-"The ball of the fox slowly rolls away into the night"
*Eien*
From the garden, I stared at the burning sky. I held out my hands toward the dying sunlight.
"I hope that these next three years will bring us fortune. Alas, I fear it may be the opposite," I said before lowering my head.
"Eien." I turned my head and saw Zelde make her way past the nearby plum trees. Her face was covered in flour.
I chuckled and touched my own face. "You got a little something."
She sighed, and wiped the flour away. "I know."
I grinned. "One should always maintain a proper appearance. As a noble, you should be aware of that."
She snickered slightly as she removed her apron. "No one here, besides you and my friends, know that I'm the heir of a Wahkanian tribe." She waved her hand at me. "Now come."
I tilted my head. "Why?" A mischievous grin dotted my face. "Ahhh, do you want to beat me up for what happened earlier? Well, I'm afraid to inform you that I'm too smart to fall for that old yakuza-style trick."
She furrowed her brow and shook her head. "Why do you act like that?"
My grin vanished. I put my hands into the pockets of my white fur coat. Side-eyeing the lake, I said, "I don't have to answer that." I grumbled as I walked on ahead. "Listen, I'm sorry for what happened."
A smug cheek to cheek smile formed across Zelde's face. She snorted audibly.
I glared at her.
'Good thing there's no one else here.'
"What's so funny?" I snapped.
Zelde calmed herself down. "Ahh, sorry." She wiped a tear from her right eye. "It's just, what's with the sudden apology? Did you hate sitting by yourself?"
I removed my hands from my white coat. "As if!" I raised a hand toward the dying sunlight. "I'm not lonely... I have the right number of friends." I chuckled. "A large group of friends only leaves one open to being betrayed."
Zelde walked over toward the pond and peered at her own reflection. "I've seen it happen many times."
I lowered my hand and put it over my chest.
***
[Years Ago-- Nine Petal Academy Grounds]
"That kid is so annoying. If he weren't the prince, as well as my cousin, I wouldn't be hanging out with him," a boy with weasel eyes said.
"Your cousin is always ruining our games," complained another boy who was leaning on a wall nearby. He had a frown on his face.
"Not to mention he's rather creepy-looking with those eyes of his," a slim girl with butterfly fish clips commented.
I dropped my red ball, causing the rest of the kids to notice me. I sniffled and turned around. I ran off, tears in my eyes.
I continued to run and run until I bumped into something, causing me to fall to the ground. "Ouch," I said, rubbing my forehead. I raised my icy blue eyes and saw that it wasn't a thing, but rather a person.
"Eien?" a girl with snake-like eyes said. She had long green hair, and wore a simple black dress. "Why the rush? Something happen?"
I stepped back. "Mayu," I said over tears and snot.
Mayu hugged me tightly. "Eien, what happened? Did you fall down?"
The words of the other kids echoed in my head.
I pushed Mayu away. "Leave me alone! You're just being nice to me because you have a crush on big brother!"
She shook her head and smiled warmly. "I play with you because you're like the little brother I never had."
"Lies!" I covered my face and ran off toward the nearby high school which laid in the center of the isle we were on. Though, blocking my way was a tall, dark-skinned young man with brown and white hair containing red at the tips.
"Huh, who are you?" I asked. The guy seemed familiar, as if I had seen him before.
The man snickered. "Forgot about me already? I'm Tetsuya." He raised a large shield with a green sphere in the center. The shield itself reminded me of a sunset with its bright orange, red, and purple hues.
"So, where are you heading off too, kiddo?" he asked, flashing me a grin.
I looked away. "It is of no importance to you. You are only a knight."
"Hmm, is that anyway to speak to your elders?" Koukyuu asked. She was accompanied by a crowd of people.
Are they her friends?
The man stepped aside. "It's fine. To be honest, he kinda reminds me of myself, when I was little."
I lowered my head. "S...sorry," I said, coming to a stop.
He walked over to me and ruffled my orange-reddish hair. "Whatever is bothering you, keep your chin up. Don't give your enemies the pleasure of seeing you suffer."
I raised my head. "T-thanks, mister!" I said.
He chuckled. "No need to thank me."
***
I shook my head.
'Why did I recall such an embarrassing memory?'
I snuck a glance at Zelde. "Say, why did you call out my name?"
"I wanted to know if you wanted to come join us for Iah and Arima's party."
This time, it was my turn to laugh. "What? After everything I did?"
Zelde glanced down. "I don't like seeing others being left out is all." She walked on ahead. "You should know the location."
I followed after her. "I- I guess I can go."
Zelde came to a stop and glanced at the cherry blossom tree behind me. "You may join us too, Ayawamat."
Stepping out from the tree's shade was Ayawamat.
"Tsk. Like I'll like to join you," the bug user said as moths flew around him. "Go and have fun at your little 'celebration' and what not for whoever won."
Zelde sighed. "Fine. Though you really should have watched the final matches. You would've been surprised by how strong the others are. Especially Lei."
Ayawamat's blue eyes widened. He averted his gaze and walked away.
"Oi, you better be ready to leave in a few hours!" I shouted at him.
"Yeah, yeah. I've been ready for a while!" he said, waving a hand at us.
I narrowed my eyes at him. I felt the urge to launch a fireball or two at him for daring to speak to me in such a dismissive manner.
"Hey!" Lei screamed as he ran outside. "The food is ready!"
