, Shou (his eldest son and secretary) said,”We are just gathering around to congratulate Yori.”

“Congratulate? They know…?” Shinnosuke thought.

“Yori-nee-sama had gotten into the Fujiwara Academy for the Elites!” Setsuna’s exclamation replied his doubt.

In front of him stood his beloved daughter, an almost splitting image of his wife.

“Otou-sama… here are the official documents,” she handed a big white envelope out with two hands while bowing 45 degree.

Shinnosuke hesistated. He clenched his fists hard and wondered what to do next. She would not be able to go to the academy if she was to be adopted into the Tachibana family.

“Shinnosuke-sama…” He heard his wife calling out to him from the back of his head. Yori still had her head down, hands reached out with the white envelope. Deciding that he would not reveal the news immediately, he took the documents from her.

“You will not be going to the academy,” he announced sternly. He thought that it would be easier for her to receive the news if she did not get her hopes high.

“Otou-sama?” she looked up fearfully.

“Why?” It was Shou who brought up the question.

“There is no why. A girl should behave like one and attend etiquette lessons. The academy is for the male elites of our clan. As the chairman, I will not allow any derogation to the academy,” he lied.

“You were the one who encouraged Yori-nee-sama to take the entrance tests!” Setsuna yelled in defense of his sister.

“I changed my mind,” Shinnosuke replied Setsuna’s insolence with a firm tone. With that, he threw the envelope into the fireplace.

“No!” He thought he heard a few of his children exclaiming in despair when he turned and left the room.

“It’ll be easier if she did not have her hopes up,” he kept repeating to himself as he trudged to his room.

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The next morning , he announced the news during breakfast when everyone was gathered at the dining table.

“Yori will be going to the Tachibana family when they are ready to receive her,” he continued to read his papers after the announcement.

He was waiting to hear Yori’s cries of resentment but none came. The only voice he heard was from Setsuna.

“You old fool! Why must Yori-nee-sama go to the Tachibana family now?” he said indignantly.

“What about the agreement between the Tachibanas and our family?” Shou asked in a concern voice. He knew his father well enough to know that he is not the kind to make decisions like this at a whim.

“It had been decided that she will be adopted into the Tachibana family, that’s all. No more questioning from you. I will not tolerate such insolence towards me anymore,” Shinnosuke had put his newspaper away.

“Otou-sama…” He heard Yori calling out to him and instinctively turned to face her. “I will go.” His wife’s image had superimposed onto Yori’s miserable expression. His heart just ached even more when he felt that he had caused his wife to make an expression like that. He could no longer differentiate if she was his beloved wife or his precious daughter.

By the time he was walking out of the dining room, Chito was holding Setsuna back with both arms.

“You old fool! They promised to leave her alone!” Setsuna was cursing out loud at him but he disregarded the outburst and continued his way.

Chapter 1 – The King wants the Prince back

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My grandmother used to tell me bedtime stories, that was before she passed away. I did not have the chance to share with her – whatever I currently have, she had left me before I made it in the entertainment industry. Recently, her kind and tender smile kept appearing in my thoughts, and I wonder if she was trying to tell me that she is proud of me – the useless grandson who could do nothing for her when she was alive. All I could do was to remember her and her stories… They taught me many things about life and people, brought me up like how my grandmother would.

Amongst the many stories, I like this particular one about an exiled prince; often imagining myself as the Prince when I was still a kid. The whole imagining experience usually ended up in tears as I felt pity for the pampered prince leading the life of a commoner. However, my grandmother always held my hand, brought it to her lips, and after giving it a light peck, she would say,”No my dear… The prince is not pitiful. He had gotten many things and possessions that he would never get a taste of if he was still a prince.”

I could also recall the tears that were flowing from my eyes when I stood by her deathbed. I held her hands like how she held mine and my heart just could not stop hurting.

“Titus… ” she breathed out weakly; it was barely audible but I’m glad that I managed to catch her calling my name. I moved my ear towards her pale quivering lips.

“The King… wants the prince… back… by his side…” She closed her eyes after finishing the sentence, and did not open them again. I did not think much about her “last words” as I occupied myself with the mundane preparations for her funeral. Why did I suddenly recall her words?
Why would the King want the prince back when he exiled him in the first place?
Why did the King exile the prince? – I do not remember that part of the story…

“There, I’m done,” Passing the manuscripts to my manager, I gave a smirk and made it obvious that I was proud of my “product”.

