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═══ THE TALE OF
TWO BROTHERS ═══
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THE DAY BLED INTO NIGHTFALL when grandfather Sano gathered his grandchildren in the living room. Sat in a circle on the pillows on the floor, Akiko found herself in between Shinichiro and Mikey — she was still slightly apprehensive about the latter one since they had barely interacted with each other.
"Are you going to tell us another story?" asked Emma excitedly.
"Yes. This one you haven't heard yet. I call it ...," and he put a dramatic pause. "... the tale of two brothers."
Immediately, Akiko felt a tight knot in her stomach when granfather Sano rested his sight on her. She swallowed hard. For the very first time, she would hear the story of what happened between her father and his brother. About the very event that had changed the Hohsino family forever.
"In a time before you were born," he pointed at Mikey, Emma and Akiko, "there was an ongoing fight between two brothers. Their father was a very ill man and his days were numbered. He was the ruler of a great empire and in his last will and testimony he had determined his youngest son, Junto, to be the successor to his throne."
Junto. The name swirled around Akiko's mind. Her uncle's name left a bitter aftertaste and a pain in her chest. Hohsino Ken had made sure that Akiko would never meet Junto.
A large hand placed itself on Akiko's shoulder. Shinichiro gave her a soft smile.
"But the oldest son, Ken, was very unhappy with this decision and when he confronted his father, the man told him the same thing he had told Ken many times before. 'My boy, a king mustn't lead for the sake of leading. He mustn't focus on the power itself. A king leads with his heart as he feels for his subjects, his head as he finds ways to ensure the kingdom's welfare, and his gut as he may always rely on it to make the right decision. But he shall never base his reign on greed and fury. You, my son, carry much of that fury in your heart. That is why you are unsuited to be king'."
"What did Ken do about it?" asked Emma, eagerly anticipating the story's climax.
"Ken went to confront Junto. He demanded that Junto steps back from the throne. Ken was fully convinced that as the eldest son he was supposed to be the crown prince and he had every right to sit upon that throne. Junto only repeated their father's words. But this hadn't been where their dispute had started."
"What do you mean?" Akiko chimed in. "What else was Ken jealous of?"
"There was a woman whom both sons were in love with. She was Junto's first love and they were going to marry. Ken hated that Junto seemed to receive everything to his heart's desire whereas he remained empty-handed. All of Ken's attempts to make the Lady Mayu fall in love with him failed."
Akiko felt her eyes were about to pop out of her skull. Both her father and her uncle had loved her mother? Mikey also perked up at the mention of his aunt and tilted his head to the side. Slowly, the wheels in his head began to turn as he caught on to what the story was really about.
The Hohino family tragedy.
"As another attempt to persuade Junto, Ken kidnapped Mayu and held her prisoner, surrounding himself with the kingdom's worst criminals. He called himself their leader. If he couldn't take over his family's kingdom, he was going to build his own. And he would force Mayu to become his queen."
"Their marriage was forced?!" Akiko exclaimed.
Shinichiro squeezed her shoulder a little harder and pulled her closer, knowing this bedtime story would hit close to home. Akiko let it happen and leaned against him.
"When Junto heard of this, he immediately set out to save the love of his life. Unbeknownst to him, this wasn't merely an act of jealousy on Ken's part. It was meant to be a trap. If Junto was to die before their father would meet his demise, it would leave Ken as the only successor to the throne."
What Mikey had told her before, that Junto had supposedly attempted to steal Pandemonium from Ken, wasn't the truth. All Junto had done was protect his family from the wrath of his brother, and he payed the ultimate price. And for what? In the end, Ken got everything he wanted.
"Did he succeed? Did Ken kill Junto?" Emma was holding onto Mikey's arm by now.
"Ken challenged Junto in battle. They fought until death. But when Junto seemed to win the upper hand, Ken played a foul trick. His right hand, Kurayami, interrupted the fight, breaking the rules, and hit Junto over the head as he was about to end Ken's life. Junto fell unconscious. That was when Ken killed him."
"Even though he couldn't defend himself anymore?" Akiko swallowed and fought back the tears. She had already cried enough.
"Ken was a ruthless man. But even though he had taken everything he wanted, the throne, the woman, it never truly belonged to him. The people weren't loyal to him and were kept under control by use of violence. Mayu never loved him back. She was sad and depressed on their wedding day. And there was one thing Junto had left behind that posed a constant reminder of it."
Grandfather Sano paused for a long moment. His eyes locked with Akiko's. Whatever would follow next, it was of grave importance. And it would change everything.
"Mayu was already with child."
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──── ˚✩ ༘*ೄ˚ ────
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THERE WAS NO WAY AROUND IT. Granfather Sano had opened Akiko's eyes to the truth. And now that she knew it, she could no longer avoid a conversation with her mother. Her will and desire to protect her had only grown stronger — so had her anger.
'All this time you treated me like garbage because I was someone else's daughter. You hate the memories that resurface every time you look at me. You hate everything that I am because I am the child of Mayu and Junto, a product of the very love you failed to destroy.'
The night had been restless for her. Her futon on the floor of Emma's bedroom was left a mess from the constant tossing and turning. The blonde was sleeping soundly in her bed, dreaming of princes and princesses and glorious adventures.
