Celes brought Kira back to the study where the boys were at. As they entered the door, the two boys looked at them but Kira hesitated, yet she still ran towards her dear brother, who opened his arm to her and hugged her.
Airi also hesitated, but he mustered all his strength and apologized to her. "I...I'm sorry! Kira, I--!"
But before he could finish, Kira gave him a warm hug that totally startled him at first, but still accepted it.
He was still guilty. He made her cry after all. He didn't know why, but he still vented his negative feelings on her, and she's just trying to make up with him, because he's angry that they're trying to help him when he didn't want them to. He felt really pathetic, yet they are always kind to him.
"I'm sorry..." he sobbed, trembling as the fear, anxiety, sadness is going back to him.
...
It was already midnight when Kishi woke up from a dream. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he sat up, only to see Airi sitting at the window seat, peering out of the window.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Kishi asked. "You're going to have some fatigue if you stay up late at night." He said with a smile.
Airi looked at him, his adorable little face illuminated by the blue night sky light; his expression unknown.
"Coming from someone who barely sleeps for four consecutive years? Gimme a break."
Kishi chuckled in his response. He looked at the sky through the windows. "Don't compare me with yourself, I 'am protected by the palace's power, I don't get tired just for not sleeping."
"But I 'am protected now too." He reminded him. "And you say you don't get tired but the two of you are such deep sleepers. You also sleep anytime you wish."
"No, we did not!" He retorted. "maybe Kira, but not me!"
"Really?" Airi raised a brow. "What about that time when you fell asleep with Kira in the library at school during lunch break?"
Kishi face flushed from embarrassment, but he quickly denied it. "I don't remember such a thing!"
Airi did not buy his obvious lie, but just decided to let it pass.
Kira was sleeping at her brother's lap suddenly groaned. But Kishi gently caressed her hair and said to her lovingly with his soft and gentle voice.
"Everything's gonna be alright Kira, big brother's here for you."
Airi gave them a sidelong glance, his chin resting in his hand, before looking back at the starry sky.
"I envy you." He said.
"Oh?" Kishi gazed at him.
"It must be fun, knowing that you'll never be alone. Unlike me, I had no siblings and mom and dad is gone. It's so sad..."
"Airi, we are still here." Kishi told him, but Airi payed no attention.
He can only suppress a hopeless sigh as he shifted his gaze from him to his sister. It seems so that Airi still doesn't see them. However, it is only a matter of time and everything will go on their favor. Fate gave them a chance and their patience will finally pay off. Clover had showed them the answer that they were seeking for so long.
It was already late in the morning when she woke up. She opened her eyes, finding herself sleeping on Kishi's lap, while he stroked her silky hair. He greeted her with a loving smile and she hastily sat up.
"Nisan, I--"
She was about to tell him something, but Kishi stopped her by petting her head, shutting and placing down his book.
"It's alright Kira." He said to her. "...'Cause I also had the same dream."
He beamed at her. "So, all that I'm telling you to do now is to be patient. Let's not be hasty, alright?"
Kira gladly nodded and smiled at him.
It's been so long since they last received such good news. It's just that there are a lot of bad things that have been happening, it was like a miracle. It made them realize that their foresight can also be a gift, not just a curse that they wished they never had.
A great painter from the city of Art arrived at the mansion to paint portraits of the new lord of the Rosarose family.
The head butler asked someone to look for Airi, but the twins gladly volunteered themselves.
They went towards the garden where they found what they were looking for. Airi was sitting and was practicing his magic, as the roses that surrounds him gradually blooms and multiplies.
"Airi." Kira called out to him with a gently and delicate voice.
Opening his eyes and looking at his caller, the wind blew hard, making the rose petals flutter with it. Kira beamed at him and Kishi following closely behind her.
"Don't forget that you have an appointment today, being the new lord that is." Kishi told him
Getting what he meant, Airi turned his head away from him. "What if I say I don't want to? There's no point anyway..."
"Are you shy?" Kira giggled.
"No way." He denied, though what he said was half-truth.
Once the previous lord or lady passes away, a new successor is deemed to success as the new lord or lady that will rule over the family and their territory. Airi's succession might have spread to the public now, but it will only be truly official once the new portrait is made.
To Airi though, it will be the same as finally admitting that he is on his own. Being the new lord, on his own in a canvas. No one else but him. The other portraits of the previous lord and lady in the study and the lounge will be moved to the hall of all the portraits of the late masters, replaced with the new one.
He was still hesitating and full of doubts. He wasn't sure if he could do it. Not certain if he's ready. Ready to walk the path of loneliness for decades, centuries, or perhaps millenniums, and millions of more years. One day, the guild will eventually perish, and as an immortal, he'll keep living till another immortal would kill him. His friends will eventually grow old and pass away. He however, would remain young and watch it all happen.
As if knowing what he was thinking, Kira reminded him yet again, with her hand outstretched "Airi, we are still here."
Airi merely looked at her, and she beamed at him kindly.
"Airi, we'll always be here. No need to be afraid. Your doubts, your fears, you don't have to worry about them. Airi, if you fear your power that was bestowed to you by Clover, you don't have to worry about that as well. Are you afraid that you aren't going to able to protect the people you hold dear to you from yourself? Fear not and believe at yourself. But if you really can't, then it is no problem for the two of us are going to protect them from you. And we trust that you'll do the same. That what siblings do after all."
The wind just kept blowing, and the pink petals kept drifting around them, making her look even more beautiful. Airi actually felt that a pure and pretty little white angle was smiling at him, as the gorgeous pink petals surround them.
Unbeknown to him, he slowly reached out his hand and held hers.
It was a weird feeling. He doesn't know what is it that was raising his hand to accept hers, and he doesn't know why. He was so overwhelmed that he can't utter even a single word. It was the first time he felt this way. He can't understand it.
It felt just like yesterday when he was still living his usual life until he met them. A lot had happened and soon they found out that their paths are actually destined to cross. They became a family, and he became one of them. After such time, the misery had surrounded him and he lost everything but became an immortal that will serve them forever.
However, at that moment, it feels like all his pain mysteriously fades away. His dark and empty space had been lit up and he started to see everything in a different light than before. He realized that all the effort he did back then was not that all worthless. He realized that he wasn't alone and there are a lot of people who are waiting for him, worrying about him, and cares for him.
It was all sudden to him, yet it made him understand that it wasn't such a bad thing. The past generation will be the past, but he has friends that will be there for him forever. For years, centuries, millenniums and so much more. Even he doesn't know why he is feeling that way, it was a happy feeling. From then on, he vowed not to let go of it. No matter what fate will throw at them, he shall overcome it and use his power protect that he holds dear.