“T, you can be a writer, you know that? All these for your autobiography… your fans will be crying and loving you more.” My manager, Ambrose, was praising me. I could differentiate between a sneer and compliments, and that was definitely the latter. “You sure you had a grandmother who was like this?” She doubted me.

“That’s just a gimmick, dear Ambrose. Don’t tell me you fell for that?” I winked at her. Ambrose went a little red on the cheeks, turned her face away and stood back facing me while adjusting the hem of her dress.

“I’m … I’m just confirming with you. I have to clarify things with the company and the publishers…” her front still facing the opposite direction. After packing the manuscripts into her bag, Ambrose proceeded to leave.

“You have an interview with G-world magazine’s reporter at 3pm and after that, there’s the photo shoot at Studio X. Lana will be taking care of you today, I’m expecting the meeting with the publishers and editors to take the whole day.” She turned around and started nagging like my mother.

“Yes M’am!” I flashed her my widest grin and she left after closing the door to her office. When I agreed to do the autobiography thing, I knew what was coming. However, what I did not know was myself. Apparently, the more I write, the more truth I infused into the many words that came flowing out of my brain.

I’m Titus, the top entertainer, most talented and beautiful person in the entertainment circle. My songs and movies had moved millions around the world, and now I’m writing an autobiography for myself. No one believes “autobiographies” – that is what I think is true. At the beginning, all I thought was to spin some tear-wrenching tale for the female fans of mine and get them more affixed to me. However, as I wrote on, many of my personal history started pouring out into words. What’s happening to me? Reminiscing?

“The King wants the prince back…”

Sitting in the minibus that I take when I’m running on assignments, the thought could not stop looping. What King? Who’s the Prince? I had always felt pity for the prince, but as I grew older… my beliefs changed and so did my pity for the prince. If I were the prince, I would never want to leave my newly-accustomed comfort in the commoner’s world. Why would I return to a person who chased me away in the first place? Why? The King’s reason for exiling the prince… I do not remember at all. Maybe, my grandmother did not tell me, or maybe, my grandmother did not tell of such a story at all. Did I make it up?

The people at Studio X greeted me enthusiastically to which I returned with the brightest smile I could gather.

“Good afternoon guys, thanks for the hard work.” My words were firm and loud, so much so that they remained in the rather empty studio as echoes for the next few milliseconds.

“Keran is going to do a duo shoot with another model.” Lana said in a soft tone when she strolled beside me, along the corridor towards the makeup room. Keran is the assigned photographer for this project and he is one of the best in the field. Lana, with her brows knitted together, was apparently worried at the prospect of having another model in the project.

“It’s alright. Working with another person will be double the fun,” I assured her. Lana was new to the job. She was hired because Ambrose could not handle my exponentially increasing schedule and work load alone.

By the time I returned to the studio, Keran had started working on the other model. His assistant escorted me to the sides and I sat down on the prepared field chair.

“Good one… let’s try another pose.” I heard Keran giving instructions from where he stood. Tracing his line of sight, mine landed on a well built body. I got more curious on his looks as I traced his contours all the way up to his face. Jet black hair with soft strands falling to the side of his cheeks. That was the first thing I noticed. His eyes …

“The King wants the prince back…”

He had silver iris and they fitted nicely to his sharp features. His eyes were now opened fully, looking very confident and dignified.

His long fingers were placed on his thighs as he posed for the camera. Pale and fair, yet they looked muscular and strong. I swallowed a mouthful of saliva, making a “gulping” sound in the process.

“Titus!” Lana shook me. “You’re up next.”

I was jiggled out of the “observation process” (that was iterating by itself). Stand up from the field chair, I strode towards the object of my curiosity but I was interrupted by the photographer.

“Titus!” He pat my shoulder. “Meet Hugue! He’s new but since he’s so good…” Keran gave me a lewd smirk, “Anyway, he’ll be your partner for this project.”

“Nice to meet you, Titus.” The Hugue reached out and was waiting for a shake of hands. My heart was racing, blood was rushing and everything went spinning but I managed stretched out and held Hugue’s hand in mine.

“The King wants the prince back…”

I could not stare away from his silver eyes and my sweating palms were glued to his fair and firm hand.

“Titus?” Lana called out. I released his hands from my grip and turned my face away.

“Sorry, I was distracted.” I apologized without looking at him. Trying to look as calm as I could, I signaled to Keran that I was ready to start the session.

“It’s alright, my Prince.” Hugue whispered into my ear as we intersected each other’s path.

