Chapter Text
“Tsubomi-sama, we’ve arrived.” A big man with black suit opened the passenger seat’s door. From inside, a young man came out of it. Jet-black hair, sculpt-like face feature, and a polite smile smeared on his face. The man tidied up his tie and pressed the bell of this astonishingly big building. A robotic voice then came out from the speaker, drowned by the rain.
“Father, Mother. Aki’s here.”
The voice stopped and the sound of footsteps could be heard behind the door. A few moments later, the door opened and a servant greeted him from inside, excusing himself so the young master in front of him could get inside. The situation inside was lively, with lots of them preparing for the “family dinner” tomorrow. One of the female servants approached the young master, requesting him to take off his jacket. He complied as he said his thanks.
“Eriko-san, do you know where my parents are?” he asked while they were walking down the hall. “I was asked to attend tomorrow’s dinner, but I didn’t see them anywhere.”
The servant replied, “Ah, most probably they’re still in their study, Tsubomi-sama. We had notified the master regarding Tsubomi-sama’s arrival. They wished to discuss it at the dining table tomorrow, so there’s no need to worry. We will inform you directly when the time comes.”
The young master nodded, he shifted his attention to his surroundings. The interior didn’t change much despite his absence for approximately a year and half. It was still his old house, with lots of his childhood memories stored here. A few trophies were being displayed on the walls. The most recent of it all was just 2 years ago, “Tsubomi Akihara” carved on it. The young master of the famous yokai-overseer family.
“Here’s your room for today, Tsubomi-sama. You could put down your belongings here and we will knock on your door when breakfast’s served tomorrow,” Eriko —the servant, said as she showed the door at the end of the hall.
Aki opened the door and stepped his foot inside. After glancing at the room briefly and putting down his belongings, he turned his back and faced Eriko. “Thank you for showing it, Eriko-san,” he said with a polite smile on his face as he closed the door.
As soon as he was alone in the room, he began to speak what he thought. “What a tiring trip. Urghh, I want to take a bath.” He stripped down his clothes and went straight to the bathroom. After washing his body and relaxed his muscles, fatigue came rushing like a tide. Ignoring his family dinner tomorrow, he welcomed the dream land as soon as his head touched the pillow.
***
“Yuu-kun! What are you doing?”
A soft female voice entered his ears, making him open his eyes. It was a pretty small house, and a modest one at that. The wall didn't look like it was new, and the floor looked kind of old.
‘This… is not my house. This might be a dream then..’
The stark contrast this house and his gave was so big, it made him realize straight away that it was a dream. Despite the house's condition, the woman who scolded someone named “Yuu-kun” looked like someone who's happy and content.
Small footsteps came from behind the wall, the culprit hiding behind one of the pillars. A small tuft of hair poking up, too shy to show his full appearance.
“Yuu-kun, why are you hiding away?” she said softly, her hand encouraged the smaller one to get out from his hiding.
A sob was the thing that answered her. “I-I don’t want to.. *hic*”
The woman smiled gently and patted her lap. She pulled him over and coaxed the crying child. “It's okay Yuu-kun, just tell your mom.”
The meek black-haired boy got out from his hiding, one of his hands holding the left side of his forehead. A few hiccups escaped his mouth, trails of blood could be seen on his hand.
The mother was shocked to see the blood and panicked a little. Fortunately, the child was too focused on wiping his face, he didn't see her face.
“Ueee… mom!” the child broke down when he felt the warm blood again. He ran to her mother’s lap and hugged her knees.
The gentle woman smiled and patted his back, she hurriedly changed her expression and coaxed him. “There, there, yuu-kun. Where did you feel hurt?”
The child still refused to see her face. He replied with a hiccup. “O-on my left forehead… *hic* There’s blood there m-*hic* mom… I’m scared.”
Her mom let go of her child's grip on her knees, she lifted up his chin and looked at her son's face. “It’s okay Yuu-kun, you’re strong, right? There there, Yuu-kun, it’s gonna be alright.
“Here, let Mom take care of your wound.” The mother picked her son up to her lap, she brought out her medical kit from her small bag.
With an embarrassed face he said honestly, “U-uuuh… *hic* I’m sorry..”
She patted her son's head and disinfected his wound using the water inside her bottle. “Why are you sorry? You only wanted to know about this flower, right Yuu-kun?”
