Agent08 Reporting for Duty!
Now… on with chapter eleven!
King of Hearts
Interrupted
Syaoran –
The kingdom was in mourning for my mother for a whole week.
I wore black, to express my sadness, as did most everyone else in the kingdom. I cried when I lost her, but barely. She would want me to be strong, she wouldn't want me to waste more tears than I needed to. She wouldn't want to see me suffering – so I had to move on. Even if I wasn't ready to, I had to continue running the kingdom and acting like king. There was no time for moping in my misery. Things had to go on.
Which was why I decided to tell her, the sorceress. I had to tell her how I felt.
Losing my mother reminded me just how precious our time is, and how I shouldn't waste it. There was nothing, absolutely nothing keeping me from being with her. She was loved by all, a good role model and would undoubtedly be a good queen – I could see it by the way she acted with the people. And even if there was a problem in my marrying her – if she was still a commoner, it wouldn't matter to me. I'd put my royalty on the line just to be with her – I would put anything on the line just to be with her.
Just as she had done for me, when she tried to heal mother.
I was nervous, unsure and insecure. But what she did, just to try and save my mom, the way she told me she "failed" me… there was hope, that maybe, just maybe, she felt the same way about me, too.
I had mourned with her, cried with her, wore black and wept with the people of my kingdom for a whole week, still continued to grieve even when her kingdom-wide funeral had passed.
I wasted enough time.
It was time to move on.
It was time to tell her how I felt.
xxxxxx
I was in my study, sitting at my desk and hunched over my latest chore. There was so much paper work that went into a mother's will. This was a precious matter to me; I couldn't let it be handled by anyone else. I needed to sort it out myself, to be fair to everyone, how her things were to be divided, who was left with what, how her fortune would be split and who would get how much. Though I'm an only child, the four women she'd grown close to over the years and practically raised as daughters deserved their share as well – but, they were so hyper and energetic over just being remembered in the will, I'm sure they would've gladly gone home with empty pockets.
My door creaked open slightly, and I looked up from the paper work.
A patch of auburn hair poked through the tiny space between the door and the doorframe, and I tried to smile.
"Hi," I said quietly.
Sakura returned the smile and pushed through the door, a tiny tray in her hands. She walked over to me, placed the tray on the corner of the desk and came to stand behind me. I took a whiff of the toast spread with strawberry jam and hot tea that she brought upon the tray and was grateful for the delivery. I had been trying so hard not to think about anything but work, I ended up missing many meals.
"Syaoran-kun, maybe it's time to take a break. Ne?" she asked, her eyes coaxing.
I shook my head. "No need. I'm almost done. Thanks," I added, taking the cup of tea and sipping from it to show that I was thankful. "You didn't need to bother with coming in; you could've sent a servant in to do it."
She shook her head, moving so that she was sitting on the armrest of my chair. She put her hand on my back and began to make small circles, instilling warmth and dizzying, fuzzy feelings inside of me like I'd never felt before. I did my best not to groan and willed myself not to relax in her arms.
"I wanted to come see you myself," she said, her voice soft. "You've been working too hard lately. Maybe you should take a nap. I promise the palace won't fall apart if you rest for just an hour."
I felt like chuckling, but didn't. Instead, I raised my hand to scratch my back in slight embarrassment for her teasing, but instead found my fingers grazing her own, as they continued to make patterns along my backside. I stopped at the sudden contact and kept my hand where it was, forcing myself not to go any further and curl the rest of my fingers around her tiny hand.
As though our fingertips had caught on fire, we pulled back immediately, and she got up from her seat and stood, her back rigid. She stared at her feet.
"S-Sorry," I stammered, returning my eyes to the paper on the desk.
Her head swung back and forth and she smiled, telling me in her own way that it was no big deal – though it seemed like it was.
Silence erupted between us, and my eyes began to shift from side to side in anticipation. I had an opportunity to tell her how I felt, finally! I had been too busy working and trying not to think about my mom, that I never found myself in a good enough position to tell her – but now I had the perfect chance. The setting was just right, with only the two of us, alone… now all I needed were the right words.
"Sakura," I said, swallowing thickly and standing. She lifted her head as I towered over her, staring up at me with expectant and, dare I say, affectionate eyes.
"Yes?"
