It's NaNoWriMo, and I wanted to do something special for it amidst all the things I have to do. I'm not sure what it should be called. A prologue? A flashback? Not sure. In any case, thanks for the patience (for those reading Beyond Two Fools) and enjoy the special.

Their eyes were fixed on him, the smiles and words hollow like they had been in his previous life. Except malice wasn't the only thing they hid anymore. There were things now that they wanted of him, things that should never be asked of a child no matter how backwards the common sense of the world was. Things he could not stop thinking about as a teen but now utterly disgusted him to his very core.

It didn't help that the same people that would seek to take advantage of him would turn their faces and mock his new little sister. In the same way they didn't bother completely covering their wants in front of him, so they did not fully cover themselves while talking about the little girl's albinism. Which, as expected of an ancient society like that of this fantasy world, considered the rare skin condition to be some sort of higher signal about her person or something equally as idiotic. These adults were trash, no matter how finely they dressed themselves. They were no different from animals, no matter how much they stroke their egos while pretending to be refined and eloquent.

"Nicol Ascart!" But if the adults were fiends, then the children were gremlins Hachiman could not stomach any better "You finally show your face around here yet you do not come to greet your future princess?! Preposterous!"

The little girl in front of him huffed, arms crossed and a foot tapping on the grass. Expecting an answer. Given the whispers from the other children and what he gathered about the event, this child could not be anyone but Katarina Claes. Hachiman still had next to no understanding about the structure of high society, but she came from an important family. And, just like she was known to boast about, was engaged to one of the princes of the country.

"..." Yet Hachiman did not even open his mouth and adamantly refused to look at her even for a moment. He hated the stares, as if he was one of the children (he wasn't, he had been 15! Why did he have to be treated like a kid because he looked like one?!), but he hated even more those who would look at him in ways no one should to a child.

At least here, in the open, they would keep their hands to themselves.

"I'm talking to you!" The brat of the Claes screeched after getting on his face, now having her fists to either side of her "Don't you know who I am?! Even though I went out of my way to greet you first…!"

"Shut. Up." Hachiman gritted his teeth "Get off my face. Brat."

"Brat?! You're but one year older than I!" The brunette's temper was set off immediately "Is that the manners taught by the Ascart?! Your manners are worse than that of a stray dog! If anything, you are the brat!"

"No, I'm not!" Hachiman balled his fists, feeling his face heat up as people kept staring at their bickering.

He accepted going to this party both to appease his new parents and to console his little sister, yet all he found was idiocy, greed and depravity. It was the same as when he originally reincarnated into this world. The same feeling of hope, of maybe having something good for a change… Only to see people rob even that hope from him in an instant.

Furthermore, he had gone and tried to do his job as an elder brother and got some kid to apologize to Sophia for saying mean things to him. And yet… And yet…!

"I'll tell his highness Gerald-sama!" The little Claes grinned, as if she had won the argument somehow "I'll make sure you and your accursed sister have to grovel and beg for forgiveness!"

Instinct kicked in and Hachiman raised his fist. He had never been one for violence, but this day, this week, this month… It was too much. He couldn't take all of the insanity thrown around him. Even if his new parents tried to help, even if the people around him tried to be more discreet… He wasn't a child! He could see it! He was done and tired! He was also too slow and the little Claes was able to back pedal out of the way before Hachiman could hurt her.

All the smug fell off her face all the same.

"Nii-sama…!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! What do you know?! Nothing! You are just an idiot!" Hachiman spat at her, his vision just blurry enough to see the girl as a brown and blue mess amidst the green of the grass "Go tell the prince! Go bother him! Maybe that way he'll realize you're just a pest and he'll get rid of you!"

He wasn't sure what happened next since he couldn't see that well at the moment. All he knew was that, the next instant, his face stung and now he was the one on the grass. Angry, sad, but very much confused.

"H-How dare you! To a lady such as I! Take that back! Now!" The brat of the Claes screamed at him, a foot driving its way to Hachiman's prone body with the viciousness only kids could have.

"Lady my ass! Your servant is more of a noble than you!" Hachiman scrambled his brain for something that would stop her. His thoughts stumbling on a delicate subject his parents and servants went out of his way to tell him not to touch "You don't even have magic. Are you sure you have noble blood?!"

The kicking stopped, and the onlookers gasped in horror. He knew he had succeeded and grinned at his aggressor, but it wasn't until he cleared his vision that he saw the little girl had tears running down her face already.

