They gave Taiyo a few days to readjust before introducing him to the army as a whole. He looked awful when they first found him—after he ate, managed his hair, and changed into some of Rei’s clothes, it wasn’t as difficult to talk with him. It didn’t make him feel like the best brother in the world, but Rei found it a lot easier to talk to Taiyo when it looked like nothing happened. Likewise, Taiyo didn’t seem to have changed at all.

By Taiyo’s request, Rei was put in charge of watching over him. In a way, it was closer to what he wanted to do in general—Taiyo didn’t want to carry a weapon, so Rei would fill that role for him. He didn’t mind.

One of the first matters was to make sure Taiyo knew and recognized everyone; the last person happened to be Kasper, who seemed to be especially fond of finding places suitable for drawing. In this case, he was outside near the training ground.

As per usual, the Roken boy nodded a greeting.

“Gin’s second prince, I’m assuming?” Kasper said, putting down his drawing supplies.

Taiyo bowed. “Gin-Fujita Taiyo. You’re Roken Andreas’s son?”

“Roken-Masaaki Kasper, putting it in Gin’s terms; Sólstaður’s Kasper Rokensen is fine, too.”

“Masaaki?” Taiyo asked curiously.

Before Kasper could respond, Taiyo winced. Rei frowned.

“Still have migraines?” Rei guessed, a bit concerned. Even if pretending nothing happened helped…it still made him worry a little more. He didn’t want to wind up losing his brother again.

Taiyo cast him a smile, although Rei could tell it only hid pain. It didn’t reassure him any. “Yeah. It’s fine though—I kind of know how to make them less annoying. Just keep talking.”

“That seems…counterproductive,” Kasper noted. “My father should have something to help with it, if you want me to ask.”

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“No medication I’ve ever tried actually helps,” Taiyo replied, shaking his head. Rei offered a seat on the grass, and Taiyo took it. The youngest did nod to Kasper, though. “Regardless, thanks for the offer.”

Kasper just murmured some acknowledgement, and they all fell silent for a moment before Taiyo looked at the Roken boy.

“No, ‘oh wow twins’ comment?” Taiyo asked, feigning some kind of disappointment.

“Firstly, it’s not that impressive when I’ve been talking with Rei for the past few weeks,” Kasper said simply, resuming his drawing. “Secondly, Sólstaður doesn’t care as much for twins as Gin and Kuro do. Third, I already know a set of twins.”

Taiyo perked up at the conversation topic. “Really?”

Kasper nodded. “My father and aunt—Amanda’s older, although it’s hard to believe.”

“That’s neat,” Taiyo said cheerfully. “I know Sólstaður’s not as religious and most people don’t care much for the gods aside from Torigami, but do you know if anyone’s ever asked them to do the ‘creepy twin thing?’”

“Depends on what it is,” Kasper replied evenly, finally looking up from his drawing again.

“It’s Fujita family code,” Rei explained. “Essentially, it’s what our cousins call it when Taiyo and I say the same thing at roughly the same time; it’s never on purpose, but they don’t really care about the specifics.”

Kasper shook his head. “In that case, no; Andreas and Amanda aren’t really close enough to do that. Me and Emelie might on occasion, but that’s about it.”

“Emelie’s your sister?” Taiyo guessed.

“Yeah,” Kasper said, nodding. “She’s still in Sólstaður.”

Taiyo nodded, and there was another few moments of silence. Rei could tell that, however short those moments were, Taiyo didn’t like them—after wincing again, he glanced back at Kasper yet again.

“Hey, you can draw, right?”

Kasper looked up from his work and frowned. “Yes? Depends on what you’re looking for.”

“Can you draw people?”

“From the shoulders up, yes. Do you have a request?”

“Mhm. Would you mind?”

“Just remember that it won’t be perfect. Go ahead and tell me what you want.”

Taiyo went on to describe someone familiar—the same thing Rei heard every time his brother described the woman he saw in his dreams. Rei wondered if he still believed she was Tsujihara Seiko; he couldn’t imagine it could be possible, seeing dead ancestors so often. His thoughts now wandered into the darker side of things—if Taiyo dreamt of the dead because he wasn’t too far away from them. Migraines like his couldn’t be normal, and he definitely looked the part when they found him.

As Kasper drew, Taiyo continued by telling a story to ensure there wasn’t silence. At some point they were called for the next meal—just to make sure they ate, if nothing else—and Rei led the way.

He really hoped his mind was just in a dark place, and his fears concerning Taiyo were unfounded. However, the last few falling sakura petals made him worry even more.