Life is weird, and mine is busy. Gomen... this proved a difficult chapter
to write for some reason, and many other things got top priority, but it
has now been, at long last, updated! Here, hav the last chapter of the second
section! And leave me alone about updates for a week!
~Enjoy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sabishisa wa dochira muite mo sumire kana
{Loneliness, it seems that wherever I look, [there are] more violets!}
(a haiku by Issa, translated by me)
Although not one to ever be calm when frustrated, Tabito had always handled himself better when he was active. His current activity was researching the backgrounds of various Gaian nobles, a hobby he had picked up after he had been dismissed from the capitol two weeks ago. No one in Lindblum may have believed his story, but he knew what he had seen and also knew that he would be able to recognize any connections. Eiko had agreed with this reasoning and had cooperated with him by sending him as much of her own information as she could. This, combined with what was in the New Bran Bal databases, was a considerable amount of work for him. He had started by organizing a list of who might have been able to afford the construction of five warships. The list, unfortunately, was large. Fortunately, frustration only served to spur Tabito onward.
Although Blackjack had already scanned and stored all the documents, the crown prince reread several sheets for himself as he sat with his feet propped up on the desk. He was not as absorbed in this work as he may have first appeared, for it only took a simple creak in the floor behind him to draw his attention around. Reichia stopped where she was at his sudden movement before smiling.
"Funny how you can be so on edge and still forget to close the door," she giggled.
"This room isn't very well ventilated," he muttered and turned back to his work.
"I can adjust that, Sir," Blackjack called out.
"You shut up," Tabito pointed a commanding finger at the wall but then withdrew it when he noticed Reichia stifling her laughter. He had been seeing much of the girl lately, as she took him into town at least every other day. The idea of 'hitting the town' had been a new one to him, but it was a habit he had adopted readily.
He dropped his hand on a stack of papers she was peering at.
"Classified?" her bright aquamarine eyes turned to him.
"What else would I bother reading?"
"A newspaper?"
"Maybe as fiction," he grinned as he shifted in his chair.
"You would know, of course," she said sourly as she looked away. Tabito glanced back at her awhile but, since he was unsure of how to respond, let it be. That tone always was a warning to thin ice. He returned to his reading while he waited for the potential storm to blow over.
"How long have you been sitting here today?" her tone was normal again.
"Seven hours," answered Blackjack. Tabito glared at the wall for a moment before turning back to her and amiably repeating:
"Seven hours."
"How do you sit still for seven hours?!"
"Who's sitting still?" he teased as he shifted his position again.
"All right, you," she went behind him and gave the chair a sharp tug, causing his feet to fall sort of the table, "up, up, up."
"Reichia," he whined, "I'm trying to do something."
"Your brain will turn to mush," she insisted, now attempting to tilt the chair forward to dump him out of it. This was not to be accomplished, for he was stronger than she and was trying to keep the chair level.
"I resent that," he stood up suddenly, causing her to unwittingly push the chair over. She squealed in surprise just as he caught it with one hand and slid it under the desk in a single motion.
"Nice catch," she said after taking a second to catch her breath.
"You're even less controlled than usual."
"I had a long day at school, so I need a break."
"You don't need to break my chair."
"No," she giggled and made for the door. "Come on! Let's go!"
"Where?" he resigned, and began to put on his shoes.
"Hm," she feigned a thoughtful look, "I saw a stretch of field not far from here! Let's go watch the sun set!"
"That'll take a while," he objected.
"We can go out to dinner afterwards," she tried to wave him through the door. He stayed where he was.
"That's even longer. I was in the middle of doing something, you see."
"I see," she placed her hands on her hips. "Tabito, you've read through that thing at least four times now, and probably more. What really do you think you'll accomplish by reading through again?" Tabito shot her a dirty look then abandoned it for a more placid one.
"I may be slow and dim-witted, but I'm not hopeless."
"Fine," she shifted her weight, "let's, uh, let's just go for a walk then."
