by Twisted Eternal Wolvetta
Aristocratic Moron
It was weeks after the strange incident at Tomoe's residence. Honestly, Mashiro had no motivation to get up. Let alone think back to the embarrassment which were those eastern springs.
On his back in his royal bed, Mashiro grumbled. But either way, what time was it…? Rolling over in bed, he glanced at the grandfather clock in the far corner.
9:26am.
Hadn't there supposed to have been something…- realisation clicked inside his mind. Hurriedly he leapt up, and made a move to jump out of bed. That was until the blankets clung to his form. Instead of gracefully sliding from the bed, he slammed face-first into the floor.
"Urgh."
A moment passed; this transforming into a minute. His arms were sprawled over his head; his lower body still in the bed. Shooting his head up, he rested his chin against the floorboards.
Dressed in frilly beige nightwear, he groaned. Shoving himself upwards onto all-fours, he muttered to himself. "Nina is going to kill me."
Picking himself up, he regarded his state of clothing absently. Itching along a hip mindlessly, he dragged himself towards the bathroom. Well, whatever, he yawned loudly, opening the door.
After a few minutes, the undercover royal was prepared. Gathering himself, he exited the bedroom. With his hand still clutched to the doorknob, he blinked. Arika pointedly stared at him, barely a foot away.
"Mashiro!" She stated. "Nina's been waiting for you for over half an hour!" She crossed her arms, shaking her head.
"Ha...ha. I'm sorry." Mashiro sheepishly apologised, sliding a hand through his long hair.
"Say sorry to Nina, not me!" The pigtailed student literally dragged Mashiro down the palace hallway. It wasn't until they were at the dining hall did she relent. Spinning on her heel, she suspiciously regarded the royal.
"What even made you oversleep, Mashiro?" She made a face, sitting on one of the settees located within the room. "You know Nina is wanting to train you."
"I can use them just fine!" Mashiro defended himself. Though this came at a cost.
"You have no control over them!" A door was opened on the far end of the dining hall. It was slammed shut, and the siblings jumped. "What took you so long?" Nina asked, striding up to them.
"I...I-" "-He overslept." Arika interrupted, Nina frowning in response.
"Again?" The spiky-haired otome muttered, pointedly staring at him.
"Since the springs I've just been so…"
"Tired, we know." Nina rolled her eyes. After a moment, she smiled either way, sighing. "You're hopeless." She muttered, capturing Mashiro's wrist. This caused the royal to react, but she took no notice. Much alike to how Arika had done, she proceeded to lead him to their next location.
"Where are we even going?"
"Guadeloupe, obviously. You know that, Mashiro." Arika pointed out, following after them quickly.
"N-now?"
"What's the problem, come on." Nina groaned.
"B-but I haven't even eaten!" Mashiro insisted, being dragged through the palace corridors. At least let him wake up first! He needed that much to survive the horrors of Guadeloupe!
"Stop making such a big deal, it's not that bad." Arika piped, curiously looking to and fro at the passing environment. Everything about this palace was always so outlandish to her. So much of the castle was ancient! Imagine how many secrets this site held?
"When you've seen what I've seen…" Mashiro grumbled, flushing. "You'll remember never to catch Juliet Nao Zhang alone."
"Nao? You've met her? But she's barely ever-" Cutting herself off, Nina frowned. Of course it would be Nao…
Within the grounds after twenty or so minutes, the royal huffed. Pushing his long, white jacket down, he muttered. "So much for a steady walk."
"Do you always complain like an old man, Mashiro?" Arika inquired, getting an outburst from the royal. She tailgated after the sibling, her hands clutched behind herself. Sluggishly she kicked her feet before her, uncaring of her sloppiness.
"Of course not! I just would've preferred to at least eat before getting dragged here!" What had he done to deserve this?
This is just a tiny character study I've been sluggishly working on. I wanted to try working on Arika, Nina, and Mashiro's personalities from the Otome manga.