"Servant of Monsters"

Chapter 2 - New home

The ride lasted 30 minutes and soon Kaien noticed high hedge and black gates. Zangetsu took out a small device and pressed the button. The gates were opening. So this is my new workplace? Passing the entrance, Kaien noticed new fields, all covered in blood-red poppies. Wait... Poppies? It's the middle of October! They were passing apple orchards. All trees were beautifully golden. The branches were bent from the quantity of beautiful, juicy-red apples. To Kaien's surprise, he hasn't noticed anything lying on the ground. Not even a single apple was rotting in the yellow grass. I wonder what kind of chemicals they use to make these apples look so appetizing? Soon, the driveway ended and Kaien reached a big, classy mansion built of light-gray bricks. He whistled at the sight. The Kurosaki Family surely was a very rich one. Zangetsu stopped his car and stared at Kaien. Nothing happened for several seconds. The old man was still staring.

"Uh... Should I...?" Kaien pointed at the door. The driver didn't move. "I mean, you didn't say any... Umm... Okay, e-excuse me." He exited the car and soon Zangetsu did the same.

"This way." Oh my God, is he seriously acting like that? Kaien frowned, catching up with the man and following him inside of the mansion.

The interior was even more impressive. Walking on the purely wooden floor, Kaien savored the sight of multiple paintings and various ancient weapons from different countries. Occasionally, he passed by suits of armor from Dark Ages or Edo Era. The endless corridor finally ended and soon they entered the living room. Kaien wowed at the sight. That room was probably as big as his whole house in Koifuku. The walls were covered with filled bookshelves and hanging firearms. An antique scarlet carpet with golden ornaments decorated the space. In the centre, there were two flower-pattern sofas with a matching armchair. Right there was sitting a black-haired man, seemingly in his forties, wearing a white coat, Hawaiian shirt and black trousers.

The old man frowned at what was in front of him – a chess game. Kaien tilted his head. Seemed like the man was playing on his own. Zangetsu approached the man and indicated the boy to do the same. Kaien stood next to Zangetsu and dangerously close to the playing man. To his surprise, neither of them was noticed and so the game went on. This is awkward... Zangetsu hadn't changed his stone features since the moment they met.

The black-haire old man took a white bishop and defeated a black knight. He looked angrily at chessboard and started his musing. Kaien was observing the chessboard as well. After 15 minutes he got really annoyed – the man was still in the dead point. Kaien wondered if he could pace the game up.

"If the black pawn on E3 moves forward to E2, the white queen on D1 will be endangered by it, so the white player must use her in the next turn. He may as well use the white knight against this pawn, but then another black pawn on F3 could easily kill the knight, so the scenario would repeat again. This way, the queen will be trapped between the black bishop on B5 and the black tower on H5, the bishop would be the best option. The white player would have no other chance to save the queen, so he'd be forced to either use his white pawn on E5 or the white king on C5. By using the king – player would lose the pawn and before the white knight would reach the king in three turns – the black tower and the black queen will trap the king. By using the pawn – the player would expose the king. Either way – it's a checkmate for the black player."

The man in white coat straightened his back and looked up at the source of explanation. Kaien smiled sheepishly, but jumped when the player started screaming in terror.

"WHAH! DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME LIKE THAT!" Kaien blinked in confusion. He and Zangetsu were standing next to the guy for almost 20 minutes! "Ahh, you really surprised me!" The bearded old man smiled brightly and stood up. "Though I knew the outcome, good job with the game! I've been actually looking for any way possible for the white player to still win." Kaien frowned.

"Umm... Sorry, I don't think there was any other way. It seems like the white player had poor tactics somewhere in the middle of the game – he shouldn't have moved the white king so close to the black players side."

"Yeah, I tend to make that mistake often." The man laughed and hardly patted the young man's shoulder. Kaien smiled, victoriously hiding any signs of pain from the man's strong pats.

"Kurosaki-sama," Finally, the old man with long, brown hair spoke, drawing everybody's attention. "I present thee the man, who responded positively to the job offering."

"Oh! So you must Shiba Kaien?" The boy nodded and shook hands with the white-coat man. "My name is Kurosaki Isshin. It an honor to greet you as a new member of the Kurosaki family!" Member of a family? Kaien tilted his head. "Here, everybody is treated like a family! We cherish every worker that wants to help us with the responsibilities." Isshin hanged his arm around Kaien's neck and directed out of the living room. Zangetsu silently followed. "You have already met the head of the staff, Tensa Zangetsu. He's the one to make sure everybody has everything they need. He also arranges my and my wife's appointments. He's been here with us since the very beginning. I don't know what we would do without you, Zangetsu!"

"The pleasure to serve thou is mine, Kurosaki-sama." Isshin blushed, giggling like a sweet girl. All men entered another living room, this time filled with trophies and stuffed animals. Kaien cringed at the sight. He was an animal lover and dead animals gave him the creeps. In the middle, there was an enormous sofa and a tea table with a crystal set of dishes.

