An Unexpected Introduction

Kei hesitantly knocked on the door, her hands gripping her bag as she nervously waited, “Maybe I should’ve told Iscodaya that I was coming… no, he surprised me at my house so many times, now I’ll surprise him,” Kei determinedly said to herself.

A few days ago, she asked Yusuke for Iscodaya’s address in order to surprise him. In the days leading up to this, she was confident with her teasing, but now that she was waiting, all her confidence left her body.

But finally, after what felt like an eternity, the door opened. She saw a young boy, hair orange and eyes scarlet. Seeing him, Kei smiled, “Hello Seno is your brother here?” Seeing Kei, Senodaya smiled widely.

“Yeah,” he excitedly replied, “Do you want me to call him?” At the boy’s question, Kei nodded. In an instant, Senodaya turned behind him, “ISCO!! YOUR GIRLFRIEND’S HERE!!” The boy yelled, causing blood to rush to the cheeks of Kei.

Inside the house, Kei heard hard footsteps. Then, she saw the red hair of Daranya, covered in a panda hat. His face was a bit shocked, as even though it was cold, he was sweating, “A-ah, Kei… come in, Iscodaya’s just changing right now,” he nervously invited.

Kei, a little weirded out, but because she trusted them, accepted the offer as she stepped foot inside their apartment. She sat on their sofa, as she observed Daranya telling something to Senodaya in a language she couldn’t understand.

Then, from a hallway, he finally made his appearance, “W-why are you here?” The voice of Iscodaya called.

Kei didn’t see him first, “Why do you sound so ma-” But as her face looked up at him, she saw the reddest Iscodaya had ever been. A silence came over the couple, as they weren’t even looking at each other.

But Iscodaya was the one who broke the silence, “Who told you where I lived?” He asked, getting closer to Kei.

“Yusuke, I asked him about it,” The boy nodded at her response. But not being able to bear with it for any longer, Daranya decided to step in.

“H-hey~ it's pretty awkward for a couple to be right here in the living room, how about you two go to Iscodaya’s room huh,” he requested, almost in a demanding tone.

This came as a shocker to Kei, as her mind thought of things she didn’t expect. She turned to Daranya, but when she was about to say something, Iscodaya grabbed her hand, “Y-yeah, we’ll go,” he said, his eyes frantic.

Kei didn’t expect any of this, but Iscodaya dragged her to his room. There, Kei was waiting for something to happen as the door closed. But instead of what she thought of, Iscodaya fell to his knees at the front door.

“THAT WAS HORRIBLE TIMING!! I SWEAR I’M GOING TO TAKE THAT KID’S PHONE AWAY!!” He growled with gritted teeth. Kei wondered what this all meant, before Iscodaya turned to her, “Why did you have to come at the worst possible time?”

Seeing that he was a bit tense, Kei bowed her head, “I’m sorry,” she apologized, her tone genuine.

Instantly Iscodaya caught himself, as his hand slapped his cheek. Kei was surprised, but then Iscodaya hugged her, “I’m so sorry, I’m not angry at you Kei… it’s not your fault.” He sounded very genuine, and Kei’s worry began to go down. But as that was happening, Iscodaya muttered something again, “It’s that kid's fault.”

Kei knew who he was referring to. She made distance between the two, as her eyes stared at his, “It's not his fault either, I asked him to call for you.” Iscodaya invited Kei to sit on his bed as he sat on his study chair.

“Yeah, but he didn’t have to yell it out,” he replied.

“Why? Were you in a call with someone?” Kei innocently asked. Iscodaya gathered his thoughts first before opening his mouth, careful not to let anything too revealing slip.

“Yeah, I was on a call with my dad and uncles… now they know about… our relationship,” he bashfully told Kei, as she also turned bright red right after him. But while the couple were worrying in Iscodaya’s room, Kaus was breathing heavily in his room, as he had just run from his Prince’s. But on his hand was a ball, one that spoke in another language.

“Kaus Irom, what did Senodaya just say,” the voice of General Serioth called in the ball, as Kaus was trying to avoid the topic. But the General wasn’t having it, “Kaus Irom, servant of Prince Iscodaya Kousa, I demand you to tell reiterate what Prince Senodaya Kousa said.”

Going against a General’s orders was one Kaus, an honorable warrior, didn’t want to do. Justifying that they’d find out anyway even if they didn’t hear, Kaus shamefully confessed, “Prince Senodaya told Prince Iscodaya to come for his girlfriend was at the front door.

In the Phirinian research facility, the three Generals and the King heard what Kaus said. Though most of them didn’t understand it for they didn’t speak Japanese, Serioth knew, “I see,” He grinned.

Curious, the three brothers decided to ask for a translation, “C’mon, don’t leave us hanging,” Sharusha demanded, as Serioth saw that his ears were perked up.

“Fine fine, but if my nephew gets angry with me it’s not only sole fault.” He cleared his throat as he regarded his brothers, especially Drano, “Iscodaya’s romantic partner was waiting for him at the front door.” The four brothers didn’t say anything at first, as they were busy swallowing what Serioth had just said.

But suddenly, with a determined glace, they looked at each other, and nodded. Serioth let the person with the highest authority in the room, Drano, speak to Kaus, “Kaus Irom, I command you to use a spying spell inside Iscodaya’s room.

Kaus’s heart sank. This was the King’s order, a command higher than anything. Though the soldier didn’t want to do it, he had to. But he tried to excuse himself by thinking that it would not harm anyone. And so, he cast a spell, projecting Iscodaya’s room to the four brothers.

There, they saw Iscodaya, unaware of the invisible spell, sitting on the same bed as a girl with medium-length black hair, his head was resting on her shoulder. “That’s her right? His romantic partner?” Sharusha voiced out as Serioth couldn’t help but grin, while Jion shook his head at his brothers.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your mother,” the girl’s voice echoed through dimensions. An instant wave of shock came from the four, especially on Drano as Iscodaya barely let his emotions out.

“I just feel, guilty, y’know… like if she hadn’t saved me from that flood, maybe… just maybe they would’ve had a better life. I just feel like a burden sometimes,” Iscodaya confided, his tone was down, as the four brothers could hear his sadness.

But then, the girl grabbed Iscodaya’s face, much to the brothers’ shock. Her gaze spoke of her determination, and the words that exited her mouth truly shocked them, “Don’t call yourself a burden, no one sees you like that, only you see yourself like that and it’s wrong. From what I’ve seen and heard, your family loves you.”

Drano could see the emotion in the eyes of Iscodaya, an emotion that almost made him cry, “This girl… who is she?” He asked himself. But equally as shocking was when Iscodaya’s emotional eyes rested a bit, as he grabbed the hands of the girl, and smiled.

“And how about you? Kei Inoue, do you love me?” He asked in a teasing manner. The brothers’ mouths were on the floor at Iscodaya’s question.

“IT’S LIKE DRANO WHEN HE WAS YOUNGER!!” Yelled Sharusha.

“LIKE FATHER LIKE SON!!” Serioth laughed.

“Skills truly do travel through blood huh?” remarked Jion.

Meanwhile, Drano used his mana to override Kaus’ spell and shut it down. “No more spying, that’s them to handle,” he bashfully commanded as he walked off.

But back in Iscodaya’s room, Kei turned bright red at her boyfriend’s sudden question. But seeing how his eyes were waiting, she gave him a half answer, “You said it,” she blurted out as Iscodaya’s smile grew.

“When I get enough confidence, I’ll kiss you,” he randomly stated.