Grievance
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|| CHAPTER 26 | Grievance ||
"There will be times where you will have your complaints, little one.
"This world isn't fair, nor are the others.
"The grievances you have, the complaints you bear–– these worlds will hear them all one day–– when you stand on that cliff to spill out all your worries.
"That's why... say them out loud. Shout them, yell them, throw them.
"There's no wrong in complaining, every soul does so at least once in their lives. There will be moments where we all feel tired and just wanted to rest.
"To close our eyes is a luxury one could never get in a moment of business."
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The trip turned into a quiet one, not long after.
Thinking back to what the KING had said last, Shizuka wondered what he meant. For the second war to start, only to have a grasp of the long-forgotten fields–– the Land of Zetherax.
'A land of the past...' she kept to herself, 'Why would he want something that doesn't exist in the present?'
Staring away into the distance of the quiet, bristling fields of sleeping blooms, Shizuka heaved a quiet sigh. It was tranquil from where she rested, no noises whatsoever that would cause the peace to be shattered.
Heavy eyelids began to fall down, sending the girl into a deep slumber.
Though her body seemed to be resting, her mind kept working. The thoughts of what the KING would possibly want with the Land of Zetherax that only existed in myths and legends–– it worried her to no end.
Not to mention, he seemed to know Seimei.
It's possible that he once lived and stood on the same grounds with Seimei, above the lushes Land of Zetherax everyone wished to breathe on.
To hear how he wanted another war to be held upon the land of the past–– a land that she didn't even know was real.
It was only ever described in legends and ancient stories told to children from generation to generation. A never-ending tale that kept went on as long as the Livings remembered it. However, one thing that didn't sit right with one's heart was untouchable.
How the KING wished for another life-stealing event to occur once more...
It was unthinkable to a peace-wishing mind.
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Fast asleep in the comfort of their space, silent snores of the younger ones echoed through the considerably empty air.
Their fight at the cave felt like days when they had been only fighting the demons for about two hours or more. It wasn't such a surprise that they would be exhausted. Even the smallest mission of a Spirit Wielder would take up most of their energies.
The time '21.00 PM' was portrayed clearly on Mitsuru's hand watch.
The teal-eyed male watched the others slept peacefully–– aside from Kaoru, who was driving.
Even the Head of the family was sleeping soundlessly.
With messy strands of his blackish-brown locks covering a part of his forehead, Mitsuru admitted that Eito looked younger than his age suggested. It's a trade Spirit Wielders had, after all. It wouldn't really be weird for one of old age to have an appearance of a child.
The twins were right beside Kazuto, their heads leaning on his arms.
An innocent look covered their faces as they peacefully slept.
Shizuka was in the middle of Mizuto and Yuzuru, their heads on her shoulder with her head on Yuzuru's.
The two fully awake Spirit Wielders never thought that the day would come where they would see even the most chaotic Kazuto and Yuzuru would fall asleep, even the cold yet kind Eito would go quiet, and the twins would go to dreamland without a sound in front of the others.
Sounds of the sleeping Eito was shown with his arms crossed in front of him, and Yuuma beside him waking up once in a while–– a habit of his.
Chuckling to himself, the sight was something worth seeing indeed. Mitsuru got out a bottle of coffee he brewed earlier and gave it to Kaoru.
Wisps of warm steam emerged from the swarthy liquid of bitter coffee.
"Ah, don't worry, it's still warm," Mitsuru cleared up, handing the hot bottle to Kaoru carefully.
"... Thank you."
Kaoru gulped the coffee while still keeping his eyes on the road. He left some of it for Mitsuru, earning a "thank you" from the younger male beside him. From the outside, the Ichimori family was in the lead, with the Ichijou family and the others following behind.
They drove past the vast Plains of Viraciyan.
Passing some fields full of bright, glowing wildflowers. In the middle of it, Shizuka woke up, unable to sleep anymore. She felt as if she hadn't even slept, even though she did.
