Chapter 1 - Hands
In one of the many rooms in the Shiratoe's Residence, there sat a girl by a large open window, one of her leg dangles out of the window's ledge while she watches the beautiful garden lay just outside of this very room. It was her personal chamber, and it has three parts in it. One acts as an open lounge that others will come in and see her, the other one act as her private sleeping chambers and study room that no one but her could enter.
"Ojou-sama," one of her trusted maid called her. "There is a meeting of sorcerer's tomorrow evening. Who would you send as your replacement for this meeting this time?"
Saya smiles to herself. She has been the head of this family for more than 3 years now. Being the sole child who could use her family's secret arts to the fullest, she is chosen to be the Head of Shiratoe by her deceased parents. Of course, nobody else knows about the head being a young girl like her. Shiratoes kept things to themselves, and they do not value outsider's observations with their family.
"The world is a cruel place, Wakame," Saya said softly, her gaze fixated upon the koi fish pond that no others but her could see. She noted to herself that it was a head of the family thing. "The world consisting of the people with extraordinary senses would not accept well to a female becoming the head of an esteemed exorcist family. They would certainly not accept me well either – such biasness – They would certainly not accept a 16 year old girl like me to be the head of the esteemed Shiratoe Family of Exorcisms."
Shiratoe Saya is a 16 year old 2nd year student. The Shiratoes resides deep in the woods in a large family shrine, and rarely comes out from where they live. Saya has three siblings; Haru, her apparently powerless elder brother and her young twin brothers, Yoite and Miharu. Being the only girl in the family left that has some impressive degree of power; Saya is the sole choice that the family has in keeping the dwindling line going.
"But Ojou-sama," Wakame started again. "This meeting is as important as any other meetings. You yourself must attend it or send some replacement. Surely you cannot think that you could keep the truth about the Head of the Shiratoe House is now a young high-school girl for long? The hidden truth would not bode well to be kept for so long."
"I know," Saya said, fingering the invitation letter in her fingers. Flinging onto a nearby table stand, Saya stood up and motioned for Wakame to follow her out of the chamber. "That's why I've decided to attend the meeting myself this time. Let them think of it as a surprise."
"Haru-sama would not approve of you going alone, Ojou-sama," Wakame reminded her, helping her stripping off her clothes as she stepped into the large hot bath built into the ground with fresh spring hot water coming directly from the mountains. "It would no doubt be dangerous."
Saya laughed, splashing hot water onto her face and sunk deeper into the center of the bath. "I know. So don't tell anyone where I'm going. I won't promise that I won't get hurt, but I won't die – that I am certain."
…..
"Stupid meeting," Saya muttered angrily while she trudged on and on, following the hidden path towards the meeting's place. "Why on earth do they have to do it in such a faraway place?"
Saya had decided to attend to meeting all by herself. She had even sneaked out of home and ran all the way in hopes that Haru, her elder brother, does not caught her in the act of going solo on such a dangerous meeting.
Haru is just like any other over-protective brother. On behalf of their dead parents, he felt a sense of responsibility over his young siblings and took care of them just like the big brother he is. His only regrets are that he tends to blame himself on his incompetency in the secret arts of his family. He is born without any single ounce of powers of their secret arts, and is basically worthless in the family. Although many view him as an eyesore, he has a brilliant mind and tends to make exquisite balms and medicine from their family apothecary work. Saya loves her brother, and Haru, of course, dotes on his only sister in the family. Saya smiles at the kind thoughts of her brother. Such a gentle brother, Saya thought to herself. I'm so lucky to have him as my big brother.
The forest is beautiful in its very own natural way. The air is fresh and crisp at this time of the month and season, and the weather today is wonderful. Raising her hands high in the air, Saya arched her back a little and stretched herself, taking in lungs full of crisp fresh air and breath out frozen white breath. Her kimono – an aqua-colored, bellflower design topped with silvery white and black accentuated her fair visage, causing her fair natural flush and plump cherry red lips looked ever so tempting and seductive without her making an effort. Her long impressive ebony black hair is left hidden in a braided elegant chignon, resulting in a rather large bun resting at the nape of her neck delicately, exposing only the faintest hint of fair white skin underneath it.