"Sakura, I…"
My jaw still hung down, though I'd stopped talking. I remembered myself, snapped my mouth shut and swallowed thickly. Clearing my throat, I opened my mouth once more to have another shot at it. No words came. I blinked a few times, shook my head from side to side and took a firm exhale, determined to get the words out.
"S-Syaoran-kun…" she said nervously, her shoulders hunching a little. She seemed a bit terrified, a little nervous as well, with the way she was looking at me. I didn't blame her though, because if I could see myself, I'd probably would've seen me with the bright red cheeks, glaring at her with hard eyes, as a result of my determination.
Even if I looked as though I should've been strapped up in a strait jacket, I had to let her know.
"Sakura, I l—"
"Xiao-Lang!"
The doors of my study burst open to the sound of shrieks, mixed with squeals and pants. I thought that maybe for a moment the girls who had all applied to be my sorceress all those months ago returned to claim the job, but at second painful hearing, I realized that this was a whole other hoard of girls that were a lot harder to deal with than the previous.
"Uh oh."
Sakura took a step back, startled, and I knew my first shot was wasted.
"Fanren, Fuutie, Feimei, Sheifa… what are you doing here?"
Instead of answering, the four females leapt up at me from every angle, each of them choosing a different part of me to dote on. One took to smoothing, ruffling and re-smoothing my hair, another to brushing non-existent dust off my clothing, the other two tugging on my arms and pinching my cheeks, all of them begging for my attention all at once.
"Oh Xiao-lang, how you've grown!"
"Oh Xiao-lang, you've been so strong!"
"Oh, Xiao-lang, you are definitely not a little boy anymore!"
"Oh Xiao-lang, we've missed you so much!"
The "oh Xiao-lang" squealing didn't stop for a while, until I shut them all up by shaking them off of me.
"Get off – ugh, get off of me, Fanren! Fuutie, my pants are going to fall off if you keep pulling… ow, Sheifa! Feimei, quit it! Ugh – Eriol!"
Just as I thought he would, Eriol came from just outside the doors, a pleasant smile on his face, Tomoyo trailing along behind him. Normally, upon seeing Eriol and Tomoyo, the four crazies would've latched onto them and done their next bit of wrangling, but it appeared to me that the damage had already been done unto them. Their cheeks were red and Tomoyo's hair was a bit tousled. I liked to think it was because of the girls, and not because they were being intimate just moments before... gross.
"You brought them here, didn't you?" I asked accusingly, trying to fix my robes.
He shrugged. "You needed a little cheering up, Syaoran."
Sakura, watching all the commotion from the sidelines, was staring in awe, her eyes wide and shocked. "Syaoran-kun," she whispered. "I didn't know you had onee-samas."
"They're not," I huffed, glaring at them as they giggled behind their hands and peered over at me as if I were some baby in a pram. "Not really, anyway."
"Oh, don't be like that," Tomoyo said teasingly. "They're your onee-samas in every way that counts."
Eriol chuckled and stepped forward, preparing to make the introductions. "Sakura-san, allow me to present to you the king's onee-samas—" at the last word, Syaoran grunted. "—Fanren, Fuutie, Feimei and Sheifa. They were raised in Queen Yelan's court and were treated like family – Queen Yelan often referred to them as Syaoran's onee-samas."
Sakura smiled, her grin reaching from ear to ear. "Oh, I didn't know!" she exclaimed, coming forward and bowing to all four of them. "My name is Kinomoto Sakura – I am Syaoran-kun's sorceress. I'm so pleased to meet you!"
She kept her head bowed, waiting for one of them to speak so that she could straighten. I groaned, covered my face with my hands and waited.
"Oh, she is so darn cute!"
"Oh my gosh, she's adorable!"
"Wow, why is she so pretty?"
"Why is she a sorceress, she should be a model!"
Sakura laughed nervously, tried to back away, but there was no point. My sisters had already approached her and were doing all the things they were previously doing to me. I was extremely embarrassed, sure that they would scare her away and make her not want to be with me for sure – but it looked as though it was just me feeling that way. Eriol looked pretty amused, and Tomoyo – well, she looked like she was about to join them in their doting on her.
"That's enough already," I snapped hotly, sure that she had been harassed enough.
When they backed off, they were giggling and staring with shining, excited eyes. Sakura's hair was a near mess and her clothes slightly askew. Tomoyo joined her immediately to return everything to its rightful place. As she did so, I approached the four girls I called my sisters with folded arms, brought them to the corner of the room and scolded them with my eyes, before starting with a lecture.
