Author's Note:

┬┴┬┴┤･ω･)

┬┴┬┴┤･ω･)ﾉ

Sooooooo, long time no see? Hehehehe......

I had no excuse. Other than the fact that my parents decided to open a new salon and I'm the only one in the family with mad media/computer skills. So I was designated as the designer and as a public media agent for the shop. And then on top of that, I was busy the last few months on my NEW JOB. Ｏ(≧∇≦)Ｏ (I got both the position and the salary I wanted!)

But yeah, I should've used twitter as I had originally made a twitter for and inform you guys but... I get social anxiety on social media, okay? >.<

So, this also should have been posted, like, weeks ago, but Editor-chan abandoned me got busy because it's the weeks before spring break and Editor-chan's professors would love nothing more than to pile on all sorts of projects for Editor-chan to drown in. (ﾉ^ヮ^)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Anyway, enjoy this lovely (and frustrating, because Amir is an uncooperative character to write about) chapter and I hope it's worth the wait. (Probably not, but here's the chapter nonetheless).

...--------...

"Tanaka."

Startled, the said young man turned around to look at the large screen attached to the wall close to his bed. The voice was familiar, low and deep with a bit of a purr as they called out his name, and he couldn't help but brighten when he saw a familiar face centered in the middle of the pictured surface.

The man was devilishly handsome with sharp features and equally sharp eyes that shone like gold under the sunlight. Around his jaw and his upper lip was a five o'clock shadow, which made him unfailingly more masculine rather than sloppy, and his usually confident and arrogant smile was softer than normal.

Tanaka stared at the face a second longer than usual, tilting his head as he traced the other's facial lines with his dark eyes. It almost felt as if it had been a while since he last saw this face.

"Tanaka," Basim called out once again after allowing the younger man to gawk at him for a full minute, his baritone voice mixed with fondness and exasperation. "What's wrong? Are you sleepy? Do you want to take a nap?"

It took another minute for Tanaka to answer-- in fact, he was actually tired, but it had been such a long time since they last talked to each other that for the first time in forever, he didn't want to go to sleep.

...Wait, that couldn't be right... A long time? But he and Basim talked to each other every day...

Nonetheless, Tanaka shook his head, his black hair ruffling at the motion. His messy short hair became even more puffed out, very similar to the fluff of a day-old chick. Though his large dark eyes looked heavy, he still wanted to talk to his friend some more.

"Basim-san," he called out to the older man softly, grabbing onto the blankets and pillows on his bed so that he could make himself comfortable on the mattress. He was wearing his sister's old sweater and his brother's old sweatpants. These were clothes that his siblings wore when they were in high school, but they looked a couple of sizes too big on Tanaka.

The image was terribly cozy and warm; just a single glance at the young man made one feel happy and pleasant. "Yes?" Basim answered indulgently, his features gradually softening the longer he stared at the dazed Tanaka.

Basim didn't rush for a reply and allowed the younger man to respond at his own pace. While Tanaka was a scientist with PhDs in multiple fields and a reputation equal to Albert Einstein, he was slower in every other aspect of life-- much slower (though this was mostly due to laziness rather than capability). His brain could think through hundreds of calculations within a second, its processing power equal to or greater than some of the supercomputers around the world, but once he started talking to people, it would stall painfully, and sometimes, blue screen altogether.

It was not like Tanaka didn't like people (he was especially fond of the ones that were strong enough to carry him around), but sometimes, they were just so exhausting to interact with...

"...Were we talking about something?" Tanaka finally continued his line of thought as he looked around his room with a confused expression. His room was relatively neat if only under the combined effort of Nanami and their father. All his books were in his wall-to-wall bookshelf, his random experiments in the far corner of his room where all manners of alarms and safety measures were installed, his consoles and his video games were underneath the T.V. in a semi-organized pile, and his black-framed glasses were perched nearby on top of his nightstand. The only things out of place were the extra pillows that had fallen on the floor as he was taking his mid-brunch nap, which he left alone because he still had enough pillows on his bed, regardless.

He made the effort to reach for his glasses though the act of doing so was unbelievably pathetic. Tanaka tried to keep the bottom half of his body in one spot as he stretched his arm and his torso towards the frames. He managed to grab onto it, only to pitch over face-first into his comforter. There was a muffled grunt and Basim, who was watching the whole proceeding, laughed seeing the struggling Japanese.

As he allowed the young man to recompose himself, he answered the other's question with a perfunctory smile, as if he hadn't laughed at the silly scientist a few seconds ago; "I was congratulating you on your research breakthrough. After all, cold fusion energy is very difficult to be made available, much less affordable."

Tanaka rocked back into his original position before putting on his glasses, trying to recall their conversation through squinting eyes. He briefly wondered why the weight on his nose and his ears now felt unfamiliar, even though he had been wearing lenses since middle school.

In any case, he did remember Basim congratulating him, though the memory was a little fuzzy for some reason. After recollecting the details of his research, the first thing he told his friend was, "I'm sorry."

The older man was the leading figure in petroleum exportation and distribution while Tanaka was the leading researcher in cold fusion technology and energy. Once his findings were peer-reviewed and published, his research and himself would be considered a threat to the crude oil industry. After all, a lot of wealthy people in the world had a lot of shares and interests in the petroleum industry and no matter how much money they had backed up, no one liked to lose money, especially big money.

Basim also had businesses in other areas as well, but his conglomerate held a lot of interest in the development of petroleum technology and extraction. For someone like his friend to congratulate him on the progress of a rival and inexhaustible energy source that could undermine his way of life or, at the very least, make him lose a lot of money...

Despite this, Basim looked very unbothered by the young man's successes and even looked more amused by the other's sincere apology. As Tanaka was usually well adored by his family, rarely did he have to worry about things like earning money or budgeting. To say he was more spoiled than an emperor's favorite concubine would be an understatement, but even so, the youngest child of the world-renowned Maki Clan had little wants beyond a place to sleep and food to eat. As long as he had enough money to ensure his comfort, everything else was up in the air. Whether it was in an apartment, a house, a car, a trailer, or even a tent, as long as there was a comfortable place for him to take a nap in, he would be happy. Therefore, the older man didn't try to explain the fact that outside of his contribution to the petroleum industry, he still would have enough assets to party and live well for several lifetimes.

"There is nothing for you to apologize for," Basim responded with a fond expression. Besides, ever since that day in the hospital, he had long made plans to gradually migrate his corporation away from the petroleum industry in order to support his little Japanese friend. "You must be excited," he then added, changing the subject so that the other wouldn't dwell on the matter too much.

While grabbing one of his full body pillows to hug, Tanaka tilted his head, his droopy eyes looking up at the ceiling momentarily before shrugging as a response to the older man's statement.

The development of cold fusion technology had gone quite far under Tanaka's care, but by no means were they close to being done. So far, everything--the materials, technology, and installation--was affordable only to someone like Basim and the energy output was not efficient or controlled enough for public use. The safety measures weren't established and there were still too many things that could go wrong. Not to mention, there was still a high possibility that the reactor could explode in one's face...

Either way, Tanaka didn't feel they were at the point of celebrating anything yet, but he still preened under Basim's praise regardless. If they were in the same room, he would have already leaned his head towards the taller man in hopes of a 'good job' pat.

Looking at the other's clean and bright face, Basim unwittingly released a gentle laugh and relaxed further in the lounge chair of his hotel room. The young Japanese could see a peek of the city's nightlife in the background and the lights seemed to create stars upon the Arabian's dark hair and black eyes.

The tycoon seemed to be somewhere in Europe since Tanaka could see the polished, baroque-styled buildings. The white stones and bright colors were a magnificent combination, and maybe if he had cared more for the architecture, he would have noticed the familiar but unique style and distinguished sculptures of beasts and people that also looked familiar...

What country was Basim visiting? Wasn't he in the states?

Before he could scrutinize his friend's location further, there was a knock near his bedroom door. He turned away from the T.V. screen to see his brother's, Daichi's, trim figure.

As a high ranked person in the Japanese Defense Force, his subtle muscle could be seen even through his hoodie and sweatpants, contrasting greatly with his gentle face. He had a short crew cut for easy maintenance, and Tanaka remembered one time asking for the same haircut when he was younger, only to be blocked off by both his mother and his sister. Their father looked ready to burst out laughing at the suggestion while Daichi had a pinched, smiling expression.

