Title: Time's Lullaby
Author: iyris/ai
Rating: PG13
Genre: Romance, fantasy, supernatural, mystery
Summary: Ryoma was living a dull normal human life, not until when several 'aristocrats' who called themselves 'Nobles' and 'Nights' appeared at his school as exchange students. One thing common about them, all their eyes had a certain color. Having golden eyes, was he one of them too? Or was he just a mere human dragged into another world because of his eyes?
Disclaimer: POT is not mine.
NOTE!: "dialogs"
A/N: Here's the second and probably the last part of Jin's POV. It might be like a replay at first but read it till the end. This chapter gives relevant happenings that Ryoma did not witness, especially about Zophiel.
Chapter for FudoYuki an HellfireBringer. Thank you! :))
SPECIAL CHAPTER 02: Jin's Newfound Secret
Present time…
Japan
Seishun Gakuen
I was calm when I opened my eyes. The breeze was cold at the rooftop. I stood up and watched the school from above. Then I saw them, the human that closely reminded me of Dan in physical looks and age, Ryoma, and the very person that killed Dan, Fuji Syusuke. I did warn Ryoma about Reiko but I never thought that he would be close to Fuji Syusuke. I then thought that I should warn Ryoma.
"I did warn you about Reiko but I never thought you would be close to Fuji," I verbalized my thoughts when we reached the rooftop after fetching him from his room.
"Fuji-sempai…is he dangerous?" he asked warily.
Of course! Are you an idiot? Fuji Syusuke is dangerous in every possible way! I wanted to yell that answer to his ears but stopped, reminding myself that the brat didn't know anything.
"Ah. Indeed, he is powerful. More powerful than Reiko, probably. But he is dangerous in a different way. Nobody knows what that guy is thinking. And even though he spends time with us, we cannot be sure if he is an ally or not. He is like Reiko, also unpredictable, just that we are sure that Reiko is an ally."
"What do you mean by ally?"
Tch. Slip of tongue. I should not have given a complicated answer. I sighed inwardly. "It is not something I can simply tell you. Even if I tell you, you wouldn't understand. Just think that even in our world, there are disputes. Good and bad exist. And so there are also opposing sides."
He seemed to be lost in thought when I added, "Don't think too much. Anyway, it is better not to get too close to him. He is a step above the aristocrats, maybe even among the elites. Fuji is a prince of the 'Nights', after all."
"Why are you telling me this?"
That caught me off guard. I wasn't particular of the reason. But maybe it was because he sometimes reminded me of…Dan? "I wonder why."
"I also wonder when did you get this soft, Jin? This is not like you. Where did the snobby, immature, and cold brat from before?"
Just like before. She loved sudden appearances. "Reiko!" I acknowledged.
"Nice to see you, Ryoma! I'm Kikumaru Reiko."
"Same here, Kikumaru-sempai."
"Just use Reiko. I'm not used to being called Kikumaru alone because of my twin, you see."
"Ah, yes."
"Then, how should I call you?"
"Whatever is fine."
"Whatever, eh? Are you sure about that, MA-CHAN?"
Eh? Ma-chan was a bit. "No, not that. Ryoma would be fine."
"I want Ma-chan, though. Right, Ma-chan?"
"Don't want it."
"C'mon, let me call you Ma-chan."
"No way."
"Ne?"
"YADDA!"
I raised a brow as I watched the scene unfold in front of my eyes. I always thought that Ryoma was the antisocial type that would not get along well with anyone he just met but he was doing well with Reiko. Actually, they easily got along well.
"MA-CHAN!"
I sweat dropped when I knew that Reiko would be persistent about this nickname stuff and that she would surely start to tease the brat. I just hope that Ryoma could hang in there until our time is up here—.
"I told you to stop calling me Ma-chan, Zophiel!"
I was startled when I heard the boy snapped. It even surprised me when the brat called Reiko, 'Zophiel'. Who was Zophiel? I then looked at Reiko who was also wide-eyed at the brat. But her surprise was not the same with mine. My instinct said that she knew something about this Zophiel thing when seriousness covered the atmosphere as she approached Ryoma.
My eyebrows furrowed when she whispered something to Ryoma but was more surprised with her next move. I raised a brow. She was kissing Ryoma!
Should I interrupt? It was Reiko so she must have had a good reason for doing this but—. Then Ryoma lost consciousness. Reiko caught his body before it fell to the ground and carried him like a princess. Umm…it looked kind of disturbing. I should better take Ryoma from her.
"Um, Reiko?"
The girl turned around and I was thankful that I didn't get Ryoma from her yet. Because I would have dropped him upon seeing Reiko's appearance. For the third time that day, I was utterly surprised. I watched in awe, confusion, and worry as the silver eyes that were staring back at me turned gold and the long red hair turned silver.
Was it even possible to change the color of our eyes? I only knew that only those who have the royal blood in them can change their colors, only into red though and not gold.
"Sorry if I surprised you," she said. But wait, it was not Reiko's voice. It was lower than a girl's though not too husky. It was a male's voice.
This was not Reiko, I told myself. "Who are you? What happened to Reiko?"
He smiled and for a second I thought he looked a bit like Fuji Syusuke. "I'm Zophiel. Reiko-chan is currently sleeping inside me. You see, though we are two completely different persons, we share the same body."