"Okay," he said brightly, and walked out after her. He locked the door behind him.
~~~~~
It was a good day to be outside, a day flooded with
the essence of mid-spring. The deepest blue ran the length of the sky interrupted
only a few times by faint wisps of clouds. Reichia tried to ignore Tabito's
irritation and keep the conversation light-hearted. She could understand
his trying to get something done, but there was a point at which his determination
became unhealthy. True, he had had long conversations with Blackjack while
practicing with his weapon in his living room, but it all focused around
the one subject of "who is the mastermind?" He was bashing his head against
a wall in hopes of being enlightened.
"You wear that outfit a lot," she said, regarding his usual green.
"I can't get Gaian clothes here, and I really don't appreciate the Terran style," he replied. "So I do wear these clothes often, yes." He cast her a side-glance when she remained silent for several seconds, before assuring her: "They're washed every night."
"So what do you wear to bed?" There was an awkward moment of silence.
"Reichia," Tabito started slowly, "you say funny things."
"Oh, god," she could feel all the blood rush straight to her face. She ran slightly ahead, her head in her hands. Mental images did not help.
"You asked," he muttered from behind her, his tone stuck somewhere between embarrassed and amused.
"You know," she said once she'd let him catch up to her, "you don't have to be honest with me when I'm asking stupid, random things."
"That wasn't random. I could follow that train of thought very easily. Culturally acceptable it also was not, so perhaps it's the latter that you'd have me censor?"
"You're so eloquent," she rolled her eyes.
"As I very well ought to be," a smile touched the corners of his mouth. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as they strode on in silence for a while. By and by, they arrived at the field that Reichia had been talking about.
"Wildflowers," Tabito observed happily.
"You like flowers?"
"Who doesn't?" he raised an eyebrow at her. She nodded thoughtfully although somewhat confused. The pause did not last long. "You wouldn't catch me wearing them, of course."
"Of course," she grinned and began walking into the fields, "but you don't mind if I pick some?"
"Go right ahead," he wandered out onto the grass with no apparent purpose other than to escape the development behind him. With perhaps a little too much interest, Reichia found herself watching him depart from the city into the wild. She diverted her attention to the flowers before her so that he would not notice. The color of the bloom she had plucked absentmindedly was shockingly familiar. Excitedly, she glanced around to see that he had lain down on his back further out. She scampered over to him.
"Tabito? Could I compare this?" He had been examining the cloud far above his head, but quickly shifted his attention to her at the sound of his name. He then found she was holding an object between his eyes. After a failed attempt to focus on it, he turned his gaze to her.
"You know, you also do funny—"
"It's the color of your eyes," she pulled it back further so that he could see it. "Your eyes are a little darker, but the color is the same."
"So?" he blinked. She glanced from the flower to his eyes.
"It's a very lovely color," she said softly.
"Lucky for everyone else," he sat up with a snort. She fell silent sitting there beside him. She glanced down at his tail and noted the regulated twitch at the tip. She laid the flower on the ground with a sigh.
"You shouldn't pretend to be sociable when you're really annoyed," she did not meet his glare. "It only makes you more mad." He didn't respond, so she continued: "I only thought that a walk and the sunset and stuff would help you relax. So, if it's not helping, just go back to work and forget about it."
"You worry about me too much," he replied, standing up. "I'm thoroughly capable of looking after myself."
"It's just that," she began to pick at her fingers, "I used to think the same about myself…and my situation was never as bad as yours."
"I'll walk you back to your vehicle," he offered her his hand.
~~~~~
Tabito closed the door of his apartment behind him
and dropped his shoes on the floor.
"Did you enjoy your walk, sir?" asked Blackjack.