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Chapter 1.2 – Very Important Person (Setsuna’s Side Story)
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Standing beside the old rain tree by the school field, the person leaned against the trunk for support. Long black hair, lean physique and beautiful long fingers… The delicate fingers that laid upon the rough bark of tree trunk looked fair yet pale. A gentle breeze blew across the fields and brought the jet black strands of hair flowing in its current. Leaves from the rain tree showered down on the person, and the mere presence of the individual seemingly disappeared within the spates of green and yellow leaves. When the breeze had ceased, the figure had once again materialized. It gazed far into the direction of the school compound, with its eyes twinkling at every suggestion of a person appearing from the corner of the main school building.

“Kurei…-kun?” a female voice called out from behind the figure. It gracefully turned around, with its long black hair trailing behind in brilliance. In front of it was a girl in Fujiwara School uniform.

“I heard from the class president that you are eating your lunch here… so I…” she paused and looked down at the grass blades, trying to focus on any one of them. The figure could recognize her as a fellow classmate. When she finally looked back up, her face was flushed with blood and her eyes were watering.

“You are always absent from school…” she commented with a hint of sadness in her tone. “And, when you finally come to school, you are always not around.”

“What are you trying to say?” The figure finally spoke.

“I mean, it’s good to see you in school after so long. But it would be nice if you can concentrate in class… you know, don’t always look out of the window during lessons…” she replied hesitantly. “No – Uh…What I’m trying to say is I … I….lik..”

Before the final words poured out of her quivering lips, someone else interrupted them. Right before her eyes, her “Kurei-kun” was locked in an embrace, lips sealed in a kiss with another person. She could not believe her eyes even though she had heard of the rumors before.

“Kurei-sama & Setsuna-sama are a couple…” this sentence was looping in her mind as she witnessed the attestation to it. For the next few seconds, both figures in front of her were embracing together, even “Kurei-kun” who showed rejection at the beginning had his eyes closed and his arms around the neck of the other figure. Before the tears could fall out of her eyes, she turned and took off towards the main school building.

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“Setsuna…” Kurei managed to break the kiss and muttered Setsuna’s name. “It’s enough.”

Setsuna released Kurei from his hold but as Kurei stepped back away from him, he seized Kurei’s trailing strands of hair. Gently, he brought the hair to his nose and took a deep breath.

“You smell so good…” he exhaled. He placed his other hand around Kurei’s waist as Kurei was unable to step back any further.

“How’s your day so far?” Setsuna asked tenderly. Kurei was surprised at how gentle he was.

“A girl was about to confess her love for you. Your day must be excellent…” he continued in the same tone. Kurei thought he sensed jealousy in Setsuna’s tone, but the younger cousin in front of him was flashing him a smile that he had not seen for a very long time. Kurei Sasaki （クレイ　佐々木）is Setsuna’s elder cousin and the Sasaki family is one of the most influential family in the clan since they are directly related to the Akitsuki family; Kurei’s mother is the elder sister of Setsuna’s mother.

“I didn’t know that she was going to…” he tried to explain. Setsuna pulled him closer to himself while leaning onto the trunk of the tree.

“It’s alright. You are very attractive. It would be a miracle if there isn’t anyone interested in you.” Setsuna chuckled playfully.

Kurei felt relieved, knowing that Setsuna had forgiven him and returned his embrace more passionately. Gazing into Setsuna’s eyes, Kurei moved closer to his smiling cousin, with the desire to give him a kiss on the lips. But, before he could initiate one, Setsuna had latched his lips on his, and hauled him closer to his warm body.

“Setsuna seems to be in a good mood today…” Kurei had that thought running through his head when Setsuna’s hand strayed to buttons of his shirt.

“Setsu…” He heaved a heavy sigh when Setsuna reached under his top and had begun playing with his nipples.

“No…” He tried to reject Setsuna’s advances. Instead of stopping, Setsuna moved on to bury his face in Kurei’s fair white chest, placing his warm tongue on the erected nipple.

From there, Kurei’s sense of logic had snapped. He could no longer be bothered if they were in school, in the public, under the eyes of every other member of the clan. With Setsuna’s head in front of him, he gazed lovingly at the baby soft hair. With the sudden urge to touch it, he ran his fingers through Setsuna’s hair.

“He didn’t put any gel today…” the thought suddenly occurred to him. Setsuna was already licking his way down towards Kurei’s bellybutton. He felt a sudden rush of blood to his face as Setsuna unbuttoned his pants.

“Sit down… I won’t want anyone else to see you,” Setsuna whispered his possessiveness into Kurei’s ears before sitting him down onto the soft man-made grass, making him recline against the trunk. They were now hidden out of sight by the large tree trunk.

