"The time has come," I said.
Scarlet looked up from the fire. "For what?"
"We're going home."
She blinked, then her expression shifted into something carefully neutral.
"Home? You mean... your estate?"
"Yeah."
"With your family?"
"That's usually who lives in an estate, yes."
She crossed her arms. "And why would I go with you? It's not like I want to meet your family or anything. I don't care about your noble bloodline or your fancy mansion."
There she is.
"Didn't say you cared," I replied. "But you're coming anyway."
"Hmph. How presumptuous. Who said you could drag me across the kingdom?"
"I did."
She opened her mouth to argue, then closed it. Her eyes then narrowed.
"...Is your family annoying?"
I thought about my family for a moment.
Well, my mother is a normal woman with all her emotions, and that, my father is cold-headed and keeps his feelings inside, Lilia, as for her, she's a mystery, and now the big problem is Luna. How do I tell Scarlet that I have an obsessive sister who creeps me out and would kill her the moment they meet? Hold on, a tsundere and a yandere, this is going to be fun.
The thought of all that drew a creepy smile on my face; I hope scarlet didn't notice.
"Yes," I said simply.
Scarlet studied my face. Whatever she saw there made her shift uncomfortably.
"That's a weird answer."
"It's an honest one," I replied with a smile.
She was quiet for a moment. Then, very quietly: "Will they... accept me?"
The question caught me off guard.
She's scared.
She is scared of being rejected.
I walked over to her and put my hand on her head. Pat. Pat. Pat.
"They will," I said. "Because you're mine now."
Her face went red.
"I—I'm not yours! What kind of possessive nonsense is that?! I'm my own person! I don't belong to anyone!"
But she didn't move my hand.
Tsundere.
Still a tsundere.
"We leave at dawn," I said. "Get some sleep."
"Don't tell me what to do!"
She pulled her cloak tighter and turned away from me.
But I saw her smile.
I didn't know I had such talent with the ladies.
TWO WEEKS LATER
The roads were familiar now.
The trees I'd climbed, rivers I'd crossed, mountains I'd conquered.
Every step brought me closer.
Two years.
I left at thirteen.
Now I'm fifteen.
Fifteen.
I've killed more men than I can count. I've awakened my magic. I've found a pretty girl.
And now I'm going home.
...
What the fuck is wrong with me?
"You're muttering," Scarlet said beside me.
"I'm thinking."
"Loudly."
"I think loudly."
She sighed. "You're weird."
"You've mentioned that."
"Because it's true."
We walked in silence for a while. The estate was half a day away now. I could feel it in my bones.
"Zero."
"Yeah."
"Tell me about your family."
I glanced at her. She was staring straight ahead, pretending she didn't care.
She's nervous.
"Mother," I said. "She's kind and Emotional. She'll probably cry when she sees me."
"That's... normal."
"Yeah."
"Father?"
"He's Stoic and Proud. He'll pretend he wasn't worried, but he was."
Scarlet nodded.
Now for my sisters.
I almost smiled. "Lilia is... observant. Don't lie to her. She'll know."
"Noted."
"And Luna?"
I stopped walking.
Scarlet stopped too. She looked at me, and her expression shifted when she saw my face.
"What?"
"Luna," I said carefully, "is different."
"Different how?"
How do I explain Luna?
Possessive and Obsessive. Loving in a way that feels like chains.
She watched me sleep when I was a baby.
She sat beside me for hours while I meditated.
She said she'd find whoever hurt me and "hurt them again."
She left a flower beside me while I slept in a cave.
And I didn't wake up.
"Just... be careful around her," I said finally.
Scarlet raised an eyebrow. "That's ominous."
"I mean it, Scarlet. She's not... normal."
"None of us is normal."
Fair point.
"Just don't let her hug you," I said. "She doesn't let go."
Scarlet stared at me for a long moment.
Then she laughed.
It was the first time I'd heard her laugh. It was genuine.
"You're scared of your sister," she said.
"I'm not scared of her."
"You're scared of your sister."
"I'm concerned about her behaviour."
"You're scared of your sister."
"...Shut up and walk."
She was still laughing as we continued down the road.
At least someone's having fun.
The Kameya estate appeared at sunset.
Stone walls and Iron gates. The family crest is carved into the archway.
Home.
I'm home.
I stood at the gate and didn't move.
Scarlet stood beside me, and she was silent for once.
"You okay?" she asked.