When the first light of day illuminated the sky, Akiko reluctantly got up and took a quick shower, wishing her worries and problems could be washed down the drain as easily as the shampoo washed out of her hair. Every second, her mind was racing at top speed and her chest tightened.
Downstairs, Mikey was already up and sitting at the table while Shinichiro stood at the stove cooking breakfast. Usually, Mikey was the last one to wake up and when he emerged from his room his hair was a total mess. Now, he was already dressed and the top section of his hair was tied into a small ponytail at the back of his head, as usual.
"Are you going somewhere?" Akiko wondered aloud as she slid into the seat next to the blonde.
"We are going somewhere," he corrected her.
She gawked at him. "Eh?"
Shinichiro chuckled at her puzzled face. "Mikey made it today's mission to cheer you up. I don't like the thought of him skipping classes, but I'll tolerate it this once."
"Are you sure?" Akiko eyed the boy doubtfully.
Mikey nodded and gave a closed-eyed smile. "That's what family is for!"
At his words, the pain in Akiko's chest lessened slightly and her mouth formed a shy smile. Seeing as the two cousins had barely spent any time together, Akiko found it rather sweet that Mikey was dedicating a whole day to her. Yet, in the back of her head, there was always this annoying little voice that burst the bubble.
"Oh, and we're meeting up with some friends later," Mikey threw in, munching happily on his breakfast.
"Who?"
"Just some members from Toman. Ken-chin, Mitsuya, Baji, Chifuyu ..."
Akiko blushed at the mention of Chifuyu. While Mikey took no notice of it, Shinichiro nudged her and smiled knowingly. When he began to wiggle his eyebrows at her, Akiko hit him on the arm while demanding he stop with it.
Once their stomachs were filled with delicious food and orange juice, Mikey pulled Akiko out of the house and together they mounted his motorcycle — a CB250T, as Akiko had learned from Shinichiro, a model that Mikey had always dreamed about calling his own until his brother had gifted him one for his thirteenth birthday.
"What are we going to do?" asked Akiko, curiosity winning the upper hand.
Mikey glanced over his shoulder with a bright smile. "I'll take you to some of my favorite places in Tokyo! You probably didn't leave the house much, did you?"
A nod from Akiko was all the confirmation needed for Mikey to start the engine, revving it a couple times, then they rolled out onto the street and rode toward the rising sun claiming its throne up above.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
• • •
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This quick trip around Tokyo with her cousin had opened Akiko's eyes to something else. Ever since she was a little kid, the girl had spent very little of her time outside. Either, she would have lessons at home, or read books on various topics Mr. Hoshino wanted her to be well informed about very early on, but never had she really engaged in children's play, carelessly enjoying herself in a silly game, occasionally falling and hurting herself.
Now more than ever, Akiko realized that Hoshino Ken had kept her on a tight leash all this time, because he knew where she really came from, and every other person who possessed that knowledge had been forced to keep silent on the matter.
Though doing this for the mere purpose of punishing Akiko for something that was far out of her control seemed a bit extreme, even for him. Akiko couldn't shake the nagging feeling that there was still more to the story.
Mr. Hoshino could have banned her from his life, given her up for adoption or disposed of her in another way, yet he hadn't. Akiko still had to fulfill a purpose. And she needed to know what that was.
Suddenly, a fish-shaped treat hovered in front of Akiko. She flinched back in surprise, staring at the tayaki. The pale hand holding it tilted the treat from side to side, then made it imitate the movements of riding a wave.
"Blob. Blob. Blob."
Akiko giggled at Mikey's childish antics, allowing herself to focus on the present again.
"I'm tayaki-kun, and tayaki-kun doesn't like it when a pretty girl is sad!"
"Do you always play with your food?"
"Sometimes." Mikey gave a shrug, then bit into the tayaki.
After taking one for herself, Akiko shifted her gaze toward the river bank in front of them. They had taken a break from riding around the city for several hours and halted on the side of the road, taking a seat at the riverside. Undoubtedly, the water had a calming effect. As she watched it move gently, Akiko imagined what it would be like to live underwater where all sounds from the world were drowned out — something she used to enjoy about taking baths.
"If you could know every secret in the world, would you want that?" asked Akiko out of the blue.
Black orbs examined her side profile, moving toward her amber eyes as she turned her head to the side. Mikey leaned his head back, staring at the sky as a herd of clouds moved above.
"Would it make me happy?"
Akiko pondered over the question. "Not necessarily."
"Then why would I want to know if it wouldn't change anything?"
The answer surprised Akiko. "But ... what if it changes everything?"
"It wouldn't change who you are."
The serious tone in his voice was unexpected.
"Our parents don't get to say who we are. I would know, I grew up without them around," Mikey added, and he shrugged again before grabbing another tayaki.
"But you always had your grandfather and Shinichiro to look up to," Akiko pointed out. "I've only ever had myself ... and Hina."
"What's so bad about that? If you can rely on yourself, you never have to depend on other people."
That sent Akiko into a thoughtful state.
While it certainly had been difficult to grow up this way, Akiko couldn't deny that Mikey's words held an ounce of truth.
There was nothing wrong with being strong on your own. And there was absolutely nothing wrong in asking for help, either. No one should have to be strong on their own all the time. It would become lonely.