"An honest person is respected and trusted by everyone." -Zue Fastarhan
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I was walking back to the healing zone. I didn’t know if I should go to the hospital and visit Sora’s little sister or not. He has been a nice guy to me for a while… maybe I should go, he would appreciate it if I do so. I took a detour and started asking around for directions to the hospital. I texted Jinn and Nightshade that an emergency just came up and that I’d be late to the Inn, then I made my way to the hospital on a train.
Walking inside the hospital, I noticed many nurse mages rushing around the halls. This place must be pretty busy while being in the center of North Greenterra. I walked up to the desk receptionist and said,
“Hey, my name is Kaiser Chisei. Are the visiting hours over?” She was a woman who looked quite confident.
“Uhm, visiting hours end at 9 PM, so yes. But if it’s to visit Lady Fastarhan, they are always open.”
“Good, good. Because I’m here to visit her.”
“I need some sort of I.D or way I know that you are one of her acquaintances.”
“Uh… is her brother here?”
“Sorafhto? Yes, he just arrived twenty minutes ago, does he know you?”
“Yes, we are classmates, and pretty good friends too.”
“Alright, then go ahead, he shall see you there.” She gave me the room number and I walked upstairs to find it. Looking around I noticed many people outside waiting on something. I realized this was the wrong floor and went up again, and for sure this time, I knew that I found the room. There were over 20 people lines up outside her room waiting to go in one-by-one to see her. I looked around and saw Sorafhto sitting on a nearby bench looking down in sadness. I sat beside him and asked,
“Hey, why are you out here?” He looked at me, smiled and said,
“Didn’t expect you to come. How is Jinn?”
“Don’t dodge my question.”
“Zue… she doesn’t like me, Kaiser.”
“What do you mean?”
“Not just her… I’m hated by my whole family.” Oh, so that’s why he cares a lot about his friends?
“How come? You seem pretty normal to me.”
“Well… besides the fact that sometimes I get lazy, I’m almost against this whole royalty thing. I think there are much better ways to rule a country that’s not a monarchy.”
“Is that why they don’t like you?”
“Not entirely, I believe it all started when I beat my father in a duel when I was ten years old.”
“Wow, really?! That’s amazing.”
“Yes, apparently I have a special singularity that runs through my family’s bloodline, that only one person gets every millennia.” Huh? So, he got pushed away from his family for being unique? “After the duel, I was really excited since I thought I was going to become the next king, but my father looked at me with rage in his eyes… he then started spreading lies to the rest of the family saying things like ‘demon child’ or things like that.”
“Even your little sister?”
“Here’s the deal with her, Kaiser. She was always the one that supported me from a young age, and that made me forget of the rest of the family, but not too long ago our father set up a marriage of her and one of the elf king’s royal knights since the elf king doesn’t have sons.” Oh yeah, I heard something about the elf king having ‘advent children’, and all of them being daughters, but two of them died in the apocalypse.
“Hmm, ok.”
“She really doesn’t want to marry this guy, and she blames me for not saying anything to our father… she says things like ‘I have helped a lot in the past, you know. I also wish you did the same to me when I need it.’ But she doesn’t understand that my opinion won’t matter a single bit to our father or mother.”
“What about your older brother?”
“He could care less; all he cares about is the throne.” I’m starting to see a pattern in today’s society. Jinn was also pushed away from people based on his uniqueness, but thankfully his parents and his brother were there for him. Nightshade was also pushed away for being exceptionally good compared to her sisters, but she never had anyone to talk about it with, I’m guessing that’s why she so attached to me, and now… Sorafhto too? It almost seems like these powers that they all have is mostly a curse, not a blessing.
“Hey, let’s go inside,” I said grabbing his arm.
“W-what are you doing? Didn’t you hear? She hates me… just like everyone else in our family.” I sighed, and said,
“Girls are complicated, Sora. I’m sure all she wants is your attention.”
“A-attention? No, if she wanted to, she could have just asked.”
