The one I call Brother

Chapter 5

Gakushu and Inori enter the house and instantly the servants come to greet the two of them. "Young master Asano you are back, glad to see it. And you've brought young mistress Inori with you as well. Welcome back, dear." Bekka, the head servant of the household, chatters excitedly. "Your father has already told me about her staying here for a while. I've got her room all set up, but where is Master Karma? Isn't he supposed to be here as well?"

Gakushu looks down at the ground. "My mother let him stay with her for unknown reasons. Now, do you know if my father is busy? I would like to speak with him about something."

Bekka nods. "No, he is not busy. I'll lead the way. I'm sure Inori would like to see him as well, he has a soft spot for her, despite her not being his kid." Bekka leads them to his father's office on the second floor. She knocks on the door and opens it slightly so she can poke her head in. "Sir, young Gakushu is back as well as the young Inori. He would like to have a word with you."

The older man nods. "Very well, let him in Bekka." The servant nods and opens up the door the rest of the way allowing Gakushu and Inori to enter his office. Bekka closes the door and leaves the boy to talk to his father to go back to her responsibilities.

Inori smiles and instantly runs towards Gakushu's father. "Mr. Asano!!!!!!" Said person reacts fast enough to catch the girl and lifts her up into a hug. The girl smiles and lays her head in the crook of his shoulder.

"Inori it's great to see you again sweetheart." While he may not be Inori's biological father, Kaori and Gai decided to name him her godfather whenever they spent the day together after what happened in the park. And while he is Inori's godfather, she is still young and can't say a whole lot of big words yet, and because his name is so similar to his son's she just calls him Mr. Asano for the time being.

Gakushu looks at his father and sister with a small smile and then remembers the reason that he came to speak to his father in the first place. "Father, not to be the one who breaks your little reunion here, but I had something that I wanted you to speak about."

Gakuho returns to his normal seriousness, losing all of the smiles he gets when Inori is around. "Of course, I'll get Talfryn to lead Inori to her room." He presses a button on his intercom and then turns his attention to the small girl in his arms. "Will you be okay without us for a little bit sweet? Gakushu and I have matters to discuss."

The small girl puts on a smile and nods. "Yup I'll be fine. I promised onii-chan that while I was here I would be strong and okay." She wiggles around a bit and Gakuho sets her down on the ground. She runs over to her older brother attaches herself to his leg.

Just then a male servant with a white hat, ginger hair, and wearing a blue and white outfit you might see on merchants in the older days opens the door and walks into the room. "You called for me sir?"

Gakuho nods. "Yes I did." He turns to his goddaughter still attached to her brother's leg. "Inori this is Talfryn. He will be put in charge of getting you whatever you need to feel comfortable while you are here." Then he turns back to said person. "I would like you to lead Inori to her room, my son and I have something to discuss."

The servant nods. "Of course sir. Now would you please follow me Miss Inori. I'll show you to your room." Inori, hesitant at first, slowly makes her way to Talfryn. He smiles at her kindly and she instantly warms up to him. "I'll be taking my leave then sir."

The two of them leave the room leaving only father and son in the cold office. "Now what was it that you would like to speak about?"

Gakushu looks down. "Well you see, Karma didn't come. Our mother has allowed him to stay with her. What I want to know is the reason why. You told me that she was given government related business that was very classified and they had to stay here for the time being. Well we get there and she talked to Karma upstairs for a while. Then when he comes back downstairs he says that our mother is allowing him to stay there with her. Just tell me what is going on."