Chapter 12
This… wasn't a dream. At least, not one of his usual ones. And it wasn't like last time, when he'd been thrown into some unknown world.
This felt… grounded.
Like a memory.
Not his.
Not the girl in front of him.
But the boy.
And somehow, both of them looked a little too familiar. Same build. Same features. Too close to his own.
The boy, Rei, was young, with black hair and olive skin. A face that stirred something in him, familiar in a way he couldn't explain.
And the girl, Liz, had long, black, curly hair that refused to behave. Her caramel-colored skin caught the light naturally, glowing in a way that felt gentle.
But his gaze lingered on the boy. For some odd reason, he could feel the boy's emotions bleed into him, as if they were his own thoughts. It was a new experience.
"…Well," he muttered. "This is unsettling."
His brow furrowed as he leaned back against the tree.
"Oh well. Looks like I'm not going anywhere. Might as well make the best of it."
With no other option, he watched them clash, hoping he might pick up something just by watching.
And it didn't take too long for him to notice the gap between the two. It was painfully obvious.
The girl was better. And it wasn't by a little. By a lot.
Her movements were clean and deliberate, every strike sharp without being reckless. She moved like she was gliding across water, steps light, balanced, flowing into each other without wasted motion. Quiet. Precise. Annoyingly elegant.
She didn't overcommit. Didn't panic. Didn't swing like she was trying to win an argument.
Every motion had intent. Her blade wasn't there to clash head-on with the boy's strength, but to redirect it. To deflect. To let him exhaust himself while she barely broke a sweat.
She fought smarter.
And Rei?
He fought harder, which, unfortunately for him, wasn't the same thing.
That didn't mean the boy was weak. Not even close.
His footwork was good, solid even, but reckless. Too aggressive. Too rushed. Like he was trying to fast-forward through the training instead of actually trying to learn from it.
And more often than not, his eyes wandered to places they absolutely shouldn't have during a spar.
And he understood why as soon as he peeked into his thoughts. Training wasn't even on the list. His mind was full of girls. And more girls.
His gaze drifted to the girl instead. Her expression was harder to read, and he wished he could read her mind rather than this idiot's.
And halfway through this one-sided training, the kid was on the ground, staring off into space, lips curled into the faintest grin, still daydreaming about half the girls on the island instead of the one currently aiming a sword at his head.
Shiro exhaled through his nose.
"Figures," he said quietly.
He drifted closer, stopping beside the girl, both of them glaring down at the boy like they were one bad second away from knocking him flat.
"Don't look at me like that, sis. I'm trying," the boy said, raising a hand defensively.
Shiro didn't even need to think about it.
Lie.
And the girl clearly agreed. She grabbed his hand and yanked him to his feet with a sharp pull. "You're going to be the next head of the family," she said, irritation bleeding through every word. "At least try."
The boy turned away, scratching the back of his head as he laughed, completely unbothered.
"That's way too much work," he said easily. "I like my carefree life. You should do it, sis. You're stronger than I am. Leading a clan sounds like a nightmare."
With that, he broke into a run before she could respond, a wide grin plastered across his face as if the world had never demanded anything from him.
Shiro watched him go, unimpressed.
He was by far not weak. Not stupid. Just allergic to responsibility.
His gaze drifted back to the girl, still standing there with her sword clenched tight, frustration barely contained.
"…Yeah," he muttered under his breath. "You're definitely more interesting than that idiot."
As the idiotic fool ran off, Shiro was dragged along with him, meeting girl after girl. One after another, nonstop.
That was when he noticed something odd.
There weren't many women.
Barely any, actually.
He'd always wondered why that was the case. The imbalance felt obvious once you noticed it. But whatever the reason was, he'd never asked. Some questions just felt… dangerous.
Still, one thing became painfully clear.
Even though this idiot was useless when it came to fighting, the one thing their clan supposedly excelled at, he was terrifyingly effective when it came to charming girls.
Painfully so.
He watched as the boy laughed, joked, and talked absolute nonsense, somehow winning smiles along the way. And the more Shiro listened, the more something clicked.
This guy…
He was familiar.
He went with the flow, remaining quiet. Just listening and watching.
Letting the idiot drag him from one conversation to the next, chatting with every woman who crossed their path and somehow making them smile, something Shiro had never seen women in his clan do.
They were always pale. Quiet. Obedient.
Like life had been drained out of them long ago, leaving behind empty shells that knew how to follow orders but not much else.
Seeing genuine smiles felt… wrong.
Out of all the girls he flirted with, there was one he was most excited to meet. Just the thought of her made a smile tug at his lips, one that lingered longer than it should have, gentle and unguarded.
He waited at the top of the mountain.
And waited.
Time slipped by without him noticing. The breeze brushed past him, cool and light, carrying the scent of earth and stone. He didn't mind. The entire time, that quiet, foolish smile never left his face.
Then a voice came from behind him, bright and full of warmth, breaking the stillness.
"Rei."
Her hair swayed behind her, slow as a tide. Her eyes held his just a moment too long, like they weren't quite ready to let go. Their giggles made him feel strangely warm, like wrapping himself in a thick blanket on a winter night.
He watched them talk about their lives, their plans, their future. Throughout the entire time, his eyes never left the woman.
And then they kissed.
A faint smile tugged at Shiro's lips as his eyes filled, his vision blurring while a tight, crushing weight wrapped around his chest.
"Good to see you were somewhat happy, old man," he murmured.