In the end, he didn't because his hair grew fast and that would mean constant visits to the hairdresser every few weeks or so.

Tanaka stared at his brother's familiar yet unfamiliar stature and for some reason, his nose soured and his eyes felt hot.

Weirdly, Daichi, who was usually in tuned with his little brother's emotional state, didn't notice the other's building distress. He had a gentle smile that seemed strangely foreboding, but Tanaka didn't really care what it meant as long as his older brother was still smiling.

With tender eyes, Daichi walked into the room, but strangely, he hadn't even acknowledged Basim on the monitor. It was a surprisingly rude action, and they were both usually very polite to each other. "Naka-chan, Arata-kun's here to see you," his elder brother informed him with some amusement and suddenly, Tanaka's blood grew cold. Then he became confused.

Wasn't... the timing wrong?

"Ah, I see that you're busy at the moment," Basim then suddenly commented, making Tanaka even more confused. "I'll let you go for now. Goodbye."

A strange panic stirred within Tanaka's chest. The Arabian had always been nice to his friends— to everyone except Arata, apparently. Tanaka had known Arata since they were in middle school and he then later met Basim while he was still in high school. From their first meeting, his school mate looked at the Saudi with blatant suspicions while the older man had sneered down at the other with dark eyes full of ridicule.

The two of them never had gotten along since then and Basim had always used every opportunity to keep him away from his other friend. It was strange for the tycoon to be so calm and accepting after hearing Arata's name. By now, he should be making excuses to prevent Tanaka from seeing his old classmate but instead, Basim said goodbye without hesitation...

Tanaka lurched forward, Basim's name falling from his lips as he reached for the man on the other side of the screen, but the older man only gave him a serene smile and abruptly cut off their connection.

He fell out of bed, baffled and bewildered as the fallen pillows cushioned his descent with the sheets tangled between his legs. And Daichi just stood there and watched him as if he was blind to Tanaka's panicked reaction and Basim's strange and cold exit. His brother gave him a fond smile, but nothing else. His warm expression didn't even stir when his little brother fell from the bed, which should have sent him in an overprotective and worried state.

The youngest of the Maki Clan had been an adult for more than eight years already but they still treated him as if he was five and a half, and made out of glass, so this detached treatment felt strange to Tanaka. Daichi was looking at him but... it was like his older brother was looking at a different scene.

"Don't fall back asleep," he told him in a warm tone, even though Tanaka was wide awake and out of his bed. "Arata-kun has been waiting for you to wake up for the past half hour. He said it was really urgent and he doesn't look well."

Oddly, he felt unwilling to see Arata. Not due to laziness or due to one of his unsociable moods, but because of the thought of seeing his old friend...

Regardless, as he was pondering over the icy-cold sensation in his veins, his body moved without permission and before he knew it, he was in the living room staring at both the familiar and unfamiliar features of his former school mate.

Tanaka had always been smaller than most people and while Arata didn't exactly tower over him like the rest of his family and Basim, he was a good half a head taller than him. Some days, when he was too lazy to lift his head, he would just stare at the other's collar whenever they talked but for some reason, the smaller man looked up.

He didn't really understand the concept of attraction other than the fact that his family and Basim attracted the gaze and attention of everyone that just happened to take a glance at them. Tanaka knew that in other people's eyes, he wasn't really attractive and stood out in not the most flattering way when compared to his family members and his old friend. He had little care for his appearances, and other than the protective equipment in his labs, he had little desire for dressing up or looking his best.

His hair was never combed save for the time his sister would brush it for him. His wardrobe consisted of baggy pants and large t-shirts, some that were not even his. His only accessory was his thick, black-framed glasses and maybe some hair clips and headbands to keep his bangs out of the way while he was performing experiments.

In comparison to his sloppy looks, Arata had a much more clean appearance. Ever since they had graduated from their university, he was always wearing expensive suits and expensive cologne. Unlike Tanaka, he looked like a very successful and self-sufficient adult, and seeing how often he interacted with the Maki Clan, some people had often mistaken him as their youngest son rather than the lazy, sloven young man who never bothered to fit the image of a highly acclaimed Nobel Prize winner.

Tanaka was never bothered by it because their opinions were unrelated to his sleep schedule.

Regardless, while Arata still looked impeccable as always, his skin was pale and his eyes looked hollow with deep, dark bags framing the white's red veins. He had a smile on his face even though Tanaka still perceived the air of irritation above his head.

With a soft tone that didn't match the glare of his gaze, he remarked with fondness, "Naka-kun, how long has it been since we last talked to each other? I bet you have been shutting yourself in your room again."

While it was true and Arata had often reprimanded him in such a coddling fashion, there was something... off between his words and his expression. Tanaka wanted to move towards his brother or shut himself inside his room, but his body wouldn't move. He wasn't even allowed to tremble.

Tanaka didn't respond to the other's comment, but it didn't seem like his old classmate cared for his response. Arata just smiled in a way that didn't reach his eyes and led the smaller man towards the front door. "I bet you haven't been outside lately. Why don't we take a walk and talk some business."

He didn't want to but he followed him nonetheless. On the way, Daichi had ruffled his hair, Nanami, who was often on the side watching, just shook her head and did the same. Kaa-san came out of the kitchen; her scent full of flour, sugar, and lavender, and hugged him as he was leaving and Tou-san took a moment from his tablet to absentmindedly kiss him on the forehead. His departure was sudden and swift and left him no time to bask in their warmth.

Before he knew it, they were several streets away from his home and alone in a strangely empty road. There were some cars parked on the side near the sidewalks and they happened to stop near Arata's Lexus Coupe. The Maki Clan lived in a close-gated community and for some reason, Arata was never allowed to drive inside.

There was a long silence that filled the atmosphere with a flammable tension. Even someone as scatterbrained as Tanaka could feel it, but he was lost in how to address the elephant in the room. Or what was the elephant in the first place? But Arata turned around swiftly, his expression black and ugly with dark, malicious eyes.

"You-- You ruined me on purpose!!" Arata accused, which caused Tanaka to draw a blank. What was he talking about? "The notes you've given me are a bunch of fantasies and half-thoughts! Now I'm being laughed off by the U.S. military board and half of congress!"

Arata worked overseas in the United States as the lead technological researcher in the military's defense department. Though the memory was a little fuzzy for some reason, Tanaka remembered his old classmate leaving for an important conference and how he had seemed to be in a rush for some reason.

Before that, he asked Tanaka for help on some ideas to present to the board and he remembered writing a few things down on whatever came to mind before Arata ripped away from the notebook and left without so much as a goodbye. While they were conceivable ideas if taken seriously, the details were half-hearted at best and maybe a few of them were based on video game concepts that he found interesting. He didn't expect his old classmate to actually use them, much less present them in the meeting.

Not to mention, Arata had asked for defense weaponry ideas and even if they were for defense, Tanaka didn't like designing weapons. Technically, anything he made could be used as a weapon, but he didn't want to make things solely to be used as a weapon. But because it was his old friend asking and it didn't seem to be asked out of ill intent, he created some vague blueprints good enough to look at but not enough for in-depth discussion. And if anyone looked closely at the numbers, they would have noticed the lack of firepower. The most harm his designs could do was maybe bruise.

After all, 'defense' was not the same thing as 'kill'.

Nonetheless, Tanaka stayed silent, unsure how to respond to the accusation and Arata didn't seem to care whether he did say anything or not. He continued ranting with a grievous tone while spitting on his face.

"Now not only am I the joke of the entire department, I got demoted as well!"

"Ara-kun..."

Without warning, Arata seized his arm in a painful grip, pulling him closer in a threatening manner as he forcefully made Tanaka look up at his reddening eyes.

"You need to help me!" he demanded desperately, half-pleading and half-ordering. "You owe me!"

"I don't..."

Tanaka flinched when Arata's fingernails dug into his exposed skin. He felt very uncomfortable and couldn't help but squirm as he tried to keep some distance between him and his old classmate, but the taller man was surprisingly strong despite his thin arms. Or maybe Tanaka was too weak; sleeping at all hours did not exactly build up muscle for all intent and purposes. He preferred to leave such tiring things to his older brothers or to his friends. Ah... he wanted to sleep now.