“...A-actually *hic* i wanted to help mom with *hic* the pot.” The son finally explained his behavior, hiccup still slipping from his mouth. He pointed at the remnants of the pot and the scattered flowers adjacent to it.
His mother smiled at him. “Oh~? What a good boy, Mom is lucky to have you.” She said as she bandaged the wound. It was deeper than she thought. They might have to go to the clinic after this.
The son hadn't realized the gravity of his wound, he just continued the thing he said. “Is it *hic* true? Even though i failed t-*hic* to help you?”
His mother hugged her as she gave her the remaining flower from the pot. “Of course! After all, my treasure is you, Yuu-kun. Here, let me tell you a little about this flower then, you were curious about this too, right?”
A warm feeling entered Aki's body. An unfamiliar sensation he felt in his 19 years of life. A warm family and a warm mother… just like he wished. People genuinely cared for the little kid there, not like him.
His vision becomes hazy as his whole environment blacked out.
Aki opened his eyes, he could feel the moisture around his eyes when he woke up. The water rolled down his cheek, shock overcame his mind. To think that a dream made him cry was something he wished no one would know. The shock slowly turned into embarrassment, but also a small part of his mind felt something else. Jealousy, or perhaps envy.
He stood up from his bed, walking straight to the sink. His face looked messy. He ran the tap and washed his face. The dream slowly became clearer as he did it. Something about that dream reminded him of his childhood. Though contrary to the “Yuu-kun” inside his dream, it was not all sunshine and rainbows back then.
“Aki, you were okay, right?”
“....”
“Aki, answer your mother.”
“Mistress, I think the yokai hurt his kn–”
“Let my son answer it himself.”
“I-i'm okay, mother.”
“Good. Continue his training. Let him go to his room when he finished his goal, before he reached it, lock him up outside.”
“Y-yes, Mistress.”
His memories flashed again, now it was back when he was in his junior high school class.
“Tsubomi-sama, did you finish the family's request?”
“...Mmn, I finished it. Though I sustained a little bit injury on my right arm, b–”
“What?? You were hurt?”
“Ah, it's okay. It wasn't a huge th—”
“How would we finish our school project then? Without your power it's impossible for us to pass.”
“....”
“Oh no, we're going to fail…”
“Can we request for a change in quest? Or maybe a change of player…”
“....It's not a big deal, I think it would heal 2 days from now if I used my family's restoration technique.”
“Oh my god! Don't scare us like that.”
“Yeah, please take care of yourself, lots of people rely on you.”
Knock, knock
“Tsubomi-sama, the breakfast is ready.”
Aki stopped reminiscing about his childhood. There’s no use thinking about that. What he resists, persists, afterall. He looked straight at the mirror and started smiling. The usual polite small he wore in front of everyone.
“This is your fate, Aki. Get it together.” He turned off the tap and walked to the door.
Aki opened the door and saw Eriko who had waited for him in front of his room. With the same polite smile, he said, “Thank you for waiting for me, Eriko-san. I was washing my face. What’s today’s breakfast?”
***
The clock was showing that it was already in the afternoon. Aki walked down the terrace, enjoying the serene view in his family’s backyard. The only thing he looked forward to in this big building was the backyard. It was full of flowers and plants. The family said it would be better for their work if they know a few things about flowers, since a lot of yokai are kind of drawn by flowers.
He walked around a few times, but one flower piqued his interest specifically that day. The white egret flower in the middle of the yard was a sight to behold. Its unique appearance was one thing, but the meaning of the flower intrigued him more.
"My thoughts will follow you into your dreams."
Aki remembered his dream this morning, and by extension, his childhood. It was such a big contrast compared to the child in his dream, he felt like laughing. People always said that a dream was a fruit of one’s desire. It might be so, then.
Having the freedom to choose his fate, he wondered what it’d feel like. ‘What are you going to do when you grow up?’ was one of the things he dreaded to get asked when he was a child. Though ironically, if someone really did ask him that question, he wouldn’t know himself. He never hated being in the Tsubomi family, nor hated the education he received. But he never really cared about all of that too, when he thought about it again. To live as his family’s expectation and to continue their reputation, that was what his whole life was about. He wondered just what would he become if—
“Tsubomi-sama, the dinner is almost ready to be served. Master requested me to inform you.”
