The sun was nearly halfway through the blue sky and the bright rays of sunlight that were able to penetrate through the cracks of the shoji door caused Haku to squint his eyes. He was seated on the small kotatsu of his room, a warm cup of tea in his hands to keep him awake while he waited for the arrival his oldest brother and sister. Yanagi and Yachiru were already asleep in their rooms because it wasn't required for them to be in attendance at their arrival. Haku being the other bathhouse owner and the youngest brother, however, had to be the one to greet them while everyone else slept. He sighed to himself and placed the cup on the small table. "I'm not looking forward to this," he muttered to himself as he got up from the floor. He walked over to the shoji doors and peeked through the crack in search of the carriage. To his surprise, a carriage had already landed on the other side of the bridge but the second one could not be seen. "The coach driver said that the two will arrive together," Haku said to himself as he watched the door being opened and his sister stepped out into the sun in a bright red sun dress. "Where's Ichirou?" He asked himself as he slide the door open and leaped off the balcony.
Kimiko watched as her youngest brother flew down from the seventh story of the bathhouse in simple blue and white robes. He had changed in appearance, she noticed, having grown taller and became more masculine. Very different than the Kohaku she had seen a few years ago. He had even cut his fringe so it swept to the side. Haku landed in front of Kimiko and made a small bow in greeting. "Welcome to Aburaya, Kimiko," he said.
"Hello, Kohaku. It's been awhile," she said politely and he nodded.
"Ichirou hasn't arrived yet?" Haku asked with a slightly relieved expression.
Kimiko shook her head daintily. "No, he'll be arriving in a separate carriage very soon. For now, why don't you show me and my guest to my room so we may rest?"
Haku arched his eyebrows. "You brought a guest?"
"Yes, although he's more like an errand boy of mine. Hiro, please come out," Kimiko smiled as a thin boy with shaggy brown hair and baggy green and white robes stepped out of the carriage. "Kohaku, this is Hiro. Hiro, this is Kohaku."
"Hello, sir," Hiro made a clumsy bow and ended up tripping on his long robes in the process. His round face flushed in embarrassment and Haku observed the boy. He had large brown eyes and and round cheeks. The skin around his left eye and cheek was a slight purple hue.
"What happened to your face?" Haku asked.
Hiro fumbled nervously with the edge of his sleeves while looking away. "My former guardian decided to punish me by punching me in the face." Haku narrowed his eyes at Kimiko who only placed an arm around the thin shoulders of the boy. Haku just realized that the boy was fairly short. A head shorter than he was.
"Well, Kohaku, I felt bad for Hiro when I saw how he was being treated so I decided to take him under my care for now," Kimiko explained with a small twinkle in her eyes. "He hurt his foot when we took a rest stop during the journey so it would be ideal that we get to our room quickly." She looked at him meaningfully.
Haku blinked a couple times in surprise before responding. "O-of course. Alright then, follow me," he said as he turned to lead the way into the bathhouse.
Kimiko began following him when she realized that Hiro was still standing next to the carriage, fumbling with his hands nervously again. "Hiro, hurry and come," she ordered and he hesitantly limped to her side.
"What about my-" he began to ask when Kimiko cut him off.
"Leave everything to me, Hiro. That's an order. Now follow me like a good servant and be quiet," she said sharply and he became silent. She smiled and pinched his cheek. "Good boy. Let's go." The two followed Haku into the bathhouse and they walked through a series of hallways and up a couple of staircases before reaching the first elevator.
"The other elevators are being repaired at the moment, so we have to use this one for now," Haku explained to his oldest sister as the elevator doors slid open to reveal a woman carrying a huge stack of plates and trays.
"Hey, watch it bud, and get out of the way," Lin's voice barked as she bumped into Haku and the high stack of plates nearly fell over.
"That's not the way to speak to your boss, Lin," Haku warned and Lin's head popped out from the side of the stack of dishes.
"Oh! I didn't see you there, Haku. Sorry about that," she quickly said just as she noticed Kimiko and Hiro standing behind the dragon spirit. Her face paled a bit at the sight of the woman. "Oh, and the royal highness from the Dragon Palace. Uh...I'll get going now." Lin quickly shuffled out of the elevator and past Kimiko. Before she turned at the corner of the hallway, she sneaked a glance over her shoulder at the ragged, dopey-looking boy that accompanied Kimiko. Lin narrowed her eyes. "That kid looks as dopey as Sen," she muttered to herself before heading off towards the kitchen.
Hiro stood at the back of the elevator behind Kimiko as he fidgeted with his fingers and gazed at his feet. He could feel Haku's eyes on him as the dragon spirit wondered who he really was. He seems very familiar, Haku thought as he observed the short boy. "Hiro, I've never seen you at the Dragon Palace before. Who was your former master? Was he someone from the Dragon Palace?"
Hiro quickly glanced at Kimiko with wide eyes who only smiled sweetly at him. "Hiro is not from our kingdom, Kohaku. He's one of the many servants of the great spirit of the North. I took Hiro from there when I last visited a few months ago."
"I see. Oh, here's our floor," Haku said as the elevator opened again. They stepped into a vast hallway that was ornamented with many lamps and shells. The floor was covered in a velvet red rug that led to the lobby of the floor. The sound of their bare feet padding against the soft rug broke the silence as everyone else on the floor remained in their slumber. They passed by several doors before reaching a room at the end of the hallway. Haku slid the door open for her and Kimiko glided inside with the same grace as their mother. She arched her brows as she spun in a small circle to take in the room.
