As the sun rose higher in the sky, its ray's shone through the bedroom window of a great mansion and onto Nokoru's face, lighting it up and framing it so he looked like a sleeping angel. After a few moments of having the sun in his face, Nokoru rolled over and faced away from the light and snuggled deeper into the covers, not wanting to wake up just yet.
'Mm, so soft and warm.' He thought with a smile. It took a few seconds for his brain to register what he just thought and when it did, he bolted upright and opened his eyes, looking around him. He was in a big room that was painted with a color scheme of baby blue and soft lavender purple. The bed had baby blue sheets on it and the pillow cases were lavender. There was a dresser opposite the bed and one wall was full of windows whose curtains were drawn back to let in the light. Through them, Nokoru could see a big garden with a small gazebo that had vines and flowers growing on it and around it. There were three doors in the room, one that led outside the room, one led to the big walk-in closet and the other led to a master bathroom. There was also a desk with a computer and a flat screen television hanging on the wall facing the bed. A bookshelf filled with many different books sat on the wall opposite the windows. He looked down and found that he was wearing a shirt that was much too big for him as it went down to his knees, the sleeves that were supposed to be short-sleeved went past his elbows and the shirt was slipping off of his shoulders. His old clothes were nowhere in sight.
It took a minute for Nokoru to remember why he was there, and when he did he crawled out of the giant bed and made his way to one of the doors. He opened it to find a large hallway that was vast and spacious, with statues and paintings in it and doors a few ways down on each side. The ceiling was so high that Nokoru felt there wasn't' one at all. Not sure of which way to go, he choose to go right and opened the door on the side of the room he was just in.
The room was much the same as the one he was in only its colors were a rusty red, pumpkin orange, and a brownish color with a golden tint to it so it looked like fall. He looked in around for anyone inside but the room was empty, though the bed was messed up and you could someone had been in here earlier. Nokoru shut the door and turned back around to head to the door that was on the left side of his since the right ended a few feet down and there were no more doors that way.
When he got to the set of doors that were on the left side of the room he was placed in, someone opened them from the outside before he had a chance to even tough them. Nokoru looked up at the man who had opened the doors and found Max smiling down at him. "Finally awake I see." He said quietly, though it echoed slightly down the large hallway.
"Where are Suoh and Akira?" Nokoru asked, his voice also quiet.
"Your friends?" Max asked and Nokoru nodded. "They're in there." He jerked his head in the direction of the room he just came out of. "The one with the blue hair and golden eyes-"
"Suoh," Nokoru interrupted. "He's Suoh and the other is Akira."
Max nodded and corrected himself, "Suoh just woke up a few minutes before you did. Akira's still asleep though and still sick so let him sleep. I had my doctor come and take a look at him last night. He should be fine after a bit of rest and if he takes the medicine Haru left for him."
"Haru?" Nokoru asked and tilted his head to the side.
"Ah, he's my doctor." Max explained. "He has been for a long time and he's also one of my closest friends. We went to school together and as soon as he became a doctor, I hired him for one of my hospitals and he's the one I call whenever I get sick or hurt."
"Did he find out what the blood coming out of his mouth was?" Nokoru remembered seeing that and wanted to know it was nothing serious.
"Don't worry," Max said with a smile and placed a hand on Nokoru's shoulder. "He just lost a tooth. He only has a fever right now, alright?" Nokoru nodded in understanding. "Good, now I was about to go and get some breakfast, would you care to join me?"
"Can I see Suoh and Akira first?"
"Of course you can. How about I have something brought up for you to eat?" Before Nokoru could respond, his stomach let out a loud growl and he looked down, his face flaming red with embarrassment as Max let out a laugh. "I'll take that as a yes." He said. "It'll be up in a while so you can just wait in the room, alright?"
