"Kyo-chan"

He looked up from his homework upon hearing that nickname of his. As if on cue, out came a woman dressed in dark blue kimono from expensive silk. Her long, jet-black hair was coiffed in a bun, with a matching light blue hair ornament to complete the look. The woman pulled her rosy lips to a smile, deepening the dimple on the right side of her cheek. Her soft brown eyes lit up with love and affection as she beckoned to him. "Are you ready? If you are, it is time for us to leave now" she gave him her gentle smile and he nodded silently in return.

"Let me pack up my things first" he said as he tidied up his school things before walking over to the woman. She held her hand out and he took his small hand in her dainty hand. Her hand was so soft and he could smell a whiff of her perfume. It was faint, but it left such a sweet scent in his nostrils. Suddenly, the woman coughed, making him alarmed. "Mother...? Are you all right? We don't need to go if you are unwell" he said worriedly as the woman he referred to as his mother only shook her head slightly and gave him a smile. "It's all right, Kyo-chan" she said as she squeezed his hand.

As they walked to the door, a man in his mid-40s, looking sharp with his perfectly ironed suit, bowed to them and proceeded to open the door with his gloved hand. As they walked out, they were yet greeted by another man - younger this time - waiting by an expensive looking car and gave them a friendly smile. He opened the car door for the both of them and waited until they were safely inside before closing it.

The journey to their supposed destination was not a long one; it only took half an hour. As their car approached the large entrance of a huge traditional Japanese house, a man walked up to their car as it braked to a stop. He opened the car door and out came the two passengers. "Shall we go now, Kyo-chan?" she said to him as she held out her hand once again. The man that opened their car door for them bowed and gave them a polite smile. "Welcome to the main house, Mistress Sumire and Young Master Kyoya" he said as he lead them inside. Kyoya heard the car tires screeching as the wooden entrance door closed.

As Sumire and Kyoya walked inside, they were greeted by the members of the house and mostly by the guests. Or in other words, they were given cold hard stares from them. Even if one of them came up to the mother and son, Kyoya was able to tell that the smile they put on their faces were fake. They were his supposed relatives. This was supposed to be the main house. Yet Kyoya felt unwelcome in this house. It was big and the beautiful garden outside could not hide the dark atmosphere emanated by these people. Instead he felt like he was going to suffocate. He was only six years old and yet he could sense the unpleasant atmosphere in the room.

Sumire on the other hand, seemed to be oblivious of her surroundings and proceeded to sit down on the floor and beckoned for her son to follow suit. As Kyoya scrambled to his mother's side, he noticed that most of the people in the room were keeping their distance from them, especially from his mother. They spoke in hushed whispers and took the occasional discreet but not so discreet glances at the two.

A few minutes later, the whispers started to fade as a man entered the room. He was in his late 50s, yet he moved and looked like a man in his mid 40s. His sharp features suggested that he was once a very handsome youth. His tanned skin and faint scar across his cheek had given him an air of prominence. Such a fitting description of Hibari Reiji, the Head of the Hibari clan.

As he walked to his seat at the far side of the room, all members started to bow, as if it was rude to stand straight and look at the man in the eye. Once he had settled down, he raised his hand and gave a simple wave. Everyone took this as a cue to finally sit down. The dark atmosphere had vanished; instead it was replaced with an air of seriousness.

Sumire turned to look at Kyoya and gave him a gentle smile. "You should go and follow that nice man over there-" she pointed to a man at the door noddied at them after he was mentioned in their conversation, "and stay wherever he brought you, all right, Kyo-chan? Mother needs to have a talk with the grown ups here" she said soothingly.

"Hurry up, Sumire-sama. We don't want to wait any longer" said an older woman, giving Sumire a cold gaze. The other older members snickered at the remark but Sumire kept her cool and gave them a vibrant smile. "My apologies for imposing on you" she said and turned back to Kyoya. "Go"

Kyoya did as he was told to do and followed the man. He turned to look back at his mother, whose back was turned towards him. He did not understand why, but it felt like his mother was walking into the lion's den. For the first time in his life, he felt genuinely scared for his mother.

Kyoya looked out of the window of the car and saw two small birds flying. He had always admired these creatures. They look so free with their occasional chirping. He then looked at his mother, who stayed silent ever since he returned to his mother after three hours in the main house. Even when they were about to leave the house, his mother did not even held out her hand like always. Being a child he was, he felt insecure. Was his mother angry? At who? Was it him? Kyoya was so worried that he touched his mother's hand.

This exact gesture seemed to have snapped his mother out of her reverie and she gasped in surprise. Kyoya withdrew his hand, afraid that he had made a mistake. Sumire looked at him, her eyes still wide in shock. Kyoya only looked down, feeling guilty. He felt his mother's warm hand on his head and he looked up. He was greeted by his mother's gentle smile but instead of feeling relieved, he felt something was amiss. His mother's eyes. It looked pained. Was his mother in pain?

"Mother...?" he managed to say as he sat on his mother's lap and touched her forehead. No fever. The only time his mother ever made a pained look, it was due to her having a fever. Sometimes his mother made a pained expression after she had a coughing fit. If his father was still alive, he would have hugged his mother close. So Kyoya hugged his mother, hoping that it would calm his mother.

"Mother, what's wrong? Are you sick? Are you angry...at me?" Kyoya choked on the last word and bit his lip to stop from crying. Sumire chuckled and lightly pinched his cheeks. "There's nothing wrong, Kyo-chan" she said, her tone gentle, as if to soothe her son from his worries. She threw her gaze to the window. "Nothing wrong at all..."

TO BE CONTINUED