"Welcome, lady. Welcome, sir," a little youkai bearing a red umbrella called out of the blue. Surprised, Saya lets out a loud squeak of surprise and turns around quickly to find the source of the voice. Her legs clumsily gets tangled with her kimono and were about to send her tumbling down the narrow path's cliff when a pair of hands shot out of nowhere and grabbed a hold of her around the waist.
"You're a rather clumsy one, aren't you?" a deep cool voice said from behind her neck, practically breathing the words behind her neck. The close proximity of their distance unwittingly sends a shiver down her back. It appears that the man felt her shiver as well and chuckled. Saya felt the vibration of his laughing down behind her back.
Not liking the feeling that she is being laughed at by an unknown stranger, Saya roughly struggles against his grip. "Let me go you insolent brute!"
When the man releases her, she turns around quickly and meets her apparent savior.
It is a very tall man. Being only 5 foot 2 herself, she noted to herself that this man is insanely tall. He had a strange talisman as an eye patch over his right eye. He wears his hair in a simple fashion; a longish fringe that covers the eye patch area whiles the rest of his long dark hair is tied in a low ponytail. Picking up the umbrella he had discarded in an attempt to save her, Saya takes notes of the pattern on the umbrella and almost gasp out aloud at the realization.
That talisman eye patch and the design of the umbrella is the significant trait that is worn by only one person.
Smiling down at her, Saya realizes who that person is – It was Matoba Seiji.
"The entrance is this way," the little umbrella bearing youkai said almost timidly. Turning around, the little youkai begun to bounce his way towards the more hidden paths of the forest, leaving the two of them behind to catch up.
Matoba turned his gaze from the little youkai back to the girl he just saved from sliding down the cliff sides. Seiji thought to himself silently that she is a rather beautiful girl, albeit a little too young for her age to attend the meeting.
Must be some significant figure's daughter then, Seiji thought to himself with a small smile grazed on his handsome features.
"I don't think that an insolent brute would want to save you now, wouldn't they, little lady?" Seiji said with a wide grin on his face, grinning even more when Saya fumes up at his comment.
"Thanks for the quick save," the girl snapped almost angrily. "I'll be extra careful so that such incident would not happen again!" Almost childishly, Saya stomped towards the direction where the little youkai had went, bearing in mind to keep a good distance away from Matoba Seiji.
Throughout the whole journey, both of them are silent. Seeing as they had to share a guide with their coincidental arrival together, Saya tolerated the grinning Matoba who kept staring and observing her reactions, patting her chest in an attempt to sooth her burning heart.
"My name is Matoba Seiji," Seiji introduced himself to her out of the blue, graciously holding the umbrella atop of her head without her realizing them. "What is your name?"
Saya glared at Matoba from the sideways of her eyes, not wanting to look at him fully in the face. Breathing out angrily, Saya crosses her arms childishly and looked away from him.
"Saya," she answered simply, not willing to give up her family name just yet.
"Saya?" Seiji raised an eyebrow at the sound of her name – chuckling disbelievingly at it, even. It was so simple – Little Night – and for a while, he thought it sounded rather cute on her. "Saya?" he repeated it again out of sheer surprise. "I never thought that someone would name their daughter with something as simple as 'Saya' after the world modernized…"
A vein popped over Saya's temple. "I know my name's simple, all right!? At least my name's not old fashioned like yours!"
Seiji laughed at the antics this little lady is exhibiting. It's so refreshing to have someone acting so freely around him. Like Saya, he had decided to go to the meeting alone, and if his underlings wish to attend with him, they would have to go after he has arrived.
"You are a very interesting girl, Saya," Seiji said sincerely with a smile on his face, watching the little lady turned around abruptly with wide innocent eyes staring at him, seemingly at shock with what he had just said. "It suits you."
"E-eh?" she stuttered, never hearing something so unexpected, more so when it actually comes from the very mouths of Matoba Seiji, the infamous Head of the Matoba clan.