"Thank you," Nokoru said. Max smiled and was about to walk away when he felt small arms wrap around his waist. He looked down and saw Nokoru's face buried in his stomach and the boy clinging to him. Max knelt down and Nokoru moved his arms to around the man's neck and his face was buried in Max's shoulder.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Max asked gently as he felt to the boy start to shake. He wrapped his arms around Nokoru and gently stoked the golden hair.
"Thank you," Nokoru said quietly and let out a small sob. "Thank you for everything you're doing for us. Y-You're the n-nicest man in the w-world." He was crying harder now and stumbling over his words. Max smiled and just waited there, hugging the crying boy and softly stroking his hair, waiting for the tears to stop.
When they finally did, Nokoru let go of Max and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of the too big shirt he was wearing. "Are you feeling better?" Max asked with a kind smile.
"Sorry," Nokoru said with a sniff.
"Don't apologize." Max said as he put a hand on Nokoru's head. "Everyone needs to cry sometime and when you do, don't try and hold them back or it'll just get backed up and you won't feel any better." Nokoru looked at Max and smiled a little. "Now, why don't you go and see your friends? I'll send something up for you to eat in a little bit, alright?" Nokoru nodded and turned to the room Max said Suoh and Akira were in before he opened it and went inside.
The inside of this room was somewhat like the inside of the room painted to look like fall only this one was made to look like a beautiful spring day. You could also see the garden through the windows and sunlight streamed through them to light up the room in bright ribbons. Nokoru found Suoh sitting in a chair next to the bed and holding open a book. When he heard the door open, he looked up and smiled at Nokoru.
"When did you get up?" Suoh asked but when he noticed Nokoru's red eyes and tear streaked face, he instantly got a worried look on his face and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Nokoru answered with a smile. "I'm just happier than I have in a long." Suoh looked Nokoru in the eyes and saw a spark of happiness he hadn't seen there before and he smiled. The spark lit up his eyes and made them a brighter blue. To Suoh, when Nokoru smiled, it seemed brighter than he'd ever seen it before and lit up the room brighter than the rays of sun ever could.
Nokoru turned his attention to the bed when he saw movement from the corner of his eye. He found Akira facing away from the sun that was coming in the window and curled up on his side in the big bed. One of his hands was lying next to his head and the other was a little ways down from that hand as he slept. Nokoru looked again at both Akira and Suoh and found that they were both in shirts like he was but they looked different.
He studied them a little closer and it clicked after a few moments. "What is it?" Suoh asked Nokoru who had been staring without realizing it.
"Sorry," Nokoru mumbled. "It's just that, you two look different when you're not covered in dirt like normal." It was true as well. Suoh's hair was a lighter blue than Nokoru had first thought it was and without the dirt on his face, Nokoru thought that he looked younger and more handsome than before. Suoh's eyes were a bright golden color that seemed brighter than normal though it may have been Nokoru's imagination. He looked down at Akira whose hair seemed so soft and he confirmed it when he gently ran his hand through the younger boys black hair. Without dirt covering Akira's face and combined with the effect of the sun shining in the background right on him, he looked almost like a sleeping angel. His flushed face from the fever only made the effect stronger and Nokoru smiled because he thought the younger boy was cute like this.
Suoh blinked a few times before he laughed a little bit and said, "So do you." When he saw Nokoru's confused face, he pointed to the bathroom and said, "Look in the mirror." Nokoru followed where Suoh was pointing and opened the door to the bathroom. He looked around and saw a magnificent bathtub that looked as though it could hold twenty people or so at once. There was also a smaller but still large shower near that and a toilet across from that. The sink was halfway down the wall from the toilet and there was a vanity next to the sink along with a cabinet above the sink. There was a full-body mirror that took up the entire unused wall except for small portions on each side which had shelves up and down those portions and each shelf had either towels or bath things on them. The entire room was done in a black and white pattern.