"We're coming!" Zelde yelled back. "Let's go, you two."
Ayawamat came to a stop and sighed. "I already..." His stomach grumbled, causing his face to turn pink. "Uh, maybe I'll join you for a bit..."
Lei, Zelde, and I snickered.
"Don't laugh," Ayawamat said, his face now bright red. The three of us joined Lei and walked back into the palace together.
***
[Hours Later- Kitsune Palace Dining Hall]
"That was delicious," Iah said, cleaning his mouth with a napkin. "Thanks for the party."
"You're welcome," Alto said. "This also doubles as a farewell party for Aban and the others."
Aban smiled. "Thanks, Alto."
"It's time for everyone to go," Koukyuu said, entering the vast red dining room which managed to accommodate the hundreds of students. "Those of you who are returning to your countries, accompany me." Her golden eyes shifted toward us. "You twenty, go with my nephews and their friends and board the train."
"Alright," Lei said, jumping up and down.
Alban's smile faded. "I guess that this is goodbye," he said, turning toward Alto, Arima, and Ulissis.
Ulissis held out a hand toward him. "Thanks for watching over me during all of the chaos with Zelde."
"No need to thank me. I'm glad to have helped out an old friend."
Uli smiled sadly.
"Bye," Arima said as tears streamed down her face.
Alban walked over to her and leaned in closely, pressing his lips against hers. The eyes of his three friends widened. "There, something to remind me by." He eyed his male friends. "Don't think that you will capture her heart so easily just because I'm not around."
"Ca...capture her heart?" Ulissis said, his face turning deep red.
"I don't like her like that," Alto said, grumbling as he turned away.
Arima head-butted Alban. "You jerk!"
Alban chuckled. "Sorry. Well, I better head out. Good luck at Nine Petal Academy!" He followed my aunt to the warp crystal room.
"Bye," Arima said, waving.
Alto ruffled her long hair. "Come on, let's head out. It isn't like this is the last that we'll see of him."
She smiled bitter-sweetly. "Yeah, we'll see him when we return back home. Hopefully he'll stay out of trouble until then."
"Well, we better get going," my brother said, clapping his hands. "Tomorrow is the big day. If we don't leave now, we might not make it before nightfall, even if we are taking the hyper bullet train."
*Vermeil*
[Imperial Station]
"Woah," An said. A thirty-foot long, eight-foot tall, and ten-foot wide beast stood in front of him. He took out his sword. "There's another one of these creatures? It's bigger than the first one I saw!"
I turned away and covered my mouth to prevent myself from laughing. Though, an undignified snort or two did escape...
Sarah pushed him in and said, "It's a train, and so were the others!" The door opened.
An shook his head. "Wait, it's going to eat us! Xue, Vermeil, do something!"
I chuckled. "It's fine, honest. This is called a bullet train. It travels at super high speeds just like the one that we took to the capital. This particular train is a special kind. In the past, all of the tournament battles were held on this vehicle."
"However, some couldn't handle the speed of it," my brother said, crossing his arms.
Vita smiled. "Yeah." She laughed out loud. "Remember when that guy from my semi-final vomited?"
Lei touched his stomach. "I can imagine."
Haroun rolled his eyes at Vita. "You shouldn't make fun of others. I recall that you also felt sick after our final."
She pouted as she entered. "You're no fun, you know that? That's why you don't have a girlfriend."
His face became rosy. "S...shut up!" He looked away. "Don't use my love life against me."
"Brother is rather popular with the girls back home," I whispered to my classmates. "He just loves to play the hard to get, cold, and mysterious guy."
He glared at me. "You shut up, too! You're awfully loud for someone who is trying to speak behind someone's back."
"Vita, Haroun, act a little more grown-up in front of our first years," Lucette said as they all took one of the red leather seats. "You're both exchange students like them, so you should be role models."
"I can get behind the whole 'act cool and mysterious' thing," Hal said, trying to hold back laughter.
"Like you could pull it off," Haroun said, looking out of the window as the train moved.
Hal winced. "Ouch, cold!"
Brother smiled. He gazed over at Lucette. She was laughing along with Boukyaku.
'A love that is fleeting will never ripen.'
"Brother, you shouldn't simply stare," I said, nudging him.
Haroun messed up my straight blond hair. "I'm your older brother. I'm the one who tells you what to do, not the other way around."
"Hahaha, very funny," I said, slapping his hand away. "I'm being serious, though, Haro." I lowered my voice. "I know that he's your best friend, but that shouldn't stop you from telling the girl you like how you feel."
He scoffed. "You're one to talk about love, Sis. Look, the boy you came all the way here to see again after so many years is talking to that Xue girl."
My eyes shifted toward An and Xue who sat diagonal to us. "Hmph. I won't lose to her if that's what you're suggesting."
Haroun snickered. "Doesn't feel so good for the shoe to be on the other side, eh?"
"Shut up!" I said, glaring at him. I turned away from him and hugged myself "I'm going to take a quick nap. Wake me up once we get there."
He sighed. "Alright."
I pressed my head against the window and sighed. 'I definitely won't lose An to Xue, Sarah, or any other girl! However, Haro has a point. Maybe I should make a move. But aren't my feelings obvious enough?'
**Solar Note: Next chapter is the start of the fourth and final major arc of this story :D! I hope that you look forward to it :3**