A harsh shake brought him out of his thoughts and Tanaka was once again forced to pay attention to his old friend who had noticed the smaller man falling into a daze. Arata's expression contorted into something akin to frustration and distaste. "I don't get what's so special about you. You're just a lazy, good-for-nothing sloth who only uses its useless brain for the five minutes it's actually awake!"

Well, he kind of didn't want to be awake... He would rather be back in his bedroom taking his afternoon nap...

Arata shook him once again as if he could tell the other was drifting away again, even though Tanaka's sight hadn't wavered away from the taller man's eyes despite his aching neck. All the while, his former classmate's grip gradually increased in strength and dragged him closer towards the driver's side of the car.

"You're going to help me. I need something to impress those small-minded Americans so we're going to go to your labs and you're going to give me whatever you're working on."

"...Why?" Tanaka felt so lost and Arata looked so angry. His hand was shaking as he began to fiddle with his car keys until there was a 'clunk' sound of the Lexus unlocking.

"You owe me," Arata uttered underneath his breath as he opened the driver's door and pulled Tanaka closer to his side to lean down to grab the seat lever. "You owe me your research."

"...But there's... nothing."

His former classmate froze and the hand on his arm stiffened greatly before Arata almost yanked it out from its socket. His eyes reddened further, if that was possible, and his old friend's breathing seemed to grow ragged. "What do you mean you have--have nothing?!"

"It's... It's published." As a scientist, even someone as lazy as Tanaka knew how important it was to publish one's findings to the public. He had little care for fame and didn't feel the need to hog his discoveries to himself, or for his country. He was also well aware that the development of cold fusion energy could go in many directions and was willing to let others explore around to reach their own conclusion.

His team was more than happy to take care of the publishing details (as long as their names were somewhere on the papers) and his superiors... weren't, but they let him do whatever he wanted anyway as long as they got gloating rights (and Tanaka's promise as Japan's representative in several global scientific conferences in the next few years).

Either way, they had just finished a big project and they were already moving on to the next one, so... there wasn't anything Arata could take as his own. Because everything would be published today. And Tanaka only had both the physical and mental energy to work on one big thing at a time, so there was nothing else he could give to his old classmate...

Arata tightened his grasp to the point that Tanaka could feel his arm becoming numb before it suddenly loosened. His enraged expression had blanked, his clean face smoothing, but his eyes remained smoldering.

"Useless," he spat and though he looked calm, his movement still gave away his rage, and he threw Tanaka away the same way people would throw trash away.

Startled, Tanaka blinked and saw a different face. He obviously wasn't Japanese, someone of European descendant judging by his harder features, with dark brown hair and mercury eyes. In terms of appearance, there was nothing that this person and Arata had in common, but their expression... They had the same cold expression that left him helpless and weak.

Then there was another blink and Arata's face emerged once again, full of shock and horror. There was a blare of a horn and a flash of day lamps blinding his eyes--

He was met with darkness, Arata's screams echoing in his mind, and he stayed in that darkness for what seemed to be a long time. After a while, he started seeing vague shapes and blinked. He saw a ceiling, intricate and full of decorative curves, and once he stopped being numbed to the visions of chilly black (silver?) eyes, he realized he was tucked in bed.

It took him even longer to remember that he was dead but then undead as he replaced a life that should have belonged to a child named Thomas. Except, Tanaka had spent most of his time refusing to be Thomas or refusing to replace Thomas by just... sleeping. And lazing around. Because Tanaka was not Thomas, and Thomas was not Tanaka. As long as his eidetic memory allowed him to remember Kaa-san's, Tou-san's, Nanami's, Daichi's, and Basim's faces, he would always be Tanaka.

He blinked once before looking around the room, somewhat disappointed that there was no one there by his bedside.

The last few weeks were a blur. He could barely remember getting kidnapped, much less what happened during and after the mess. All he knew was Clarisse's sorrowful and teary expression when he woke up and Tanaka barely even had time to be surprised before he was buried under her embrace. Everyone was pretty much in the same state, either crying or sobbing their hearts out. Including Edward, whose ice-like expression had melted under his own warm tears. His (not Thomas', not anymore) older brother made no sound as they rolled down his face.

Seeing them was more painful than the state of his body.

Edward didn't even notice them until Xander had come up from the background to help comfort the two shaken brothers.

Apparently, Mason had given him a sleeping potion, and he had been in a coma since they retrieved him from the kidnappers and it took a day and a half for its magic properties to finally bleed out from his system. Analysis concluded that the potion was obtained by an uncertified Brewer in the black market and the formula was, unfortunately, more complicated than Dr. Ainsley had anticipated. Fortunately, Tanaka woke up and surprisingly, didn't seem to suffer any side effects considering his strong 'allergic reaction' against consumable magic products.

Regardless, Tanaka was kept on observation for the next week after and during so, Dr. Ainsley took the opportunity during his sober state to ask some questions about his condition. In the end, she learned--

This kid is a fuckin' genius. Where in the hell did he come from and how come she hadn't heard of him until now? It had been years, years, since someone was able to keep up with her medical babbles. He had already read a good part of his grandfather's research and read through a fair amount of the academy's own variety of research in magic systems, magic management and control, barrier technology, rune archaeological studies, rune linguistics, magic stone technology, and a lot more other fields she couldn't care less about. In everything but that dumb practical tests that those dumb so-called scholars placed so much importance on, he was several levels above what was taught in his age group. Hell, he could probably graduate and run a circle around those geezers more than a dozen times!

Anyway, this tiny, boney, skinny-as-a-stick brat was definitely Alex's grandson. God, they even have the same 'I'm tired with the world's shit' expression. Which was not much of an expression but that was what made it distinctive. If that man were still alive today, she could only imagine the disgusting amount of pride he would have in concern towards his youngest grandchild. But unfortunately, no matter how smart the kid was, they were not able to pinpoint the source of his illness.

The kid was tender everywhere and though he had told her that the area around his solar plexus felt terribly warm, it didn't seem to hurt any worse than the rest of his body. The blood she had collected from him gave her nothing to start or work on. The lab results were frustratingly within normal parameters and no matter how many times Dr. Ainsley reviewed it, the numbers didn't lie.

While she considered other angles to investigate, she made sure to prescribe some non-magic antipyretic pills to further control his fever. She tried to prescribe him some painkillers alongside as well but much to her surprise, the kid rejected them the minute she mentioned them. Well, at the very least, he didn't want any strong painkillers and especially the ones that would make him feel drowsy.

Of course, she questioned why, half because of medical reasons and half because she was a nosy busybody, but the kid clamped his mouth shut and wouldn't answer, regardless of her needling.

Another week passed and while Tanaka was better, he definitely wasn't out of danger. Whatever illness he had continued to elude the proclaimed best doctor in the country and with the way Dr. Ainsley had been staring at him during his check-up, he had a feeling that the old woman was tempted to open him up to see what was wrong with him. Fortunately, Xander or Edward had always accompanied him during her visits, probably for this concern alone.

But it had been a lot of dead ends and no leads, and while his fever was milder and his limbs less sore, his sickness held on like a blood leech. Everyone worried constantly that he would have a relapse, where the medicine would stop working and his condition would worsen once again. In fact, after the kidnapping incident, it was promptly decided that Tanaka was not allowed to be alone in the unforeseen future.

Every day and night, there would be someone either near his bedside or outside of his room. They even got some of the estate's knights involved. Both Angus and Calum burst into his bedroom with snot and tears on their face and while the former started to degrade Mason Smith and his future grandchildren in the most colorful way known to man (including colorful language, colorful expressions, and colorful gestures), the latter used his deafening voice to apologize for their 'blindness'. After all, Smith was their junior and they were previously tasked to show him the ropes, but who knew he had such malicious plans for the people he had sworn under.

Tanaka didn't think there was anything to forgive and he was getting tired of everyone apologizing. Conrad was the worst of them. Every day, without fail, he could bring in a bundle of lavender as an apology gift with the expression of a kicked puppy, and now every corner of the room was flooded with the purple flowers.

Even weeks after the kidnapping, everyone carried a solemn air as if someone had died. Which was ridiculous because, obviously, he was still alive. There was nothing for them to be guilty about in the first place. It wasn't as if they were the ones that made him choke on a sleeping potion, stuffed him in a chest, loaded him on the back of a carriage, and then proceeded to take him out of the Noble District to never be seen again. Adults are so weird sometimes.

