Nami

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

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

Aaah, how much I had missed my angel form, wearing my robes, and walking barefoot on the grass. I longed 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 provided.

I was deliberately ignoring the brutal attacks on the Angel Commoners because I was not ready yet to accept that violence had infiltrated the kingdom. It might be a childish and cowardly act to hide in the shadows of my false reality, but for that moment, I preferred to pretend that I knew nothing.

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

“Sora, good morning,” I greeted him, delighted to see that despite his demanding position as the king and tight schedule, he still managed to meet me, even if it was just for a few minutes. “Of course, you found me here.” I grinned.

“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 chuckled. “I assume you did not bother greeting Father, Mother, and Souma before seeking refuge in the mountains.”

I cringed in response.

My brother sat 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 bit my lower lip, pondering whether I should continue.

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

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

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

I covered 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 smirked.

“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 looked at my brother out of the corner of my eye, catching a glimpse of his ears perking up when I mentioned 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 these people to my brother? Is it possible that I actually consider them my friends?

“I see.” Sora glanced up at the cloudless sky. “I am happy that you are adjusting well in Tokyo.” He smiled and brought his attention back to me.

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

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

I snorted, “As if.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sora laughed 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 jumped out of the swing. “What did you think of my human form?”

Sora’s human form did not differ much from Souma’s, as both had dark hair and dark eyes and looked handsome. The only noticeable difference between them was that Sora’s hair was shorter than Souma’s, which mirrored the same distinction their angel forms carried. 

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

“Thank you.” He took 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 over for five days.”

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

“I want to return to the human realm to prepare things for school,” I explained vaguely, omitting that, in reality, I had agreed to meet with 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 squeezed his eyes. “You are not lying about anything, but you are not telling me everything either.”

Having a brother as the king had its disadvantages, as he was ridiculously more powerful and wiser than the rest of the angels and could read our souls with the snap of a finger. If Sora were just a normal prince like Souma, he would not have been able to read the secrets hidden in my heart. Regardless, he respected me and never pressured me to reveal things that I did not want to or was not ready to reveal.

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

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

“Have you uncovered the identity of the attackers?” 

The sound of the waterfall in the distance filled the air as my brother stayed silent, indicating that he did not wish to elaborate on the matter.

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

“Yes.”

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

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

“Are angels involved with demons in the murders?” A lump formed in my throat as I asked the question.

Again, Sora did not respond.

I got out of the swing with the intention of approaching him. However, before I could do so, a white ball of fur with ethereal, glowing dark blue wings flew in my direction out of nowhere, startling me. 

“I am being attacked,” I screamed, almost tripping on my robe’s hem.

“Meow. Meow.” It gently landed on my feet.

I blinked a couple of times, stunned. “It meows,” I whispered, wincing as its weight almost crushed my toes. “And it is heavy.”

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

“Cat Guardian?” 

He handed the furball to me, which I accepted hesitantly, and then remarked, “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 buried its head into my armpit and purred, all relaxed and content, I could not 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 commented, “but if I remember correctly, my teacher said they never show themselves to angels.” 

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

“I see…”

The furball looked up at me, its dark blue eyes shining as they met mine. “Meow.”

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

“But why me?” 

Suddenly, my brother’s lips formed 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 did not answer my question, his beautiful smile was back.

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

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

“Oh. Well, in that case, I will call him Yu,” I blurted out, my own brain betraying me as Demon Boy’s name was the first thing that came to my mind. 

“Yu? Is that it?” 

“*Yuki,” I exclaimed, revealing the second thing that popped into my head. Besides, the furball was white, and so was the snow, which made it a perfect name. 

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

“Meow.” 

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

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

I chuckled, 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 declared, slowly making my way back to the castle with my furball comfortable 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