Am I okay?
I left this place two years ago without saying goodbye.
I made Mother cry, and Father worry.
...
"I'm fine," I said.
"You're lying."
"Probably."
I pushed the gate open.
The servants saw me first.
One dropped a tray, and another gasped. A third ran inside shouting.
"Lord Zero! Lord Zero has returned!"
So much for a quiet entrance.
I walked through the courtyard. Scarlet followed close behind. I could feel her nervous energy radiating off her.
She's scared.
Now she knows how I feel.
Mother burst through the front doors first.
She looked older but still gorgeous and Thinner. Her white hair had new streaks of grey.
And when she saw me—
She shattered.
"ZERO!"
She ran. She actually ran across the courtyard, through the servants, straight into me.
Her arms wrapped around me like she was afraid I'd disappear.
"You're back. You're back. You're actually back."
Her voice cracked, and her body shook.
"I'm back, Mother."
"I thought—I thought you were dead—every night I wished—"
"I'm sorry."
She pulled back and looked at me. Her hands cupped my face. Her eyes moved over every feature.
"You've grown," she whispered. "You're so... so big now."
Two years of training will do that.
"I'm fine," I said. "I'm healthy, and I won't leave anymore"
She nodded and wiped her tears. Then she noticed Scarlet.
Her eyes widened.
"Who...?"
Here we go.
"This is Scarlet," I said. "I am here only with my family now, and she's staying with us."
Mother stared at Scarlet, and Scarlet stared at Mother.
Then Mother smiled.
"Welcome, dear. Any friend of Zero's is family."
Scarlet's face went red.
"I—it's not like I'm his friend or anything—we just—he just—"
She is being Tsundere in front of my mother.
I didn't know there were levels to this.
This is going to be a long night.
Father found us in the main hall.
He walked in slowly with measured steps. His purple eyes found me immediately.
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then:
"You're taller."
"Yes."
"And Broader."
"I have been training."
He nodded and walked closer. He then stopped in front of me.
"Two years," he said quietly. "You promised two years."
"I know."
"You're late."
Am I late?
"By three months."
...Oh.
"Sorry."
He stared at me. Then, without warning, he pulled me into a hug.
It was brief and almost rough. But I felt it.
He was worried.
He just didn't know how to say it.
"Don't do that again," he muttered.
"I won't."
He pulled back and cleared his throat. His eyes moved to Scarlet.
"Explain."
Straight to business.
"Her name is Scarlet. She was... captured by bad people. I found her and freed her. She has nowhere else to go."
Father studied her. She met his gaze without flinching.
Good girl.
"You have magic," he said.
It wasn't a question.
"Yes," Scarlet said.
"Strong magic."
"...Yes."
Father was quiet for a moment. Then he nodded.
"She stays."
Scarlet blinked. "That's it? Just like that?"
"She's with my son. She's not a threat. She stays."
Father never changes.
Lilia found me in the garden.
I'd gone there to breathe and prepare for what came next.
"Two years," her voice came from behind me. "And you didn't even try to reach us"
I turned.
Lilia looked different. Her white hair was very long, reaching her hips, and her Purple eyes held the same analytical gaze that missed nothing. She was so beautiful now, and her skin was pale and elegant. I'd say she looked like royalty.
But there was something new in her expression.
Hurt.
"I couldn't," I said. "I was... moving too much."
"You could have tried."
"You're right. I should have."
She walked closer and stopped in front of me.
"You look different."
"Good different or bad different?"
"I don't know yet. I need to observe you for a few days."
Still Lilia.
"Where's Luna?" I asked.
Lilia's expression flickered.
That's not good.
"She's... not here."
"What do you mean?"
Lilia sighed. "After you left, she changed. She stopped talking and eating. She Stopped... being Luna."
My chest tightened.
"She spent months just sitting in your room. Staring at your bed."
Luna.
"Then one day, she just... left. Said she was going to find you. That was a year ago."
"A year?"
"She writes sometimes. Short letters. 'I'm close.' 'I'm following his trail.' 'I'll bring him home.'"
Lilia looked at me.
Lilia then said quietly. "But when she finds you... when she sees you brought someone else home..."
She looked toward the manor where Scarlet was inside.
"You should be careful."
Careful with Luna.
That's like being careful with a wildfire.
"I know," I said.
Lilia studied my face for a long moment.
Then she smiled.
"Welcome home, little brother."