"Yes and no." This shut the computer up for a while, as it tried to process his answer. He stretched his arms behind his back as he made his way towards the bedroom. A movement to his left caught his attention immediately. He let out his breath when he saw that he had merely passed a mirror and that the face staring at him was his own. He stared back awhile, eventually turning to face it fully. They really are that color, he reminisced. But beautiful? They're just another of the things that make me odd. Still…they really are that color. He shook his head. He hated it when people talked about his eyes, his hair, and such. They spoke neutrally of them, but somehow he could tell that they thought otherwise. However, now that he thought about it, Reichia had said something complementary about them, had she not? Did she really think that way, or did she have something to gain from it? There was nothing to be gained from him now, as far as he could tell. It was so confusing.
"Tell me, Blackjack," Tabito continued to stare into his eyes, and his eyes back at him, "why do I bother to spend time with that girl?"
"Because she came to see you."
"Mm, you right," he turned away from the mirror with a smile on his face. "I'm always too obliging to people who come to…see me…" "He demands to see you," Chizitsu's voice echoed from the back of his mind. Shido Mart said he wasn't aware of mother's absence... Then why did he seem to be expecting to speak with me? Tabito ran back to the doorway and put on his shoes.
"Where are you going?" Blackjack called out.
"The capitol, and pray I'm not too late," the prince replied as he struggled to get his shoes on.
"If time is of the essence, I can arrange a transport—"
"No need," he replied as he slid the window open and whistled. Mere seconds later, a burst of air churned through the room sending papers fluttering about. "I'll just fly." He leaped out onto Marital's back, pointed a finger in the general direction of the capitol, and was quickly on his way.
~~~~~
"Hey, sweetie," Raku called from the kitchen as she
heard the front door close.
"Hi, Mom," Reichia replied in a semi-dejected tone that caused her mother to look up from the book she was reading.
"Your father's working late; do you want to go out for dinner?"
"He's working late again?"
"Something big's come up, he says."
"Oh," Reichia didn't sound very interested as she made her way towards the stairs.
"Where would you like to go to eat, honey?"
"Oh, no thanks, Mom," the girl said quickly. "I have some studying to do. I'll scrounge for something when I'm hungry." She then ran up the stairs to her bedroom.
Raku was a mother and, therefore, was quite adept at noticing signs that things were out of the ordinary. Reichia picking studying over going out to eat was one of those signs. She drummed her fingers on the counter for a few minutes and then, as quietly as possible, made her way up to her daughter's room. She peered through the partially open door to see that Reichia was indeed sitting in front of an open text book, although her gaze was aimed somewhere out the window. She knocked as she entered.
"Would you tell me what's on your mind?"
"Huh?"
"Well, being your mother, I'd like to think that you would tell me anything."
"Oh, sure," Reichia suddenly became interested in her mathematics book again.
"Is it that boy?"
"Boy?" Reichia's head jolted up and she began to laugh nervously. "What boy?"
"The one you're always going to see."
"Oh… What about him?"
"Well, I assume he exists," Raku was unable to hide her smile any longer. "I haven't seen that look on your face since Zaki."
"He's nothing like Zaki! Or anyone else for that matter…"
"That's what you said about Zaki."
"But…" Reichia fell silent for a while as she stared again at her textbook. "He really is different."
"Well, you can't blame me for wondering; I have no idea who he is." She watched her daughter pick silently at her fingers for a few minutes before continuing. "You're lucky your father's been so busy lately, otherwise he would not be putting up with this behavior."
"Yeah."
"Maybe you should let us meet him, Reichia. Your father and I might be able to tell whether or not he's at all like Zaki better than you."
"Daddy would send him packing regardless."
"He wants you to be happy. He wouldn't send a good boy away."
"This one he would. Oh, it doesn't matter, Mamma. He doesn't notice me anyway."
"And who wouldn't notice a sweet girl like you?"
"Tabito Zidane til Alexandros the First," Reichia explicated with as much pomp as she could muster.
"Very funny," Raku rolled her eyes.
"Ah, if only it were a joke," the girl dropped her head into her hand. "One moment it seems he's trying to brush me off, and the next he's so sweet it's as if he actually cares. He's too polite; I can't tell what he really means!"
"Who?" the prodding continued.
"Tabito."