I thought I just heard some seriously unbelievable—wait, we live in a world where supernatural exists so scratch that—relevant information. There were two persons inside Reiko? The other was Zophiel…who was Zophiel? And Ryoma awhile ago…he knew him. Then Ryoma…
I looked at the boy sleeping peacefully in Zophiel's arms. If Ryoma knew him, then…
"…is it possible that Ryoma?" I mumbled to myself. No, impossible! I was sure he's a human.
"No," Zophiel cut me and my thoughts off. "I can assure you that Meino Ryoma is a human."
I thought so too… "But he knows you! And though I don't know his color, like the aristocrats, he has colored eyes."
"Gold."
"Huh?"
"The color of Ma-chan's eyes. They are the same with mine."
"Then…is he an Araqielian?"
"Like I said, he's a human."
"But—" I couldn't say another word as the questions barged into my head. All of them competing to be the first to be asked. Just who exactly is Ryoma? And this Zophiel?
"If you would be willing, I'll tell you everything." He sat the floor and let Ryoma lay on his laps.
I copied him and sat a meter away from him. Now that I was closer, I could clearly saw his face and he resembled Ryoma. If Ryoma were an aristocrat, he might look like Zophiel. Inhumanly beautiful, just like that Fuji bastard. I thought about it and I myself could say that it was weird. He looked like Ryoma but when he smiled, he looked like Fuji. Or maybe just the smile was similar? Whatever.
I listened carefully to everything he said. Obviously, he only said the important details and only the information that was allowed to me.
.
.
.
I was dumbfounded when he was done. I couldn't believe it! Everything he said, every secret, every lie, every revelation, every truth about the Royal Blood. It felt like my head was too small to take everything in. It took me a long time to let the information I got sink in.
"How did you know all of this?" I finally asked after the long silence.
"Secret." His sweet smile reminded me, once again, of Fuji Syusuke. I shivered. "But I can leave you this." There was a small glow when he opened his right palm and a really old parchment appeared, floating freely above his hand. "Impossible might it sound but this is a thousand-year old parchment."
I carefully opened it and read the ancient writings. I read the first few stanzas but they didn't make sense to me. I read the title aloud. "Time's Lullaby?"
"It was a poem written by my mother after she had given birth to me and my twin sister."
And then? What? Did it have something to do with what happened to the Royal Blood? To the destruction of the Royal Families?
"Maybe? Probably?" he said, answering the question I had in my mind as if he had read them. "My mother was a prophet. Did the poem make sense to you?"
"…No."
"I thought so. Try taking it from Ma-chan's point of view though."
My eyebrows furrowed at first then my eyes widened when realization hit. Considering the story Zophiel just told me, the poem, and Ryoma. "…I see." The fuck! I just learned something that could probably risk my life. But it was I who wanted to know the truth and Zophiel provided me that. "But why did you tell me, of all people, such important things?"
He smiled gently. "I told you everything since I know you only want the truth. And because I know that you will not betray any of the three heirs."
I stared at him and scratched the back of my head. He sounded so sure that I would not betray any of the three. Really, I just got myself into a deep shit. Prize for being curious.
"Anyway, I need to go. Rei-chan would be awake anytime soon. Same goes with Ma-chan."
"Does Reiko know?"
"She does. And about my existence, a few know about it. Including Kin-chan. Another thing, don't worry about Ma-chan. He would forget anything related to me once he wakes up. See you."
I took a last look at him, then to Ryoma, and to the old parchment. That reminded me, he said that the parchment was thousand-year old and it was written by his mother?! "W-wait! How old…" I trailed off when I found him already unconscious. Tch!
Soon, Reiko took over again.
to be continued...
A/N 2: Did the chapter add another bar to your confusion? Or to your questions? I'M SORRY about that! I promise though that we will unravel everything as the story goes on. Only Jin and Reiko know the truth anyway but let them be because Ryoma will be with you guys as you discover the truth yourselves. What three heirs? Let's know on the later chapters. Anyways, we'll be back on track from Ryoma's POV starting the next chapter. ^_^
PLEASE READ!
There are things that I need to clear though. About the Nobles and Nights. The people of Kingdom of Araqiel are divided into two: the NIGHTs and the NOBLEs.
A Night's power is to control the energy inside them, like they can amplify their strength and speed to make them stronger and faster than the others. The aristocrats, though, have the additional special ability to control the insides not only of their bodies but also the body of the others once they meet their eyes, like what happened to Jin when Reiko looked at him. She controlled something inside Jin to inflict pain. Those of the Royal Family could be identified because their eyes turn red if the special ability is used.
On the other hand, a Noble's power is to control the outside or nature's energy. They tend to be weaker and slower than the Nights but they can control the elements like the wind, fire, water, etc as long as they are within the vicinity and has the nature's energy in them. Example of this was when Jin used the shrubs to kill Yuuta. Aristocrats, again, are the exemption because they can use the elements even they are not within the area (puts a big strain on them though). How the Royal Family member could be identified in the Nobles will be revealed in the story itself in one of the later chapters.
Last but not the least is about the Royal Families. Though normal Nights and Nobles live peacefully now, tension and division were still obvious especially when it comes to the noble aristocrats and night aristocrats. The two types of people used to fight a lot in the past and they were both led by two opposing Royal Families. So yeah, there are two royal families. As of now, they are the Fuji (Night) and the Atobe (Noble).
So, which do you prefer? To be a Noble or a Night?
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR READING, ADDING IT TO YOUR FAVORITES, ALERTS, AND FOR REVIEWING! :D
With love,
IYRIS
