*Yuko*
Yuko and Nori went around the various tombstones and helped clean them up. Some of them were grimy and starting to become covered by moss. Was it that they had been forgotten by their family? Or maybe they had lost all of their family...
"There, all clean!" Nori said as he finished off polishing a black slab.
Yuko stared at herself in the slab. Yuko hadn't realize until now how much she had grown. Her face was still round but she no longer looked like a kid. It was almost as if she were looking at an older sister or something.
Yuko sighed. She hadn't told anyone else, not even Master, but Yuko did have an older sister. One who had managed to get away, but she had never returned. Yuko always wondered what had become of her. Had she been captured and taken far away? Or was she killed?
"Yuko looks sad," Nori said, frowning. "What's on Yuko's mind?"
"Yuko was thinking about her sister."
Nori gasped. "That's right. Nori and Yuko were going to look for her as soon as they had freedom."
She nodded. "Yeah." She raised her head. "Hey, did Nori find his family?"
Nori shook his head. "No. Nori was worried about Yuko, Mister Serra, and Mister Tetsu. He and the others rushed back to Zionia."
Yuko gave Nori a glum look. "Sorry, Yuko ruined Nori's chances of finding his family."
He rose up from the ground and grinned. "No worries. He will find them eventually."
Yuko pushed herself up and smiled. "Yeah, and Yuko will find out what happened to her sister," she said, nodding her head.
"Yup!" He turned around and surveyed the graveyard. Yuko and he were the only ones around. "Let's go back. The others should be waiting back in the mansion."
"Okay!" Yuko said, upbeat.
She and Nori exited the graveyard which was surrounded by black-bar fencing. Yuko glanced down the hill it was built on and spotted her Master and Rosa under the shade of some trees. The two were laughing.
"Yuko, you look mad," Nori said, furrowing his brow. He scratched his head. "Are you jealous?"
Yuko lowered her head and watched as her Master drew closer to the princess. The princess blushed but moved away.
"Sorry," Yuko overheard Master saying as he stepped away. "I shouldn't have tried that."
The princess covered her face with both hands. "It's not your fault. I... seems it'll take longer to get over this than I thought."
"I'll wait! No matter how long it takes," he said with hopeful eyes.
"Thank you," she whispered as she walked away. "I-I'm going to go check up on how Lady Rene is doing."
"Alright." He watched her walk away. Yuko could tell that his heart was aching. It would take awhile before things could go back to normal for them, if ever.
Yuko ran down hill. "Master! Did Master wait for Yuko?" Yuko asked, wiggling her ears.
"Oh, hey Yuko. I was. Though, I did take this time to do some catching up on some reading." He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed. "Though, it was actually my story. I was sharing some of it with Rosa."
Yuko's ears slumped. Yuko still didn't know how to read more than a few sentences. Hopefully she could read his book one day...
Master smiled and patted her head. "That reminds me, I still need to teach you how to read and write, don't I?"
Yuko looked up at her Master and beamed. He remembered! But did he remember the promise he made to her?
*Tetsuya*
"Master," Yuko said as we entered Hideo's mansion. We were to stay today and depart for the capital early tomorrow.
"What's wrong?" I asked, tilting my head.
Yuko fidgeted. "Master might not remember, but he promised Yuko to bake cookies with her again. Back in the palace."
"Awww. She's so cute!" Kiara said, running over to hug her.
Lady Rene looked up at Yuko and smiled a bit. "Indeed."
"You should keep your promise, remember that a great knight always keeps his word!" Rosa said, making her way over to me.
I chuckled. "Don't worry, I will!" I glanced down at Yuko and patted her head. "Let's go make those cookies now."
Yuko beamed. "Really, Master? Yay!"
"I look forward to the cookies," Serrano said, rubbing his head. He wasn't smiling like he usually did whenever the topic of my cookies came up.
"Are you alright?" Setsuko asked him, rubbing his shoulder.
"I think Serra simply needs some rest," Ximena said. "Right?"
Serrano nodded. There was a blankness to his eyes. As if his mind were on something else.