He is an infamously cold man, and he is known to be extremely sneaky and cruel. His willingness to sacrifice anything blocking his path in securing the safety of the greater good has also marked him as someone that no one would want to come near to, let alone interacting with him. Saya had silently told herself to stop talking to him, and had hoped that he, too, will pick up on her giving him the obvious cold shoulders and leave her alone. She hadn't thought about him praising her…
Seiji smiles again. Reaching out with his hand, Seiji places a hand atop of her head and leans in much closer to her face, "I said 'it suits you' very well' – your name."
"Don't get so close to me whenever you like, Matoba-san," Saya said bitingly and used a finger to poke at his shoulder, her glaring gaze directed towards Seiji's rather reddish eyes – yet another special trait of the Matoba clan. "Refrain from invading my bubble of privacy next time, or you'll find someone breathing down your neck in the future."
Seiji laughed out loud, enjoying her reaction far too much than what he had expected from her. She is not just interesting, she is fascinating!
"Bubble of privacy?! I have never heard something as absurd as that! Hahaha! Where did you learn that?"
"At school, mind you!" Saya snapped without mercy, finding her getting angrier the more she watches him laugh. She didn't find any of the things she'd said funny – hell, it wasn't even funny to begin with! So why is he laughing at her!?
"You learn that in school!?" Seiji said with a chuckle. "I thought schools are supposed to teach you theories and stuff you could use in life, like how to boil water and read ABC."
"It's more than just boil water and read ABC, Mr. Exorcist!" Saya said in a snapping tone, frowning openly at him. She had never lost her temper to anyone other than her family and servants, and yet this man – Matoba Seiji of the Matoba clan – is capable of making her blood boil in promises of poisons and curses with just their first meeting alone. "Schools are the perfect place to socialize with other people aside from learning languages and skills and theories. We don't go to school just to learn how to handle the kitchen."
"Hmm…" Seiji hummed in a contemplating tone, his head cocked sideways while he looked at her with a small smile grazing his lips. "I suppose going to school is a fun thing then?"
Glaring at him sideways, Saya twitched her lips and showed him her teeth as a sign for him to not step onto her tail any longer. Looking away from him, Saya said haughtily. "Of course it is, dumbo! You speak of it as if you've never been to school."
"I've never been to school," Seiji said in a nonchalant tone, his eyes observing the wide blue sky above him. "With my status of power in the family, I can only receive the best tutors they've hired to teach me. You could say that I'm homeschooled. My life is planned, and I've chosen to carry them out without fail. School – to them – is out of bound."
After hearing what Seiji had said about his life, Saya is stunned into a momentary silence. She has never met someone who is not allowed the luxury of going to school. She could only thought about how lonely he must have felt – constantly surrounded with mindless shikis and underlings that do nothing but bound him to the very clan that aspires to wipe out all youkais. Sadness crept into her heart, and she reached out for him without another thought.
Seiji is surprised with the small hand that came creeping surely and softly into his. He looked down and realizes that Saya is lacing her fingers with his, and he is silently amazed at how warm and good it felt her hand is in his. Her hand is small and soft, warming his cold digits in hers. His eyes travelled back up at her, and he found himself reflected in her unwavering large dark cherry-red eyes, looking almost brown when they're shaded with her fringes.
"This is what I do when I go to school with my cousin – she and I shares the belief that if you go to school happily together, you'll be less likely to feel lonely and more likely to feel extra motivated with what you do. You'll achieve what you strive to do when you're hand-in-hand."
This time, it was Seiji who is stunned into silence. As he stares into her eyes, he finds that there are actually flecks of gold in them, and that one of her eyes are much less darker than the other. The shine in her eyes tells much more about her – she is someone who appreciates life, and is passionate in doing whatever she does. His gaze fell to her lips, and he finds himself fighting the temptation to lean in and give her a kiss, but that would have frightened her away from him. He liked her hand in his, and he slowly finds himself smiling at her softly.
Reaching down, Seiji ran the back of his fingers down her temple and her cheek, smoothing away stray fringes that block her face from his view. "Has anyone ever told you just how adorable you are?" he said almost unconsciously, marveling at the smooth fair skin he felt through the back of his fingers.
Saya smiles weakly, wanting so much to succumb to the nice feeling she felt when he is running the back of his fingers up and down her cheek. She refrains from doing so, especially when he watches her so closely. "You're the first one, Matoba-san."