Ah wait, he is an adult, even if he doesn't look like one now.

People are just weird, then. They overthink things that don't need to be overthought and it leads to troublesome things. Like having a room buried in lavender.

Either way, the coddling was beginning to chafe his lazy lifestyle. He really didn't need everyone to stare intensely at him as he slept. Nor did he need them to throw themselves at him whenever he made a small sound. And whenever he gave any indication of pain or discomfort, they would dive for the nearest ECoM and contact Dr. Ainsley as if she was his personal doctor and not the Royal Family's.

Though he was somewhat touched by their concern, it was starting to interrupt his nap times and Tanaka had to put his metaphorical foot down. He wanted a night to himself without having someone staring lasers at him in the dark or panicking when they thought he had stopped breathing. And since he usually wasn't the type to complain about or ask for things, everyone reluctantly agreed to leave him alone for the night.

Now with flickers of beloved faces that he would never see again behind his eyes, he wished there was someone nearby but Tanaka didn't want to wake anyone up in the middle of the night just because he was feeling homesick. And for the first time in a long time, he didn't really feel like sleeping. Everything was too quiet. The room was too quiet. And the room felt too small, probably because of all the lavender piling up in the empty spaces of the bedroom. He was not claustrophobic by any means (or he wouldn't have been able to nap in more than half of his hiding spots), but the need for open-air was dire.

For a moment, Tanaka considered whether he should take a walk out in the hall or take a step outside... though the problem with the latter meant traveling nearly half an hour just to get downstairs, and the former was not exactly the open air he wanted. Maybe just opening a window would be enough...

Tanaka turned his eyes towards the window leading out to the gardens and an idea suddenly popped up in his head. It would take a little while to prepare... and maybe a bit of concentration, but it was definitely better than traversing down the long halls of the west wing where he could get lost in.

Slowly sliding out from his bed, his sleeping gown temporarily bunching up on his stomach, he dropped down on the rug-filled floors with uneasy feet. First, he grabbed the footstool underneath the bed and dragged it towards the sofas near the fireplace. He then grabbed the (hand-knitted, probably by Clarisse) blanket neatly folded on top of the cushions before dragging both items towards the window next to his nightstand. He dropped both of them and tugged the curtains to the side before placing the footstool below the sill. With careful steps, Tanaka climbed up to unlock the latch and swung the right half of the window inwards, pausing as he felt the cool air breezing into his room. He took a deep breath, before moving down and bundling up his blanket into his arm.

Pushing aside the footstool, he clambered up onto the window sill and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders, letting it draped heavily over his body and pooled around his feet. Cautiously leaning forward while looking down at the bushes below, the heat under his chest grew hotter and he carefully provoked his magic to spread onto the blanket.

It took less time than what he thought it would take to call out the magic particles to disperse among the fabric, and while he was surprised by it, he certainly didn't have any complaints about it as well.

Soon, his preparations were done and there wasn't a moment of hesitation when he let himself pitch forward and made his plummet towards the ground-- though his descent was more of a 'float' rather than a 'plummet'. The blanket wrapped around his body took most of his weight and cradled him as it levitated him down to the bushes below. He landed softly and the shrubbery rustled under his weight as he struggled to climb out of the woody plant. Apparently, getting out of the bush was the hardest part of the whole endeavor, especially since some parts of the blanket were caught among the branches.

Through a difficult trial, he managed to ungracefully drop out of trimmed hedges and onto his butt without ripping apart the blanket. There was a pause as he took half a minute to catch his breath before he rewrapped the cover over his small body while ignoring the leaves in his hair and the small twigs sticking out from some parts of the blanket. He unsteadily scrambled up to his feet, bare and vulnerable to the soft dirt and feather-like grass, and pitter-pattered his way to the nearest bench in the area.

The west part of the garden was full of hedges, rivers, and plots of colorful flora, and healthy trees brimming with colorful leaves. It was like a different world from the central gardens and the east gardens. The center gardens were full of alcoves, stone paths, and fountains, while the east gardens were more open-spaced with a large pavilion for tea parties and the likes and a pond with a thriving ecosystem. Tanaka liked the west gardens if only because it was full of hiding spaces and the grass was the softest to nap on. His nap shed was in this part of the garden as well, so after school, it wasn't unusual to find him sleeping inside a hidden hole in the hedges or amongst the tall flowers like a newborn fawn concealed by nature. For some reason, whenever he hid in these types of places, he always was given extra minutes (or even hours) of sleep even after he was found within an hour of his disappearance. The maids and butlers always seemed to be reluctant to move him for some reason.

Nevertheless, the benches in the west gardens were often hidden amid the greenery and rarely near any of the few stone paths obscured within beautiful growth, but after months of using this garden as a safe haven for his naps, he could locate one easily no matter where he was amongst the flora. The closest one was hidden between hedges and underneath a large tree with purple leaves that hung over the area like a canopy. In front of it was a stream of white, purple, lilac, and periwinkle flowers, rising out over the cut grass like waves, and, if it weren't for the fact that Conrad was the one that planted them, Tanaka would probably be tempted to lay upon them just to see if they were as cushiony as they look.

Instead, he sat in between the flowers and the bench, using the legs of the long seat to support his back as he sat down on the soft grass. He stared at the comforting colors of the petals as his nose twitched at the strong floral scent in front of him, his mind blanked and emptied of thought. The breeze whispered past his ears but he paid no attention to them even as they played with his curly hair.

His hair was no longer as short as it had been months ago and instead of curly, it looked more wavy with the way it curtained his head. The strands were even long enough to drape over his eyes as his hair as an adult had done, creating a gloomy and unkempt appearance to his tender features. He brushed the locks away from his face, disquieted by the lack of weight around his nose and ears by wearing glasses for more than a decade, and suddenly had the urge to look up towards the sky. So he did, his hair caressing his face as his eyes widened in surprise by the view he was given.

He had lived in the city for the majority of his life and would rarely travel outside the boundaries of his house or beyond the surrounding waters of his country. And if he did, it was always on business and Tanaka never had the desire to explore the place he was visiting until there was a lab, a library, or a museum nearby. Otherwise, through satellite images, telescopes, or pictures on the internet, he had never seen the night sky before his eyes bursting into a glistening mist of starlight.

There were so many stars that Tanaka had no hope to count them all even with his overly large brain. It wasn't just white dots against completely black space, but there were colors too. Of blues, yellows, and reds that shone so bright, the beautiful flowers dimmed in comparison.

He had forgotten he was in a different world-- no. For the longest time, he refused to take in his surroundings. He never looked closely at the places he had traveled to, the animals he would see, or the people he had met. He continued to delude himself, thinking that he was visiting some country in Europe, taking a small vacation away from work, away from his family, but the starry sky was like a slap in the face.

The combination of air and light pollution left the night sky in Japan smoggy and dull. It would be unusual to see more than several stars at once and sometimes Tanaka had to squint underneath his glasses to make sure he hadn't mistaken them for the lights from a plane or helicopter. He was never interested in stargazing because of so, and it was easier to look up images of stars through the internet than to strain his eyes trying to find one in Tokyo's night sky. Basim was different, though.

Sometimes whenever the older man was visiting the country, he would look up at the night sky with searching eyes, and while he didn't seem disappointed by whatever he saw, he never failed to look lost, as if he was missing something. He once told Tanaka of the desert nights, clear of clouds and haze if the wind didn't pick up the sand. Far from civilization with only the Rub'al Khali Desert's cold air, the sands, and the nightcrawlers as his only form of company, the heavens would alight and display its splendor. He described a scar in the sky full of shimmering stars painting the otherwise black canvas, of visions filled color among the dull brown landscape, and of an awe that made him feel larger than life but small at the same time.

Basim had no interest in space, the nature of stars and celestial bodies, or the science behind them, but it was breathtaking nonetheless.

Tanaka remembered the older man telling him stories about the constellations fondly, stories that he was told by his soft-spoken mother when he was young. About Andromeda and her mother, Ganymede and Aquila, and Athamas' children and the ram-- stories of gods, heroes, and fantastical adventures that somehow shone within the placement of the stars. But looking up at the Astrian's night sky, he could not see those stars Basim had once talked fondly of.

