Starting Over

Third-Person POV:
At Aidan's Mansion,

As soon as the five of them arrived at the house, they were surprised to find Aidan giving his coat to Ayumu, which showed that he had just arrived home too. "Greetings, Aidan-sama," the three friends said, bowing respectfully. Aidan just nodded his head in knowing.

His eyes then shifted to the two brothers, who looked exhausted, and then to the bags of food in the hands of all of them.

"Why did you buy so much?"

"Hm? Oh... Ah..." Darien felt shy suddenly, his cheeks a little red as he played with his fingers, the sleepiness immediately gone. Eirian chuckled and helped explain for his brother.

"Actually, Darien bought it for you all, especially for Aidan." This surprised everyone, including Aidan. The three friends already knew and just gave proud smiles, as if they were proud to have such a little brother.

"... Because Aidan-san couldn't come earlier, and no one here went... So, I bought all kinds of food and desserts that I wanted you all to taste... Besides, I can't eat too much, and Aidan-san told me to spend all the money he gave me, right, hehe," Darien explained with a toothy smile.

Aidan blinked many times before he nodded in understanding, then went to the two brothers. He knelt to be on the same level as them. When Aidan raised his hand and reached for Darien, almost touching the hazelnut-haired boy's head...

It happened so fast. Eirian suddenly swatted away Aidan's hand, and he stood in front of his brother as if trying to shield him with a look of panic and fear. But his expression then changed to shock and guilt after he realized who was standing before him.

"I'm... I'm sorry Aidan... I..." Eirian stammered, trying to find an answer. His body moved on its own without him realizing it when Aidan's hand reached for his brother.

He didn't know how to explain it to Aidan. He and his brother had never talked about any of their bad memories with anyone.

Aidan, who still looked shocked with his hand still in the air, started to form a theory in his mind. He had just noticed earlier, when he tried to pat Darien's head, that the little boy flinched. 

The reaction given by the two of them made him think that something bad had likely happened to them before. Given they a trauma. 

His eyes shifted to look at Darien behind his brother. Darien looked scared, with wide eyes and his whole body trembling. Anger and guilt settled in Aidan' gut. Anger at whoever gave these two kids trauma, and guilt because he had never tried to find out about their dark past before.

All the maids there, including Suhee and Ayumu, were also speechless. They hadn't expected that to be the two brother's reaction. It looks like these two brothers had deep trauma. 

Eirian also looked scared and was trembling. He was afraid that Aidan would get angry with the two of them. He knew Aidan wasn't that kind of person, but he couldn't think that way because the trauma was crawling back to him.

Aidan wanted to say something, to assure the two brothers that they were safe and that he wouldn't hurt them.

"Eirian, Darien... I'm sorry--"

"I'm so sorry, Aidan! We're going back to our room first!" Eirian claimed in a high and panicked tone, and before Aidan could stop them, the blond boy had already pulled his brother and run up the stairs.

They were all speechless again. Because the atmosphere there was so quiet, they could all hear the sound of the room door being closed and then locked. No one spoke; their brains seemed to be processing what had just happened.

Aidan let out a long sigh and scratched his head, which wasn't itching. He didn't feel like eating now. He wanted to go and investigate what had happened to the two brothers. The reaction they gave was too severe and scary, as if the trauma they were left with had left too deep a mark on the two brothers.

"... Aidan-sama, I have something I want to tell you about what happened in the city earlier," Nana suddenly said, making Aidan stop his deep thoughts. He raised an eyebrow in confusion and was about to ask why, but seeing Nana's and his two friends' serious faces, he decided he would listen first.

Scene change to Eirian and Darien...

In Darien's room,

Eirian was panting after running earlier, and now the two of them were leaning against the door. He hadn't expected he would do that. Yes, it was true that he didn't like Aidan; he didn't like him because he was afraid that Aidan would take his brother away from him.

But, in the back of his heart, he was relieved that Aidan was their guardian now. He gave them a good house, a lot of food, good clothes, and everything. In fact, he was mindful of Darien's health. He also knew that Aidan was a good person and wouldn't hurt the two of them over trivial matters.

Even so, his body and brain didn't cooperate. In his heart, he knew Aidan wouldn't hurt them, but his body and brain remembered the old trauma; without him realizing it, he did the same thing as before. He only thought about protecting his brother from being hurt and taken away again.

'... Aidan will definitely find out about this later... I don't know why, but I can feel that he will dig to the end to find out the truth... Sigh... Wait, Darien!'

Eirian turned to his side, looking at Darien, who had been silent all this time, with a worried look. He immediately held both of his brother's hands and gently rubbed them over his brother's fists. 

He always did that to calm Darien down every time it happened, even though his don't know if it would give the same effect to the person inside his brother's body. But he is still trying.