Ximena turned away. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
Was he still blaming himself for what happened to Dan? Or was it because Hideo's mom compared him to Azami, his father? He had abandoned my Aunt Selena, leaving her to raise Serra and Conrad by herself, so it didn't surprise me that he held remorse toward him. After all, I felt the same way toward my own father.
"I'll go and make those cookies right away. Maybe they'll cheer you up like they usually do," I said.
Serra turned around. His eyes were watery. "Thanks, Tetsu." He turned away quickly and went upstairs.
"That guy is Serrano? The strongest of the recent generation of Seven Hills? He doesn't look like much," Silas said from the white sofa he was sitting on.
I covered my mouth. "Don't let looks deceive you, kid. My cousin is stronger than he looks."
Setsuko put a hand on her hips and smiled. "That he is. Though, he is weak in some areas."
"Yes, Serrano's heart is like a house of cards," Ximena said, her hands interlocked as if in prayer. "May the Sky Father grace him with the fortitude he needs to get past this storm."
I clenched my hands into fists. I wanted to help Serra, but how could I? He wasn't one who would usually open up about his feelings. Even to me.
"I'll go talk to him," Setsuko said as she began to ascend the red carpeted stairs.
"Thanks," Ximena said with her head down.
Setsuko's gaze stayed on her for awhile. "You truly do love him, don't you?" she asked.
Ximena looked up. "I... I do. But I know that he's yours."
The crown princess shook her head. "No. He is free to break the engagement if he so wishes. Likewise for me."
My childhood friend gasped. "Do you not like him then?"
Setsuko sucked her lips in. "I'm... not sure what I feel."
Rosa sighed and ran toward her sister. "Come on!" she said, grabbing Setsuko's right arm.
"Hey!" the elder princess snapped.
I chuckled. "I thought that you knew how pushy your little sister was by now," I said, grinning.
Rosa puffed her cheeks and glared at me the way she used to do before the ball. "I'm not pushy..." she mumbled.
"I have to agree with him," Silas said, chuckling.
Hideo, who was busy cleaning Donato after hours of practice, let a chuckle escape his lips, causing Rosa to turn her glare toward him.
"Hey, I didn't say anything," the sweaty gun-knight said, averting his eyes.
"Hmph," she said before leaving with Setsuko.
"She's back to her old self," I said, grinning.
Ximena chuckled. "I think that I should go with them," she said. "Nori, help Yuko and Tetsu with the cookies."
"Okay!" Nori said, smiling. "Hopefully, you can cheer up Mister Serrano!"
Hyosetsu scoffed. "So, peasant, do you truly think that Rosa is reverting back to her old self?" he asked as he turned the pages of the book in his hands. He closed the book and looked up at me. "If so then you don't know her well."
"And you do?" I asked, glaring at him.
He grinned smugly. "More than you. She's hiding her pain behind that smile. She still doesn't trust you completely."
I felt my heart sink to my stomach. I thought about how Rosa had reacted when I tried to kiss her awhile ago. Was it in part because she still didn't trust me?
"And I'm certain that your cousin and the others don't either," Hyosetsu continued.
"I still don't trust you either," Hideo said as he put Donato on his lap. "You wished to win me over, didn't you? When you said that you would save Dan? Well, that won't work on me. You don't care about him. You simply wish to look good in our eyes. More so, in those of Serrano and the princess."
Eiichi who was seated next to Hideo nodded. "If you expect we'll fall for your charm offensive then you're mistaken."
"I never did expect to win Hideo over. Especially not Hyosetsu and you. Both of you seem the most interested in demonizing me," I said trying to keep my poker face from collapsing in front of them.
"Master, you're shaking," Yuko whispered as I continued to hold her hand. She turned to look at the three male knights and shook her head at them. "How can you jerks continue to treat him like this? Master saved you! He died to save you! He drew that ruler guy's attacks toward him! Master should've allowed all of you to have died! You bunch of ingrates!"
The three stared at Yuko in bewilderment. As did I. I hadn't seen her this angry except for when she thought I had died.
Yuko turned away and pulled me away from there. "Let's go, Master. These jerks don't deserve your time!"
I smiled and followed her, leaving the shocked Nori behind.