Nokoru looked in the mirror and his eyes widened. His hair seemed to be shining in the light that came in through a small window up high on the wall. His face seemed to have a glow to it and made him seem younger than he is. His eyes were bright blue and almost shone with the happiness he still felt. He had never seen himself so clean before and he spent a few moments just running his hands through his soft hair and running them along his now clean skin which was softer than they had been when covered in dirt.
He looked up and saw Suoh's smiling reflection looking at him. "When…" Nokoru started but trailed off when a knock sounded at the door. He and Suoh went to answer it and they found some maids outside with plates of steaming food waiting there with smiles on. They giggled a bit when they saw the boys and set the plates down on the dresser along with a few glasses and a pitcher of both milk and orange juice. They bowed before they left the room, whispering to each other about how adorable the boys were which made Suoh and Nokoru blush and the maids giggle even more.
As soon as the door shut again, Suoh and Nokoru looked at the food with wide eyes and their mouths watered a little bit at how much there was and from the wonderful smells wafting up from them. There were eggs, bacon, muffins, and many other western foods they'd never seen before. They savored the smell and sight of all the food before they slowly started trying parts of it.
They each picked up a small muffin and bit into them at the same time. Their eyes widened and lit up in pleasure at the soft and spongy muffins that seemed to melt in their mouth. For the two boys who'd been living on the streets for the past few years, this was like heaven for them. Nokoru was so excited about the food, he forgot about Akira's fever and jumped on the bed before shaking the younger boy and saying rather loudly, "Akira! Get up! You have to try some of this food! It's amazing!"
He kept shaking the younger boy until he saw Akira's eyes open and heard him groan a little bit. He pulled Akira up into a sitting position and watched the boy rub his eyes as he looked around. "Where are we?" He asked sleepily.
"Never mind that now." Nokoru said with a big goofy smile on, "Here, try this." He grabbed another small muffin and shoved it into Akira's mouth when he opened his mouth to ask another question. Nokoru and Suoh watched Akira's eyes light up in delight as he chewed. He closed his eyes and hummed in pleasure when he finished and as he was licking his lips.
Nokoru smiled and laughed a little before he motioned Suoh to get up on the bed as well and started moving the plated onto the bed. The three laughed and enjoyed what they thought of as the best meal they'd ever had or at least remember having.
When Max came up to the room about an hour later to check on the boy's he found the three of them cuddled together, sleeping on the bed; each with a giant smile on their face and all the dirty dishes left lying on the bed. He chuckled a bit to himself when he looked at the boys clothes and found them covered in some of the food along with what looked to be both mild and orange juice stains running down them.
He set the dirty dishes on the dresser quietly before he pulled the blanket up around the three boys and gave them each a kiss on the forehead before he brushed the stray hairs out of their faces. When he stood up again, he crossed the room and shut the curtains; casting the room into darkness before he silently left the room and shut the door with a soft click.
Late morning turned into late afternoon before the boys woke up again. Nokoru was, surprisingly, the first one up and he slipped out of bed as quietly as he could and made his way to the bathroom. Suoh woke up to the sound of water running and was about to get out of bed, only to realize that there was a weight on his chest. He looked down and smiled softly when he saw Akira was lying half on him and clutching part of his shirt in one of his fists.
Not wanting to wake the boy, Suoh laid there and stroked Akira's hair until Nokoru came out of the bathroom a few moments later. He smiled when he saw Akira sleeping half on top of Suoh. He went over and together, he and Suoh gently moved the younger boy off of Suoh and laid him back on the bed, where they watched him clutch part of the sheets instead of Suoh's shirt.
Once Suoh got out of bed, Nokoru put the blanket back over Akira and the two left the room quietly, letting the still sick boy get his rest. When they got into the hallway, they realized they had no clue where they were going.
"Um, let's try going left." Nokoru suggested. "Going right just leads to a dead end." Suoh nodded in agreement and the two set off in search of….well, they weren't exactly sure what they were looking for.
"Nokoru," Suoh said after a few minutes of walking around lost in the grand mansion, "Where are we going exactly?"
