Status: ongoing.
The Prince's Letters
chapter five.
"Gacchan!"
Kazu cringed. Try as he might, the girl had refused to give up that unexplainably ridiculous nickname and now it was moving along from one person to the next. Stiffly, he responded…to Atsushi. "Yes?"
"What's the Captain doing?"
Kazu couldn't give a definite answer. Once Yuria had found her feet, they had quickened the pace. The man had led them through the network of houses and narrow alleyways, before finally stopping in front of a low house that seemed as if it had been shoved in between its neighbors, built with little regard to the inch of space left between the walls of the squat white house and its more elegant neighbors. Now, he was pressing his face against the curtained windows, as if he could see through the opaque white blinds.
Before Kazu could question the Captain's methods however, the door swung open and a dark blur hurtled out. "Yuuuuuta-niiiiiiichan!"
Yuuta's response was equally adoring. "Yuuki! Ahhh! I missed you so much!" The dark blur turned out to be a boy who looked to be about twelve years old. He hugged the tall man around the middle fiercely, burying his face in Yuuta's stomach. The Captain's embrace was affectionate and for the first time, his smile seemed quite genuine. Save for the boy's strange gray eyes, they were obviously brothers. "Everyone, meet my little brother. Yuuki, meet the others."
Once the boy was set back on his feet – the force of his greeting had sent the two spinning – he turned to the others and smiled brightly. "Welcome to the Hinansho! Come in, hurry hurry!" Seizing his brother's hand, he pulled them in.
Kazu found himself rather charmed, caught off-guard by the boy's sincere warmth. He found himself in the house before he even realized what he was doing and by the looks on Atsu's and Yuria's startled faces, they had just done the same. They stood about in a lost silence.
"Welcome." A soft voice made them jump as Yuuki popped his head out from a doorway. He beckoned them over. With no apprehension, Kazu eventually followed, Yuria right behind him. Though Atsu's reservations seemed to have made an appearance, and he began second-guessing their combined lack of fear, he obeyed as well.
The room they entered was more spacious than Kazu expected. In fact, it was large enough to fit three long dining room tables with at least twenty seatings each, pillows laid out on the tatami mat floor. 'There was no way the house they had seen from the outside could fit this much into only one of the rooms. He had seen at least five other doorways connected from the hallway. And…now that he thought about it…hadn't there been stairs to a second floor?
Yuuki appeared at his elbow and pulled on his sleeve. Kazu was surprised at this new quietness – Yuuki hadn't seemed the type to ever refrain from speaking. With a gesture, the boy guided Kazu to the end of the table, which already bore a tray of tea. As Kazu made his way towards them, he became aware of a tiny old woman already seated on one of the pillows, a cup of warm tea in her hands. As Yuuki pushed him into his seat, the man examined the woman more closely. Her white hair was pulled back into a neat bun, strands framing her wrinkled face. She had probably been beautiful once, and even sat with a hard-to-duplicate elegance. But her eyes were clouded, milky and blinded with age. As Atsu and Yuria knelt, she turned her head and reached out an arm. "Seiichi."
The boy who had been standing by knelt beside her and took her hand. She seemed to relax at that, exhaling softly.
"Seiichi? The Captain said his little brother's name was-"
The old woman turned slightless eyes in Atsushi's direction. "Stupid boy, don't you think I know the difference?" she said not unkindly, giving him a disapproving shake of her head. "This is Seiichi. Yuuta-chan and Yuuki-kun are elsewhere. Let those two be, poor Yuuki-kun rarely gets to see his brother; what with Yuuta-chan doing his military business and what not. Poor children," she repeated. Her voice softened as she shook her head again, this time sadly.
A moment passed before any of them felt comfortable enough to break the silence. Yuria leaned forward, staring hard at the boy. They were practically carbon copies of each other. Even dressed alike and with the shocking contrast between neat black hair and gray eyes. The only difference was this boy's quiet demeanor. He smiled shyly at Yuria and she couldn't help but smile back. "They look exactly the same. Who is he?...Who are you? Why are we here?"
"One question at a time, girl. Help yourself to tea. He is Seiichi, my helper." She released Seiichi's hand and settled into her seat, letting the boy get more comfortable as well. He remained by her side, but crossed his legs beneath him. Exhaling once more, she folded wrinkled hands into her lap, "My name is Kanamura Chiharu, ex-Queen Regent of Mabushii Rakuen, and I have a very important job for Kazuhiko-kun."
