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« This can't be happening, this can't be happening... »
Kanon was anxiously walking back and forth in the servant room, muttering to himself. A slightly amused expression rose on his sister's face, as she watched him go. Shannon was only a foster sister to Kanon, but she knew him just as much as if they had been raised together as biological siblings.
« It can't be that bad, right? Why don't you sit down for a minute, so you can tell me all about it one more time?
– It IS that bad! Do you even understand how awfully quick this could escalate, for the both of us?! I can't believe i was foolish enough to let my guard down even for a second... »
The young servant finally sat on the sofa, right next to his sister.
« What if Lion-sama decides to talk about what happened? I don't even want to think about it... »
The Ushiromiya heir crossed Kanon's path, earlier in the morning. Looking for their sister Jessica, they thought the most obvious place to search was the rose garden, where Kanon spent most of his day – he is the family gardener after all – and Jessica was head over heels for the boy, Lion knew as much. Unfortunately for the servant, Lion walked in on him taking a break in the garden shed. Oh, he was not slacking off, that would be poorly knowing Kanon. This was even worse : he was sitting here, shirtless, undoing his improvised binder, a sort of sarashi wrapped around his chest and covering his breasts, that was preventing him from breathing more than usual.
« I am done for, Shannon. WE are done for. If anyone else were to learn about my true identity, then you and I are–
– Easy now. I promise you nothing bad will happen to us. You can trust me. Now please try and pull yourself together, we have to make our daily report before the end of today's shift. »
Shannon smiled and gently brushed her hand on Kanon's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. This hardly made him feel better, but Shannon was right, he needed to at least keep his composure in front of the Ushiromiya family.
At the end of the day, Kanon and his sister headed to the guesthouse, located on the same island that hosted the Ushiromiya mansion. Having to spend the next night and day on the same island as Lion had him feel extremely uneasy – at this instant, he wished he could just swim back to Nijima, lock himself in his bedroom at the Fukuin House, and never show up again. This anxious feeling welling up in his stomach got even worse, when he saw Lion exit the guest house. Their eyes locked for a second, and the curious glint in his master's gaze had Kanon feel dizzy.
When they were out of sight, Kanon rushed to his assigned room at the guesthouse, wanting to disappear until the end of times. He fell on his bed, rolled around, before hitting something unusual. When he turned his head, the servant's stare stopped on an envelop laying on top of a small pile of clothes. He feared for a moment that the clothes were his to pack, that this was a resignation form he was asked to fill in. As he shakingly opened the letter, it took him a moment to understand what he was reading.
« From a fellow transgender person to another. I hope these will fit you well.
Sincerely,
~Lion »
Kanon's hand reached out to the neatly folded clothes sitting next to him. What was laying there was a pile of binders, second-handed it seemed. The servant let out a heavy sight, when Shannon entered the room.
« See? I told you there was no reason to worry.
– So you knew! »
Shannon chuckled. The young girl happened to have met Lion earlier in the day. The puzzled expression on their face intrigued Shannon, and the family heir noticed the curiosity in her eyes. And who else but Shannon could hear about their concern for the young gardener? Lion naturally opened up to her, as if she was an old friend of theirs. She quietly listened, politely answered whenever her turn to speak came. This was merely the discussion of a servant with their master, the etiquettes weren't Lion's priorities at that moment. The servants weren't usually very close to the family, but this short dialogue was enough for Shannon to see genuine concern and kindness in the Ushiromiya heir. So, she knew Lion would never betray such a secret, when they themself used to be struggling with the same worries Kanon was experiencing.
« Why didn't you tell me about this? I was worried sick!
– Well... this is not my place to talk to you about Lion-sama's gender, you know better than anyone else how this is quite the personal topic.
– Well... you're not wrong, but still...
– Don't dwell on it too much. You have nothing to fear anymore. And i'm quite sure Lion-sama would be more than happy to share their experience with you, if you were to try and open up. I might be your sister, no matter how close we might be, there still exists things I cannot help you with, you know ? »
Kanon groaned. Foolish sister and her foolish lecturing, foolishly seeing good in everyone and everything. He didn't notice it, but this unexpected turnaround and the reassuring – yet foolish, he silently thought – words of Shannon managed to crack a smile on his face. The gardener let himself fall back on the bed, this overwhelming anxiety, crushing his lungs just like his improvised sarashi, now fully gone.