The blond boy noticed that his brother's hands were always small, not right for his age. It was all because of the things that happened before. But there was something that made him feel strange.

'... He's not Darien but... Why did he give the same reaction as Darien? Does he also have the same trauma?' That thought alone made his stomach clench.  Thinking that the person in his brother's body had the same trauma made him sick.

He tried to look at Darien's face, and when he did, he felt as if a thousand sharp needles were pricking his body. Darien's eyes were empty, too dull, and the light of life in them was gone. The crimson-red eyes that were once full of innocence and gleamed like stars in the sky were gone,  leaving behind an emptiness like a blank sheet of paper.

Eirian immediately hugged Darien tightly, stopping himself from crying. '... That's a reaction... It's the same time Darien realizes how ugly this world is before...'

Meanwhile, Darien, or Hikaru, was debating with himself. When Aidan tried to touch his head earlier, he knew Aidan wanted to pat his hair, but what made him feel sick to his stomach and horrified was that the hand slapped Darien hard in that memory. Too hard.

Then it mixed with a memory he knew, his own memory from when he was only 4 years old at that time. The same hand that had hurt him, too. That made him flinch hard when Aidan's hand reached for him.

And all of his trauma from his life in the world before came flooding into his mind, and there were even some memories he didn't remember, or he felt that all those memories belonged to Darien coming to him, too.

That made Darien unable to think. His brain seemed to shut down. He couldn't feel anything. It was as if he was forced to watch a film of his memories at the same time as memories that didn't belong to him. That made him feel sick to the point of wanting to vomit. But, his body didn't respond, as if he wasn't there.

But then, he felt his hand being pulled by someone carefully and gently. Then his body was laid down on a soft, fluffy bed and covered with a soft blanket and hugged by someone.

The warmth and scent from that person made him feel relieved and safe, and without him realizing it, he fell asleep with Eirian still hugging him, sleeping with him too, with tears finally flowing from the blond boy.

Skip to the next morning...
In the dining room,

"Good morning, Aidan-san!" A cheerful voice from a kid they knew belonged to Darien, which startled all of them, including Aidan himself. They all turned to look at the entrance, where Darien and Eirian, who looked like the blond boy had just woken up because he was still yawning, were standing with Suhee behind them.

Aidan was still silent, making Darien tilt his head in confusion. That behavior was so cute, making some of the maids shriek a little. "Good morning, Darien, Eirian."

The spy looked confused. He still hadn't forgotten what had happened yesterday to the two brothers, and seeing them both acting so normal, as if they hadn't caused a scene yesterday, made his stomach churn again.

He met eyes with Suhee, who just shook her head, also not knowing what had happened to their two young masters.

"Come on, eat breakfast, Darien. You'll have a doctor's checkup later. So, after you eat, go and take a shower," Aidan ordered, trying to act normal too and eat his food even though he had lost his appetite.

"Erk... Okay..." Darien grumbled with a sulking face and a pouty mouth. Eirian chuckled a little. then gently rubbed his brother's hair even though his eyes weren't fully open yet.

Aidan noticed Eirian's eyes were swollen, which showed he had been crying until he fell asleep last night. '... Huh, I'll ask Hira-kun for help later. He's the closest to the two of them.'

While they were eating in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere, Darien suddenly got a new idea. As soon as they finished eating, his hand was about to reach for a bowl of soup that had been prepared for him, but Eirian took it first.

"Eh? Eiri-niichan?" Darien whined. Eirian just gave a face as if he wanted to scold his brother, but he let out a long sigh and placed the soup far from his brother's reach. That made the chef and Aidan curious about that action.

Eirian turned to look at his brother again with a scolding look. Darien facepalmed and was ready for his ears to bleed again this early in the morning.

"You can't eat that soup; it's too spicy. I've already tasted it. Don't forget again, you can't eat food that's too spicy, or your stomach will hurt."

"Sigh... Alright~"

"Ah... Young masters?" Eirian and Darien simultaneously turned to the male chef, which startled him a little and made him nervous. he had never spoken to these two brothers before because he was afraid, but he wanted to know if his food was satisfactory to them, and also, after finding out about yesterday's incident and all the truth, he felt guilty that he had judged those unfortunate kids.

He coughed a little, trying to compose himself. "May I know what else he little young master didn't eat? Like, any allergies? And, if the older young master also had any allergies? I don't want there to be any incidents in the future..."

"Before I tell you, can I give a suggestion to all of you?" They all looked confused, including Aidan, who looked more curious now.

"Instead of calling us 'young master' together, can you call us by our names like you do with Aidan? It's so it won't confuse us and all of you. Well, even though I've noticed some people call Darien 'little young master,' not all of them call him that."

"Yes! We have names, you know... Just call us by our names," Darien added with his cute smile, which pierced their hearts once again.