"Oh, just like home," Kimiko said to herself as Hiro stepped inside with a small bow of his head. The woman dipped forward to take a closer look at the circular table with shimmering water underneath glass. Koi fish swirled in the waters and Hiro breathed out in awe as he peered into the table. "This is a unique piece of furniture, Kohaku."
"I thought you would like it; you've always had a fancy for interior design," Haku smiled as he walked over across the room to slide another door open. He revealed the bedroom which contained a large bed that resembled a clam with red velvet covers. A large window overlooked the courtyard of the bathhouse and Haku went ahead to pull mint-drapes over the window to dim the room. "The baths are closed since the bathhouse isn't operating just yet. But if you would like to bathe, there is a private bath in the adjoining room." Haku then glanced over at Hiro who was peeking through the drapes out at the courtyard in wonder. Haku leaned closer to Kimiko and whispered into her ears. "What about your...servant boy? Would you like me to fetch a futon to place in the other room, Kimiko?"
The woman laughed and shook her head. "No, Hiro will be sharing my bed," she said with a suggestive shine in her eyes and Haku's cheeks pinked at her words. "But do bring a futon, in case he deserves a little punishment. Go, go, I must prepare for bed," Kimiko began pushing Haku back into the hallway while Hiro was still glued to the window. Haku tried to protest her haste but his oldest sister was determined to get him out of the room. "Hurry and bring the futon and retire to bed, Kohaku. Hiro and I have some business after you bring his futon."
Kimiko slammed the door shut, leaving a very baffled Haku. He blinked his eyes a couple of times before shaking himself out of his surprise. "I can never understand that woman," he muttered to himself as he stalked off to retrieve a futon for Hiro.
Kimiko glided back inside the bedroom and pursed her lips to find Hiro still at the window. She walked over to him and flicked the back of his head. Hiro let out a cry of surprise and his small hands immediately went to his head. "What are you doing. Unpack my trunk already."
"Y-yes, ma'am," Hiro stuttered as he rushed into the front room. Somehow, the heavy trunks from the carriage were transported into the room right beside the door. Hiro knelt by the largest trunk, one with a golden-gilded edge. He fumbled with the large lock and after a few minutes of struggling against the piece of metal, managed to wrench it open. Kimiko watched with an amused smile as she watch the boy exert a lot of effort just to pry the lid of the trunk open by an inch. Hiro grunted and with one final tug, the lid smoothly opened. He let out a yelp of surprise when he saw the contents. "M-miss Kimiko! Why are they here?"
Kimiko let out another laugh as she went to his side. She swooped down and lifted the young baby girl out of the trunk. She held the baby softly against her chest as she stroked the soft hair. "You were so worried about them, how could I leave them with an incapable spirit who knows nothing about the healing of humans.? Such a naive boy, Hiro."
The scraggly boy furrowed his brows but he didn't hesitate to take out the other occupant of the trunk, a sleeping four-year old boy, and he laid the boy on the mat on the floor. Hiro peered up at Kimiko and tilted his head. "...Who are they?"
A sly smirk crept on the dragon woman's face as she gazed at the sleeping baby in her arms. "My, has the journey made you forgotten already, Hiro? These two are like a brother and sister to you. All three of you were human slaves to the great spirit of the North. You escaped with them from his palace when I promised you a new life," Kimiko said in a velvety voice. She knelt down beside Hiro and with one finger, tilted his chin up so she could peer into his large brown eyes. "Don't you remember? The spirit of the North treated you three terribly and even reduced Ryuu and..." she trailed off as she stared at the baby as if by doing so might help recall the name.
"Emiko," Hiro blurted out. He widened his eyes and covered his mouth.
"Yes...Ryuu and Emiko were reduced into to these childish forms when they tried stopping the spirit of the North from beating you to death," Kimiko continued and Hiro's eyes clouded over as he looked into her eyes. "Then you took them and ran away to my kingdom. You three were gravely weakened by the journey when I finally found you."
Hiro slowly blinked his large eyes with a dazed look. "Yes...I remember now. I forgot that." He became silent for a moment before another troubled look came to be. "But why were they in the trunk?"
"Your memory is a little bad today, Hiro, is it not? Only you were officially bought out of the North spirit's services. Ryuu and Emiko are still being searched for so it's best that they are kept hidden."
The answer didn't satisfy him and Hiro asked again, "I thought they're weakened so why are they..?"
"Enough questions, Hiro. I'm your master now so don't question my judgement," Kimiko said in a low voice, her blue eyes flaring. Hiro gulped and fell back on his butt as she rose with an oppressing aura. Yet she still held the baby girl, Emiko, with great care. "They should be mostly recovered by tomorrow evening but I cannot do anything about the state of age." She spun around with a swish of her dress and headed for the bedroom. "Emiko will sleep with me. Share the futon with Ryuu when Kohaku finally comes with it."
"Y-yes, ma'am," Hiro stammered and Kimiko flashed him a glare.
"It's oujo-sama to you. Unpack the rest of my things before you go to sleep. I'm retiring now." And with that said, the bedroom door slid to a close and Hiro remained sitting on the floor with an unconscious four-year old.
Author's Note:
As usual, long time no update. I've been fairly distracted and gonna be honest, I nearly forgot I even wrote fanfiction xD
It's a short chapter so I hope you enjoy and forgive my laziness.