Aki’s thoughts got interrupted by Eriko’s voice. It was almost time to think about the family’s work and stop thinking about the impossible afterall, he pondered.
He walked away from the yard, now preparing for the talk he would have at the dining table. A talk at the dining table is a whole mission board for him. Just thinking about it made him in a bad mood, but a perfect heir wouldn’t do that, right? He fixed his clothes and expression.
“Sure, Eriko-san. Thank you,” he said with a smile.
***
The dinner was silent. The only sound heard from the dining table was their cutlery against each other. No one was willing to make the first move, or at least, Aki didn’t want to.
“Aki, how’s your study in your college?” His mother opened the conversation after almost finishing her plate.
Aki looked up at his mother's face, he smiled politely and said, “It’s okay, I managed to do well on the exam, you don’t need to worry about it.”
His mother sighed, maybe because her son was still as polite as ever. Even though he hadn’t met them for a year and half, he’d only say something when he was being asked. But maybe that was for the best, it’d be faster this way.
“Good then. You know what we were going to say when we called you here, right?” She looked straight at her son.
Aki smiled, he then nodded while cutting the beef on his plate.
The head of the family suddenly opened his mouth, “The government detected an abnormal yokai activity in the outskirt city area. Considering it’s pretty close to your university, we’d like to give you this task as your final qualifier to become the heir.
“It’s a pretty important mission– no, it’s your most important mission by far. The yokai near its area all fled from the location. You knew what it meant, right?”
Aki’s face became more serious after hearing that. “It was a pretty strong yokai, then?”
“Yes,” his father added, “Furthermore because of the season right now, everyone is busy in their own location. You won’t get any partners until the season ends. But you may ask for assistance when you deemed it as urgent.
“Other than that, you don’t need to report anything. This would be your first independent case for the qualifying phase and we expect a lot from you.” He cut down the beef in front of him. The fork and plate grazed each other, making a screech sound in the room.
Aki listened to his mission intently. In the end, he didn’t get any chance to refuse any of it, right? Though it’s okay, this is his fate in the end. After clearing this mission, he would be the head of the group and live to their expectations. This is what he wanted, his life-long goal. Aki smiled, in the end everything always turned out exactly like he wanted.
“I’ll live up to your expectation, Father.”
His father smiled, he then continued his dinner, giving a chance to his wife to ask about his academic achievements in his university now. The dinner went normally after that.
“Right, Aki, I will send you the location point for the yokai abnormality. You can start investigating it next week, after the semester starts at your university,” The master added at last.
Aki nodded, he hurriedly excused himself to go back to his room after finishing his plate. He no longer had the mood to keep talking. He thought the trip yesterday was tiring, but this was far more exhausting than anything he felt in the past year. Probably talking with his mother—who kinda got an obsession over his scores, also took part in that.
Just as Aki was about to leave the room, his mother spoke up from behind. “But, Aki. Will you be okay?” She felt uneasy for some reason, her son looked like he was on the verge of breaking.
Aki’s face now couldn’t be seen by the two of them, so they couldn’t guess what expression he made. Unexpectedly, Aki spoke without turning his face with a voice devoid of emotion, “I’m the heir, Mother.”
He opened the door, and soon the thud followed, leaving the room silent with only the head and his wife inside of it.
***
“Hnnngah! No!”
Loud sounds could be heard from the corner of the male dormitory of the prestigious Kitsune university. The sound it made was a dead giveaway that anyone who made that sound was going through a bad dream, one that was probably caused by yokai given by the trace around his room. So there're a few people in front of the room, trying to wake the owner up.
Knock, knock
“Tsubomi-san? Tsubomi-san, are you okay?”
The groaning and sleeptalking didn't stop despite their attempt to wake the young master. They looked at each other, looking confused and at loss at what they should do right now.
In front of the room, one of them—who had Aki's phone number after once borrowed Aki's paint and brush—finally tried to call his number after realizing his phone had saved it.
The phone rang. They also could hear Aki's phone ringing from inside, since the walls were pretty thin in the dorm. It rang a few times. Just as they thought this attempt was futile, the owner of the room picked it up.
“Ah, hello?”