The chef gave a small but tender smile and nodded in understanding. They then continued to eat in a more comfortable and warm atmosphere this time. For everyone there, it was like seeing a small family that had no blood ties but looked happy, which made them happy for their master, Aidan.

Skip...
In the evening... In Darien's room,

Aidan had gone out for another meeting. The two brothers had noticed that lately, Aidan seemed very busy. It was true that the two of them didn't know what Aidan's life was like before they came.

'Len, Nana, and Mina did mention that before, Aidan used to be this busy when there was a serious problem happening without anyone's knowledge until the problem happened. I hope it has nothing to do with the two of us...' Darien thought, feeling anxious, and the churning in his stomach came back.

He shook his head to make that thought go away, even though the feeling was still there, but he tried to focus on what was in front of him: his status screen. '... I just got to check it today... It looks like my level has gone up! Not just that...'

[Status window]

Name: Darien Alarie (***** ******)

Age: 6

Class: -

Title: Survivor of Hide-Seek Game with The Grim Reaper, Newborn star's chosen one...

Power: -

Level: 5

[Intelligence: 69] [Strength: 10] [Agility: 16] [Constitution: 20] [Intellect: 50] [Magic: 6][Vitality: 18] [Spirit: 29] [Charm: 35] [Luck: 15]

Skills: [Galaxy protective wall]

Hidden trait: Dark Star

(Shining to bring life, but dark to bring destruction)

'I got 1 skill, and even Charm, and the others got a level up. This is amazing! I only used my power once =, or twice, I mean? When I removed the protective wall. Hmm... Maybe I should try--'

Creak...

"Darien? What are you doing?" Eirian asked from behind the door, only showing half of his body. Darien's face looked like he had an idea with a look of delight after seeing his brother.

"Right on time, Eiri-niichan!"

"Huh?"

Skip...

"Ah... Darien... Where--"

"Shh! They'll see us," Darien whispered to his brother, who nodded in understanding, even though he still looked confused.

The two of them continued to crawl behind the flower bushes, hiding from the maids and guards who were in the front yard of the house, not realizing that someone had seen them from an upstairs window.

They went out through the back door and ran into the forest. After a while of them walking in the forest, Eirian started to feel worried and scared that they might get lost or get attacked by monsters, but Darien seemed to know what he was thinking.

"Don't worry, Eiri-niichan. This forest belongs to Aidan-san's family. At first, this forest was guarded by Aidan's family themselves. Aidan-san said that this forest is safe as long as we don't pass the fence that's in the depths of the forest.

There, he said, there are still monsters kept to be used as training for the guards he has. Nana-nii and Len-nii have gone there before," Darien explained while giving him a closed-eye smile, but Eirian felt creeped out instead. 'Eh? No way!?'

Eirian immediately stopped his steps, making Darien, who had been dragging him all this time, almost fall backward, but he managed to stand well. "Why, Eiri-niichan?"

"You... You're not going to say we're going there, are you?" Eirian asked, starting to look pale. He knew that this wasn't Darien, but seriously, this person was just like Darien, the type with high curiosity.

"Hm?" Darien tilted his head at the question, and then his brain clicked with something that made him laugh a little. "Hahaha, don't worry, Eiri=niichan. We're not going there. I just want to bring us to a slightly open area. Aidan-san said there's a stream there with a little open area."

"... How do you know all this?"

"Oh! I asked Nana-nii, Len-nii, and then Aidan-san after breakfast this morning!"

'Oh... That explains why he disappeared this morning after breakfast,' Eirian thought. 'But, what does he want to do there?'

Darien continued to drag his brother again until they arrived at a place that Darien had mentioned earlier. It was true that there was a stream of water that looked clean and full of life, with some flora growing there, and an open field and a soft evening breeze passing by.

"Wow~ Yes! A great place to start training!"

"!!!"

"What?" Eirian hoped he had heard wrong. There's no way Darien wants to try to do it again, right?

"Training? We're going to train here to control our magic powers! It's far from people's eyes here, and no one will get hurt. Aidan-san already knows about this, so don't worry, and I already asked Hoshi-nii if I could use my power. He said I could as long as I don't overdo it. So, we'll start from the beginning. First of all, we have to--"

All of Darien's rambling just became background noise in his head. His heart was beating fast, and he felt his chest being tightly gripped. The image of Darien fainting and coughing up blood after removing the snow globe's protective wall and the scene of Darien actually turning away from his gaze and leaving him behind made it hard for him to breathe anymore.

"--If we manage to do it, we can get ready--"

"No."

Darien stopped talking when he heard one word from his brother, 'No.' He knew, maybe Eirian would object because he was worried about him, but Eirian's tone just now was different. That tone... A tone he didn't know.

"... Eiri-niichan?"