Kakuro gritted her teeth in anger and annoyance before turning to the door.
"We're yet to make a warrior out of you."
And with that declaration, she swerved away and stomped out through the door as soon as the wing doors folded apart.
Hiroko watched with an amused but somewhat confused expression as the door closed.
"She is going to be fun." He muttered to himself, setting Excalibur down and dressing up.
When he was about to put on his shirt, he heard the doors flutter open again. Had Kakuro forgotten to add one last insult? He turned around with a faint smile before it vanished when he saw who was entering. Tall, blonde and with green eyes that reminded him of someone's.
Safatore took one quick glance at Hiroko's bare chest and paused.
"Oh, pardon me. I shall let you get dressed first."
He smiled with a nod and lowered his gaze to the side, his arms held back.
Hiroko blinked. Did no one knock in this castle? It would have been a lot more awkward if this elf had entered while he was still in the same condition as when the samurai woman had. But seeing as the other person was not in a hurry to leave, he pressed his lips into a tight line and picked up his shirt, put it on—his eyes still on him—and threw on his purple elbow sleeved blazer. Excalibur disappeared from the floor and reappeared on his back, held there by nothing but Hiroko's own will.
Safatore's eyes automatically left the ground the second Hiroko put on his coat.
"My name is…" he trailed off as he watched Hiroko take a knee. "S-Safatore." He blinked, a little taken aback. "...You don't have to do that."
"I'm afraid I must, My Lord." Hiroko declared, not rising from the floor. "And I thank you for your hospitality."
He briefly glanced up at the tall figure who gawked down at him before lowering his gaze again.
Safatore pouted, not knowing how to take that, and crossed his arms, his brow furrowing as a finger tapped his lips. That was a little flustering.
"Now I feel silly and have forgotten what I came here for."
"I assume you were here to address me about April, My Lord." Hiroko mumbled, still not rising from his knee.
Safatore perked up, a light pink dusting his cheeks. "Yes! Yes. That's what I was… here for… I assume."
Hiroko suddenly rose to his feet. "You have nothing to worry about now. I have chosen to be the bigger person and sweep all her past transgressions under the rug."
"Really?" Safatore's voice was full of disbelief, that little pink fading away from his cheeks.
"No." Hiroko answered dryly. "Not all of them, at least. I will try not to flatten her if I see her again."
Safatore nodded slowly, a wry smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I am relieved to a certain degree." His smile immediately broadened. "Well, then, I shall leave you to adjust on your own."
He turned to leave and the moment he did, Hiroko spoke up again:
"Excuse me, My Lord," he maintained eye contact as Safatore glanced back. "I think I know what is going on here. There are a lot of dynamics. It's very easy to tell. But if you're looking for a way to overthrow the government, April is most certainly not the way."
The words were certainly blatant and uncalled for but despite it, a grin plastered itself on Safatore's face. "Oh, but she is perfect." He chuckled.
"I'm telling you," Hiroko pressed. "She is small and adorable, yes, but that is a front. She is a whole little bundle of terror and chaos. She will lift this whole castle onto its foundation."
"Did you spend a lot of time with her to have come to such a colorful conclusion?" Safatore asked with the grin still on his face.
Hiroko shook his head. "No. I was only unfortunate enough to associate with her once and I paid dearly."
There was a hidden layer of anger and scorn right beneath his tone. Safatore understood to some degree, but he felt he could handle whatever it was that April could throw at them.
"I shall be careful then." He nodded to Hiroko. "Would you like to catch up with her in light reminiscence?"
Hiroko's face hardened. "Never."
Safatore chuckled, the corners of his eyes crinkling a bit in his amusement.
"See you around, and give her your blessings, please."
A dry huff of amusement slipped out of Hiroko's mouth. "She is doing okay."
He watched the man in blue walk out, the doors fluttering closed after him.
*She has been living well here while you were trekking across barren stone for years…*
Hiroko grunted and blocked his right ear with a finger before looking around again, his brow furrowed. It was that same voice again.
