The Mansion

A week after the talk about moving and marriage, my parents and I finally made the move to Tokyo.

Before we left, I told my friends about the move. We said our goodbyes, though we promised to meet again in the future.

It's a little sad, though. This feeling reminds me of when Himeka-chan and the others moved to Tokyo ten years ago. But at least this time, I know I'll see them again.

By the way, I've always known that I had a sister, but I never had the chance to meet her. She moved here when I was only 3 years old.

After a long ride on the bullet train, my father decided to take us to a restaurant first, then show us around the city.

If I'm being honest, Tokyo feels much more alive than Hokkaido. The towering buildings are massive, dwarfing everyone around them. There are even cars with no wheels; they float a few feet off the ground and don't emit any smoke.

The billboards here are next-level too. They're all holograms.

After about an hour of touring, we headed to Haruhiko's house, since the house we were supposed to move into wasn't ready yet.

Haruhiko's mansion was huge. There were giant picture frames on the walls, long tables in the kitchen, and a bath the size of a pool—just so much luxury everywhere.

I guess it makes sense. Haruhiko's dad, Mr. Haruhiko Haru, is one of the engineers who was given a Fragment of the Cube, making him an incredibly important person.

It's strangely quiet here though. Is no one else home?

There are a few maids scattered throughout the house, but they just stare at me and whisper to each other. I can't help but feel out of place…

A maid guided me to my room, and I didn't do much except lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

I sighed, stretching my arms. "I feel so homesick."

This house is massive, but nothing feels familiar. There are so many people, but none of them are people I know.

What should I do? I feel so bored.

I roll over the bed and look at my hand infront of me.

Should I do my assignments?

"I have no energy for that now." I said and sat up the bed.

"Maybe I should practice my magic a little bit?"

I look around the room, looking for something to try my ability when I heard a knock in the wooden door.

*Knock Knock*

"Sir Kuroe, the master is calling for you." A feminine voice said from the other side of the door.

I stand up slowly and opened it a little, peeking at the small gap between the door and the frame, I saw a familiar brown haired cat lady in a maid dress.

"Una?"

"Please go to the dining room, the master and your parents, Mr and Mrs Ichijo are waiting." She said, trying to talk normally.

"I-I see..." I replied.

"Th-then I'll be going." She said and bowed before she started to walk away.

From how she acts, I can tell she's forcing to fix her demeanor.

Dining room, is it already time for dinner? Or Himeka and the others are finally here?

As I began to take my steps, I remembered something. I don't know where the dining table was.

I look around, searching for Una. Right after finding her, I picked up my pace, I need to ask her something.

"Uh-uhm, wait!" I said.

Una's cat ears twitched as I said that, she turned around and asked. "What is it?"

"I-I don't know where the dining room is. Would you mind guiding me to where that is? The mansion is too big for me to memorize the rooms in just a day." I said, somehow trying to be funny.

"I see. Please follow me." She said and continue walking, her hands interlocked behind her back.

"Mhm."

As I followed Una down the long hallway, I can't help but feel the silence between us grow heavier. The faint sounds of our footsteps echoed in the grand, empty corridor.

"Uhm, sorry for what I did last week." I said and reached for the back of my neck.

"I-It's okay, I've already forgotten about it..." She said, her ears twitched. I can also see her tail wagging slowly from the hole on her skirt....

Wh-what did I just think of?! Th-th-that's wrong!

I shouted to my mind, telling it not to think of any impure thoughts about Una.

"Sir Kuroe, can I ask a question?" She tilted her head to look at me, waiting for my answer.

She's totally got no clue about my battle against my mind...

"S-sure. What is it about?" I answered, burying my earlier thoughts.

If Tsukino were to know about what I just thought, I'm sure she would call me a pervert, just like how she always do in the past.

"You said you're going to practice your magic, can I ask you about your magic?"

I did say something about practicing my magic earlier, but my magic, huh?

"It's not really worth talking about, are you sure you want me to tell you?"

"Mhm." She nodded.

"Okay, so. My ability is to turn things I touch into a weapon. It's not very special, I can even say it's weaker than anyones' ability." I said.

Most people I know has element based abilities, they can manipulate things such as water or fire. My ability was not really weak at some sense, but I just really couldn't compete against those who can deal damage to wide areas and long range.

As we walked down the grand corridor, I couldn't help but let my thoughts wander back to my magic. It's not like I'm ashamed of it, but compared to the other abilities people can wield, it feels… insignificant. I glance over at Una's cat ears again, still twitching as she walked ahead, and for a moment, I almost forgot what I was about to say.

"I mean, it's not really impressive," I continued, my voice quieter. "I can turn anything I touch into a weapon. That's it. I can't shoot fireballs or summon thunderstorms like the other kids. It's all just... objects with a pointy end."

Una stopped in her tracks, then turned to look at me, her bright eyes staring intently, as if she were trying to figure something out. Her tail flicked behind her, a soft swish that I almost felt like I could hear in the silence.

"That's not so bad," she said after a brief pause, her tone thoughtful. "Having a weapon that you can control is pretty impressive, don't you think? You get to choose what form it takes. You can adapt to any situation."

Is she trying to cheer me up?

"W-well, they don't actually take the form I want, they become weapons closest to how the original object looks like..." I said.

"I-I see..." She said, and look forward.

Did she give up cheering me up? I can hear a slight hunt of disapointment from her voice.

With that, we continued walking till we reach the dining room. I think it took at least 4 minutes for us to get here in Una's pace. This house really is massive.