"What are you guys doing here? I thought I said I'd come to you after the funeral, after I've finished with okaa-sama's will."
"It's been three days since the funeral. And you barely spoke to us then – you barely spoke to anyone at the funeral. And we're not here to know what's on the will. We don't care, Xiao-Lang. We're here for you! We've been missing you, that's all. It's not easy being away from home all the time with our husbands."
"You were married off to Dukes who live far away for a reason," I grumbled, remembering how I felt at finally being allowed some space.
They ignored me and continued to giggle. "Oh Xiao-Lang. You may be king now, but you don't scare us. You're still our otouto."
I glared and tried not to stomp my foot. "You guys!" I said impatiently. "I'm a ruler now! You can't talk to me like a child. Okaa-sama said that when I wear the crown, you treat me with—"
"Yes, yes," they said impatiently, each of them having a go with my head and ruffling my hair as they walked passed me. "With respect, dignity, blah blah blah. Hey, Xiao-Lang. That sorceress sure is pretty. Sorry if we interrupted anything before now. We didn't mean to."
My scolding died in my throat as they gave me knowing stares over their shoulders.
"W-What… what are you... you have no idea what you're…" they continued walking, but wouldn't stop giving me those condescending, teasing looks. This time, I really did stomp my foot. "You four, stay out of my business!"
"Whatever you say, Your Majesty," they mocked, giving me incredibly exaggerated bows as they left the room.
Eriol was snickering at my side, giving me his own annoying stare. I glowered at him. "What the hell were you doing, bringing them here? I told you to accommodate them at the finest resort and keep them busy until I decided to pay them a visit. Now they've completely embarrassed me in front of—"
"Sakura-san?"
I swallowed the next few words that were about to come out of my mouth and nearly choked on them. I was being interrupted a lot that day.
"W-What? N-No! I was going to say… in front of… um, in front of everybody. They've completely embarrassed me in front of everybody!"
"Right," he agreed, though not sounding totally convinced. "Syaoran, what were they talking about? Interrupting you and the sorceress?"
My cheeks and neck were steaming with heat and the blaze of an intense red blush. I knew there was no use in hiding it, but I didn't feel like admitting it to Eriol, who would just tell me over and over, "I told you so" and point and laugh and tease. He could be just like my sisters when it came to teasing sometimes, only much, much worse.
"N-Nothing!" I said. "We were just talking—"
"About?"
"Nothing!"
"Really."
"Um, y-yeah."
"Okay, well. Good luck confessing your feelings for her."
I sighed. "Thanks."
He looked at me triumphantly and I realized I'd been careless. "I-I mean – I mean I—"
"I'll spare you the extra stuttering, Syaoran. You know I know."
I sighed again, this time in resign. "If you stopped interrupting all the damn time, I could've kept it a secret longer."
He raised an extremely sarcastic eyebrow at me. "As if there was any secret to keep! Everyone knows, Syaoran and I mean everyone." At hearing that, I felt like curling up into a tiny ball to let my flaming cheeks grow until they consumed me completely.
Ignoring my obvious embarrassment, Eriol continued to say, "You don't need to tell me with words, Syaoran. It's all over your face. Who you do need to tell however, is Sakura-san. She's dense, so you'll have to tell her in a way that there's just no mistaking what you're trying to say."
I swallowed and attempted to return my face and neck colour back to their rightful hues. I nodded curtly, accepting his advice. I needed all I could get.
"Right. Got it."
He was eyeing me strangely and we both knew I'd never acted in such a way. It wasn't just strange for him. Nothing, not even being a ruler for thousands of people scared me as much as this daunting task did.
"Don't worry. Things will turn out fine," he assured.
He said it so confidently… but why did I have a feeling that things wouldn't turn out that way?
xxxxxx
With the insistence of my four sisters, Eriol, Tomoyo and the sorceress (so pretty much everyone) I took a break from my work and joined them all for tea in the gardens. Though many of us were still very sad over the loss of my mother, it was hard not to be cheerful on such a bright and beautiful day. And my sisters, who were always happy and brimming with energy and life, made it hard for everyone not to smile – except for me. I found myself frowning a lot at their antics, as I'd always been doing my whole life.
"Stop smelling the damn flowers, will you?" I said, annoyed. There was nothing in the gardens that they hadn't already seen. They practically chose which flower was to grow and where they were going to plant it with mother anyway, and yet they were acting like it was the most fabulous thing they'd ever seen. It's hard to get them not excited over anything.
