Youya's POV:
"Hina-san, you have to tell me!" I half yelled. We were sitting on my bed in the middle of the night.
"Youya-chan, please be quiet, you will wake them up!" Hina-san said in almost a whisper. Me and her were the only ones awake after our conversation stretched and made us stay up this late without realizing. A mild breeze came from the wide-open window that was just right by my bed.
I sighed and turned my gaze to study the shining stars in the pitch-black sky through the dark-framed wooden oak window. Countless dots littered the scene, making me calm down and reorganize my thoughts.
"Sorry....it's just, Ayane-san is definitely depressed and I want to help" I said in such a calmer voice now. "But I can't if you won't tell me what's wrong"
Hina-san looked surprised at what I said before giving a light smile. She stayed quiet for a moment and looked a bit hesitant before she spoke again.
"I don't have the right to tell you without Ayane-san's permission, but I guess it's fine just this time". She said as she shifted her gaze from the stars to my curious eyes. I looked back at her amethyst eyes that reflected the beauty of the night sky.
"Ayane-san is a daughter of one of the servants that served the queen in the palace" she said slowly.
"She..... was a servant?" I asked carefully.
"N-no no, not really, her mother was a servant, yes, but she had a normal life in the palace with the rest of the servants' children"
"The person we are searching for is, um well, her brother" Hina-san continued, unsure of how she was going to describe their relationship. "Not her real brother, since she is the only child, but a boy who had grown up with her and under the care of her...m-mother" I caught the slight glimpse of the tension that escorted the mention of Ayane-san's mother.
"She's dead" said Hina-san as if she could read minds. I tensed a bit.
"O-oh" I stumbled to say. "That gotta be so hard for Ayane-san, no wonder she's depressed" I added, trying to sound sharp.
"Well yeah, you're not wrong, but that's not the only reason". Hina-san said to my confusion. She quickly tried to change the subject and to continue with the main point.
"The boy's name is Kuro, well it's the name he is known for, I don't know his real name. But I do know that he is a very powerful and dangerous black magician" she said with a serious voice.
I recalled the events that occurred the day I met Rin. The overwhelming pressure and the heartless cruelty. Everything seemed to fall in its place now.
"Why would you want to find such a scary boy? Apart from him being Ayane-san's family and all, of course" was the first thing I could think of.
"Well, I'm not sure of Ayane-san's motives, but for me, I need to stop him" stop him? What did she want to stop? And how did she plan to stop that terrifying magical powers in the first place?!
"He wants to destroy this kingdom" Hina-san said suddenly after a short pause. My pupils grew wilder and I didn't quite get what she meant by 'destroying'.
"W-hat? Why?" I asked.
"I don't know his motives, but I think he is trying to crumble the caste system and kill the royal family" Hina-san explained. I absorbed the information. I didn't say anything for a while, but when I did, I regretted that.
"Why is that bad?" I muttered, nearly to myself, but Hina-san has sure heard me based on her reaction.
"W-what do you mean? Of course-... I mean....it's...." Hina-san stammered and struggled to find an answer. She stopped embarrassing herself and lowered her head that her bangs were shadowing her eyes.
"I mean, after all the things I've been told, wouldn't it be obvious whose side we should take?" I stated carelessly and looked back at the night sky.
"I can't do that" Hina-san whispered, it was barely audible. Her voice shivering a little bit.
"Ah! I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" I said panicking when I remembered that Hina-san was a noble. Killing the royal family would probably lead to a huge execution campaign based on the deep hatred the people had for nobles and royalists. Even if she managed to avoid getting caught, her family has no way to do so.
"I'm...so scared, What am I going to do?" Hina-san said in the same whisper and shaky tone as a single crystal tear rolled down her cheek. I panicked even more and stood up from the bed, trying to comfort her somehow. And I could clearly tell...
I failed miserably.
********
"Good morning, Youya-chan!" Hina-san called out the next morning as if nothing had happened.
"A- ah, good morning" I replied unsurely. She gave me one of her usual cheerful and warm smiles before going over to Rin's bed in an impossible mission of waking him up.
"Good morning, Ayane-san" I turned to face her as she was still sitting in the bed. Her back rested on a pillow and her gaze was so distant as she looked out of the window.
She still looked pretty much depressed and distant. She looked at me and nodded, not having the will to even answer me. I sighed and walked over to her and sat on the bed.
"Ayane-san, you haven't been feeling alright these days, right? Would you like to talk about it?" I offered with a gentle tone.
She looked at me tiredly and shook her head. I knew I had to somehow pull her out of this state, but I had no ideas.
While we all were floundering and stumbling in perplexity, Rin suddenly stood up and moved closer to Ayane-san. In a fast movement, he grabbed her by her wrist, and in a blink of an eye, he was dragging her out of the bed and heading to the exit.
"Wha-...." Ayane-san stuttered in confusion.
"Aahh~ aahhh~, it's so boring and depressing in here, we are getting out! Right now!" Stated Rin as he kept dragging Ayane-san out.
Ayane-san was being dragged weakly without remarkable resistance, she told him to wait but he never listened.
"S-stop" she said in a low voice. No answer.
"Hey, wait a minute" she said again as they were about to reach the door. Rin just yawned and pretended he never heard a word.
"I told you to wait, you airhead!" Ayane-san said loudly as she smacked Rin's head with her other free hand, just when his hand was on the doorknob.
"What did you just do, you hag!" Rin said as a vein of anger popped on his forehead as the two of them started exchanging insults loudly.
I heard a chuckle come from Hina-san as she observed the scene gladly. I smiled wildly at the change in the total mood. I couldn't be more grateful for Rin's carefree attitude than I was at that moment.
"Let me at least change my outfit, seriously!" Ayane-san said as she gave up on winning an argument against that idiot.
"Ha, it doesn't matter what you wear, you would still look like a damn hag" Rin stated childishly as I and Hina-san exchanged silent smiles.
And of course, the argument extended for a while longer after that.....