With the risk of being caught reduced, Setsuna gripped and started caressing Kurei’s hot and erected organ with his fingers.

“Setsunaa…” Kurei muttered with his eyes closed. He planted a kiss on Kurei’s forehead as he continued his stroking motion.

“Your expression is beautiful… It turns me on.” Setsuna teased. Kurei was trying not to make any sound from the pleasure that Setsuna was giving him and that had twisted the expression on his face.

“Do..n’t… loo..k…” he barely managed to finish the phrase. Suddenly, Setsuna increased the speed of his strokes, and Kurei winced with every movement Setsuna made. At the final burst of pleasure, Kurei clung onto Setsuna tightly…
and finally relaxed when it was over.

“You’re the most beautiful thing in the world,” Setsuna said to him before locking their lips into a deep kiss again. Kurei was so absorbed by Setsuna’s passion that he did not realize Tooya’s presence.

“Setsuna-sama, Yori-sama has arrived and I have escorted her to the cafe,” Tooya announced in a frigid tone.

At once, Setsuna broke away from the kiss and embrace.

“I’ll be right there!” He exclaimed in delight and stood up to leave. As if he had just remembered, he turned around and glanced at Kurei, still leaning onto the trunk, looking all messed up.

“I’m so sorry, Yori-nee-sama is here to see me! She actually thought that I was not feeling well! Haha…” Setsuna seemed satisfied with himself. “I’ll go find you another day.” He left with Tooya following behind him.

“That’s why he didn’t have any gel on his hair today. Yori does not like it…” Kurei mumbled to himself as he wore his clothes back. “Today… he did not call my name at all, not once…” He felt the desperation in himself. “Just like always…”

Author’s Note:
This is a story inspired by the world of Final Fantasy (especially that of FFXIII & FFVII)
The idea popped into my mind when I was listening to the OST of FFVII & Trinity Blood.
The title “Somnus” is a tribute to the track that I love a lot from the trailers of FF Versus XIII.
It means “Sleep” in Latin.

_________________________________________________
Prologue – The day the Last Kingdom fell…
_________________________________________________

The Prince stood in front of the large portrait. Towering over him was the picture of Vandernia’s savior and hero – a young man with jet black hair that stops before his shoulders. The portrait displayed the back view of this hero, putting his face out of sight but his silhouette was no less valiant than any other statues of the many Gods that Vandernia’s people believed in. The Prince was near the bottom right of the lofty portrait, at the calves of the young man. He had one of his palms placed gently on the glass sheet that protects the canvas beyond and his face displayed a tender smile.

“I’ll be back…” Prince Somnus whispered.

The corking of rifles resonated across the empty chamber in which the portrait sat in the center. Despite the interruption, Prince Somnus did not avert his focus from the back of Vandernia’s hero. In the next moment, a shower of rounds was shot towards the prince. Smoke, built up from the heat, permeated the chamber, leaving the visibility level at its lowest; neither the prince nor his corpse was visible from where the attackers stood. The smog started to dissipate after a short while, and the attackers waited in anticipation of Somnus’ body on the ground, but there was none…

Through the thin layer of smoke that remained, they saw Somnus standing where he was before the attack. That was not all that surprised them, the rounds that left their barrels did not make it to Somnus – instead, they were hovering in the air as if stopped by an invisible barrier – one that engulfed Prince Somnus and the portait hanging from the ceiling of the chamber.

“What…” One of the attackers standing in front barely breathed out as he was shot by a returned round. Simultaneously, the rounds were shot back, in the opposite direction of Somnus, towards the attackers; aiming at each and every one of them without wasting a single shot. The first row fell, followed by the second. By the time the attackers in the third row started to flee, half of them were shot down. Still, the bullets chased each and every assailant running in every direction, putting them down. Within a short time, the grounds of the chamber was strewn with corpses of the attackers, dead from their own rounds.

“That’s enough…” The only man left standing said without turning to look at the mess, keeping his eyes to the portrait.

“Yes, my Lord.” A voice echoed from the left of Somnus.

The Prince reluctantly pulled his palm away from the glass, reminiscing the touch that became weaker with the withdrawal of his hand. Finally, he clenched his fist, holding it to his chest – the position of where his heart would be. His eyes were closed, as if trying to indulge in this feeling as much as he could.

“My Lord… We should leave now, before more Gatruda reinforcements arrive,” another voice resounded from the right of the Prince.