"Where... are we now...?" the sleepy girl softly questioned while rubbing her crystalline azure vision groggily.
Mitsuru turned around and smiled gently at his sister.
"We're still in the Viraciyan Plains. It'll take a while until we reach the Ichimori's Mansion. Why don't you go back to sleep?"
"I can't seem to sleep any longer, Mitsu-nii... My mind is completely awake..."
Shizuka looked quite tired and pale, but it seemed her completely working mind said otherwise–– just as she spoke of. Mitsuru chuckled in understanding and offered her some beverage, which Shizuka gratefully accepted.
The platinum-blonde Ichijou and her two awake brothers conversed sotto voce, careful not to wake the others.
They went into a forest with tall, towering verdant trees.
The moonlight was hidden between the fresh green leaves of the trees, reflected on their silver, glass-resembling trunks.
Driving past a deep dark lake that reflected the pitch night sky, going between tall cliffs and finally arriving at the Ichimori family's traditional-looking mansion. Their home was a comfortable one if one could say so. They have plants and trees almost everywhere, not to mention surrounded by the forest itself.
With a dark-pine wood as the base of most structures in the area, the Ichimori Clan's base looked homey.
Well, the Ichimori was known to protect earth life, especially forests and nature.
It wasn't odd for them to have that kind of look.
Mitsuru and Shizuka proceeded to wake the rest of the family as they had arrived at the destination. Kaoru and Yuuma packed the important stuff and left the rest in the car.
They went in through the main door, greeted by Mizuki's mother, Ichimori Seira.
"Welcome home. You must be exhausted," the young-looking woman welcomed with a kind and gentle smile, despite them barging in the middle of the night.
"We're home, Seira," Ryuusei returned her warm welcome and nodded.
"Aurellus, please proceed to take the younger ones to the infirmary and treat them there–– especially Kyou. Put him in a different room to get examined," the Head of the Ichimori Clan ordered.
The butler who seemed to be of the same age as Yuuma nodded in understanding, taking his leave by opening the door to another hallway.
"The Head Clans are about to have a secret meeting, make sure not to let anyone in, Seira."
The female had cacao-brown hair fading into magenta and ocean-blue eyes.
She nodded at her husband's order, and the family's butler took the children away to the infirmary.
"Akagi Yuuma, help Seira-dono and guard the meeting room. Inform us immediately if there's anything suspicious and, I emphasize, don't fight alone."
Eito's order was absolute.
With one last glance, the Head Butler of the Ichijou Family bowed respectfully with the calmness one had always seen around him.
"Affirmative, Master."
Yuuma followed the Head Clans towards the meeting room until a loud voice stopped them.
"Wh––?! Hey!! Where the hell are you taking us? I thought we're supposed to attend the meeting together!!" Kishi protested to his father, earning nods of agreement from the other adolescents.
"... Let me do the explaining, Kizuki-dono. You can go to the meeting room, I'll catch up," Iroha offered to the older male as he nodded and walked away with the others.
"Wait, wait, wait! You can't just walk away like that!"
"Calm down, Kishi. I'll explain on the way. Come. Let's go get you, children, to the infirmary." Iroha led the way quietly, besides the young butler.
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"What is this, a school?! Why does this house have an infirmary anyway?!"
"That's... not the question you should be asking."
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The trip to the infirmary was eerily quiet.
In a bad, BAD way.
Shizuka and Mizuki just want to run away because of the atmosphere of the group. Yuzuru and Kumo were fidgeting around, wanting to run as well. In front of the group, you could see Kishi wearing an annoyed yet weirdly calm aura.
"... So...? Aren't you gonna start talking, woman?" Kishi inquired, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence, "Or are you just gonna walk us to the infirmary and lock us there without any explanations?"
"Lock us?!"
Shizuka and Mizuki were hugging each other, in fear of being locked inside of an infirmary.
Mizuto placed his hands on their shoulders in an attempt to calm them down.