Weird. He sounded completely normal, not like someone who just woke up from a nightmare.
The boy who called Aki panicked, he stammered trying to answer him. “Ts-Ts-Tsubomi-san! Are you okay? We heard lots of strange sound coming from your room, did you have a nightma—”
“I’m okay, thank you for your concerns,” he said with a relaxed tone, everyone who heard that could almost imagine his smiling face from it. “Nothing’s happening here, sorry if I worried you all.”
“Ah, no it’s okay! But are you sure you don’t need any help? ”
“Yes, it has been the Tsubomi family’s duty to keep everything under control, it would make us useless if we were to receive help from other forces.” The voice from beyond the door spoke.
With a creak, the door in front of them opened. A handsome young man emerged from it, with a freshly washed face and a polite smile on it. On his hand was a basket of souvenirs from yesterday’s trip.
The phone on their hand gave a ‘tuut' sound. Aki looked at them with a thankful expression. “I was too tired yesterday so I didn’t get to give you these souvenirs from my family. Please accept this as my thanks for worrying about me.”
The people in front of his room took it with a dazed look. When they realized what had happened, the room in front of them was already closed. It seemed like the owner didn’t accept any visitors today.
Aki closed the door behind him when he noticed their unfocused gaze. Even without looking at them one by one, he knew the “worry” they displayed was not genuine. They probably only cared for his status as a Tsubomi heir. “Friends” born from his family’s choices.
Thinking about this just made him more pissed than ever. He would not usually feel anything, but the dream he got felt like a slap on his face.
The “Yuu-kun” in his previous dream now became older, maybe two or three years younger than him. He wondered, if he got the freedom to choose anything like that guy in his dream, would his life end up like this too? It felt weird to think about that imaginary life. Felt like he mourned for something he never had.
“Why would my consciousness make this ‘Yuu-kun’... does my mind hate myself?” He sighed as he took the towel to the bathroom.
***
A week had passed and it’s almost time for Aki to check the yokai location, just like what his father had asked him to do. This was also his first day in the new semester at his university.
For now, he’d attend the classes first. He decided that it’d be better to do the investigation at night, considering yokai activity would reach its peak at night. He also thought that it’d be safer since civilians would be resting, the chance of them interfering with his work would lessen.
He stepped his feet outside of his dormitory area, walking to the lecture hall. He met countless acquaintances, each greeted him morning.
“Good morning, Tsubomi-sama!”
“G’morn, Tsubomi-san.”
“Tsubomi-san, morning.”
Aki nodded and greeted them back. A perfunctory response he always did for more than a decade already.
The classes passed like normal, so did his whole day. He didn’t feel any difference from his usual day. Just as he finished his last class, he checked his phone to see phone. It was already 8 PM. Aki glanced at it and decided to just call the servant from his home to pick him up from the university to go to the location.
It needed an hour or so from the closest Tsubomi family branch to reach his uni. The black expensive car passed in front of him and picked him up. Even though his family said that it’s closer to his place, the trip to the location still requires a 20 minutes long car trip. So when he waited to arrive, he decided to check his equipment.
Well, it’s too shabby to be called equipment. He only brought two talismans, a pocket book, and a pen. Though even if it felt a little shabby, it was sufficient for someone like Aki. Those equipment had been enhanced by the Tsubomi family, so he didn’t need to worry.
“Young Master, here’s the location.”
Aki looked up from his seat, now shifting his attention to the window beside him. At first glance, it was an ordinary forest, with a few big rocks and puddles around it, probably from the rain yesterday. Someone who doesn’t have any experience with yokai might be deceived by it, thinking that the creepiness of it came from the damp air or the lack of light source. But Aki, as someone who had been in this work for so long, noticed the aura around it was kinda different.
Aki got out of the car, instructing the driver to go back and pick him up later when he called. The driver did as he was told, considering this was the order from the heir. The car started to move, leaving the young master behind on the outskirt of the forest.
He observed the forest closely. Judging by the condition, the animal and local yokai had left this location for more than three weeks already. The trees had gone big and tall, with a few occasional mold around the roots. Aki walked around a few times, trying to search for more clues in the outskirts.
“I think I have to go deeper,” he thought. Just as he strode forward, the vision around him started to blur. It all changed into white light, forcing Aki to close his eyes.