It was the month of Twinharv Moon, which was around September on Earth, and he couldn't see Aquila and Indus, or Vulpecula and Pavo. Microscopium and Capricornus were not there either. He could not see the blue subdwarf star 'Altair' or blue-white supergiant 'Deneb'. The blue-white subgiant star 'Peacock' and the star system 'Dabih' were not where they were supposed to be or just didn't exist entirely either. He was in an entirely different world-- a different universe.

While desperately trying to find anything familiar, his knuckles turning white as he clutched onto the blanket, he noticed something in the corner of his senses. A presence as large as the solar system but as silent as the vacuum of space. Daunting as it should be, Tanaka only felt comfortable in its vastness. 'Small,' as Basim had once told him, but in a way that made him want to lay back and relax into its embrace.

It was coming closer but he didn't feel alarmed by its approach and waited until it was about 6 meters away to turn his gaze away from the stars. Following the river of flowers was a man in a long dark coat and plain cap, his face and features nearly indistinguishable even with the dim lamp carried near his narrow waist. Tall with broad shoulders and long legs, his figure was distinctively noble and majestic, like a nocturnal creature gliding through the shadows.

Tanaka nearly stopped breathing; the image before his eyes overlapped with a memory of an Arabian man striding towards him with the same grace and confidence that turned heads and held everyone's eyes as he passed by them. The city's neon and LED lights seemed to pale in comparison, and as he moved closer, the name 'Basim' almost spilled from his mouth. But the lamp was lifted higher and while they looked similar, Basim's features were older and rugged. The corner of his eyes had faint crinkles from how often he smiled and his jaw more defined.

The one in front of him was maybe younger if only judging by his smooth, marble-like skin and the lacking warmth in his abyss-like eyes. Basim had never looked at him so coldly like that.

The twinkling city lights were replaced with faraway stars and pale flowers. Tanaka felt as if he was dropped into icy waters.

"Young Master Thomas," Amir called out, neither sounding surprised or nonplussed. He had a raised eyebrow, his eyes full of amusement with a twinge of something else as he looked down at the little one's thinly-dressed state. "What is Young Master Thomas doing in the gardens at this time of night?"

Maybe most people would redirect the question back, especially since the butler was dressed as if he was going out or had been out, but Tanaka stared directly in those black-as-the-void eyes, seeking something beyond the darkness it held. "...Stargazing," Tanaka answered as absentminded and as blank as his face.

"...Stargazing," Amir deadpanned, his eyebrow still raised only with a hint of suspicion. Tanaka didn't mind his disbelief and turned his gaze back to the sights above them but no matter how many times he looked up, he couldn't recognize any patterns of constellations, if there were any.

The lamplight seemed to make the young boy's eyes glisten in the dark, creating a lively mood unlike his personality, and though the shadows grew deeper by its presence, the imagery wasn't as gloomy as one expected. Hidden in a corner of a garden full of flowers and foliage, it was almost like finding a small animal, innocent and unwary of the dangers of being found by a predator.

"...Constellations..." the little one suddenly articulated with an airy tone. Amir paused momentarily, his dark eyes narrowing, and before he could answer, the youngest Rosetta turned his earthly-brown orbs towards the butler which sparkled faintly like the stars above. "...Do you know any constellations?"

The Zafarian blinked, his expression neutral as he stared back the child, the night making his features especially grave-looking before leaning his head back as Tanaka had done earlier. "Do you see the bright orange star next to the smaller blue one?" With a curious expression, Tanaka looked up as well and tried to locate the stars Amir had described but there were too many orange stars and blue stars to pinpoint out. Regardless, the butler didn't even wait for the child to find them and continued. "The orange star is the neck and the blue star the front short legs. From the orange star, it's connected to a small white star, and the white star has two other stars that would make the legs. That constellation is called Kawzir: the Forgiving Ahmaqkin."

... What in the world is an Ahmaqkin? It sounded like the constellation has four legs... Was it a mammal? Reptile? Amphibian??? Maybe a four-legged bird?? Ah, but wait, Amir never mentioned any wings...

"The constellation was based on the Legend of the Ahmaqkin and the Aqrab. The Aqrab also has a constellation right next to the Ahmaqkin and it's called Saminfir."

Well, Tanaka knew that 'Aqrab' meant 'Scorpion' but Ahmaqkin...

"What is the legend of the Ahmaqkin and Aqrab?" Tanaka finally decided to ask, tilting his curly head towards the butler in a curious manner.

Amir finally turned his gaze from the heavens and looked down at the small child with an incomprehensible expression. He seemed to be pondering something, though his handsome face gave nothing away.

They stared at each other for a long minute and while Tanaka didn't even make an effort to figure out what the older man was thinking, Amir was the opposite. His black, lightless eyes were intense, enough to make a grown man tremble and sweat out of anxiety, but the youngest Rosetta didn't even falter under the butler's immense pressure and sat there obliviously, ignorant of the scrutiny.

Finally, the Zafarian looked away and began the story in a low and soothing voice.

There was a silly and naive Ahmaqkin that lived in a beautiful, green-filled oasis called the Blue Jewel of the Desert. It was given the name 'Kawzir' by one of Rayan's divine messengers known as the King of Mirages, Shasarab, who loved the creature for its kind and gentle nature. In order to keep unsavory characters from taking advantage of the beloved creature's trusting heart, Shasarab hid the oasis behind a series of mirages so that no other being may find it.

One day, though the Ahmaqkin lived a peaceful life because of Shasarab's protection, for the first time since it was born, it stepped out of its home and outside of the oasis. There it met Saminfir the Aqrab, a creature birthed by Himasamm, the Divine Messenger of Venom.

Saminfir was a creature that awoke when the light faded, feared by all creatures due to its cunning personality, cold temperament, and deadly toxin. It traveled through the sands alone, using its claws to ward off anything that came close to it. Including the Ahmaqkin, which almost stumbled upon it with its clumsy paws.

Alas, Kawzir during its 'adventurous exploration' wasn't fazed by the Aqrab's attack. In fact, the silly Ahmaqkin was overjoyed. The scorpion was the first creature it had met outside of its oasis and it was looking forward to making it their friend.

Unfortunately, Kawzir's big awkward self tripped over Saminfir's tail, injuring it, and as compensation, Shasarab's beloved creature foolishly invited the scorpion into its home to recuperate. Recognizing this opportunity to enter into the King of Mirage's Blue Jewel, Aqrab slyly agreed and let the naive Ahmaqkin lead him to the oasis.

Kawzir was unaffected by the mirages that protected its home, unlike the Aqrab, who nearly went towards the other direction several times in between the journey, but due to the silly Ahmaqkin's guidance, they both made it safely into Blue Jewel's lush greenery. Kawzir gave Saminfir its nest, which was shaded under a palm tree and full of soft foliage, and promised to take care of the scorpion until its tail had been healed.

Stunned by the Blue Jewel's beauty and its riches, Saminfir developed greedy thoughts for the oasis. It was well known by all Desert Creatures that the Ahmaqkin was loved by the illustrious King of Mirages, who was also known as the King of Riches, and one could only imagine the extravagant life the Ahmaqkin was spoiled with. So the Aqrab used the Ahmaqkin's eagerness and naivety to procure its treasures.

Saminfir asked for three things: a gold fortune, a sparkling jewel, and a part of Rayan's Divine Scriptures of Magic.

Kawzir didn't seem troubled by the request and earnestly went around the large oasis to meet the scorpion's expectations.

The Ahmaqkin first brought back the 'gold fortune' to the Aqrab, but they were not what the arachnid was expected. In front of Saminfir were two different 'golden' items: a pile of sand and a gold-petal orchid, one of the deadliest desert flowers known to all living creatures.

Obviously, Saminfir was unhappy with these 'gifts', but sensitive to its current situation and the fact it was within the King of Mirages territory, the Aqrab was unable to express its thoughts. Thinking that the big animal was too dumb to understand subtly, it questioned the Ahmaqkin of what other gold items were in the fool's possession, but the scorpion soon realized that Kawzir did not have any precious metals hidden away despite being Shasarab's beloved.

