OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY!

Hey guys! I'm alive and well, don't worry, but I have been gone for a long while.

Summer was really hectic and I did a lot of travelling, and I was out of the country for almost a month. And then summer ended, and I was starting uni, so I had to get ready for that. Inductions were all of last week and I had so many things to do that I got caught up before I knew it. My actual lectures begin tomorrow. But I knew before that I had to update before I get swamped again. I'm so glad I managed to get back to this in time.

To everyone who reviewed since my last chapter, thank you so much! I appreciate the response and I do hope I won't be out for so long this time. If I am, please bear with me. Now, without further ado...

Enjoy!

Chapter 8

After their little run-in with Kuroko and Kagami, Seijuro decided to head straight home, so he called a taxi and led them to his address. The taxi drove into the upscale neighborhood, slowing to a halt in front of the large manor that resided at the end of the block. When they arrived, Seijuro paid the driver and he and Bokushi stepped out of the car. When the taxi drove away, the two of them approached the extravagant door to the front of the house.

"It has been a while since I was here," said Bokushi.

Seijuro nodded. "Indeed, it has been a while," he said. "I'm just dreading the reaction we're going to get from the staff when they see you."

"Would you like me to explain?"

Seijuro shook his head. "I appreciate the offer, but it would be better if I handled this." Sighing to himself, he finally reached his hand up to the door. "Let's just get this over with."

He grabbed the knocker hit it against the door three times and waited. After a few seconds, he heard footsteps approaching and then the lock twisted on the door. When the door opened, it revealed an elderly man in a suit. His eyes lit up at the sight of Seijuro.

"Young Master, we were expecting you," he said. "Welcome..."

He trailed off when he realized that Seijuro was not alone. He looked down and saw a young boy that looked exactly like Seijuro and his eyes widened in surprise as he took a deep breath and...

It was the rather loud strangled scream that got the attention of two maids passing by the front area of the house. They both exchanged looks and immediately began making their way to the front door. When they got there, they saw Seijuro, a small Seijuro look-alike, and the butler, a few seconds away from having a heart attack. Their faces took on expressions of complete and utter shock.

"Oh dear..."

"Who is this boy? Could it be...?"

Seijuro put his hands up in defense. "Wait, before any of you say anything, let me just explain the situation."

"What is there to explain?" one of the maids said. "Surely there is only one conclusion we can draw from this."

"Say it isn't so!" the younger maid said in despair.

"Say what isn't so?" Seijuro said in confusion. "What exactly are you thinking?"

"What else?" the older maid said. "Clearly there is some unknown mistress we don't know about!"

Now it was Seijuro's turn to be surprised. "I beg your pardon?" he exclaimed. "There is no unknown mistress! What gave you the idea that I would do something so crass?"

"How else did this boy get here then?"

The butler recovered from his severe shock and finally addressed Seijuro. "Young Master, when did this happen?" he sputtered. "I'm sure you got the proper education of using protection—"

"What are you insinuating?! I haven't slept with anyone!"

Seijuro's face was already the same color as his hair, and frankly, he had never felt so embarrassed in his life. Did the staff really think he was so vile as to impregnate a girl and hide it for five years? That didn't even make any sense. Not only that, but if he did the math and that happened to be the case, and this was some other girl's child, that means Bokushi would have been conceived when Seijuro was… no, no, no, he was not going there. He put a hand over his face and tried to force the blush down, but it wasn't working.

Bokushi tugged on his sleeve. "Would you like me to speak now?"

"Not now, Bokushi..."

From there he spent the next five minutes trying to reason with the staff standing at the door, leaving Bokushi to think that his 'older brother' was not good at handling situations like this. Just seeing him light up like a tomato at being accused of a scandalous (also non-existent) relationship was a spectacle.

So even Seijuro-nii can be lame sometimes, he thought solemnly.

Seijuro was finally able to regain his composure and he inhaled sharply before facing the staff at the door once more.

"We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot, so allow me to start again," he said. "If you could please give me a few minutes of your time to explain the situation, I'd greatly appreciate it. It's not what you think."