"Good God, girl. Are you actually seeing the crown prince?"
"Yes. I'm not lying, Momma." Raku stared at her daughter a good long while, and all the while, Reichia shifted uncomfortably.
"When did this happen?"
"Two weeks or so ago, when I kinda made him talk to me and I noticed how sad and lonely he was so I made an effort to be his friend."
"And now you wish you were more than that."
"I guess, yeah, I guess so…"
"You guess so?"
"Yeah, every time I'm around him I get this feeling like—" she glanced at her mother, "…yeah."
"I see."
"He's just got this…this, uh, feral spirit. Yeah, this wild thing within him that's beautiful, but also broken."
"I see."
"But I don't think he wants me to help fix it. I don't think he wants me around at all, but he's just too polite to say so."
"Have you asked him?"
"I'm afraid of the answer."
"Hm, well… There are probably several answers that you're afraid of, but absolutely need to get from him."
"Really?" Reichia slumped somewhat in her chair.
"Finding out whether he already has a girlfriend or not would be a good start. It's not likely for a seventeen-year-old crown prince to already have a meaningful relationship with anybody, but not impossible."
"Yeah," the girl nodded dumbly.
"You also might want to find out what he wants from life…but I guess he wouldn't know right about now," Raku scratched her chin thoughtfully. "This would be a very odd relationship."
"Would he even consider some common girl?" Reichia forcefully flipped the page of her book.
"Who knows," Raku shrugged and then patted her daughter's shoulder. "The other thing you might want to consider is telling your father."
~~~~~
The moment Tabito opened the door to Mikoto's office,
he knew he was too late. Never had he ever seen the three advisors' faces
all wearing the same expression.
"I think I just figured out which noble started this whole mess," he said anyway, since that's what he'd come there for.
"That's very well," Mikoto replied, "although I don't know that might help anything since I failed to hold them off any longer. In a fit of rage, they slew Yuki and told us that we could all expect the same."
"Damn it." The advisors all looked up once Tabito slammed his fist against the door. The great slab of oak trembled, but it held. For a moment, Ketto looked as though he might say something, but after his gaze continued to hold the door for a few more seconds, he returned to his former position.
"Now what?" the prince asked once he'd regained his composure.
"We hope the guardian holds up," she said.
"Mm," Tabito sighed. "Could I contact Eiko anyway, so I might test my theory?"
"Sure," Geomo muttered as he stood and went over to the two-way communicator with Lindblum to activate it. "Knock yourself out."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Next time: SECTION THREE!!! *starts passing out party favors* Yeeeeei!!!
~Enjoy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sabishisa wa dochira muite mo sumire kana
{Loneliness, it seems that wherever I look, [there are] more violets!}
(a haiku by Issa, translated by me)
Although not one to ever be calm when frustrated, Tabito had always handled himself better when he was active. His current activity was researching the backgrounds of various Gaian nobles, a hobby he had picked up after he had been dismissed from the capitol two weeks ago. No one in Lindblum may have believed his story, but he knew what he had seen and also knew that he would be able to recognize any connections. Eiko had agreed with this reasoning and had cooperated with him by sending him as much of her own information as she could. This, combined with what was in the New Bran Bal databases, was a considerable amount of work for him. He had started by organizing a list of who might have been able to afford the construction of five warships. The list, unfortunately, was large. Fortunately, frustration only served to spur Tabito onward.
Although Blackjack had already scanned and stored all the documents, the crown prince reread several sheets for himself as he sat with his feet propped up on the desk. He was not as absorbed in this work as he may have first appeared, for it only took a simple creak in the floor behind him to draw his attention around. Reichia stopped where she was at his sudden movement before smiling.
"Funny how you can be so on edge and still forget to close the door," she giggled.
"This room isn't very well ventilated," he muttered and turned back to his work.
"I can adjust that, Sir," Blackjack called out.
"You shut up," Tabito pointed a commanding finger at the wall but then withdrew it when he noticed Reichia stifling her laughter. He had been seeing much of the girl lately, as she took him into town at least every other day. The idea of 'hitting the town' had been a new one to him, but it was a habit he had adopted readily.