Sitting on a sofa was a fragile, young-looking woman. Waves of brown hair fell down her back and were reaching her waist. The woman gracefully used needle on a piece of fabric, embroidering a vase with tea roses. Next to her were sitting two girls – the one with short, brown hair was reading a colorful book, while the second, black-headed tomboy, played with two voodoo dolls.

"Ah! The beauty of my life. My gentle rose!" Isshin ran to the woman. She stopped with her fabric. Navy-blue eyes lightened at the sight of guests. The old man knelt in front of her and cupped her hand. Like a knight, he kissed the palm. "My love, have you missed me?" The woman subtly laughed into her hand. Both girls stopped whatever they were doing and were watching the newcomer with curiosity. Kaien smiled warmly at them – they were probably around Ganjyu's age. Isshin finally stopped his flirtations and looked at him. "This is my drop of water in the desert; my moonlight in cloudy night, the right shoe on my right foot." Kaien chuckled at the strange, yet endearing comparisons. "My most precious wife, Masaki. And here are the youngest gems, born from our passionate love – Yuzu," The brown-haired girl kindly bowed. "and Karin", the tomboy bowed as well, though her face showed pure boredom. "Our girls are twins – both 11 years old."

"I am really pleased to meet you." Kaien bowed as well.

"My, you really don't have to be so official. We're not the royals." Masaki laughed. "I hope you're going to enjoy your stay, Shiba-san." Kaien smiled. Mrs Kurosaki seemed a lot more down-to-earth than most of the things he came across so far. "Have you met the boys?" Kaien thought for a moment and shook his head. "Isshin, darling, where are the boys?"

"Well, you know them, my love. Probably out in the garden or locked in their rooms." Isshin scratched his head in thought. Masaki frowned. Whole family was supposed to welcome the new servant in the Main room, but her sons had a bad habit of wandering off.

"Zangetsu, dear, do you know where they might be?"

"I am utterly sorry, milady. I had to transport Shiba-san to the destination." The butler dropped his head. Masaki shook her own.

"Oh well, I suppose you'll meet them a bit later. Anyway, Shiba-san, please take a seat." Masaki moved and patted the free space on the sofa. Thinking it'd be rude to refuse the offer, Kaien sat down. "Zangetsu dear, could you bring us some tea?" The old man in orange glasses bowed and left the room. "So, Shiba-san, my husband and I want to talk about your responsibilities. Firstly, you..." Kaien focused on her words. She thought about what she wanted to say, but then growled in frustration. "Aw, I don't really know, honey." She looked at the husband. "What are Shiba-san's responsibilities?"

"Beats me, my apple in my eye." Isshin shrugged. "The truth is, Shiba-san, that our boys were quite overwhelmed with their own work and so they needed a personal servant. As soon as at least one of them shows up, you'll be filled into details. There are only two things that we, Masaki and I, ask you to do. Firstly – every noon and midnight we want you to bring to the table in the dining room 7 apples from our orchard." Kaien blinked at the odd request. "This is important – exactly 7 apples, freshly picked from trees. You can't pick them earlier than 30 minutes before delivering them at noon and at midnight." Carefully, Kaien nodded. He didn't feel he should ask them for the reason. "The second task for you is the same as everybody else – we want you to actively respond to everyday tasks, help others and represent the Kurosaki Mansion with dignity." The other duty seemed a lot more normal. Kaien nodded. "Brilliant! As for your salary – we'll pay you firstly for the trial. You'll have time to accommodate and get to know everything around. The trial will last only one week and you'll be paid..." His ears almost fell off when he heard the numbers. Wh-Wh-What!? I'd never be able to make that much money as an accountant for 3 months! "After that time, you'll be given a raise of..." Kaien felt dizzy. That was just too good to be true. There has to be a catch... As if they could hear his thoughts, Isshin and Masaki smiled widely. "So, Shiba-san, do you want to ask us anything?"

"U-Um..." He was at the loss of words. Only one question wanted to escape from him – Will he be imprisoned in the basement and lose all his organs later? Because there was no way he could earn that much money for picking apples and looking after some boys. Boys... "Maybe you could tell me something about your sons, Kurosaki Masaki-sama?" The woman smiled warmly.

"My boys are triplets. They are as old as you, Shiba-san, so you should get on pretty well!" She clapped her hands joyfully. She stopped her speech and looked behind the sofa. Her warm smile became even wider. "Oh, there you are!" Kaien turned around and froze. In front of him was standing a tall man, wearing a training suit and holding a wooden sword. He was very handsome, with vibrant orange locks. Strong brown pools roamed around the room, only to finally land and link their gaze with eyes as deep as the sea. The look was really intimidating, but Kaien could bear it. The man scowled and approached the Kurosaki family. "Where have you been, dearie? And where are your brothers? You were supposed to be here 10 minutes ago!" The man ruffled his orange spikes carelessly.