The butler and the two maids looked at each other before agreeing and stepping aside, allowing the two to enter the house. Seijuro also requested the rest of the staff as well. He had a lot of explaining to do.

...

"So allow me to recall what you have just said," the butler said tentatively. "This is what you would call your younger brother?"

Seijuro nodded. "Yes. To put it in simpler terms."

Explaining this to the house staff was easier said than done. Considering everyone had now gone on the theory that Seijuro had a secret child somehow, if his dignity was to remain intact, he had to rectify that. So, gathering the eight of them in the living room, he set Bokushi down on a chair and finally began to explain what was going on.

Of course, explaining why Bokushi was there meant he had to explain where he came from in the first place. While the whole split-personality thing was something that Seijuro would honestly rather not discuss, he knew that the staff was vaguely aware of the problem anyway.

Out of all the people in the house, they were probably the only ones to notice the change in Seijuro. Since his father was always out with business meetings and the like, he never registered that difference, and if he did, he just didn't care. It was the maids who exchanged looks in the hallway when the boy passed by. And it was the butler who quirked a brow when he heard boku instead of ore. But since it wasn't their job to prod or pry the information out of him, out of respect for both of their master's wishes, they never asked questions.

For the next twenty minutes, Seijuro spent that time proving their suspicions, that there was indeed something wrong with him at that time and that something led to his second personality. Now that second personality was here, standing before them. It was hard for the staff to take in, considering the fact that absolutely nothing about this situation made sense. But Seijuro did his best to clear everything up while the staff kept sneaking not-so-discreet glances at the small boy next to their young master.

"I don't understand," one of the maids said. "How is this possible? And when did this happen, Young Master?"

"Last Sunday to be precise," Seijuro replied. "And again, the circumstances for this to occur are unknown. I have absolutely no idea how this happened, but all that matters is that it did. So, I beg of you, please don't make such a fuss about it."

She hesitated for a brief moment, before finally sighing and giving in. "We understand. We will not cause such an uproar about this."

One by one, the staff all complied, and Seijuro was thankful to be around such understanding people. He exhaled a breath of relief.

"If that's the case, then I do hope you'll help to watch over him."

"Of course, Young Master," the butler said. "If that is what you wish."

Seijuro smiled. "Thank you, I appreciate it." He looked down at Bokushi and nudged him lightly. "Go on and introduce yourself."

Bokushi stood up from the couch and stood in front of the eight staff members.

"It is nice to meet you. My name is Bokushi." He bowed politely towards the staff. "Please take care of me."

Seijuro blinked in surprise when the staff was suddenly all over Bokushi. Bokushi was even more surprised when his vision was flooded with a bunch of fawning staff members.

"What a polite young man!"

"So well-mannered!"

"He's just like Young Master when he was this young."

Bokushi looked like a lost puppy amongst all the commotion. In all honesty, Seijuro couldn't blame him. Since he was an only child, the staff never saw any other kids after Seijuro, meaning they got all affectionate and parental when one did come into the house. Today was no exception, and Seijuro couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Seijuro-nii, please don't just stand there with that amused look on your face," said Bokushi.

"Sorry," said Seijuro. "This just reminds me of my own childhood."

"Childhood memories aside, may I please be taken to my room?" Bokushi asked wearily, trying to dodge a hand attempting to pinch his cheeks. "This is a bit much."

"Alright, I hear you." Seijuro walked over to them. "Please do take it easy on Bokushi, he's not used to physical contact with other humans."

"Oi."

Seijuro laughed lightly. "Calm down, I'm only teasing. Come on then. Let's go and put our things down."

...

Walking towards Seijuro's bedroom in the east wing of the mansion, Bokushi was surveying the area. It had been a while since he had walked these walls. It didn't necessarily bring back nostalgia, but merely simple memories that were buried in the back of his mind, nothing too special. When they finally did reach Seijuro's bedroom, he opened the door to let them in.

"Do make yourself at home," Seijuro said.

Bokushi stepped into the room and looked around. As he thought, it was exactly like he remembered.

