Nami

“Home, sweet home,” I whisper, my eyes closed, a massive smile stamped across my face. “I have missed it so much,” I add, swinging back and forth on my swinging couch in my favorite spot at the castle in the Kingdom of Angels.

The mountains, illuminated by the golden rays of the sunrise, look exactly the same as when I used to visit this place before moving to Tokyo—majestic and comforting.

Aaah, how much I have missed my angel form, wearing my robes, and walking barefoot on the grass. I long for the sight of the sunrise and sunset from the safety of my swing, the sound of the waterfall, and the serenity that only the Kingdom of Angels provides.

I am deliberately ignoring the brutal attacks on the angel commoners because I am not ready yet to accept that violence has infiltrated the kingdom. It might be a childish and cowardly act to hide in the shadows of my false reality, but for the moment, I prefer to pretend that I know nothing.

“Nami.” Sora stands next to me, a smile gracing his beautiful face.

“Sora, good morning,” I greet him, delighted to see that despite his demanding position as king and tight schedule, he still manages to meet me, even if only for a few minutes. “Of course, you found me here.” I grin.

“I felt your presence at the castle the moment you stepped out of the portal, and I immediately knew the first thing you were going to do was visit your secret spot.” He chuckles. “I assume you did not bother greeting Father, Mother, and Souma before seeking refuge in the mountains.”

I grimace in response.

My brother sits beside me on the swinging couch, rocking us gently. “How are things in the human realm? Have you gotten used to life as a human?”

“Humans are much more complicated than I initially imagined.”

“Yes, they certainly are.”

“Although…” I bite my lower lip, pondering whether I should continue.

“Although?” Sora nudges me with his shoulder, encouraging me to be honest.

I confess, “Although I think I have made some friends and…” Again, I bite my lower lip, my cheeks blushing as Demon Boy’s face invades my mind. To make matters worse, I also remember when he kissed the back of my hand and when he protected me from the drunken man and Ishii-san.

“You are blushing,” Sora gasps, staring at me with a dumbfounded expression. “I have never seen you blush before.”

I cover my cheeks with my hands, averting my eyes from him. “Oh, my goodness. I do not know why I am blushing.”

“Tell me more about those friends of yours,” he says, smirking.

“Hmm… Shiokawa-san and Watanabe-san are my classmates and, to be honest, the only people I bother talking to. There is Hasegawa-san as well, but…” I look at my brother out of the corner of my eye, catching a glimpse of his ears perking up when I mention Demon Boy’s name, his reaction intriguing me.

“Allow me to guess—Hasegawa-san is a boy.”

“Yes, he is, and so is Watanabe-san. Shiokawa-san is a girl.”

Why am I mentioning those people to my brother? Is it possible that I actually consider them my friends?

“I see.” Sora glances up at the cloudless sky. “I am happy that you are adjusting well in Tokyo.” He smiles, bringing his gaze back to me.

“I even went to karaoke with them and other schoolmates the other day.”

His mouth hangs open in surprise. “Really? Did you sing?”

I snort. “As if.”

“What did you do, then?” He peers at me suspiciously. “Do not tell me you have already gotten yourself a boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” The image of Demon Boy holding my hand appears again in my head. “No,” I exclaim, embarrassed and all flushed.

“You can tell me the truth, little sister,” he teases me. “You have a boyfriend, do you not? Otherwise, you would not be blushing like you are now.”

I place a hand on my right cheek. “I am not blushing; you are.”

My brother chuckles. “So, what did you do at karaoke? Did you have fun?”

I take a deep breath to calm down. “I ate several bowls of mochi ice cream. Does that count?”

Sora laughs heartily. “I know you have fun whenever sweets are involved.”

“By the way, thank you for always visiting me in Tokyo. I loathe being away from you and Souma.”

“I will always visit you whenever my schedule permits.” He jumps out of the swing. “What did you think of my human form?”

Sora’s human form does not differ much from Souma’s, as both have dark hair and dark eyes and look handsome. The only noticeable difference between them is that Sora’s hair is shorter than Souma’s, which mirrors the same distinction their angel forms carry.

“You look handsome as a human as well as an angel,” I compliment my brother.

“Thank you.” He takes a step toward the edge of the cliff, his back turned to me. “How long are you staying in the castle?”

“It is Golden Week* in Tokyo, so I will stay for five days.”

“Five days? Why are you not staying for the full seven days?”