Somnus opened his eyes, mumbled a spell and with a wave of his hands, enclosed the portrait in a pillar of bright white light. When the light vanished, so did the portrait.

The prince lifted his hand and touched the invisible portrait in front of him, “I’ll be back… I promise.” With that, he turned and walked along the cleared path that his closest followers had paved for him.

_________________________________________________

Vandernia was the last Kingdom. A Kingdom is one with a King that affines with the core of a crystal. Vandernia’s King, Somnus’ father, was affined with the Crystal of Lightning and Thunder, which provided them with protection from the magic. Talented beings who are born affined to the crystal will be blessed with its fragment since birth. With the fragment, these beings will be able to wield and harness the power, protecting and benefiting their Kingdom in various ways.

Although it stood against many attacks in the past, Vandernia had succumbed to the same fate the other Kingdoms had. The surrounding Nations had attacked and successfully assassinated the King – the one who held the core of the Crystal. With the passing of the core bearer, Vandernia’s crystal lost its brilliance, and her people lost their bestowed power. Therefore, the soldiers of Vandernia failed to defend their Kingdom and Vandernia fell to the hands of the attacking Nations.

Along with his loyal followers, Somnus escaped Vandernia, to go in search for the lost Crystal of the Blood – the Crystal that had once saved Vandernia when it was brought there by a young wanderer, the one who became Vandernia’s savior 200 years ago…

To begin the search for the Crystal, he decided to proceed towards the Mercenary Institute of Gardeqroud – a school that takes in talented young people, trains them to excel in various fields of magic and combat and sends them out on missions for various Nations & factions. Somnus knew the Head of the Institute, Hocrus. Hocrus had taught him combat skills when he stopped by Vandernia many years ago.

Somnus’ journey starts from here…

_____________________________________________________

-21:00-

Clear liquid gushed into the metallic bowl beneath the faucet. After the sink had gotten half filled, Ray stopped the flow by pushing a lever on the top of the faucet towards the misty mirror behind. As he splashed water onto his down-ridden face, he felts revitalized — almost immediately by the warmth of the liquid.

Using his left hand, he swabbed a portion of the mirror to get a better view of himself. What stared back was another person — or what it seemed to be — with red eyes , and a very pale face – almost as white as the vampire that he had slayed an hours ago.

“Lousy contact lenses,” he grumbled to himself, almost aloud.

As he removed the transparent films from his eyes, he realized his Solaris in the reflection of the mirror — leaning against the ceramic wall, soiled in dark brown substances.

“After I change my lenses,” he took a metallic casing from his side pouch by the belt and pressed a small red button by the side of it. Opening silently, it revealed another pair of lenses submerged in what seemed like liquid carbon dioxide (dry ice).

Holding the lens in front of his left eye, Ray seemed reluctant to regain his perfect vision. And, at the moment when the contact lens was in place…

“Argh!!” He felt a searing pain through his left eyeball. He pounding his clenched fists on the transparent sink counter which felt cold and solid, like glass, every time his fists landed on the wet surface. When pain distraction had outran its effect, he paced around the bathroom with his eyes closed focusing on the thought that the pain will subside soon.

With his left eye still stinging, he continued the excruciating torture for the right eye.

He was sitting on top of the bidet, with both eyes closed — trying to let them get use to the ‘foreign texture’. His appeasement act was interrupted by …

“rrrr…rrrr….rrrrr” The pouch on his right was vibrating.

It was his palmtop communication device. He brought it out and read the message displayed on his high-resolution screen.

“Mission Order

Venue : Improdus

Team Assigned : 4

In charge : Brown – Jon Hailey the Ortauc

-Acknowledgment Reply required for this order-
–EOF– “

After sending the reply, he dried his hands with a towel taken from a neat stack on the transparent shelf that was by the corner of the sink’s counter. Picking up the long sword leaning on the wall opposite to the sink, he sheathed it back into its leather vessel and slung it on his back.

Feeling that he had done whatever he needed in the bathroom, Ray turned to leave by the metallic sliding door which was locked all this while. As he placed his hand onto the white panel to the right, the door slid open even before he made direct contact with the panel’s surface.

Stepping through, a long hallway awaited him. Two men were standing across the corridor chatting animatedly. They glanced towards Ray as he strode down in their direction.

“Hey! Have you received the order? I just happen to meet Chrome and we are making our way to the rally point.” The man in tattered jeans, sleeveless top, and a small goaty ,that Ray does not really agree with, greeted him.

“I got it. Let’s go.” Ray replied as he led the way down the long hallway.

The men soon caught up with him.

