Both Perspectives
Inside the deep woods of an abandoned forest, there stands a mansion. Not any mansion, but a mansion surrounded with dark magic and black roses. The mansion was surrounded in smoky, red flames, which were a barrier to keep any intruders from entering. Through the big window leading to the balcony of the mansion, you could see a faint figure behind the curtains. It looked like they were sitting behind a chair, with another figure standing further from them.
“Kamishiro, I’m telling you that your proposal is far too dangerous,” Toya spoke in a serious tone, as he was flipping through files of paper given to him by Rui.
“But…! Imagine if this spell could help the people!” Rui persuaded, giving Toya the adorable puppy eyes. “Just think of it. A spell that drains your life power in exchange for a magical barrier, wouldn’t it be interesting~?”
Toya didn’t think so… In fact, this spell was made for a hazardous outcome anyways.
“I… don’t see the appeal.” Toya softly spoke, as he stood up to open the windows and throws the papers out of the house. The papers soon reached the barrier of the mansion, burning up into flames in the process.
If you could see Rui’s reaction, it was like a heartbroken cat. You can visualize his ears, dropping down at the sight of seeing his hard work being burned into flames.
“My work, my precious work! Toya, how could you? Shiku, shiku….” Rui first pouted, then sobbed, but Toya could tell he was just being sarcastic anyways.
“That’s not very convincing of you.” Toya suspected, turning back to face Rui. “Anyhow, we’re still going on that expedition later this afternoon, right?”
“Oh, of course~, I’ll get the preparations ready.”
“Thank you. Oh, and tell Saki about this too, she’ll join us this time.”
“Understood.”
“I’m counting on you, Rui.”
The inside of the Otori Palace is large. Too large in fact, to the point where it takes over 100 laps around the castle to fully memorize everything. The walls are decorated in color, with gold accents added on to almost everything, even the furniture, the maids and butlers, everything. On this fine morning, the four Rose Knights are out on a patrol of the castle, before they go their separate ways.
If this were a manga, you could visualize the sparkles and roses that would appear over their heads. The four were some of the most attractive figures in the entire Kingdom, no wonder they were also named the “The most attractive Knights that will steal your heart in a heartbeat.”
Anyhow, Tsukasa was in front of the group, walking sorta in front of them. He was the person who greeted most of the people they met as they patrolled, with Mizuki popping in and out. Akito and Shiho stayed quiet because they barely go inside the castle. They mainly just stay at the Knights's camp in the lower floors.
“Tsukasa, didn’t you say that we’re going out tonight?” Akito suddenly asked as he glared out the window, looking at the town houses from a far distance.
“Oh~? On a date?” Mizuki teasingly jokes. They knew this wasn’t possible, but they wanted to lighten up the mood.
“Of course not!” Tsukasa bursted out, “Because.. There’s someone else I have feelings for…”
…..
Eh?
Wait a minute…. Did Tsukasa just..
“WHAAAAAT?!?” The other three shouted out, drawing some attention from almost everyone on the floor.
Shiho scoffed, telling everyone that it was nothing and that they should return back to their stations. Most of them complied, but some of them stayed. And as the majority left, two prominent figures came out of the door. They were none other than Emu and Nene.
Emu, as always, was dressed in a frilly pink dress, with small accents of white and magenta. Today, she tied up her already short hair into two small low-pigtails, and had a little small top hat which completed the whole look and didn’t make her head look bald.
Nene, on the other hand, was wearing a Victorian styled dress. Her light colored blouse complimented with the navy vest she was wearing, alongside a small red bowtie. She was also carrying a parasol, she just didn’t open it inside the castle. Her hair was tied up into a braided bun, which really made her feel like a diva.
“Ah- hello, everyone.” Nene politely greeted as she gently did a curtsey, closing the door behind her. A maid was about to do it, but Nene felt bad and closed it herself.
“Nee-nee, I heard some shouting outside, was it Tsukasa?” Emu asked as her bright pink eyes sparkled and sparkled, eager to hear the tea.
Tsukasa and Akito both scoffed, covering their mouths with their hands.