***
Despite having only been here once, she seemed to have a good memory as she found the kitchen right away. The Makkuroyama's kitchen looked like something out of one of the cooking shows that Teresa loved to watch. Except those kitchens were part of four and five star restaurants, not a household.
"Thanks, Yuko," I said as soon as the door closed behind us.
Yuko lowered her head. "Yuko won't allow anyone to bad mouth her Master. Master and Nori are all that Yuko has in this world."
"And your uncle and cousin?" I asked, tilting my head.
She looked up and snickered. "They aren't technically in this world. But Yuko would protect them too, even if it costed her her life."
I let go of her hand and walked over to the green marble counter-top. "Why do you care so much about me?" I asked, keeping my head low. "You even sided with me against your uncle back in Xeleria. Not to mention that you followed me. Why is that?"
Yuko fidgited. "Uh..." She lowered her head. "Well..." Her face was red. "Master gave Yuko bread."
I snickered. "Is that it? Well, good thing it was me and not someone like Eiichi."
"There's more!" Yuko blurted out. She put her hands together and began to squirm. "Master... Uh, close your eyes."
"Why?" I asked.
"Just... do it, please," she said, her voice becoming tinier.
"Okay," I said, closing them.
My eyes twitched as I felt something soft press against my lips. I opened them and saw Yuko back away slow. Her face was as red as strawberries. Y-Yuko... had kissed me!
Suddenly the door to the kitchen closed. Was someone there? Was it Nori?
"S-sorry!" Yuko cried out. She banged her head on the counter-top. "Y-Yuko shouldn't have done that."
"Yuko," I managed to get out. "A-are you... in love with me?"
Yuko looked up and nodded. "Y-yeah, Yuko thinks so. S-since she met Master in that park. Yuko forgot about those feelings, though. Well, more like they were suppressed. Yuko saw Master trying to kiss the second princess. Yuko felt angry seeing that... Yuko doesn't want her Master to be taken by someone who doubted him!" she yelled. "By someone who hurt him!"
I tried to say something, but I wasn't sure what to say.
Yuko began to tear up. "Yuko knows that she has no chance with Master. She never did. Maybe if Yuko were with Master more, if she hadn't been emotionless, then he would've fallen for her."
I stepped forward and wiped her tears away. "Yuko, thanks."
Her large eyes grew. "Huh?"
"For believing in me when few others would. If it hadn't been for you then I might not have been able to return to being myself. I might've grown bitter, hating this world. But meeting you, it was a light in the darkness. It was for that reason that I couldn't lose you."
Yuko giggled. "Same with Master! Yuko couldn't live without him!" she hugged me tightly. "Yuko truly loves him. E-even if he doesn't reciprocate, Yuko will stay by her Master's side all her life."
My face reddened. "D-don't say that. And who knows." I cleared my throat as my face felt hot. "Maybe you do have a chance..."
She looked up at me, her tail emerged from beneath her shirt and began to wiggle around like a dog's. "R-really?"
"Uh..." I pushed her away. "How about we go make those cookies?"
Yuko giggled as she retracted her tail back. "Master sure is shy, but okay! Yuko won't press Master on it."
I averted looking at her but could hear her running around the kitchen, gathering the necessary items. On the other hand, I stood in one spot, trying to calm myself down. My heart was beating faster than I would've expected. Maybe Hanketsu was right about Yuko and me after all...
But my feelings toward Rosa still lingered...
Seems that I can't make fun of Serra for having a divided heart anymore... Wonder if my dad felt the same way too. Toward Rosa's mom and my mom. Ugh, why do I have to follow in their footsteps?
"You left Nori behind," Nori said as he entered. He snickered. Had he seen us just now?
"Hey, Nori. Were you the one who opened the door awhile ago?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
Nori shook his head. "No, it wasn't Nori."
I rubbed my chin. Who could it have been then? I was sure that it was Nori... It wasn't Rosa, was it? N-no. She had to be upstairs with the others... But if it was Rosa then I'm in trouble...
**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter :3. Things have started to heat up on the romantic front, eh? xD Thoughts? Predictions?**