“Do you think everyone’s there yet?” Chrome asked.

“You bet so! Our team’s the best … With Ortuac as our leader and stuff. We’re efficient, ya know. Hahaha!” The other man boasted out loud, his name is Pridge.

“Isn’t it, ATL”

There was silence from Ray. He had his earphones on already. Three of them walked on, with Chrome and Pridge gossiping and Ray keeping his cool.

A dozen of students in casual clothings gathered around the rectangular desk as Sandra Freeman poured a test tube of colorless solution into another which contained green powdery substances. As she completed the act, bubbles of air came rushing onto the surface of the mixture, which had now turned into a clear liquid with dark brown sediment.

“And, my dear boys and girls, as hydrogen peroxide gets reduced, the iron gets oxidised. The change in color indicates the oxidation process, so is the evolving of the gas – shown by the eager bubbles by the surface.” She narrated the explanation with enthusiasm. “Alright now, please get back to your seats while I write down the equations on the board.” Sandra was the “Best Teacher of the Year” since she started working in Treopolis Private High School.

As the students retreated back to their seats, three boys were whispering to each other behind the majority.

“It’s the red halter top again, I recognize it under her cardigan.”

“Haha … Ms Sandra is definitely the hottest female teacher in school!!”

“Not to forget that she’s extremely patient and gentle with us, even when we are not as obedient and hardworking.”

A girl wearing khaki tank top and black bermudas walked past them, overheard their exchange and peered in their direction.

“How low can guys be …” she made sure it was loud enough for the three of them to hear. The boys were about to defend themselves when her friend came up to her and hauled her along.

“Let’s get back to our seats, Ms Sandra started writing the equation a few moments ago.”

Both of them were back at their seats, leaving the three boys to continue their forum about their favourite teacher. The girl picked her black pen from her pencil case, a plain metal one and copied the equation, which was written neatly on the board.

“I agree that Ms Sandra is a nice teacher, but that’s not the point at all. Sometimes, I feel that she’s just too nice. Don’t you think so?” She asked her friend in a whisper. By then, the class had settled down to copy the increasing amount of information on the board.

“You think too much, Mellor. I think she’s perfect. How many of them are that dedicated?” The girl shrugged her shoulders. “Oh, is Dril joining us for the supplementary lessons? It’s so quiet without her.” She hesitated before she continued to voice her real question, “Also, will she be asking …. err … you know who – along.” Mellor’s friend, Bridget, blushed a deep red.

“I’ve mentioned to her during lunch break today. She got to ask for her father’s permission. And if she’s coming, Ray should be coming along too.” Mellor replied.

“That’ll be great! At least, there will be something to look forward to.” Bridget lost control and spoke a little too loud.

“What’s going on behind ?” Sandra questioned the class.

“I’m sorry Ms Sandra.” Mellor apologized on behalf and proceeded writing.

“It’s all your fault,” she mumbled. “Don’t get your hopes too high, I doubt they can because …” Mellor’s sentence was interrupted by the beginning of Ms Sandra’s detailed explanation on oxidation.

“As you can see from my demonstration … “

Two hours had gone by and the sky was completely dark. From Mellor’s seat, she could hear the croaking of toads since they were using a first storey classroom. Looking at her analog watch, it read 20:08.

She was starting to drift away in her thoughts, when Sandra announced, “Okay! That’s all for today. If you have any questions, please feel free to stay behind. I’m more than willing to help since the next chemistry test is around the corner.”

The uproar of dragging chairs, rustling of bags and biding of farewells filled the entire classroom. Mellor stood up to pack her bag, and she commented,
“The people who are staying behind must be mad, it’s so late!”

Not very surprisingly, the three boys decided to hang around Ms Sandra’s desk.

“Ms Sandra, can you teach us about the hydrolysis of water again? I didn’t catch that when you went through during lesson in the day.” One of them with a leather jacket asked Ms Sandra in the most sickening tone you can imagine.

Throwing them a dirty look, Mellor and Bridget left the classroom together.

“It’s just them, Lee, Francis and Yen. Don’t be bothered by it!” Bridget tried to calm Mellor down when she witnessed her face, fuming with anger.

Both girls parted at the next junction, leaving in two different directions for their respective homes.

Mellor stared down at her watch.
“20:15″ – it read.

_____________________________________________________

Chapter 1 – Ray & Dril

_____________________________________________________

The sun was glaring through the window panels as Arthur Fleming went over, for what seemed like the 100th time, the formulae for the hydrolysis of water. It was the last lesson of the last day of the week!