"The tea is ready!" Sakura said brightly, waving everyone over to the veranda. She grinned at everyone as they walked passed her to the table and she frowned when I approached, scolding me for my tone. I sighed, and she patted my back, sympathizing with me. I guess her older brother could be annoying like my sisters as well.
When everyone was settled, we began making conversation whilst eating the delicious food prepared for us. It was hard, having such a good time knowing that my mother was gone, and it was just a little over a week since we lost her. But there was no use in choosing not to have a good time, simply because she was no longer there with us. This was what she wanted – for us to all be together, and to be happy. That thought made it easier for us to enjoy ourselves.
"So," one of my sisters began, and I didn't even bother to see which one. They were all too similar – all the same, long brown hair, like mine, same angled faces, bangs and high pitched voices. Their only differences were their hairstyles which they either wore up in ponytails or curled at their sides, and all those other types that I don't know. It's hard to tell between them, honestly.
"How have you been?" Tomoyo asked. "It's been so long since you've visited. You must all be very busy with your husbands, overseas and all. I was sad when I didn't see you at His Majesty's coronation."
They nodded, agreeing. "Yes, we so wanted to be there for it. But apparently it was His Majesty's request," they sneered, "to not have us there. Apparently, we might have embarrassed him by screaming in the audience or something."
"A coronation is a serious ceremony," I said solemnly, sipping at my tea and glaring at them over my cup. "I couldn't have you four panting in the pews, waving your handkerchiefs at me. It was better you stayed with your husbands, anyway."
"Oh, Xiao-Lang," they chided. "Us? Squeal? Wave handkerchiefs? Honestly, what do you think we are?" I snorted at this and forced myself to stay quiet. "Anyway," they continued. "You didn't need us there to do that. Plenty of your little fan girls did that on their own. As we heard, you've been rather popular with them lately. But then again, when haven't you been? You've been a charmer even when you were still wetting your bed!"
I swallowed my tea wrong and coughed. Eriol rolled his eyes and gave me two hard pats in the back. When I was done gasping, I thanked him with a curt nod and glowered at my sisters.
"This is not appropriate table conversation," I muttered. But I knew that there was not a single fight that existed in the world that I could beat my sisters in. If they were going to tease me mercilessly in front of everyone, I had to take it, like I had my whole life.
"We read that interesting article in The Chronicles," one chimed, a twinkle in her eye. "The one about you still being single."
"Yes, yes. I'm still single. The people find it sad. They want me to find a queen. There. Are we through with this topic? Can we move on to other things?" I asked, trying to move the subject along faster so as to discuss something new that wouldn't embarrass me further in front of Sakura.
They disregarded my attempt to change the topic completely, as if I'd never spoken. They were too good at doing that.
"He should really settle down," they said, sounding sad for me, which I resented. Like they had done a million times before at the dinner table and plenty of other times in the past, they spoke among themselves as if I wasn't there, discussing me, my future, my past, my everything.
"I agree," one of them said. "It's not good for him to stay single for so long. A queen would do him good."
"A queen would do him wonders," another chimed.
"Wonders? Try miracles!"
"Alright, alright," I snapped, my cheeks growing hot all over again. From the corner of my eye I saw Sakura sink a little in her seat, a tiny bit of pink on her own cheeks. I couldn't read what was in her eyes though. Was she shy? Uncomfortable? What was it? And why? "I'm right here. Stop talking about me like you can't see me. And that's enough with this topic, alright? Change subjects. Now."
One of my sisters rolled her eyes and pretended to shiver. "Ooh, good one, Xiao-Lang. You really told us. I'm shaking in my high heels, truly."
They snickered behind their hands and I was about to explode, but I felt a hand come upon my own, restraining me.
I looked down at the tiny, fragile hand that held me back and followed the arm, all the way up to meet Sakura's calming stare. She was shaking her head at me, a small smile on her face, as if she was enjoying their taunting of me but could understand my annoyance. I gave her another look which begged her permission to unleash me, so that I could give them a real scolding, but she simply smiled wider and shook her head once more.
My sisters, noticing this exchange between us and our hands beneath the table, gained a mischievous glimmer in their eyes. A glimmer that I did not care for in the slightest.