“I want to return to the human realm to prepare things for school,” I explain vaguely, omitting that, in reality, I have agreed to meet Shiokawa-san on the sixth day to go shopping. I was reluctant to accept the invitation at first, but she convinced me when she promised to take me to a famous sweets shop and pay for the most delicious slice of strawberry cake for me—yes, she bought my pride with a slice of cake.

“Why do I have the feeling that you are hiding things from me?” Sora narrows his eyes. “You are not lying about anything, but you are not telling me everything either.”

Having a brother as the king has its disadvantages, as he is ridiculously more powerful and wiser than the rest of the angels and can read our souls with a snap of his fingers. If Sora were just a normal prince like Souma, he would not be able to read the secrets hidden in my heart. Regardless, he respects me and never pressures me to reveal things that I do not want to or am not ready to reveal.

“Hey, are the attacks still increasing?” I change the subject.

He tenses up. “Unfortunately, yes, they are.”

“Have you uncovered the identity of the attackers?”

The sound of the waterfall in the distance fills the air as my brother remains silent, indicating that he does not wish to elaborate on the matter.

“Are you worried about the kingdom’s future?” I insist.

“Yes.”

My eyes well up immediately, the inevitable pain cutting through my chest like a knife. It is incredible how one simple word has the power to change the entire atmosphere around me and replace the serenity with nothing but dread.

The fact that the king is admitting his worry about the kingdom’s future to his little sister speaks volumes—it means that the situation is critical, and it is time for me to face reality.

“Are angels involved with demons in the murders?” A lump forms in my throat as I ask.

Again, Sora does not respond.

I get out of the swing, intending to approach him. However, before I can do so, a white ball of fur with ethereal, glowing dark blue wings flies toward me out of nowhere, startling me.

“I am being attacked,” I scream, almost tripping over my robe’s hem.

“Meow! Meow!”

It gently lands on my feet.

I blink a couple of times, stunned. “It meows,” I whisper, wincing as its weight almost crushes my toes. “And it is heavy.”

Sora laughs, sweeping the ball of fur into his arms. “Look, a Cat Guardian has chosen you.” He pets it on its round head.

“Cat Guardian?”

He hands the furball to me, which I accept hesitantly, and then remarks, “Cat Guardians are considered guardians of the Kingdom of Angels, and it is exceedingly rare to see one, much less be chosen by one. I am surprised you were not aware of their existence.”

As the furball buries its head into my armpit and purrs, completely relaxed and content, I cannot help but immediately accept the unexpected yet adorable and pleasant new responsibility.

“I think I learned about them during one of my lessons about the history of the kingdom,” I comment, “but if I remember correctly, my teacher said they never show themselves to angels.”

Sora reaches for the Cat Guardian, his hand sinking into its soft fur as he pets it. “They do on extremely rare occasions.”

“I see…”

The furball looks up at me, its dark blue eyes shining as they meet mine. “Meow!”

“It has definitely chosen you as its ward,” my brother states, smiling. “You should be honored that such a blessing has been bestowed upon you.”

“But why me?”

Suddenly, my brother’s lips form a thin line, a dark shadow blurring the delicate traces on his face. “Who knows…”

“Huh? Do you really not know the reason, or do you not want to tell me about it?”

“What is the name you have chosen for him?” Although he does not answer my question, his beautiful smile is back.

“Him?” I arch an eyebrow, trying to discreetly look under the Guardian’s tail.

“You will not see anything there, Nami.” Sora chuckles. “I can tell it is a him because I can feel his mana.”

“Oh. Well, in that case, I will call him Yuu,” I blurt out, my own brain betraying me as Demon Boy’s name is the first thing that comes to mind.

“Yuu? Is that it?”

“Yuki,*” I exclaim, revealing the second thing that pops into my head. Besides, the furball is white, and so is the snow, which makes it a perfect name.

“Yuki,” Sora mumbles, nodding in approval. “I like that. You are taking him with you when you go back to the human realm.” He turns around and waltzes away, leaving me alone with the Cat Guardian.

“Meow!”

“Do you want to live with me in Tokyo?” I ask, a baby voice spontaneously coming out of my mouth.

“Meow, meow,” Yuki purrs louder, sounding like the engine of a small but powerful motorcycle.

I chuckle, my heart melting. “Okay, okay. From now on, I am counting on you to protect and guide me, and I will do the same for you as well.”

“Meow!”

“Let us go to the castle so that I can introduce you to Father, Mother, and Souma,” I declare, slowly making my way back to the castle with my furball comfortably nestled in my arms.

* * *

*Golden Week - Golden Week is the term used in Japan for the collection of four national holidays that happen within one week

*Yuki - snow