“Your next chemistry test is on next Tuesday. Please remember all the key points that I mentioned during the lesson,” he warned his restless students in his usual expressionless face. That woke some of them who were dozing off.

“A test? Not again!! ” A plump bloke with the name Roland protested. He sits by the corner of the classroom and often drifts into dreamland during lessons. As he continued his protesting ‘campaign’, a few other regular failures hollered along.

“I’ve reminded on all the key points, if you missed them, there’s really nothing I can do anymore,” Arthur Fleming was never a potential candidate for “Best Teacher of the Year” award.

Amidst all the noise and wreckage, one person seemed undisturbed and continued his nap. There he was, his head on the desk and face turned sideways in order to breathe efficiently. Some girls were looking in his direction, giggling and whispering.

His dark brown hair, boyish looks and his height of 1.78m do attract some attention from his fellow classmates, especially from the opposite gender. However, the sleeping prince seemed oblivious to his surroundings. Sunlight was shining generously on his pale face, bathing him in it, making him appeared more like “Sleeping Beauty” than “Prince Charming”.

When he felt a pat on his head, he opened his eyes and a girl with red hair flooded his blurred vision.

“Ray! Time for home!” She stood up from her kneeling position and continued down the row of desks. Ray raised his head from the desk and checked his watch. It was 16:37. He reached for his bag under the desk, retrieved his Mp3 player and plugged the earphones into his ears.

As they walked down the pebbled pathway towards the schoolgate, the girl tugged Ray’s right earphone off.

“Did you hear about next Tuesday?”

“No, I was sleeping.” Ray replied while inserting his earphone back into his ear, but before he could finish doing it, the girl stopped him with her hand.

“Apparently, the next test is not going to be easy and we will not be excused for it like the previous two. So, what are you going to do about it?” She had her hands on her hips, a sight which would remind anyone of their nagging mothers.

“Study.” He calmly answered and continued exiting the school.

“But we don’t have the time to study at all. You don’t even pay attention during classes.” she lashed out her built-up complains. “All you ever do is to sleep and I never will understand what the teachers are talking about.” She took a breather. “If this goes on, we’ll drop out of school before the Jon can say ‘The next mission is’.” She paused, tapping her foot and waited for a decent reply from Ray. When she did not get any…

“Aren’t you even worried about that!?” She pulled Ray back and abruptly halted in the middle of the pathway.

“Mellor, from the next class, told me that her teacher is holding supplementary lessons after school, but they are held after 6pm.” She looked Ray in the eye. “After the sky turned dark… but, I still wish for us to join the supplementary class. Would you talk to my dad about it?”

Ray knew she would want her way and nodded his head before proceeding to the exit out of hell.

“I knew that you would help! Thanks … ” she hurrayed and took bigger strides to catch up with him.

In front of the gate, a black Puma Roadster, with their family crest emblazoned on the body, and its driver were waiting for them.

“Jon! It’s you today!” the girl ran towards the wound-down window by the driver’s seat.

“Could you even calm down for just a minute. You’re always bouncing in excitement – like a kid.” Jon smiled.

“How’s school today, Ray?” He waved at Ray who was approaching the rear side’s door.

“As usual.” Ray said in an almost monotonous voice as he boarded the car.

“How’s it for you, baby Dril?” Jon switched his attention to Dril, who was by his side now, fastening her seat belt.

“It sucks! I’ll have another test next Tuesday …” she continued her grumbling as Jon drove them towards the ‘Sun Manor’ – their home.

—————————————————————————————————–

Squirming under the satin sheets, Setsuna instinctively searched for a warmth that was no longer existent. The sheets that tormentingly brushed against his bare skin felt savagely frigid.

“Setsuna… What’s wrong?” the voice that he craved for called out to him. At the same time, Setsuna sensed a mellow touch on his head, ruffling through his baby soft hair.

“Are you feeling cold?” the same honeyed voice asked. “Come over here…” Even though his eyes were still closed, he could visualize his beautiful sister stretching out to him, across the satin sheets. He shifted closer to the source of the voice, feeling a little more comfortable now.

“Setsuna is such a baby…” he could hear the soft chuckle that he loves the most. As he visualized the up and down chest movements of her giggling, he could almost detect the whiff of aroma that the motions had brought about. Taking a deep breath, Setsuna’s senses were heightened. Overwhelmed by his adoration for the source of the sweet scent, he took hold of her hand that was still on his head and brought it to his lips.