"Sakura-chan," one began slowly. "It is alright that we call you Sakura, is it not?"
She nodded quickly, smiling brightly and letting go of my hand. I wanted to whine, but didn't.
"Of course! You can call me anything you want. I'm so happy that we got a chance to sit down with one another and talk. I've always wanted to meet more of Syaoran-kun's relatives. You all seem like such kind and wonderful people!"
She was rambling on and on, spewing one kind word after another, which made my sisters fall even more in love with her – maybe even more than I was in love with her – but then I thought, no. That's not possible. No one could ever love her more than I do.
"Tell us," they said, and I could hear a hint of scheming in their voices. "Are you single?"
"Oh, probably not," one answered while Sakura's cheeks flamed and her breath caught. "She's too gorgeous to be single. What man wouldn't be lined up to be her suitor?"
"You're so right, I'd be surprised if you're still being courted. A pretty girl like yourself should be married already! To a man that matches your amazing good looks, of course."
"But what man could match your good looks? You're one of a kind, you know. Your eyes – they're stunning! I don't think I've ever seen that colour green before."
"You know what matches that colour green? Amber. Hmm, amber and emerald. I wonder who has amber eyes that could match your eyes really well…"
"Okay, stop," I said, standing, finally fed up. I should've known what they were up to the minute they started on the sorceress. I looked over at Sakura to see how badly she was effected by their obvious hinting at the two of us, but I should've known she wouldn't catch on. My amazingly talented but dense as bricks sorceress was scratching her chin, eyes heavenward, wondering who she knew that had amber eyes.
"I thought you guys stopped talking one after another like that?" I asked, irritated. "And stop making her uncomfortable. Honestly, just go. Go and take a walk in the gardens. Sniff your damn flowers. Talk with yourselves and dote on some poor servant or something. Just leave already. Your giving me a headache!"
Eriol and Tomoyo picked up their tea cups hastily and began sipping, though I'm sure there was nothing in them. They just needed something to hide their mouths while they laughed.
My sisters however didn't bother though to hide their laughter and did it freely in front of my face. They stood, doing what I asked finally, but didn't take my scolding seriously. As they had done so in my room, they walked passed me one by one and ruffled the top of my head, making me feel as though I was twelve years old rather than twenty-one.
"Oh Xiao-lang. You and your short temper. I've always loved it."
"Stop messing up my hair," I grumbled.
"Stop messing up my hair he says," they giggled, once again as if I wasn't there. They made their way down the garden paths to take a stroll. "What a child."
As they made their way down the path, they looked back to shout something. "Eriol, Tomoyo-chan, join us, won't you?"
They agreed, loving their presence in the palace. It was a noticeably brighter, happier place when they were in it, even though they drove me absolutely insane. They show everyone (except me, of course) a good time and always guarantee their company a lot of good laughs, laughs which mostly result from embarrassing stories about me.
Sakura got up, smiling wide, ready to walk down the steps of the veranda to join the rest of them. I was certain that I wasn't going to accompany them, because I was so sick of their banter and needed to be alone, even if I wasn't alone with Sakura, but… if she was going with them, there was no knowing what other embarrassing things they were going to say about me in front of her. I might've just had to stay with them, to make sure they only said good things, like how manly I am and all that.
"Oh no," they said, calling over their shoulders. "Sakura-chan, you stay right where you are. Xiao-Lang needs you."
"Hoe?" she asked, turning to me. "You do, Syaoran-kun?"
I looked at my sisters, saw the looks they were giving me, and realized they were still not done scheming. For the first time that day, I felt glad they arrived. Then I thought about what they said, and what Sakura asked.
"Yes," I answered. "I need you." Because in a way, I did need her.
She shrugged, smiling brighter and I tried not to think so as not to get my hopes up too high, that she was happy because she got to be alone with me.
"What do you need me for, Syaoran-kun?" she asked cheerfully.
I waited until I knew for sure that the others were distracted. They had walked some ways away, were chatting happily with one another and lounging about. Though I could still hear their murmurs and bouts of laughter, it was far away, and I knew that even if Sakura and I spoke, we'd be out of their earshot. I had another chance, and this time, I wouldn't mess up.
"I need you to listen to me," I began confidently.
She stared at up at me with eyes that bored right into my soul, and it was hard to hang on to whatever calm nerves I had.
And then I couldn't help but think that my sisters were right – amber and emerald sure do go along good together.