“It was nothing~” Mizuki reassured, “but if you really want to know, I can always tell you later!”
“Thank you Mizuki, you’re the BEST!” Emu thanked, maybe too energetically. She started jumping around Mizuki, thanking them. To which, Mizuki accepted and joined her in the fun.
“Those two are way too energetic…” said Akito, taking a few steps back and almost hitting the wall.
The group talked for a while longer, before Nene spoke up again.
“Ah! Emu, we have to attend a meeting soon. Let’s get going.” She remembered, grabbing Emu by her hand and started dragging her. To which Emu started screaming for help. No one did anything.
“Er…. Well that was quite something, wasn’t it.” Shiho said, looking at the grandfather clock located in the hallway. “Now, where were we?”
“Oh!” Tsukasa continued, “Let’s meet at headquarters at 17:00, there we can discuss and plan our expedition for tonight.”
“Sounds good.” The others replied, going their separate ways.
What they don’t know is that tonight is a full moon, an unexpected full moon. All of the stars will illuminate the sky, and it’s also time. It’s time for… the dragon to awaken.
Back at the mansion, Saki is cleaning up Rui’s lab in the basement. Rui’s lab was near the jail cell of the mansion, where he keeps test subjects, and where a monster is hiding. The walls of the lab were filled with cabinets and drawers, each having been stuffed with lab equipment that was difficult to find, even in the black markets. Some of those materials are probably illegal to find now… but who could do anything about it since no outside can enter?
Saki cleans the lab daily, as Rui was always working in it even at night. She would often hum to herself, reminiscing about the time she sang songs with her friends back at the castle.
“Hmm, hmmhmm, hmmm~🎶”
“What nice singing, Saki-kun.” Rui spoke as he peeked his head through the lab door, “If you don’t mind, can you help me put these books in the library? It’ll only take a few minutes.”
“Oh, of course! Let me just put the broom away and I’ll help you immediately.” She replied, rushing to find the broom to put it away.
–
A few moments later, Saki rejoined Rui at the staircases, where he had a large pile of books waiting for her.
“This also counts as training for you to resonate with your dark magic, Saki. You shouldn’t take this too lightly.”
Ah, of course. Everything Rui tasks Saki to do involves dark magic in some form, and it’s for her to hone her dark magic skills. Saki carefully walked in front of the pile of books, and as she prayed her hands together, she spoke out–
“Levare!*”
As she said that, her hands started to emit a black flame, which soon made the books surrounded in the black aura. She started taking smaller steps, climbing up the stairs, the books followed her, and Rui was behind her.
After going up the first floor, the books started to shake alongside Saki’s hands. They almost dropped, but Saki steadily focused and calmed her nerves, and before she knew it, she reached the library in no time.
She let go of her palms, dropped to the ground, and started to sweat profusely. Even though she was tired, she had a look of relief and smiled brightly.
“I did it!” She cheered, as it was the first time she ever lifted those books successfully.
Rui soon entered the room, clapping his palms lightly. “Yes, you certainly have improved between these past 3 years.”
“Oh? What are you two doing here?” A voice could be heard behind a few shelves in the library.”
“Toya? What are you doing here?” Saki asked as she got up.
“I’m finding a map of the Otori Nation.” He replied, stepping out of the rows of books and standing in front of Saki and Rui. “We have to go out tonight, remember?”
“Aren’t we just going near the forests? I thought we already knew that place?”
“That’s true… but that’s not it.” Rui joined, “I went into town one day and they said the Rose Knights will be patrolling near the forest, so I had to make sure there were escape routes.”
...
Yes, the Rose Knights. The very same knights that drove Toya and Rui away from the kingdom, the same knights who accused Saki of such sacrilege.
“Brother will be there then…” Saki mumbled but spoke the following sentence louder. “I’m going to show him that I’m not some failure kid then! Even after 3 years!”
“Yes~ That’s the spirit.” Rui applauded, “Now, we should get our preparations ready.”
“Of course, it’s only a matter of time before the dragon awakens,” Toya concluded, leaving the room.
Tonight… I’ll finally face my seniors. He thought as he left.