“You’re hopeless… how do you even get those girls on you?”
“I don’t know! They just chase me around.” A person left the room, we cut the line and walked inside. The first things I noticed were many gifts and flowers around her. She had long blonde hair running across the bed. Two calm, blue gentle eyes, and angelic white skin. As soon as she looked at Sora, she got a joyous genuine smile that she couldn’t hide.
“S-Sora…” She said with a gentle tone.
“Z-Zue! A-are you ok?!” He said while rushing to her with a worried expression.
“The doctors said that it luckily didn’t pierce any vital artery, so I should be fine in a week or so.” I can clearly see the genuine care she has for her elder brother… she definitely just wanted attention from him. She kind of reminds me of Nightshade in a way on that aspect.
“Thank god… I was so worried!” She looked at me with a confused face and asked,
“Who is your new friend? He seems… unique.” Huh? What is she talking about?
“Oh! Right! Zue, this is Kaiser, he is a great friend of mine that has helped me with many things.” Not really, but ok. Shortly after, Sora also looked at me with a curious expression and said,
“K-Kaiser!”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Did… you always had red hair?” Red hair?! WHAT?! I instantly looked at the mirror and noticed that it was red. Oh no… is it only temporary? I thought Fuji said it was permanent!
“Oh, this? Hahaha, it’s my actual real hair, I just use some magic to turn it into brown.” Might as well be honest.
“Red hair?... Where have I heard something similar before?” He asked himself.
“Rukito Nokuwa.” Said the sister.
“Oh, right! That evil being… what a coincidence though! You have the same hair color!”
“Yeah… that’s why I hide it, I don’t want people to think I’m that thing. I am not Rukito Nokuwa.” Zue squinted her eyes and said,
“Brother… don’t you think that’s too big of a coincidence?”
“What? Kaiser? Being Rukito? Hahaha, please, he is nowhere to be compared with that scummy being. He is actually a very nice guy; he came here to visit you after all.” Well damn, I guess that makes me feel better.
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“H-he did? You didn’t bring him along?”
“No. He came here by his own will.”
“T-thank you very much, Mr. Kaiser.” She said while bowing.
“O-oh! No-no, please, I’m nobody compared to you, princess, don’t lower your head for me.”
“Don’t say that. Blood or looks doesn’t make us special, it’s the soul that matters.”
“I agree, but…” wow, she is really kind, “by the way, you’re very popular considering the number of people outside.” What am I saying? She is a princess, of course she is popular.
“You know, Kaiser, she is actually the most popular and most liked person of our family.”
“Even more than the king?!”
“Even more than the king.”
“D-don’t say that,” She said while blushing, “I’m not that popular. Thankfully Shizuka Aizawa is more popular,” She sighed, “now I don’t have to worry about paparazzies everywhere.”
“How come?”
“She has donated a lot of money to charities and churches, plus she always tries to help the people when our father does something unjust.” She really does have a pure golden heart… such kindness cannot go to waste. I see why Sora’s wants to protect her now.
“C-can we stop talking about this? I don’t do it for the attention.” Clearly, she only wants her brother’s attention from time to time, but she is really mature for her age.
“Well, I hate to break the good mood, but… who mugged you?” Asked Sora.
“… I was alone in a crowd.” She didn’t specifically answer his question...
“Weren’t the guards with you?”
“No, I wanted to go out by myself for once.”
“I… I can’t blame you,” said Sora, “But next time, be more careful, please.”
“I wanted to hang out with you, but I didn’t want to call you… I thought you would be busy with the contest.”
“Oh, you should have just called me.”
“So, who won?”
“Kaiser.”
“Oh wow! That’s amazing!” Sora started walking away and said,
“Be right back, I’m going to use the bathroom.”
“Uh, alright,” I said. He left the room and closed the door softly.
“Congratulations, Kaiser!” Said Zue.
“Oh, it’s nothing. If your brother didn’t leave to visit you, he probably would have won instead.”