He dropped his hand on a stack of papers she was peering at.
"Classified?" her bright aquamarine eyes turned to him.
"What else would I bother reading?"
"A newspaper?"
"Maybe as fiction," he grinned as he shifted in his chair.
"You would know, of course," she said sourly as she looked away. Tabito glanced back at her awhile but, since he was unsure of how to respond, let it be. That tone always was a warning to thin ice. He returned to his reading while he waited for the potential storm to blow over.
"How long have you been sitting here today?" her tone was normal again.
"Seven hours," answered Blackjack. Tabito glared at the wall for a moment before turning back to her and amiably repeating:
"Seven hours."
"How do you sit still for seven hours?!"
"Who's sitting still?" he teased as he shifted his position again.
"All right, you," she went behind him and gave the chair a sharp tug, causing his feet to fall sort of the table, "up, up, up."
"Reichia," he whined, "I'm trying to do something."
"Your brain will turn to mush," she insisted, now attempting to tilt the chair forward to dump him out of it. This was not to be accomplished, for he was stronger than she and was trying to keep the chair level.
"I resent that," he stood up suddenly, causing her to unwittingly push the chair over. She squealed in surprise just as he caught it with one hand and slid it under the desk in a single motion.
"Nice catch," she said after taking a second to catch her breath.
"You're even less controlled than usual."
"I had a long day at school, so I need a break."
"You don't need to break my chair."
"No," she giggled and made for the door. "Come on! Let's go!"
"Where?" he resigned, and began to put on his shoes.
"Hm," she feigned a thoughtful look, "I saw a stretch of field not far from here! Let's go watch the sun set!"
"That'll take a while," he objected.
"We can go out to dinner afterwards," she tried to wave him through the door. He stayed where he was.
"That's even longer. I was in the middle of doing something, you see."
"I see," she placed her hands on her hips. "Tabito, you've read through that thing at least four times now, and probably more. What really do you think you'll accomplish by reading through again?" Tabito shot her a dirty look then abandoned it for a more placid one.
"I may be slow and dim-witted, but I'm not hopeless."
"Fine," she shifted her weight, "let's, uh, let's just go for a walk then."
"Okay," he said brightly, and walked out after her. He locked the door behind him.
"You wear that outfit a lot," she said, regarding his usual green.
"I can't get Gaian clothes here, and I really don't appreciate the Terran style," he replied. "So I do wear these clothes often, yes." He cast her a side-glance when she remained silent for several seconds, before assuring her: "They're washed every night."
"So what do you wear to bed?" There was an awkward moment of silence.
"Reichia," Tabito started slowly, "you say funny things."
"Oh, god," she could feel all the blood rush straight to her face. She ran slightly ahead, her head in her hands. Mental images did not help.
"You asked," he muttered from behind her, his tone stuck somewhere between embarrassed and amused.
"You know," she said once she'd let him catch up to her, "you don't have to be honest with me when I'm asking stupid, random things."
"That wasn't random. I could follow that train of thought very easily. Culturally acceptable it also was not, so perhaps it's the latter that you'd have me censor?"
"You're so eloquent," she rolled her eyes.
"As I very well ought to be," a smile touched the corners of his mouth. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as they strode on in silence for a while. By and by, they arrived at the field that Reichia had been talking about.
"Wildflowers," Tabito observed happily.
"You like flowers?"
"Who doesn't?" he raised an eyebrow at her. She nodded thoughtfully although somewhat confused. The pause did not last long. "You wouldn't catch me wearing them, of course."
"Of course," she grinned and began walking into the fields, "but you don't mind if I pick some?"
"Go right ahead," he wandered out onto the grass with no apparent purpose other than to escape the development behind him. With perhaps a little too much interest, Reichia found herself watching him depart from the city into the wild. She diverted her attention to the flowers before her so that he would not notice. The color of the bloom she had plucked absentmindedly was shockingly familiar. Excitedly, she glanced around to see that he had lain down on his back further out. She scampered over to him.