If there was any one word to describe Seijuro's room, it was elegant. It was an exceptionally large space that followed a red color scheme. It was classic in its design, from the crystal chandelier that hung in the center of the ceiling to the mahogany headboard of his bed. There was also his study desk on the right, where everything was neatly organized in folders, binders, and notebooks along with the painting that hung above it all, the small table near the back wall with a shogi board resting there, the reading space he had in the corner next to his bookshelf, and the clear sliding door leading out to his balcony. It was his only sanctuary in middle school after all of his continuous lessons throughout the day, and it was the only place he could be left in peace.

Seijuro put their things down. "What a hectic day," he said. "Hopefully it won't be so chaotic now."

Bokushi didn't say much. He was busy taking note of everything in the room. It truly had been a while since he had seen the Tokyo estate. The last time was probably... that's right. Before the Winter Cup. What a rollercoaster ride that was.

Seijuro looked towards him and smiled. "Is it just like you remembered, Bokushi?"

"It is," Bokushi answered. "A better thing to say is that it's exactly the same. I think this room is exactly how I left it."

"That's nice." Seijuro finally heaved a sigh as he finished putting their things away. "By the way, did you want your own room?"

Bokushi looked up at his older brother and quirked a brow. Seijuro noticed the strange look.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't mind sharing with you at all," he said quickly. "But I don't know which you'd rather prefer."

Bokushi thought for a second. What did he actually want? He could share, but he didn't know whether Seijuro was just saying that to be polite or not. After all, this whole brotherhood thing was kind of forced upon him last week out of nowhere. He didn't know whether or not what he was about to say would be the right answer, but he didn't care.

"There is that guest room next door, correct?" Bokushi asked.

Seijuro nodded. "Ah, yes, there is that one. If that's what you want, then that can be your room. Perhaps sometime along the way you can personalize it with your own things."

Bokushi watched as Seijuro brushed past him to the door and offered his hand. "Come. Let's take a walk around so you can re-familiarize yourself with the house."

The small boy stared for a moment before taking that hand and walking alongside him down the hallway.

From there, they traversed the whole mansion, going through all the halls and all the rooms. There were many things he had forgotten about since he was last here, such as the knight's armor in the dining room, the various items on the shelf above the fireplace, and the cabinet of fine China in the living room. All these little details began to come back to him.

They passed by a portrait in the living room as they left. It was of a woman. She had fiery red hair and eyes with a charming smile that seemed to enchant him, making him gradually come to a stop in front of it. Seijuro looked down at Bokushi before following his eyes to see what he was looking at. He smiled.

"Did the portrait catch your eye?"

Bokushi blinked and looked at him in surprise. Seijuro chuckled.

"It's okay, you can stare at it as long as you want. I sometimes stare at it from time to time."

Bokushi remembered the days when he would stand by the portrait and play the violin, serenading the estate with the melodious sound of music. It was one of the most vivid memories he had of this place, ever since he retreated to the back of Seijuro's subconscious. He still remembered it just as clearly.

Bokushi nodded. "It's nice to stare at."

"Yeah," Seijuro replied softly. "I think so too."

Once he held out his hand again, Bokushi took it and allowed himself to be led to the next room.

During the walk, Bokushi narrowed his eyes in suspicion. This whole thing seemed way too idyllic, way too peaceful to be considered normal. Was he supposed to just waltz into their home, declare himself a member of the Akashi family, and live here until he was old enough to go out on his own? No, that couldn't be the end of the story.

Before, Bokushi never believed in Murphy's Law because he never believed anything he did could possibly go wrong. But there was this strange feeling that something was amiss. Had he miscalculated something? Had he made an error?

Just as he was pondering this in his head, they passed by a maid who was signaling to the butler down the hall.

"Please go and call the driver immediately," she said. "Akashi-sama will be landing in the airport soon."

"Understood. I will tell him to get ready," the butler said, and he disappeared out of sight. That exchange alone was enough for the two to stop in their tracks and stare at each other in mutual panic.

That was it. The thing they forgot about. The biggest obstacle in their path to making this work.

Their father was coming home today.

Seijuro held his head in his hands and groaned. "How could I have made such a mistake?" he said. "I completely forgot that father would be arriving home from his business trip this evening. What am I supposed to tell him?"

"The truth usually suffices in situations like these," said Bokushi. "Even if you were to lie, he'd still know."