"Good to be back, Lilia."
It was nighttime, and the estate was silent.
Everyone had retired to their rooms hours ago. Mother had cried herself to sleep. Father had poured himself an extra drink before bed.
I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling.
My room.
The same walls, the same windows and the Same bed.
It feels smaller now.
Or maybe I'm just bigger.
Two years of sleeping in caves, in trees, on cold mountain stone. Now I had a mattress and Pillows. A blanket that didn't smell like blood.
I should be grateful.
Instead, I feel restless.
I closed my eyes.
And then—
Knock. Knock.
Who the hell is knocking at this hour?
"Go away," I said.
The door opened anyway.
Of course it did.
Scarlet stood in the doorway.
She was wearing a nightgown—one of Lilia's, probably. It was too long for her, dragging slightly on the floor. Her red hair was down, falling past her shoulders. Her crimson eyes were wide and... nervous?
Why is she nervous?
"What do you want?" I asked.
She crossed her arms and looked away. She refused to meet my eyes.
"I couldn't sleep."
"And?"
"And nothing. I just... couldn't sleep. It's not like I came to see you or anything. Your stupid estate is too quiet. It's creepy."
It's almost midnight. Everyone's asleep. Of course, it's quiet.
"The guest room isn't comfortable," she added quickly. "The bed is too soft. The pillows are too fluffy. It's disgusting."
"So go sleep in the stable."
Her eye twitched.
"You're impossible."
"You're in my room at midnight complaining about pillows."
She opened her mouth, and they closed it. She opened it again.
Nothing came out.
Ah.
I see.
She's not here about the pillows.
"You want to stay here," I said.
Her face went red. "I—no—that's—don't put words in my mouth!"
"Then leave."
She didn't move.
Tsundere.
Pulling a move on me even at midnight.
"Scarlet."
"What?!"
I shifted over on the bed and made space.
"Get in."
She stared at me as I'd just sprouted a second head.
"Excuse me?!"
"You heard me. Get in and go to sleep. Stop hovering in my doorway like a lost ghost."
"I am NOT hovering!"
"You're hovering."
"I'm assessing the situation!"
"You're hovering and blushing."
Her hand moved to her cheek, and she realised she was blushing. She got even redder.
"I hate you," she muttered.
She walked to the bed anyway and climbed in.
She lay on the very edge, as far from me as possible without falling off.
"This doesn't mean anything," she said. "I'm just cold, and the guest room is cold. That's the only reason I'm here."
"Of course."
"Don't 'of course' me like you know everything."
"I know you're going to fall off the bed if you stay on that edge."
"I will NOT—"
She shifted, and the bed creaked.
She grabbed my arm to steady herself.
And didn't let go.
...
She's holding my arm.
Like a child holding a toy.
What do I do with this?
"...Your hand is warm," she whispered.
Say something, Zero.
"It's because I'm not dead inside."
She snorted. "Debatable."
I almost laughed.
Instead, I reached over and put my hand on her head.
Pat. Pat. Pat.
"What are you—"
"Go to sleep, Scarlet."
"I'm not a child."
"Then stop acting like one and close your eyes."
She huffed. But her grip on my arm loosened slightly. Her breathing slowed.
Pat. Pat. Pat.
She's like a cat.
Aggressive and distant. But desperate for warmth.
She just doesn't know how to ask for it.
"...Zero."
"Yeah."
"...Thank you."
"For what?"
"For... bringing me here. To this place. To your family."
I kept patting her head.
"They're your family too now," I said. "Whether you like it or not."
She was quiet for a moment.
Then, very softly: "...I like it."
...
My chest feels weird.
Is this what heartburn feels like?
Or something else?
"Go to sleep, Scarlet."
"Stop telling me what to do."
But her eyes were already closing.
Her grip on my arm went slack.
Her breathing evened out.
She's asleep.
Now I can—
Pat. Pat. Pat.
Why am I still patting her head?
I should stop.
...
I'll stop in a minute.
I don't remember falling asleep.
But I must have. Because one moment I was patting Scarlet's head, and the next—
I woke up cold.
Not the cold of winter or the cold of the mountains.
The cold of presence.
Someone is here.
My hand moved toward my sword—
But the sword wasn't there.
Fuck.
I opened my eyes.
The room was dark, and the window was open.
Moonlight spilt across the floor.
And standing beside my bed—
Was Luna holding my swords?
I'm so fucked...
THE END.