Kazu cringed. Try as he might, the girl had refused to give up that unexplainably ridiculous nickname and now it was moving along from one person to the next. Stiffly, he responded…to Atsushi. "Yes?"
"What's the Captain doing?"
Kazu couldn't give a definite answer. Once Yuria had found her feet, they had quickened the pace. The man had led them through the network of houses and narrow alleyways, before finally stopping in front of a low house that seemed as if it had been shoved in between its neighbors, built with little regard to the inch of space left between the walls of the squat white house and its more elegant neighbors. Now, he was pressing his face against the curtained windows, as if he could see through the opaque white blinds.
Before Kazu could question the Captain's methods however, the door swung open and a dark blur hurtled out. "Yuuuuuta-niiiiiiichan!"
Yuuta's response was equally adoring. "Yuuki! Ahhh! I missed you so much!" The dark blur turned out to be a boy who looked to be about twelve years old. He hugged the tall man around the middle fiercely, burying his face in Yuuta's stomach. The Captain's embrace was affectionate and for the first time, his smile seemed quite genuine. Save for the boy's strange gray eyes, they were obviously brothers. "Everyone, meet my little brother. Yuuki, meet the others."
Once the boy was set back on his feet – the force of his greeting had sent the two spinning – he turned to the others and smiled brightly. "Welcome to the Hinansho! Come in, hurry hurry!" Seizing his brother's hand, he pulled them in.
Kazu found himself rather charmed, caught off-guard by the boy's sincere warmth. He found himself in the house before he even realized what he was doing and by the looks on Atsu's and Yuria's startled faces, they had just done the same. They stood about in a lost silence.
"Welcome." A soft voice made them jump as Yuuki popped his head out from a doorway. He beckoned them over. With no apprehension, Kazu eventually followed, Yuria right behind him. Though Atsu's reservations seemed to have made an appearance, and he began second-guessing their combined lack of fear, he obeyed as well.
The room they entered was more spacious than Kazu expected. In fact, it was large enough to fit three long dining room tables with at least twenty seatings each, pillows laid out on the tatami mat floor. 'There was no way the house they had seen from the outside could fit this much into only one of the rooms. He had seen at least five other doorways connected from the hallway. And…now that he thought about it…hadn't there been stairs to a second floor?
Yuuki appeared at his elbow and pulled on his sleeve. Kazu was surprised at this new quietness – Yuuki hadn't seemed the type to ever refrain from speaking. With a gesture, the boy guided Kazu to the end of the table, which already bore a tray of tea. As Kazu made his way towards them, he became aware of a tiny old woman already seated on one of the pillows, a cup of warm tea in her hands. As Yuuki pushed him into his seat, the man examined the woman more closely. Her white hair was pulled back into a neat bun, strands framing her wrinkled face. She had probably been beautiful once, and even sat with a hard-to-duplicate elegance. But her eyes were clouded, milky and blinded with age. As Atsu and Yuria knelt, she turned her head and reached out an arm. "Seiichi."
The boy who had been standing by knelt beside her and took her hand. She seemed to relax at that, exhaling softly.
"Seiichi? The Captain said his little brother's name was-"
The old woman turned slightless eyes in Atsushi's direction. "Stupid boy, don't you think I know the difference?" she said not unkindly, giving him a disapproving shake of her head. "This is Seiichi. Yuuta-chan and Yuuki-kun are elsewhere. Let those two be, poor Yuuki-kun rarely gets to see his brother; what with Yuuta-chan doing his military business and what not. Poor children," she repeated. Her voice softened as she shook her head again, this time sadly.
A moment passed before any of them felt comfortable enough to break the silence. Yuria leaned forward, staring hard at the boy. They were practically carbon copies of each other. Even dressed alike and with the shocking contrast between neat black hair and gray eyes. The only difference was this boy's quiet demeanor. He smiled shyly at Yuria and she couldn't help but smile back. "They look exactly the same. Who is he?...Who are you? Why are we here?"
"One question at a time, girl. Help yourself to tea. He is Seiichi, my helper." She released Seiichi's hand and settled into her seat, letting the boy get more comfortable as well. He remained by her side, but crossed his legs beneath him. Exhaling once more, she folded wrinkled hands into her lap, "My name is Kanamura Chiharu, ex-Queen Regent of Mabushii Rakuen, and I have a very important job for Kazuhiko-kun."