Chapter I: Meet the Hiiragi family
Shinku POV
I was brought to the head of Hiiragi's family who was also Mahiru's father. He has a hair color similar to Mahiru, but his face isn't very similar to her. He looked at me with a firm look. Next to him stood a boy who seemed to be the same age or one year older than me.
Without further ado, the head of the family Hiiragi said loudly "From now on you will leave the Ichinose family and become one of the fiance candidates for my son Kureto. You will be trained and strictly here and take the exam that will be given to you. If you want to live, you have to try your best ".
After that, I was taken to a place where many girls were my age. They all seem to be here for the same reason as me. At that place, we were trained. The strongest will be determined as Kureto's fiancee. But the most terrible thing is when the exam is held. We are required to fight each other. Not the usual fight, but a fight to death.
It continued until I was 13 years old. I don't know how many times I almost lost my life in that terrible test, also how many lives flew in my hands. I don't want to kill people, but I also don't want to die. Therefore, at my age of only 13 years, my hands were stained with blood. Even so, I still haven't stopped hoping to be able to meet my family again, especially Guren. I hope he doesn't think of me as a murderer if we meet again.
During the training, Kureto and Mahiru came to visit my training place several times. I don't really care about Kureto, but when I saw Mahiru I was very happy. Even though I had lost news about her, but for me Mahiru is still my best friend. But his face wasn't as cheerful as before. I don't know what Hiiragi's family did to Mahiru since I and Guren last saw her.
In addition to visiting me, Mahiru also came to see the prospective fiance in a different building from me. There was the place where Mahiru's fiancee candidates trained. I heard from the guards, a boy who caught the most attention there was a boy named Shinya who came from a kindergarten managed by 'Tei no Oni'. Once when Mahiru visited me (which I think if he had obtained permission from his father), Mahiru once said that even though he was betrothed to someone else, he still liked my brother.
Whereas Kureto, every time he came he rarely said anything. Just saw us as the candidates one by one then left. Some other candidates have talked about Kureto. They assume that Kureto is very handsome. Well, I admit that person is quite handsome, but I don't like his face, which often puts on a sly face.
~~..~~
My last opponent is a girl who is younger than me. As one who can survive so far, she is very strong. Even so in the end, she died in my hand. Just like my other opponents, her eyes when facing death really imply that she doesn't want to die yet. But in the end, she died in my hand like the others.
One week after the last test, Hiiragi Tenri decided that I would be Kureto's fiance because I had defeated all the other remaining candidates. The official announcement will be made in the near future. That day I was transferred from the training center to the Hiiragi family's house. A very large house compared to my old house. One of Hiiragi's subordinates took me to a room that would become my room. It is three times larger than my room in the training center. I think it's too broad for a 13-year-old girl's room.
I'm not allowed to bring anything from my room at the training site, well ... I don't have much stuff there besides clothes. All items I need are available in this room. Maybe more precisely it has been prepared for whoever the candidate who survived in that hell (the training place). The subordinate of Hiiragi who took me earlier told me to clean my body and use one of the clothes in the wardrobe he was pointing at. He said that he would wait outside the room until I was finished. Apparently, the head of the family wanted me to meet his other children, including the person betrothed to Mahiru, Hiiragi Shinya. Ah ... I remember. My name is now Hiiragi Shinku, not Ichinose anymore.
After cleaning myself and changing clothes, Hiiragi's subordinates who I did not know his name led me to the dining room. While walking, I looked through one of the large windows in this house. Looks at the sky that has started to turn orange. I didn't realize that it was time for dinner. While at the training center, we were still given enough food three times a day. they said we must stay healthy to continue to practice and fight ... until the end.
~~..~~
When I arrived in the dining room, I saw Hiiragi Tenri who was now my adoptive father, Hiiragi Kureto who has now become my foster brother and fiancee, Hiiragi seishiro which I heard was Kureto's biological younger brother, Hiiragi Shinya, whom I had seen a number of times at the training site even though we were trained in different buildings and Hiiragi Mahiru who turned out to have a different mother from Kureto and Seishiro.
I was told to sit next to Kureto. I feel very awkward right now. The five of them are my new family now. While waiting for dinner to be served, my adoptive father gave brief instructions on how should I called them. Because Tenri Hiragi is now my father, I must call him 'father'. For Kureto because he is now my fiance, I just have called him by his name even though he is one year older than me. Mahiru and Shinya, because they were both the same age as me, I also called them by their names, so did Seishiro who was one year younger with me. Actually, there is still one more person, namely Mahiru's biological younger sister, Shinoa. But because she was only 4 years old, she didn't eat here but in her room with her nanny.
It seems that it won't be easy to adapt to my new family.
to be continued...