"Out of all the people on this planet, he is the last person to believe me," said Seijuro. "How am I meant to explain this to him?"

"For once, I don't know," said Bokushi. "Do you want me to explain?"

"No, no, I can handle this. No offense, but if he won't even believe me, then a five-year-old is out of the question. Let me take care of the problem."

"I could at least assist and explain myself. It's me who's showing up out of nowhere, after all."

"That won't be necessary. Just leave it to me."

"Yes, but—"

"Bokushi, it's fine. Why on earth are you so concerned? Come on, we still have time to figure this out. Let's go back to my room." With that, Seijuro spun on his heels and made his way back, Bokushi following close behind, his mouth pulled into a small frown.

"Why on earth are you so concerned?"

Bokushi sighed. I'm only concerned because I know what father is like.

...

Time passed quicker than ever, and soon came the time when the two heard the staff rushing to the front door after it had opened. Hurried footsteps went past the door of his room before he heard a knock, and one of the maids entered after Seijuro gave the okay to come in.

"Bocchama, your father is home. Please come downstairs to greet him."

"Very well."

When the maid exited the room, Seijuro stood up from his chair and went over to the door, Bokushi right behind him.

"We're out of time, Seijuro-nii," Bokushi pointed out as they emerged from the room. "Have you come up with any ideas?"

Seijuro turned to him with a face of utmost seriousness. "Absolutely not."

Bokushi stopped walking and looked up at him incredulously. "What? What do you mean 'Absolutely not'?!" Bokushi cried. "The whole point of spending an extra hour in your bedroom was so you could think of something!"

"Well, I did the thinking part," Seijuro began. "But no matter what I thought of, I honestly couldn't see any of them ending well. So I'll improvise."

"You will do no such thing! Quit being ridiculous and think of something else!"

"What good will that do? We're mere seconds away from seeing my father and you want me to think of an idea on the spot?"

"Yes! That's what you're supposed to be good at!" Bokushi pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I should have just thought of something. I can't believe I listened to you when you told me to let you handle it."

"Oi, don't lose so much faith in your older brother," Seijuro said, quite disappointed in the low amount of trust Bokushi had in him. Well, he never really was good at handling things well. The last time he tried to handle a stressful situation by himself, he kind of switched personalities.

Hmm. Well.

"It'll just be more of a go-with-the-flow type of situation. And even if you came up with the most elaborate plan in existence, father would still shoot you down, simply because you're a child. Like I said, I'll handle this."

Bokushi sighed in resignation. "I hope you know what you're doing."

"Yeah," Seijuro replied. "I hope so too."

Downstairs near the front of the house, the butler was hoisting a suitcase in while two maids went to greet Seijuro's father at the door, who was on the phone. He looked as intimidating as ever wearing a formal business suit with his hair neatly combed out of his face, revealing two cold golden eyes whose gaze pierced through the staff like a knife. He was Akashi Masaomi, the alpha of the Akashi family.

The staff bowed politely. "Welcome back, Akashi-sama," the maids greeted.

The man nodded back. "Indeed. Tanaka-san, take this bag up to my room."

"Understood, Akashi-sama."

"Akashi-sama, Young Master has arrived. He came in a couple of hours ago."

"Where is he?"

"His room. I have already sent someone to retrieve him, sir."

He continued his phone call as he paced back and forth on the marble floor. He just got back, but there were still so many things he had to do, such as contact that one client to answer a query he had, there were a few reports he had to read through, he still had to review the current stock, and there was the fact that he was still currently discussing a business deal with a fellow company that felt it was necessary to contact him this particular night. He had no time to waste this evening. He was going to go to his office and take care of the matters at hand. Dinner could be requested later.

"Good evening, father."

Masaomi heard his son's voice behind him as he was speaking on the phone. He turned around to face him, just to nod his head acknowledge his presence, and get back to his current conversation, only to stop in place when he realized something.

Seijuro wasn't alone.

There was a young boy who was standing next to him, expression neutral, eyes staring. Masaomi was going to ignore the fact that this child looked exactly like Seijuro, in favor of asking himself:

Why was there a child in his house?