"Sakura, I wanted to let you know that I…"
She smiled to let me know that she was listening and being attentive. She inclined her head forward, her bangs falling forward and eyes growing expectant.
"Yes?"
I took her shoulders firmly, believing I could to it if I was just as blunt as I could possibly be, and startled her. She grew stiff in my hands and looked at me weirdly, staring first down at the gap between us and then up at me again, with a look that told me I was behaving in a way that merited the strait jacket once again. I ignored this and decided to come out with it, then and there, while she was still in my arms.
"Sakura, I lo—"
"Your Highness,"
A bold voice interrupted me – again – and I wanted to hang my head right then and there. I was close, so close…
I groaned, irritated, and turned sharply to the attendant who addressed me.
"What," I hissed. I swear, I wanted to sentence that attendant to a lifetime in the dungeon.
He bowed once to show me respect as well as to apologize for interrupting. He then pounded his staff once on the cement of the terrace and stepped aside.
From the entrance of the patio, a young woman came forth, her hands folded elegantly in front of her, her head bowed slightly but not completely. She approached Sakura and I slowly, her blonde ringlets framing her face symmetrically. Her light pink gown swept the floor as she came closer to the both of us, and I realized with some shock that this girl was familiar to me. I knew her from somewhere… but where?
"A visitor," the attendant announced, looking straight ahead of him.
Slowly, the girl raised her head. Her eyes met mine directly, and I was lost in a sea of electric blue.
She curtsied, smiling at both the sorceress and I.
I heard footsteps approach from behind us, but they seemed distant. When the voices came from directly behind me, I realized they weren't distant at all. But this girl… she had me so mesmerized that everything was beginning to pale in comparison to the vivid colours of her hair and eyes and white skin and pink gown.
Everything and everyone was fading – except for Sakura. Who I could still feel beside me.
"Who's this?" Eriol asked, and it took me a moment to realize that the footsteps I heard were his and everyone else's, coming back to see what was going on. When no one spoke to answer him, he demanded, "I asked you a question, attendant," sounding somewhat strict. "Who is she?"
The girl straightened from her curtsy, stared back at me, and at no one else.
"My name is Hanoru Rei," she said, and her voice was soft like the wind, breezing past my ear. "And I was sent by your okaa-sama."
I heard a number of gasps from around me. I turned to see who had done so.
Instead of finding out who had taken such sharp intakes of breath, I found Sakura instead, who was staring with kind, curious eyes at the girl who stood before us. And then, I remembered…
Electric blue doesn't go as well with amber as emerald green does. I was never really interested in blondes – brunettes are more to my liking… like Sakura's auburn hair. And her voice, though soft like wind chimes, was nothing compared to the melody that came from Sakura's mouth, every time she spoke.
That girl caught me off guard, hypnotized me for a moment into almost forgetting who I really loved. But I was out of that trance now. And yet, there was still no denying that there was something about this girl… something that made me feel… different.
"Sent by the king's okaa-sama, you say?" Sakura asked brightly, breaking the silence and coming forward to take her by the hand. They made eye contact, and she seemed to freeze. Slowly, she defrosted, and smiled even more kindly, trying to shrug off whatever sensation that made her stiffen. "Anyone known to the queen is more than welcome to be here. Please – make yourself at home."
She returned Sakura's smile and faced the rest of us, her gaze coming to rest upon me lastly.
"Thank you. I will."
X.
Authors Notes: I wanted to incorporate Syaoran's sisters somehow, but wasn't sure how to make the story make sense if they were actually blood related. Because if they were older than him and they were actually related, wouldn't the crown be passed down through them? I couldn't think of four reasons as to why the four sisters didn't get to be queen after Yelan… so instead, I made it so that they are pals that are a lot like brother and sister. Voila. Genius, am I not?
Where I am, it's still Christmas Eve. I get to open presents in a couple of hours, and speaking of presents – this chapter was yours.
Merry Christmas/belated Christmas to all those who celebrate it. Best and warmest wishes to you, your families and your friends! Take care and be safe always :)
PS – did anyone see that? 300+ reviews at chapter ten! You guys just gave me a pretty damn good Christmas present, if you ask me ;)
Vocabulary: onee-sama – respectful term for 'older sister' ; otouto – 'little brother' ; tell me if I missed anything and forgive me if I used 'otouto' wrong!
Signing off,
Agent08 – My life as a secret agent xD