Kawzir, for all of its air-headedness and simplicity, could detect the Aqrab's disappointment, but the Ahmaqkin only knew 'gold' as a color and not as an object. None of the golden things that it brought made the scorpion satisfied, so it tried seeking for a 'sparkling jewel' instead.

Just like before, the Ahmaqkin brought something else against the Aqrab's expectation. On two large palm trees were sparkling droplets: a bead of water from the oasis' pool and a bead of nectar from the same poisonous flower earlier ago.

Forcing down its anger, wondering if the Ahmaqkin was trying to make a mockery out of it, Saminfir prodded the foolish creature for answers once again.

Kawzir had lived its entire life in the oasis and though it knew that its home was objectively beautiful, it held very few 'sparkling' things. The only thing more sparkly than the oasis' waters and the nectar it drank from the golden orchid were the twinkling lights on Dhat-Noura's Canvas. But the Ahmaqkin had no way of obtaining those lights and since its home was called 'The Blue Jewel', surely the sparkling thing had to be related to the oasis.

The explanation only made the Aqrab more enraged. Saminfir didn't believe that the Ahmaqkin lacked the items it sought and assumed that the King of Mirage's beloved was playing dumb. Frustrated, the Aqrab told the silly animal that if the Ahmaqkin couldn't give it a Divine Scripture, the scorpion would probably die from its injuries and they wouldn't be able to become friends anymore.

Of course, it wasn't a serious declaration. The Divine Scriptures, an endless scroll that enables creatures to be able to use magic, were only exclusive to the God Rayan and Rayan's Divine Messengers; no mortal being would be allowed to keep one, much less be allowed to touch one. The Aqrab was only trying to guilt-trip the Ahmaqkin to give it what it wanted.

Earlier, it had mentioned the Divine Scripture to determine whether Shasarab was generous enough to gift a part of the scroll to his favorite creature. The scorpion later judged that considering the Ahmaqkin's blank and vacant look, Kawzir was unaware of what the Divine Scriptures were.

Tired of interacting with the dumb animal, Saminfir turned around and moodily began to ignore the Ahmaqkin. Eventually, the Aqrab fell asleep, not noticing how Kawzir had disappeared when the sun had set.

Come morning, when Saminfir woke up, the Aqrab found a torn piece of parchment next to the nest and much to it shock, the paper was full of magical energy with a distinctive gold color and shimmering red characters etched onto the thin material.

The scorpion had only heard rumors about the Divine Scriptures and the power they held and had never laid eyes on the real thing itself; yet, something within it was convinced that the piece of parchment before it was part of the famous scroll that every mortal being sought.

Even so, the Aqrab did not immediately take the piece of parchment. If the Ahmaqkin gave it one of the most sought-out magical artifacts in the entire mortal realm but refused to show the scorpion a speck of gold and jewelry, it had to be a test of some sort.

So the Aqrab waited a day and a night for the Ahmaqkin to show itself but as the next morning passed, the big silly creature was nowhere to be found.

Since the tail was the only thing that was injured, Saminfir had no problem walking around the oasis. The watering hole was surprisingly big; it could be considered a decent-sized lake rather than a watering hole. It also noticed that other than itself and the Ahmaqkin, there were no other living beings residing inside of the King of Mirage's protective realm.

By sunset, the Aqrab had already explored every single corner of the oasis but Kawzir was nowhere to be found.

If the Ahmaqkin was not in the oasis, then it had to be outside beyond the protective layers of the mirages. This guess was only proven when the Saminfir found pawprints leading out beyond the oasis leafy barrier.

The Aqrab looked towards the outside of the Blue Jewel and then back to the piece of the Divine Scriptures near the nest the Ahmaqkin had made for it.

Saminfir turned around and followed the tracks out into the open desert.

The Aqrab had a smaller gait than its bigger and furrier counterpart so it took half the night for the scorpion to see the canyons in the distance. And they weren't simply just normal canyons.

Hidden in the valleys, carved out from the cliff sides, was once a prosperous kingdom who was led by a human known as the Sovereign of Magic. He was called as such because when he was a young boy, Rayan saw it fit to give him a section of their Divine Scriptures and from that gift, he became the most powerful magician throughout the mortal realm. He soon after had taught his people the content of the scriptures and they together formed the Holy City Hakim. Under the Sovereign of Magic's rule, the Holy City thrived for more than three centuries.

But while his part of the Divine Scriptures helped extend his life, it did not give him immortality. Eventually, the Sovereign of Magic died a peaceful death, leaving his descendants to fight over his piece of the divine scroll. This inner war ruined the city, and along with its destruction, the magical artifact was lost in the rubble.

Tomb raiders and archaeologists had scoured among the city's skeleton to find the lost part of the Divine Scriptures but it hadn't been found since.

And yet, somehow, that silly big Ahmaqkin brought that missing piece to the Aqrab as if countless mortals had not wasted their whole lives seeking for that small bit of parchment.

Even so, where was that stupid animal now?

Suddenly, the night sky deformed and the brightest heavenly body among the void, the Eye of Dhat-Noura, dipped down towards the earth followed by a stream of smaller, dimmer stars. As they descended, a head full of flowing black-hair formed. Then around the Eye of Dhat-Noura, a face. Then arms. Soon, a glittering woman with dark skin and even darker hair hovered over the desert with a powerful force that caused ripples to form where she drifted.

As she looked down at the Aqrab, her hair and her black dress full of colorful stars, drifted as if gravity couldn't touch them, and her eyes shone as bright as their namesake.

Saminfir was speechless at her appearance because there was no doubt in its mind who this woman was.

Known as the Right-Hand of Rayan, Dhat-Noura, the Lady of the Light, was one of the most powerful Divine Messengers and the Gatekeeper to the Rayan's Realm. She was also the Divine Messenger of Communication and the creator of the Divine Scriptures of Magic.

It was said that while Rayan gave all living creatures magic, Dhat-Noura was the one that allowed them to utilize it. Therefore, the Divine Scroll was born.

Was she here for the piece Kawzir had given it? But the Aqrab didn't take the Divine Scriptures with it!

Without allowing the scorpion to continue guessing, Dhat-Noura spoke in a soft but firm voice. She was here by the request of her fellow Divine Messenger, the King of Mirages, and Saminfir knew it had something to do with the missing Ahmaqkin.

Indeed, the Ahmaqkin traveled to the Lost Holy City of Hakim and in a stroke of luck, it happened to stumble upon the lost piece of the Divine Scriptures. This was all possible due to Shasarab's grace. Also known as the King of Riches, it was not difficult for him to discover lost and hidden treasures and passed this skill to his favored creature.

Kawzir was rarely greedy and never asked its patron much other than a cool place to live and nectar to eat. When it asked Shasarab to help him find a part of the Divine Scriptures, the Messenger was more than happy to assist the Ahmaqkin to its destiny.

However, the silly, naive animal had every intention of giving its 'destiny' to Saminfir resting back in the oasis, which made the King of Mirages furious. He told the Ahmaqkin that he wouldn't allow it to give such a gift to the Aqrab, and scared that the Divine Messenger might take the piece of parchment away from it, Kawzir ran.

It made Shasarab even angrier but then the Ahmaqkin kept going until it was out into the open desert and the Messenger couldn't be angry anymore. Instead, with the morning sun already above the horizon, the King of Mirage tried to coax the little furry animal back into the shade, but Kawzir refused and instead trudged on towards the direction of the oasis.

Like a rebelling child, the Ahmaqkin single-mindedly and clumsily traveled through the desert even as its soft feet began to blister and sweat started to weigh its thick fur down heavily.

Despite living its whole life in the desert, Kawzir's kind was not fit for life in the sandy tropics. Its fur was too thick, its feet soft and awkward for a decent grip even on land, and unlike the other desert animals, it cannot retain water for long periods of time.

Not even halfway to the oasis, the Ahmaqkin collapsed into the sand with a piece of the Divine Scriptures stuck in between its teeth.

Shasarab despaired. He lacked the power to do anything to help his chosen one. He could give the Ahmaqkin all the riches it wanted, shield its eyes and heart from the ugliness of the world, but the King of Mirages was unable to bend the sun and the desert to his will. He could create an illusion trick the Ahmaqkin's mind into thinking that there was moisture in the air or that they were walking alongside a lake, but that could only work for so long. His mirages needed the sun and the heat in order to function and for some reason, the Kawzir had always been able to see through his mirages. In the end, Shasarab could only watch helplessly as his beloved creature fell still.