The man on the other line was voicing his concern over the abnormally long silence that suddenly plagued the line when Masaomi brought the phone back up to his ear and narrowed his eyes.

"I'm going to call you back."

Seijuro involuntarily tensed when his father slowly put the phone back into his pocket and locked his eyes with him.

"Seijuro. My office. Now."

Seijuro never had his blood run so cold when someone called his given name.

He sucked in a deep breath to prepare himself and returned his father's gaze. "Yes, father."

Masaomi turned on his heels and made his way towards the office, Seijuro following obediently. Bokushi tried to follow as well, but Seijuro turned his head and mouthed the word 'stay' before he turned right back around and continued to follow his father, leaving Bokushi to stand there.

The maids who watched the whole exchange while standing on the side noticed the tension in the atmosphere and approached the small boy.

"Young master, why don't you come with us while you wait for your brother?"

Bokushi wasn't stupid, he knew they were just distracting him. After all the years they've been employed in the Akashi household, there were many times when the air would suddenly shift, and Bokushi knew that the staff was well-trained to detect that shift and behave accordingly. Just for the occasion, Bokushi would play dumb and accept their tentative offer to be led back to his room.

When the maids left him be to tend to other things, Bokushi waited for their footsteps to fade away before quietly opening the door. He peered into the hallway. No one to his left, and no one to his right.

Perfect.

He crept out of the room and shut the door, pacing it in the other direction to their father's office. He wasn't allowed to go in, but he at least wanted to hear what was going on, so when he maneuvered through the building and found the door at the end of the hallway, he made his way to it. Already, he could hear talking from the inside.

Father must have started the tongue-lashing, Bokushi thought.

The door to the office was rather thick, and so picking out every single word was extremely difficult. But that wasn't going to stop him from trying. Bokushi pressed his ear as close to the door as he could, and listened…

"What is the meaning of this, Seijuro? Why have you let a child into my house? This is unacceptable."

There was no mistaking that stern voice anywhere. It was most definitely their father. And from what he was hearing, he did not sound happy.

"Father, please," came Seijuro's voice. "If you would just allow me to explain—"

"There is nothing to explain," his father interrupted. "This is a nuisance, and a hindrance to say the least."

"But father if I could just—"

"I am just telling you how I see the situation. I did not request an explanation, Seijuro."

This is not good, Bokushi thought gravely. He keeps getting cut off. At this rate, it will become a one-sided conversation. He continued to listen from the outside.

"Please let me explain, father—"

"Denied. There is no room for explanation. I don't care where you got this boy from, but put him back where you found him."

Bokushi's eyes widened a fraction as he heard his father. The door may have muffled the sound, but there was no muffling of Seijuro's exclamation from the other side.

"Father, wait," he said frantically. "I can't possibly remove him from the house."

"I am not going back on my word, Seijuro. I want him out of my house."

"Please reconsider—"

"Do not make me repeat myself."

"He's just a child, father!"

"Then call Child Services and let them deal with it for goodness sake. Just get him out."

"I said I would look after him—"

"End of discussion, Seijuro."

"But—"

"End of discussion."

Bokushi remained standing in place as he heard his father tell Seijuro to leave his office. Then, he heard quiet footsteps approach the door, which gave him enough time to back away before it creaked open.

Seijuro emerged from the office and began making his way back, not even registering Bokushi standing there in the dark corridor as he stormed away to his room. He watched him as he left, standing still as if frozen.

He heard a sound from behind him and turned to find the door opening again, revealing his father. Masaomi halted in place and looked down at the boy with those cold eyes of his before finally turning up his nose and going in the opposite direction, leaving Bokushi alone in the corridor.

Bokushi stood there as he pondered what to do. Leave them both alone, or try and help?

He knew he hadn't been that good when it came to offering his services, but he was a different person now. And for once, he'll be helping with someone else's problems other than his own. It was a new concept, he'll admit, but that wasn't going to stop him from giving it a go.

He looked in the direction Masaomi stalked off in and stared. Thinking. Contemplating. After a few moments, he sighed and shook his head.

No. He is not the one who needs me right now.

With that, he turned on his heels, and started in the opposite direction, in search of one Akashi Seijuro.

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