* * * *
In her room, the pages of the diary that managed to find its way back to her through the hands of others, lay open and blank on the bed. She stared at their creamy surfaces and they stared back. Impervious. Carefree. Mocking. Her fist clenched around the ballpoint pen she still had so hard her knuckles threatened to protrude through her delicate skin.
After thinking for a moment, she started writing on a new page.
What I hate about my life. She instantly tore the page out of the book, not satisfied. She was supposed to diss herself. That was not enough. Her frustration bubbled as she wrote another line, tearing the page thereafter, only to notice two new pages slowly growing from the roots of the torn ones. Blank. Clean. Crisp.
"M-magic?" She breathed; her eyes wide. "Someone dabbed my journal with magic?" She tore the same pages again and two more replaced them, sprouting from the previous spots just like a fast-forwarded clip of a plant germinating.
"Woah."As if she hadn't already seen impossible acts of magic before to be mesmerized by self-replicating pages.
She started brainstorming story ideas. It had been a while since she tried to write something… A week. But the events of the day before were truly inspiring; she just couldn't shut up her mind. But the right words were eluding her.
"Two-faced Crooks Everywhere." She said it aloud, pausing for a second before shaking her head. "Mundane."
She tore the page out.
Earthly Wannabe Hell… She glanced aside, thinking, while the page grew back. This whole thing was supposed to be a satire. It was ridiculous. She tried to help someone only for it to turn around and slap her across the face. If she didn't come up with a witty story soon, she would scream and cry on top of that.
She sighed. "Once… upon a… time… there was a girl… who… got… thrust… into another… dimension. Everyone screwed her over… and she killed them all. The end." She snapped the dairy closed, surprisingly feeling a weight lift from her chest as the pages huffed a little breeze on her face, her hands trembling.
"I am calm!" She screamed.
* * * *
Saka's eyes glanced aside to the entrance as a different guard opened the cell bars and Masaru, with his blood red sash, quietly walked in.
He stopped by the young man's side and took a deep and respectful bow.
"Benefactor," the word was a whispered huff, full of deep respect and undeniable reverence.
Saka did not acknowledge the man and silently watched as the steely ropes slithered from his body and disappeared into the ninja's sleeve.
"I hope you've found your sense of calm." Masaru muttered.
"I hope you won't tie me up again." Saka narrowed his eyes as he quickly rose to his feet, standing in front of the silver haired ninja with his greyish mask hiding his face.
All the ninja gave as a response was a sort of constipated grunt before Saka walked past him and left him alone in the cell.
Masaru glanced aside, his eyes filled with resignation. He sighed and immediately disappeared in an explosion of black smoke.
* * * *
April sat upright quickly, her head spinning a little before she put a finger to her bottom lip.
"Maybe I'm just overthinking this whole situation," she voiced her thoughts out loud, crossing her legs.
She furrowed her brow, her long and wavy hair flowing down the sides of her face, twin tails swishing gently behind her. She grabbed that grey glowing ball and looked at it.
"I mean, looking at it… I'm in a castle… with elves… pretty elves!" She turned the ball over and over, still noticing how the eyes of the painting crystalized inside followed her.
"I sleep on soft beds, I wear damn silks, I eat pudding every day, I am… engaged." The word struggled in her throat. "But it's all good. I'm going to be a princess!"
And of course, only she was able to find the light in the most absurd of situations. Being a prisoner of Xander seemed far more preferable to either being ostracized or executed. There were downsides… like suddenly being engaged to the hybrid. But there were bright sides as well, like Hiroko being alive, and having tails. She glanced back at them with a small smile. They weren't half bad. They were just there. Even if they were ridiculously sensitive to touch.
She grinned.
"I've been generally quiet for the last seventeen years, I thought that was my personality. Maybe these daring and curious aspects that are cropping up are my default settings!"
A sudden obnoxious bleat-like laugh shuddered out of her frame, her tails whisking behind her with anticipation.
She was going to be the best citizen of Xander she could be and she would be the best fiancé that had ever been!
"I'm in control!" She shouted dramatically.
When the doors flew open, she yelped and fell back, her foot kicking the diary and her grey ball falling to the floor.