Ruka, who was carrying a sleeping Kyou, also glanced at the black-haired woman, hoping for an explanation. Iroha sighed and glanced back at the younger ones, she could feel their stares burning holes in the back of her head.
'I'm surely gonna be bald sooner or later because of this...'
Iroha ruffled her black hair, sighing again in the process before finally explaining.
"Listen up, I'm only going to say this once. The adults need you guys to stay in the infirmary for several reasons..."
Lifting up her index finger, she began, "... First of all, most of you are tired and injured. Even Kaoru, Keita, and Shizuka can't heal your conditions completely. You can't just expect them to heal you without using their energy, so keep that in mind."
She started to walk slower and the others followed her considerably fast pace.
"Second, Kyou is badly injured and is needed to be treated immediately. We don't know what that curse can do to him.
"You guys are also in for a check-up, to make sure you're REALLY fine."
They turned at a corner and she started to slow down, finally stopping in front of them. She held out her three fingers at them, wearing a serious look on her face.
"... And third, they don't want anything to happen to you while they discuss the upcoming Spirits Festival. I believe you already know that we're having a meeting about the festival, correct?"
"Yep."
"Nope."
Two answers were heard from different individuals, they eyed each other in confusion but were stopped by Iroha's loud clap.
"All right, all right. They also don't wanna let you hear in on it since the Head Clans are probably the main targets of those demons, aside from the Keeper–– well, former Keeper. Shizuka had already formed a contract with Seimei, right?"
"And that, I did."
She gave a closed-eye smile at the older female, earning a nod from her.
"We can't use that cave anymore then. That cave was protected by thousands of barriers made by our ancestors to hide that place. And since it's been destroyed, we can't have any meeting in peace anymore. So, from this day onward, the meeting will be attended by the Head Clans only."
"HUHHH?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!"
"You can't do that!! I've been waiting for this day to come since my old man kept talking about it!!!"
"Hmm?? Well... I think I need to lecture him a thing or two about keeping his mouth quiet..." Iroha mumbled with vexation lacing her voice.
"Okay, then, we're here. And you can't complain about what they have decided. It's for your good. Especially when Kyou has been critically injured and Seimei's with Shizuka."
They went in the infirmary with Iroha leaving them alone with the butler.
Yuuma went to guard the meeting room, so there wasn't anyone aside from the butler who was an adult. The butler ordered some maids to check in on their conditions.
Kyou was placed in a separate room with a personal doctor to examine him and Kumo to explain what had happened. The girls and the boys were separated by a curtain since they're going to need to take their clothes off.
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And... the chaos continued.
"No, no, no, no–– I don't wanna take them off!"
Shizuka created a racket and utter chaos because she didn't want to take off her clothes in front of other people, especially people she knew.
Well, it's not like she would want to take them off in front of strangers as well...
"Lady Shizuka, we need you to take off your clothes so we can examine you––"
"But, I'm fine!!! I am NOT going to take them off no matter what you say––!!!"
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In the end, she did take off her clothes.
Of course, the boys couldn't see her, and the maids were finally able to check her conditions. She was the last one out of the four girls, consisting of Mizuki, Fuyume, and Chii. Mizuki rubbed circles around the platinum-blonde-haired girl's back after they were finished.
They were left alone in the infirmary with the boys and some snacks. The maids left them alone in the room as soon as they were finished.
"Well, that went faster than I expected," Kishi spoke to no one in particular.
Ruka and Kiryuu were lying on the beds, with Kishi sitting on the edge of Ruka's bed.
"At least they didn't touch you as much..." Shizuka cried comically, still having goosebumps. "It was terrifying when they examined my whole body. I could still feel their hands on me."
"Well, that's worrying."
"Should I burn my clothes to get rid of their marks––?"
"N-No. Don't do that."
Ruka laughed at her antics and Kiryuu smiled.
"...!"
"You––"
"D-Did you––"
|| CHAPTER 26 | Grievance - To be continued... ||
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