“He left? For me…”
“Yeah, he actually really cares about you.”
“Hmm… say, Rukito.”
“R-Rukito? I said-”
“I can tell when someone is lying by looking at their hearts, Rukito. That’s my spiritual singularity, ‘Pure hearted’.”
“W-what?” Damn it, I underestimated her.
“But don’t worry, the information going around seems to not be real. Not only I can tell when someone is lying, but I can also tell how good this person is. You’re a nice person, Rukito.” She said while smiling. I noticed that while she was saying that, her eyes turned a clear yellow, that must mean that she was looking at my heart.
“Well… you got me. That’s an impressive singularity… it can be very dangerous if used correctly.”
“I agree, but it comes with two drawbacks.”
“Which are?”
“One, I can’t tell truth from lies when it comes to little things. For example, if I ask someone what they ate for breakfast, and they lie, I wouldn’t know, since it’s not that big of a deal. But when it comes to serious things, I can certainly know.” Interesting… very interesting.
“Two, I cannot lie. I must be perfectly honest about everything I say.”
“What happens if you lie?”
“I go in a coma, for a whole month by punishment. This… is actually how I figured it out when I was a child,” she said while giggling. “I was very confident until then.” Just because she has to say the truth, doesn’t mean that she can’t decide to not answer the question, so even if I ask her something, she can just stay silent.
“So, tell me, I noticed that you dodged your brother’s question. Who mugged you?”
“I-I…” She sighed, “I can’t really ignore it at this point… it was an elf, Rukito.”
“An elf?!”
“Yes. Someone probably doesn’t want me to marry the royal knight, someone despises humans.”
“Ah, I get it. You didn’t want to tell your brother or anyone because you know it will start a war.”
“Exactly… all I want is peace and happiness, not another war.”
“I understand.”
“I don’t even want to marry him… and please! Don’t tell anyone it was an elf!”
“Hmm….”
“I’d do anything! Please!” Anything? Hmm… I looked at her from head to toe and hummed even more. “W-what is it?" She asked with an oblivious expression.
“Anything?... even the dirtiest things?”
“Dirty? Well… I hate getting dirty, but I’d dig a thousand holes if I had to! And build hundreds of houses!” S-she is more naïve than I thought…
“I-it was a joke…”
“A joke? Oh, ok.” I’m getting mad Nightshade flashbacks right now.
“Let’s make a deal...” I said.
“Okay!” She said while furiously nodding. How can you be smart, but so innocent at the same time? I guess being knowledgeful and being smart are different things.
“I want you to clear Rukito’s name,” I said.
“Huh?”
“You’re the most popular girl in the royal family, right? Your opinion must be a huge influence on public opinion.”
“Yeah, I guess I can do that, you’re not evil after all.” She said with a smile. Damn, I feel bad taking advantage of her, but I need this. She looked at me with her bright yellow eyes once more and this time she changed to a curious expression.
“Do you… feel remorse?”
“A bit…”
“Don’t worry, I don’t mind helping you! You came all the way here to visit me.” I smiled at her and said,
“You know, you are going to make a great and dangerous wife.”
“What?! I don’t want to get married to that royal elf!” She is mature and innocent at the same time… is that even possible?
“I know, I know, I’m just joking,” I said while chuckling.
“So, how do you want me to clear your name?”
“To be honest with you, I can’t really remember why I did all of that in my past since my memories got erased, but if you say that the body was controlled by a demon or some evil entity, you should be fine.”
“But remember, I can’t lie.”
“Right. Does the public know about your singularity?”
“Yes, most of them do, that’s why they trust me so much.”
“Great! You can just say that Rukito is not evil and that he is not guilty of his crimes, you told me you believe that the information is false, right?”
“Yeah, I can see it with my own eyes, your heart doesn’t scream of murder and genocide.”
“Ok, then deal?” I said lending out my hand.
“One condition.”
“Hmm?”
“Can you help me getting out of this marriage?”
