Chapter I
"Ne, Chibisuke."
A boy about six looked over at his older half-brother. His golden-olive eyes met his brother's darker brown and the boy blinked slowly in the sunlight.
"Yeah?" it came as a quiet, melodic question.
"Do... do you think there is a place for everyone in the world?"
"A place, aniki?" the younger responded, his forehead furrowing at his older brother's question. It wasn't often that his aniki got this way, but when he did, it usually meant something had upset the boy.
"Yeah, a place. Somewhere someone belongs no matter what." The elder elaborated. Despite the seriousness of the conversation, the elder remained nonchalant, his hands folded under his head, cushioning it against the already soft grass. He had long since looked away from his baby brother, his dark brown eyes returning to fixate on the stars that swirled above the two young boys.
It hadn't been the first time they laid out in the grass during warm summer nights, just like it wasn't the first time the elder boy asked the younger something far beyond a six year old's comprehension, but the boy responded regardless.
"I believe there is a place for everyone to make their own."
"A place to make your own, huh?" the elder boy questioned, his head rolling back to the right to stare at his younger brother. "What if there isn't a place?" he asked quietly. The younger of the two seemed to consider this, before tilting his head up a faction to continue to look at the stars.
"There will always be a place, aniki. There is no one person alive who is genuinely their own person. There is always someone out there with the same ideals, the same thoughts. Whether they are strong enough to voice them is what makes the places in the world. You just have to be strong, and let them know you're there."
It didn't rain often in Japan, which seemed to favor blistering hot days and thick humidity, but rain it did. A cool rain that had seem to come from nowhere drenched the streets and homes. A boy stood under the overhang of the Tokyo National Airport, his suitcases at his feet, and his tennis bag slung tightly over his slim shoulders. He watched as the rain fell is thick drops, causing puddles to form along the road in front of him.
He didn't seem to mind the rain, while other rushed about, trying to find more secure cover, the boy simply stood under the small overhang, the wind occasionally showering him with a mist of cool water. Unconcerned, he adjusted the strap on his bag to fit more comfortably on his shoulder, before sticking his left hand out to signal a taxi.
Soon enough a white and green taxi pulled up as close to the curb as possible, and in a obvious display of reluctance to get out in the rain, the trunk of the taxi popped open with a jarring movement. The cabby made no move to leave the taxi. The boy didn't really care either way and picked his bags up from the damp cement and walked to the half open trunk. He deposited his bags, not even bothered that his clothes and body were now almost completely soaked. Walking to the backseat door, his slid into the taxi, shook his hair out, and gave the cab driver his destination.
The golden plate on the white brick fencing proudly proclaimed "Echizen Manor" in an elegant script. The cab driver issue a low whistle at the sight of the mansion. The boy himself tilted his head to see his new home, before shaking his head at it. He handed the cab driver his fare and extracted himself from the uncomfortable leather seats to retrieve his bags from the trunk of the car.
The boy sighed up at the mansion as the taxi drove away. He reached over and keyed in the code to grant him entrance beyond the black iron wrought gates that guarded the front.
"This house is bigger than the last." the boy muttered almost resignedly before continuing up with impressive walkway of the beautiful white bricked mansion. He distractedly noticed the beautiful white lilies the seemed to bloom in perfect order along the front of the home. Lilies were his favorite flower and he knew Niles had probably had them planted as an apology for them having to move again. He made a mental note to thank him for them, even if this was the sixth time he had had lilies planted for him at each different home.
The boy walked into the grand entrance and eyed the beautiful gray marble staircase that was elegantly coated with a dark blue plush carpet that hugged each step perfectly. Footsteps alerted the boy of an approaching person and he turned his head in a nonchalant manner.
"Young master. I apologize for not being present when you arrived." the majordomo of the staff said elegantly as he walked into the foyer.
"It's fine, Niles." the young man's washed over the grand entrance in a melodic tone.
"Thank you, young master. Allow me to carry your bags." Niles replied.
"After sixteen years of knowing me you still insist on calling me 'young master'. You're hopeless, Niles." the boy said softly, picking up his bags, making it clear that he would carry his own belongings.
"Ah, but you shall always be the young master to me. Perhaps it is because I've known you for sixteen years that makes me continue calling you that." the man reasoned good natured, a smile quirking upward. He watched as the young boy removed his shoes without untying them, as per his custom. The boy chuckled lightly at the comment and began to move up the stairs.
"Thanks for the lilies, Niles." He paused half way up the staircase to murmur quietly, "I missed you, Niles." The boy said in a rare show of emotion.
"I missed you as well, young master." the man replied truthfully, as he watched the boy continue to climb the stairs of his new home.
An elegant yet young hand reached out and turned the knob of his new bedroom door. He knew, before he even stepped foot in the room, that it would be painted cream with hints of black and greenish blue, just as his other rooms had been. Niles always tried to find the room in the house that was the same as his previous rooms as much as possible. Most the time he did a very good job of this, by keeping the colors the same and giving him the room that most architecturally same as his previous rooms, from previous homes.
The door opened without protest and he surveyed his new room. As per the usual, the room was very large. An elegant platform rose about three feet off the ground with steps built into the foot of the platform. As he stepped closer he noticed that his king sized bed fit perfectly into a drop down in the platform, making the top of the mattress at perfect level with the squared of platform. The platform itself was painted the same cream color that seem to dominate the room, while the bed was made up entire of beautiful black dressings, including silk sheets and a goose-feathered down comforter.
The rest of the room was a blinding white with black Victorian framing. Every shelf, and there were a lot of them, was built into the walls and was painted black. A six door, full length mirrored closet dominated one wall, while a large bay window with a equally large, plush window seat took up another wall. He set his bags down near the door and continued to survey the room. A black door was on the same wall of the elegant mirrors of his closet, and he knew that that meant he had his own bathroom, as per the usual. A large flat screen tv was mounted on the wall near the window and a large black couch sat across from it. Along the final wall there was a large, framed area that was left completely open and led to another room. Walking through the large doorway he encountered what he knew would be his favorite room.
The walls were made up of large minimally spaced windows, causing the entire room to look as though it was made entirely from glass. The ceiling domed upward as though and elegant ballroom. The thin strips of wall that encased the windows were painted cream, while the ceiling was a black. The room itself was beautiful, yet it was what the room contained was what made this the boys new favorite room. Sitting in the middle of the room was a black baby grand piano. It's elegant top was raised, and a black, oak bench was set before it.
Ignoring the fact that he was still rather damp from the rain, the boy sat himself down at the piano and began to play.