“I love you, Yori-nee-sama,” he whispered. He laid a light kiss on the back of her palm, and went on to do the same to her thumb, her forefinger, her middle finger… When he was at her wrist, Setsuna gently suckled on the smooth skin. He was too engrossed to even consider whether he would leave a mark or not.

“Yori-ne…” he called out in a dreamy voice and opened his eyes…

Setsuna found himself staring blankly at the white celing of his room…

“Why am I conscious?” he questioned the ceiling, as well as himself. The satin sheets had slipped off the canopy bed and landed on the carpeted floor.

“No wonder it felt chilly,” he thought. Setsuna has the habit of sleeping half-naked. That being said, he only sleeps with his boxers on and that does not provide much of a clothing against the temperature at night. When Yori used to be around, she would ensure that Setsuna slept with a shirt on, but she was no longer there. With that thought, he mouthed a silent curse.

It was only a week after Yori had been adopted into the Tachibana family, and Setsuna was already suffering from “Yori-nee~ withdrawal symptoms” – as his elder brother Chito（智斗） had remarked earlier. They got into a fight after that passing comment. Setsuna was already a short-tempered person to start with; however, ever since Yori left for the Tachibana family, his willfulness and volatility level had risen exponentially. It was as if his behavior before was all for show – at least, that was what the rest of his brothers thought.

Picking up his microcomputer from the stand, he checked the time with the nifty device rested nicely on his palm. The white digits by the top right hand corner displayed “06:58″. To the left of it was a blinking mail icon indicating that he had received some mails.

“Check mail,” he muttered the voice command while holding on to the voice-command activation button. The screen switched to the mailbox and displayed a total of 37 unread mails.

“Tsk!” Setsuna immediately showed his impatience at the amount of messages flooding his screen.

“Chira”
“Rei”
“Natose”
“Nancy”
“Lila”
“Koushi”
“Kurei”

“…” He checked the message that was sent by “Kurei”.

“~(=^‥^)ノ☆ おはよぉニャ！Setsuna, I’ll be going to school today. See you during lunch break? Kurei”

“That bastard…” Setsuna smiled and continued checking his mail.

“Nanami”
“Gai”
“Tetsu”
“Yori”
“Shun”

“….!!” He looked back at the sender named “Yori” and displayed the message.

“Setsuna, how’s everything at home? I’ve heard from Chito that you are not feeling well. I’ll visit you in school during your lunch break today. Your sister, Yori.”

Setsuna could not believe his eyes and ears… and skin…. and all of his senses.

“IT’S a DREAM!” He exclaimed in ecstacy.

*********************************************************

“Tooya, go get Setsuna out of bed now.” Master Akitsuki commanded Setsuna’s warden.

All members of the Mei-batsu and higher families of the Fujiwara clan under the age of 16 have a warden acting as their personal guard, keeper and companion since young. Wardens are sourced from other clans or lower families of the Fujiwara clan. For example, Shinbashi Tooya（新橋遠矢）is from another family of the Fujiwara clan.

Before Tooya could leave for Setsuna’s room, Setsuna had skipped into the dining area and greeted everyone with proper formalities, except for Chito.

“GOOD MORNING, Chito-oni-sama!” he merrily pranced towards his elder brother. When he reached Chito’s seat, he positioned himself behind Chito and stretched across the long cushioned backing of the oak chair, planting a wet kiss on his surprised brother’s cheek.

“A very good morning to you!” Setsuna repeated, flashing a wide smile at his traumatized brother who became momentarily paralyzed. With the same enthusiasm, he hopped into the chair beside Chito and munched his breakfast like a happy chipmunk, occasionally storing extra mouthful of food at the “pockets” of his cheeks.

“Eat slower, Setsuna. You will choke at this rate,” Akitsuki Mamoru (or to be known as Shou from his childhood nickname) reminded his youngest brother.

“Yes my dearest Shou-oni-sama!” Setsuna answered in-between swallowing his mouthful of breakfast.

The rest of the family felt relief. They were extremely worried for him since Yori had left for the Tachibana family.

*********************************************************

Tooya walked Setsuna to his classroom and as usual, many girls were gathered by the classroom’s entrance which was bolted shut. When they saw Setsuna approaching, most of them started running, like fanatics, towards him. Although he usually gets irritated by their attitude, he was too jolly for that.

“Ladies, please let me cross,” he proclaimed in a gentlemanly voice and finished it with a graceful bow. Unanimously, the girls moved away and formed two neat rows by the vast corridor, as if it was a parade for Setsuna to march past. When he finally entered the classroom, the class president bolted the door shut, again.

ICC