Nokoru stopped and looked thoughtful for a moment before he gave Suoh and blank look and stated, "I don't' know." Suoh fell anime style while Nokoru looked around and thought about where they were trying to get to. "Let's try and find Max." He said at last, as Suoh was getting up from the floor.
"Great," Suoh said as he fixed his too big shirt, "And where are we going to find him?" Again, Nokoru gave him a blank look and Suoh sweat dropped.
"Anyway, let's just keep walking and maybe we'll run into someone who can tell us where he is." Nokoru said and Suoh let out a weary sigh before following the blonde. The two walked for what felt like hours though in reality was only a few minutes. In no time, the two were completely and utterly lost with nobody else in site. "Just how big is this house?" Nokoru yelled, tears of frustration threatening to fall.
"I'm sure we'll find someone soon." Suoh said, trying to comfort the blonde. "Let's look in one of the rooms to see if someone's in there." Nokoru sniffed and nodded as he wiped his eyes. The two opened a door and just stared since it was the room they had left Akira sleeping in, the younger boy still sleeping.
"We just went in a circle." Nokoru said in disbelief. "But…how? When did we turn around?"
"Something wrong?" The two jumped nearly a foot in the air and turned around to see Max smiling down at them. "Sorry," He said, "I didn't' mean to scare you. I was coming to see if you were awake yet."
Nokoru nodded as he waited for his heart to stop racing. When it did, he asked, "How do we get out of here? We just spent hours walking around here yet we kept winding up in the same place!"
Max chuckled at that and said, "Yes, this house is rather like a maze so it's very easy to get lost if you don't' know your way around. Why do you want to leave anyway?"
"We were trying to find you." Suoh said before Nokoru could even open his mouth.
"Really? Why? Is something wrong?" Max asked, his face turning worried.
"Ah? No, nothing's wrong." Nokoru said, reassuring the man.
"That's good. So why were you trying to find me then?"
Nokoru opened his mouth but paused and then shut it again, a look of confusion taking over his face. After a few moments, he finally sighed and said, "I don't know. We woke up and weren't sure what to do so…"
He trailed off and looked at Max who was smiling at them warmly. "Well, there are lots of things you can do here." He said. "You can go out and visit my gardens or I have a game room or an indoor pool or training area or a big gym that I use when my trainer comes over. You could read in the library or go on a computer and play games. See, there are lots of things to do here so hopefully you won't get bored. I can have a maid or butler take you places you want to go if you'd like."
After Max had explained most of it, he looked down and blinked when he saw the two boys staring up at him with wide eyes and open mouths. "Do you really have all that in this house?" Nokoru whispered in awe.
"Yes, I do. I also have much more not only here but in my other houses all over the world." Max stated proudly and was amazed when the boy's eyes got even bigger since he hadn't thought that at all possible.
He stepped back in surprise when Nokoru's face did a 360 and turned serious. Nokoru looked Max right in the eye and said, "You're not just rich…" His eyes turned sparkly and big as he smiled and said, "You're the ruler of the world since only the ruler of the world could have all this stuff in so many houses!" He bounced around the hallway talking nonstop about how amazing it was that he was in the presence of the ruler of the world and other nonsense like that.
Max blinked a few times and Suoh sweat dropped. After a minute or two, what Nokoru had just said stuck a cord with Max and the man laughed long and hard until tears were coming from his eyes. "I…haven't laughed….like that….in a long time!" Max said between pants as he tried to catch his breath and wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Actually, I don't think I've ever heard you laugh like that." A new voice said in amusement and the three turned around to see a man standing there and smiling. He was taller than Max by a little bit and had shaggy black hair that reached a little past his ears with red tips at the end. He had thin wire glasses on that sat in front of black eyes that were laughing. He was wearing a pair of jeans with sneakers and a red shirt with a light jacket over it that was the color black. He had a small bag in his hand.