"Tabito? Could I compare this?" He had been examining the cloud far above his head, but quickly shifted his attention to her at the sound of his name. He then found she was holding an object between his eyes. After a failed attempt to focus on it, he turned his gaze to her.
"You know, you also do funny—"
"It's the color of your eyes," she pulled it back further so that he could see it. "Your eyes are a little darker, but the color is the same."
"So?" he blinked. She glanced from the flower to his eyes.
"It's a very lovely color," she said softly.
"Lucky for everyone else," he sat up with a snort. She fell silent sitting there beside him. She glanced down at his tail and noted the regulated twitch at the tip. She laid the flower on the ground with a sigh.
"You shouldn't pretend to be sociable when you're really annoyed," she did not meet his glare. "It only makes you more mad." He didn't respond, so she continued: "I only thought that a walk and the sunset and stuff would help you relax. So, if it's not helping, just go back to work and forget about it."
"You worry about me too much," he replied, standing up. "I'm thoroughly capable of looking after myself."
"It's just that," she began to pick at her fingers, "I used to think the same about myself…and my situation was never as bad as yours."
"I'll walk you back to your vehicle," he offered her his hand.
"Did you enjoy your walk, sir?" asked Blackjack.
"Yes and no." This shut the computer up for a while, as it tried to process his answer. He stretched his arms behind his back as he made his way towards the bedroom. A movement to his left caught his attention immediately. He let out his breath when he saw that he had merely passed a mirror and that the face staring at him was his own. He stared back awhile, eventually turning to face it fully. They really are that color, he reminisced. But beautiful? They're just another of the things that make me odd. Still…they really are that color. He shook his head. He hated it when people talked about his eyes, his hair, and such. They spoke neutrally of them, but somehow he could tell that they thought otherwise. However, now that he thought about it, Reichia had said something complementary about them, had she not? Did she really think that way, or did she have something to gain from it? There was nothing to be gained from him now, as far as he could tell. It was so confusing.
"Tell me, Blackjack," Tabito continued to stare into his eyes, and his eyes back at him, "why do I bother to spend time with that girl?"
"Because she came to see you."
"Mm, you right," he turned away from the mirror with a smile on his face. "I'm always too obliging to people who come to…see me…" "He demands to see you," Chizitsu's voice echoed from the back of his mind. Shido Mart said he wasn't aware of mother's absence... Then why did he seem to be expecting to speak with me? Tabito ran back to the doorway and put on his shoes.
"Where are you going?" Blackjack called out.
"The capitol, and pray I'm not too late," the prince replied as he struggled to get his shoes on.
"If time is of the essence, I can arrange a transport—"
"No need," he replied as he slid the window open and whistled. Mere seconds later, a burst of air churned through the room sending papers fluttering about. "I'll just fly." He leaped out onto Marital's back, pointed a finger in the general direction of the capitol, and was quickly on his way.
"Hi, Mom," Reichia replied in a semi-dejected tone that caused her mother to look up from the book she was reading.
"Your father's working late; do you want to go out for dinner?"
"He's working late again?"
"Something big's come up, he says."
"Oh," Reichia didn't sound very interested as she made her way towards the stairs.
"Where would you like to go to eat, honey?"
"Oh, no thanks, Mom," the girl said quickly. "I have some studying to do. I'll scrounge for something when I'm hungry." She then ran up the stairs to her bedroom.
Raku was a mother and, therefore, was quite adept at noticing signs that things were out of the ordinary. Reichia picking studying over going out to eat was one of those signs. She drummed her fingers on the counter for a few minutes and then, as quietly as possible, made her way up to her daughter's room. She peered through the partially open door to see that Reichia was indeed sitting in front of an open text book, although her gaze was aimed somewhere out the window. She knocked as she entered.
"Would you tell me what's on your mind?"
"Huh?"