“If you clear my name, I promise to do everything in my power to stop your marriage.” She shook my hand and said,
“Then deal it is.” Sora came back and asked,
“Did I miss anything important?”
“Uhm…. I explained to him what my singularity does, apparently, he didn’t know.”
“Oh! Isn’t it amazing, Kaiser?”
“Yeah! It really is.” It’s more scary than amazing… she would be a terrifying wife. I said my last goodbyes and left them alone. I put on my hoodie, so no-one noticed my hair.
I took a train back to the Inn and called Fuji on the phone.
“Rukito? Why are you calling so late?”
“My hair is back to red.”
“Oh my! What did you do?”
“Nothing! I was just talking and-… is it that I unlocked my singularity?”
“Oh, possibly. Come visit me as soon as you can, I’ll turn it back to brown.”
“I don’t think it’s necessary for too long, I met the princess of Greenterra, she said she will clear my name for me.”
“Oh my, how in the world did you manage to do that?”
“Long story, I’ll tell you once I come back.”
“Alright, I’ll be waiting.”
"How are the kids?" I asked with concern. There was a short silence and then she said with a happy tone,
"They are doing great! Thanks for asking."
"I can't really say I don't miss them, you know."
"They miss you too, Kaiser."
"Well, I have to go, Fuji."
"Be careful!"
"I'll be fine, don't worry." I ended the call and started thinking. Hmmm…. So now I have to go to Tokiri Islands with Jinn and Shizuka to heal his brother, on the way I could stop by Fuji’s place. After that, I will recover my memories with Shizuka’s help. Wait… Shizuka will notice I have red hair! And I have a date with her in two days! I can try to dye my hair… yes, I’ll ask Nightshade to help me dye my hair back to brown.
I arrived at the Inn, and as soon as I opened the door, Nightshade jumped on me.
“RUKITO!”
“Hey little pixie, how have you been?” She gasped.
“Your hair! Is back to red! Yes!” She said while digging her face into my hair and moving it right and left, causing my face to go in between her breasts.
“P-please get off, you’re not a little girl anymore.” This is definitely a close C-cup.
“S-s-s-sorry!” She said while getting red and zooming away back to the bed on her laptop. “I-I-I made new songs; want to hear them?” I yawned, then said,
“Let’s do it tomorrow, I’m really tired.”
“Oh, alright.”
“I’m sure they are amazing anyway.” She smiled.
“I decided on a name and a look!”
“Hmm, ok. Let me see.”
“The name is DJ Exiled.” Hmm... of course. It fits, I like it.
“I like it,” I said while smiling.
“Here is the look I want.” She turned the laptop and showed me a skinsuit that stopped at her thighs, then from her thighs down there were pantyhose and then boots. It all had this cool futuristic look, and the wings were audio visualizers.
“Way too slutty,” I said with a serious tone.
“S-s-slutty?!”
“I’m not going to let my little sister go out there looking like a bunny girl.”
“B-b-but-” I’m not going to lie to myself, I would like to see her with that outfit, but I must keep my dignity.
“How about you cover your whole body in the suit? Maybe have a little jacket too with a face mask, I’d say that would be cool.”
“Hmm… alright, and you’re probably right… there is a reason I want to do this.”
“Hmm?”
“I want pixies like me to join the human side… most of them are doing evil purely by peer pressure.” Ah, I see, so this is what she meant. Making a change with music? Sounds interesting.
“You know that humans don’t like pixies, they won’t allow you to do such things.”
“I know… but I’ll find a way!” I smiled, walked up to her with a smile, scratched her head with my knuckles and said,
“You’re growing up by the day, Nightshade.”
“Jeez! Stop treating me like a little girl…” I decided to go and talk to Jinn after what I was going to tell Nightshade.
“Hey, Nightshade… I need to talk to you.”
“About?...”
“Our… relationship.”
“…huh? Relationship? But, there's nothing wrong between us... right?” Her face instantly changed from a smile to an anxious expression. I have to tell her… If I keep going without telling her it might break her heart even more.