Then, as if granting Kawzir's last wish, the desert winds picked up and took the piece of the Divine Scriptures towards the Blue Jewel, where the scorpion had found it that very same morning.

The Aqrab was disquieted by the Ahmaqkin's sudden passing and Dhat-Noura didn't wait for it to adjust to the information before continuing with her explanation.

Shasarab wanted to punish the Aqrab that convinced his Ahmaqkin on this fool-hardy journey, but the scorpion was one of Himasamm's creatures and the Divine Messenger of Venom was a gentle soul by nature. Himasamm didn't have the heart to lay a heavy hand on any of his creations.

But before the King of Mirages could take more drastic measures, Dhat-Noura appeared on behalf of Kawzir and discouraged him from taking revenge against the Aqrab. The silly Ahmaqkin did not want its friend to be hurt or punished. Its death was its own fault; the scorpion did not ask it to leave the oasis and traverse across the desert. There wasn't even a time limit and it did not have to take the piece of the Divine Scriptures to Saminfir that very same day, but it was too eager and too impatient.

The Ahmaqkin wanted to make the Aqrab happy so stupidly, without thoughts of its limits, it went out into the desert and died.

Regardless, Shasarab refused to believe that the Aqrab was uninvolved in Kawzir's death and still wished for retribution for the Ahmaqkin. Dhat-Noura decided to intervene and became the presiding judge over Saminfir's fate.

In light of the situation, Dhat-Noura gave the scorpion a choice: serve Kawzir in the stars until Shasarab was content with its service or spent more than half of a millennium in the oasis where the Ahmaqkin once called home.

Amir then stopped the story right there and it took a while for Tanaka to realize that the older man wasn't continuing.

The story ended with an open ending-- or so it seemed since Amir stayed silent, his gaze facing the heavens and his expression hidden from the young boy. Tanaka wondered what the older man hoped to see and quietly glanced up at the stars as well. Once again, he tried to find those very same set of stars that the Zafarian had described early and tried to see the four-legged figure of the Ahmaqkin and the long-tailed Aqrab, but they were lost in the vast glittering sea. Only the Eye of Dhat-Noura, a bright star that stood out among the splendor. It may be even brighter than Sirius and bluer if possible.

Tanaka then remembered the choices that were given to the Aqrab and never had a doubt in his mind what the scorpion had picked.

"I hope they're happy together..." was what he wished for them, which Amir didn't seem to expect since the older man looked down at Tanaka with dark, unfathomable eyes. The Zafarian's expression was unreadable, but that didn't make his gaze any less intense.

Suddenly, a humorless smile graced the other's dark lips. "Young Master Thomas is too soft-hearted," Amir commented, his tone mocking and insincere. Tanaka could read in between the lines and understood that 'soft-hearted' was the same thing as being 'foolish' to the Zafarian.

Tanaka honestly had nothing to say to that because maybe he was being too 'soft-hearted'. After all, the Aqrab was not portrayed as a kind being and didn't hesitate in taking advantage of the 'soft-hearted' Ahmaqkin as well, but...

"...You don't think they would be happy together?" he couldn't help but ask, fearlessly returning the butler's frigid stare with his own clear and strong brown eyes.

In response, Amir's own eyes had narrowed, and a slight tilt of his head caused some loose bangs to brush against his forehead and over his void-like orbs. "Young Master thinks they would be?" the Zafarian asked slowly and almost rather cautiously, the question rolling out of his throat in a low tone.

Tanaka blinked once before nodding slowly, not moving his sight away from the other. "I would like them to be happy," he told the butler truthfully. Wouldn't most people wish for a happy ending for that kind of sad story? If one read in between the lines, obviously the Ahmaqkin was lonely; it was obvious by the way it was so eager to please the Aqrab. And the Aqrab was the same as well-- why else would it travel outside of the oasis, without the piece of the Divine Scripture, while being well aware of the fact that he wouldn't be able to come back without the Ahmaqkin's guidance? Weren't the both of them just lonely? Or... maybe he was just actually projecting and the story had nothing to do with loneliness.

There was a moment of silence as a faint, cold breeze blew into the garden before a chuckle escaped from the butler's lips, but the sound was anything but amused. The older man's mouth remained unsmiling and there was a tinge of cynicism in the depth of his eyes. "Young Master Thomas should be careful," Amir suddenly warned, his eyes curving into a more friendly expression even if the tone of his voice didn't really match. "Young Master Thomas might end up being tricked into an unfortunate situation like the Ahmaqkin, if the young master gives someone like the Aqrab pity." As if to agree with the Zafarian's words, the lamp's light dimmed, creating darker shadows and painting a sinister look to Amir's sharp features.

The eerie atmosphere would have most people cowed or even wary, but Tanaka never flinched from the other's imposing aura. Instead, he continued to stare up at the older man, his gaze unwavering and clear. The black shadows only seemed to make his bright eyes stand out, which locked onto the butler's own.

"...It's not pity," Tanaka disagreed quietly, yet determinedly. "Saminfir is not undeserving of happiness..."

Amir released another chuckle, the sound sharper and more scornful than the last. "That's because Young Master does not know what he did to gain such happiness."

At this point, Tanaka figured out they weren't precisely talking about the Aqrab now. The statement sounded slightly too personal for the smaller male to think otherwise. Though the butler's expression gave nothing away, as usual, his posture, while intimidating and powerful, seemed... tense. And weary.

Tanaka wasn't sure how he could tell, other than the fact that he could actually sense the older man's magic fluctuation in the air. Since the day he had first met the butler, Amir had kept his magic controlled and locked up tight within his body, only letting a certain amount slowly flow out in mimicry to a third-tier magician's magical aura. But this time, the Zafarian's magic displayed signs of agitation and the adult-turned-child finally realized the time.

Amir was human after all; of course, being up so late at night would make anyone weary and irritable. And it probably didn't help that he had to stop to make sure Tanaka wasn't dying of hypothermia while he was on his way to his bed.

Finally moving his gaze away from his looming companion, Tanaka fidgeted with his blanket out of guilt. He then remembered something that he used to do with his friends and family, especially with Basim whenever the other came back from an especially long overseas business trip. They always looked so happy and energized when he did it, so maybe...

"Amir," the small boy called out quietly, moving onto his knees as he looked up to the butler with big, imploring eyes. "Lean down."

The older man seemed to pause, returning the little one's pleading gaze with a raised eyebrow. Nonetheless, Amir seemed to have decided to indulge the youngest Rosetta and bent down closer to the younger's height. As soon as he did, the Zafarian saw the child reach a hand towards him from the corner of his dark eyes and restrained himself from jerking back. A second later, his head was given a soft touch from those thin, fragile fingers.

Amir froze, utterly baffled by the... it couldn't be anything but a head pat, though the gentleness of the motion made it feel like a light caress more than anything else.

Not discouraged by the butler's reaction, Tanaka continued his mission to give the Zafarian his well-deserved pat while telling the older man in a solemn tone, "You have worked hard."

There was no feedback to his actions and Tanaka didn't expect any, oblivious to the other's stiff and bewildered bearing, and continued trying to soothe his companion with words of praise. "You have worked hard for a long time. You have done well."

After all, Amir was already out this late, probably doing some background stuff for Edward, and knowing his brother, the assignment wasn't easy if it had to be done at this time of night. And knowing the butler's perfectionistic attitude towards his job, the task was done with the utmost perfection. While these were all admirable traits, they were also very tiring to imagine. The Zafarian should try to be lazy for once. "It's okay to rest now," Tanaka added soon after as he was thinking of all the possibly tiring things the older man had to do for the eldest son of the Rosettas. "Please take your time to rest."

"...Young Master Thomas, your hand is hot." The comment from the butler was rather sudden, making Tanaka blink several times in surprise, but when he felt a large, bare hand touching his forehead, the young boy then realized that his fever had probably risen again.

The older man said nothing about the pats he was given and only adjusted the knitted blanket over the little one's shoulders before picking up the youngest Rosetta with an arm underneath the child's knees. Tanaka did nothing more than adjust his position in the Zafarian's hold and automatically tuck himself against the other's chest, trying to hide from the light of the lamp still held in the butler's other hand. Though Amir was not as cool as Edward, his main ice pack, the butler was comfortable to lay on nonetheless.