"Well, being your mother, I'd like to think that you would tell me anything."
"Oh, sure," Reichia suddenly became interested in her mathematics book again.
"Is it that boy?"
"Boy?" Reichia's head jolted up and she began to laugh nervously. "What boy?"
"The one you're always going to see."
"Oh… What about him?"
"Well, I assume he exists," Raku was unable to hide her smile any longer. "I haven't seen that look on your face since Zaki."
"He's nothing like Zaki! Or anyone else for that matter…"
"That's what you said about Zaki."
"But…" Reichia fell silent for a while as she stared again at her textbook. "He really is different."
"Well, you can't blame me for wondering; I have no idea who he is." She watched her daughter pick silently at her fingers for a few minutes before continuing. "You're lucky your father's been so busy lately, otherwise he would not be putting up with this behavior."
"Yeah."
"Maybe you should let us meet him, Reichia. Your father and I might be able to tell whether or not he's at all like Zaki better than you."
"Daddy would send him packing regardless."
"He wants you to be happy. He wouldn't send a good boy away."
"This one he would. Oh, it doesn't matter, Mamma. He doesn't notice me anyway."
"And who wouldn't notice a sweet girl like you?"
"Tabito Zidane til Alexandros the First," Reichia explicated with as much pomp as she could muster.
"Very funny," Raku rolled her eyes.
"Ah, if only it were a joke," the girl dropped her head into her hand. "One moment it seems he's trying to brush me off, and the next he's so sweet it's as if he actually cares. He's too polite; I can't tell what he really means!"
"Who?" the prodding continued.
"Tabito."
"Good God, girl. Are you actually seeing the crown prince?"
"Yes. I'm not lying, Momma." Raku stared at her daughter a good long while, and all the while, Reichia shifted uncomfortably.
"When did this happen?"
"Two weeks or so ago, when I kinda made him talk to me and I noticed how sad and lonely he was so I made an effort to be his friend."
"And now you wish you were more than that."
"I guess, yeah, I guess so…"
"You guess so?"
"Yeah, every time I'm around him I get this feeling like—" she glanced at her mother, "…yeah."
"I see."
"He's just got this…this, uh, feral spirit. Yeah, this wild thing within him that's beautiful, but also broken."
"I see."
"But I don't think he wants me to help fix it. I don't think he wants me around at all, but he's just too polite to say so."
"Have you asked him?"
"I'm afraid of the answer."
"Hm, well… There are probably several answers that you're afraid of, but absolutely need to get from him."
"Really?" Reichia slumped somewhat in her chair.
"Finding out whether he already has a girlfriend or not would be a good start. It's not likely for a seventeen-year-old crown prince to already have a meaningful relationship with anybody, but not impossible."
"Yeah," the girl nodded dumbly.
"You also might want to find out what he wants from life…but I guess he wouldn't know right about now," Raku scratched her chin thoughtfully. "This would be a very odd relationship."
"Would he even consider some common girl?" Reichia forcefully flipped the page of her book.
"Who knows," Raku shrugged and then patted her daughter's shoulder. "The other thing you might want to consider is telling your father."
"I think I just figured out which noble started this whole mess," he said anyway, since that's what he'd come there for.
"That's very well," Mikoto replied, "although I don't know that might help anything since I failed to hold them off any longer. In a fit of rage, they slew Yuki and told us that we could all expect the same."
"Damn it." The advisors all looked up once Tabito slammed his fist against the door. The great slab of oak trembled, but it held. For a moment, Ketto looked as though he might say something, but after his gaze continued to hold the door for a few more seconds, he returned to his former position.
"Now what?" the prince asked once he'd regained his composure.
"We hope the guardian holds up," she said.
"Mm," Tabito sighed. "Could I contact Eiko anyway, so I might test my theory?"
"Sure," Geomo muttered as he stood and went over to the two-way communicator with Lindblum to activate it. "Knock yourself out."
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Next time: SECTION THREE!!! *starts passing out party favors* Yeeeeei!!!