"I-I'm still growing!" The little Claes yelled, but she didn't sound quite convinced "Just you see! I'll be the strongest earth mage ever! I'll be so powerful you'll beg me to teach you the way! I'll… I'll for sure…"

"You'll have better luck with the sword." Hachiman groaned through the pain, his small body unable to handle the viciousness of this brown haired brat "You're strong. Just like a monkey."

There were more whispers, more side glances. Hachiman's smirk faded. Washed away as he wondered which one of them would try to get a bit too close. Just a bit too friendly.

When he turned his eyes back to the brunette she was glaring at him.

"What? Is Nicol-sama afraid of being known as a scoundrel?" The little girl held back her tears, just barely holding the venom back "But Nicol-sama is the son of the Prime Minister. So you'll just tell them off, no? Making everyone a fool just like you did me…"

Hachiman blinked. He could honestly never understand children.

"...What are you talking about?"

"Don't play the fool! If you're going to use your family's influence, do so with pride." The little girl looked to the ground "I know your plan all too well. You'll pretend to be complimenting me to make me look bad, when in reality you're the one that started it."

...What?

"You started it." Hachiman spat back "You called my sister names."

"It's the truth." The idiot talked back.

"No, it's not." Hachiman growled "You don't even know her. There's nothing wrong with my sister."

The little girl looked away, but stole a glance at the albino that was probably shaking behind Hachiman's small frame. The little Claes looked around, even seeing her so-called fiancé looking on at the commotion without doing anything. His features were angelical, but Hachiman could tell those eyes were hollow. As if everything around him was just too much of a drag to care.

He was sure the little girl could tell too, if only subconsciously.

She glared at him again. Was she waiting for something? For her parents, maybe?

"...T'was my mistake. I take back my words."

The other kids couldn't seem to believe it. Katarina Claes, the Katarina Claes had just taken back her words. Hachiman didn't get it, but he hated the hushed whispers all the same.

"Silence." He couldn't help saying out loud, and the temperature seemed to drop as he opened his mouth.

The little Claes smirked.

"That's it, that's more like it." Her expression was bitter, but just as amused "Show everyone the bastard that you are."

"It's what you people make me be." Hachiman whispered, now looking down just as the girl had done before.

"Then be like that with pride." The little Claes raised her face, as if trying to gather what little face she could "This Katarina Claes will not lose face for some half-baked wannabe! If Nicol-sama wants to live up to his family name, then do so with pride and without regrets!"

…

Honestly, this kid…

"Just you wait!" She pointed a finger at him, energy somehow renewed "I shall become mighty! Katarina Claes does not lose!"

Hachiman wanted to shoot her down, to say something that would twist that pride of her back to the ground. Yet a small pale hand stopped him.

Sophia stared with pleading eyes, so Hachiman couldn't answer the way he wanted to.

"Then practice the blade." He mumbled "You already hit hard enough…"

"And you fix your demeanor." The little girl gave him the evil eye "I'll let you off this once since you're an Ascart. But next time… I'll destroy your pride into a hundred pieces."

Hachiman chuckled bitterly.

"I have no pride."

"Then do something about it." She replied like he had said the most despicable thing in the world "You are an Ascart. Behave like it. My kindness knows no bounds, so I went easy on you. But you'll get trampled on if you don't do something about it."

The little girl spun around, a bit of a glare still on her face as she faced the crowd of adults and children alike.

"Observe and learn." She stated, her voice a bit hollow, before strolling back to the party. Heedless of the whispers and stares, even when her shoulders still shook from time to time.

Hachiman stared, still completely bamboozled at the sheer insanity of that kid.

A warm hand snapped him out of his stupor after a while.

"Nicol-sama." The maid's face was gentle, but Hachiman knew her well. She oozed desire, and the familiar way she placed her hand on her shoulder made him sick.

He knew what she wanted, but so far she had been clever enough to hide things from the masters. As Hachiman was 'just a kid' and 'didn't know better' about her actions.

"Don't touch me." Hachiman glowered all the same "I'm going to cut your hand myself if you don't stop."

The maid snapped back, the glazing in her eyes shattering for the first time since Hachiman had reincarnated. The red-hot anger in his stomach did not cease, but Hachiman still felt cold satisfaction at seeing the pervert take him seriously for the first time.

Maybe that kid was onto something. If this world was irrational, then Hachiman had no choice but to become irrational himself.

The girl's so-called fiancé approached Hachiman not too long after, statically apologizing for her behavior and talking about how she was too much even for him.

So much for a genius prince. His words were as hollow as his eyes. But again, maybe his fiancée was onto something. So Hachiman tested this new theory and told the little prince off as soon as he had finished spouting his fake empathy at Hachiman.