"I don't want to sleep by myself," Tanaka then childishly protested even as he practically draped himself all over the older man. Obviously, he would be put back into his room, but he doubted he would be able to sleep alone.

Tanaka wasn't able to see Amir's expression from his position, but he could somehow feel the other's amusement at his sulky statement.

"Then this servant will stay with the young master until he is deep into sleep," the older man offered indulgently, but Tanaka shook his head in disagreement. Amir needed to sleep as well! As someone who was asleep 18 hours of the day for the past few weeks, he had no right to ask the butler to accompany him just so that he could sleep again.

Regardless, Amir continued to carry the child towards the direction of the manor and away from the gardens, "Or," the Zafarian then continued with some mirth beneath the soothing rumble of his chest. "I can wake Miss Baker up to accompany the young master to sleep instead."

Tanaka: "......" The adult-turned-child pouted in response, his cheeks a little puffed up as he sulked even further into the butler's arms. Well, that's not fair and Amir knows it. Clarisse has been taking care of him endlessly, without rest, since he has become ill and tonight is supposed to be her night off-- everyone's night off really. Amir is really unfair.

Knowing that the little one would not protest any further, the dark-skinned man allowed the corners of his lips to perk up. As he moved further out of the gardens, instead of heading towards the manor's back doors, he arrived in the area below the youngest Rosetta's bedroom.

Generally, the little one's room would have been locked with both physical and magical locks, as per the eldest son's instruction, and while no one from the outside would be able to get in, considering the child's lazy and lethargic disposition, no one also thought that the youngest would escape from the confines of his room, much less his bed, either.

It was all too easy to see where the youngest master had escaped from since the little one's bedroom windows were wide open. If it had been anyone but Amir who had seen those flowing, translucent curtains drifting in the air because of the late-night breeze, they would have a heart attack and then woke up the whole entire estate as they were panicking.

To the Zafarian, it was more of an amusing rather than a worrying thought, but he concentrated on making sure to brush whatever blades of grass or leaves still clinging onto the little one from his adventure and made a note to clean the child's dainty feet before settling him into his bed.

With a whisper barely heard from Amir's lips, the Zafarian's magic stirred, causing Tanaka to sigh out of comfort. Even as that magic began to wrap itself around the two of them, the youngest Rosetta only seemed to be lulled by its presence.

They rose up, safely cradled by Amir's skillful handling of the winds, and landed onto the windowsill as quietly as a fallen petal. Stepping into the room, the older man carelessly placed the lamp onto the nearest surface, its light brightening the stalks of lavender overtaking much of the space, before putting down the child into a chair. Afterward, he reached for the basin on top of the dresser, which was usually used for face washing, but the butler knew that right after dumping out the dirty water, Clarisse could just replace it using her magic.

Using a handkerchief, Amir dipped it in the water and placed the basin beneath the child's feet. The older man took his gloves off by the tip of his fingers, putting them aside, and grabbed one of the little one's thin and delicate ankles, keeping them still as he scrubbed the soles with the cloth. The small toes curled in reaction but otherwise remained inert, the young boy blinking sleepily with half-lidded eyes now that he was out of the cold air and within the warm walls of his bedroom.

By the time his feet were soft, cleaned, and dry once again, Tanaka was nodding off and barely staying conscious throughout the butler's care. He offered no resistance as the Zafarian picked him up into a princess-carry, rubbing his face into the arm hold him, and was asleep before he was even tucked in.

Seeing the child's prone and defenseless figure, Amir lowered his abyss-like eyes, concealing the depth of his thoughts.

Originally, when he was first hired into the Rosetta Household, while he had never directly interacted with the youngest child of the Rosetta Family, Thomas Rosetta was a bitter child and took his bitterness out on everyone around him. Whether it was his siblings, his so-called friends, the servants, or even Clarisse, he looked upon them hatefully and with contempt.

This small, fragile child, whose eyes held an openness and a kindness that bordered on foolishness, was not that Thomas Rosetta. Maybe the others could accept the young master's sudden change, because there were no reasons otherwise, but Amir had his reservations.

Admittedly, he found the majority of the rumors and fables about Zafaran's 'dark magic' to be distasteful and cliche, but some of them were not without basis. Possession Magic belonged within the same branch as Blood Magic, and sometimes, depending on the spell, they would intermix in the most horrifying ways possible. But unlike Blood Magic, which -while terrible- was rather simplistic in nature, Possession Magic was much more complex and complicated.

Amir did not know the details of it, if only because what little text that existed of the subject were scattered and locked away never to be seen in the light of day, but from what he heard in Zafaran's and Astria's underbellies, this type of magic was notoriously difficult to control with unreliable and inconsistent results. Of course, that wouldn't stop people from experimenting regardless of its complications, and since his country was thought to be the origin of Possession Magic, a lot of the illegal experimentation happened within Zafaran's borders.

Though it was unlikely, considering the unreliability of the magic, Amir, at first, was under the suspicion that the youngest son of the Rosetta family had been successfully possessed by another soul. He took the initiative several times to get close to the child and had prodded the little one with his magic from time to time, but found nothing out of the ordinary. The young master's attitude wasn't right either. If someone tried to deliberately possess Thomas Rosetta, wouldn't they stay close to his original personality as much as possible? Unless it was an unwilling possession, but would the possessor be foolish enough to stay with the likely danger of getting caught?

As a final check and to lay his suspicions to rest, he personally investigated the identity of this 'Basim', and much to his frustrations, so far that his contacts were aware, it seemed that 'Basim' did not exist. Obviously, since he determined that 'Basim' had learned Zafaran's Noble Language, and therefore had to be part of Zafaran's nobility, Amir double-checked to see if there were any nobles or exiled nobles that had crossed Astria's borders and had made contact with the youngest Rosetta in the past several years, but his search came up empty so far.

Then how did this child know their Noble Language? Who was this Basim? If not by possession magic, what caused such change in Thomas Rosetta?

Though the little one's nature was simple, the young boy brought up a lot of questions and very little answers.

The lamp's light flickered and the child remained peacefully asleep despite how Amir seemed to hover threateningly over his vulnerable figure. Suddenly, the older man reached out and used his much larger hand to cup the young boy's jaw. It was much too easy to pry Tanaka's mouth open, and the Zafarian used his other hand to unbutton the top of the other's nightgown. Slowly, he bent down until their faces were aligned and slid his hand on top of the child's bare chest.

He easily began to summon his magic, concentrating it to his palm and allowing it to flow into the boy's chest where his magic core should be. As little one exhaled, the Zafarian inhaled, and every time they both released or took a breath, the red sheen on the child's face slowly faded away and his breathing became smoother. Amir watched this progress with a steady stream of magic and a flash of gold in his eyes.

...--------...

Author's Note:

Lots of Amir/Tanaka (Tamir?) interaction in this chapter~（*'∀'人）♥

Too bad Tanaka's too young for any legit romancing lololololol

That time skip won't be happening any time soon, considering my updating rate Q.Q

Please know that I love you all very much and that I didn't mean to make you wait as long as I did >.>

I mean, this chapter was already 3/4th done since last November, but it got pushed back because of real-life things. Things had now calmed down, Editor-chan is back to school (technically, even though her classes will all be online now...) and I'm already working on chapter 18 while I was waiting for Editor-chan to have a break in between her real-life stuff.

I honestly tell you when chapter 18 will be finished, mostly because I work at a private diagnostic lab for molecular high-complexity testing and our boss just confirmed that we will be validating and test for the COVID-19. So, while the COVID-19 panic is happening, I'll be busy in the lab, testing who knows how many patient samples shoved in our mailbox.

Don't worry, I'm honestly not in danger of being infected by it. Unlike in public, I won't look strange wearing goggles, a lab coat, and two layers of gloves while I'm working. COVID-19 is a respiratory virus so those that are sick, please stay inside to avoid getting others sick. Cough or sneeze your sleeves or in a handkerchief of some sort. Don't cough/sneeze on your hands. Wash your hands often and avoid touching your face.

Also avoid going into crowded, public space if it can be helped. Which shouldn't be a problem to most of our introverted asses ╮(╯▽╰)╭

Well, that is my public service announcement as a health profession.