Third POV:
Shou placed Cebris by the bath door. He took off his shoes and other clothes. He undid his ponytail and walked into the bathhouse. The water was bringing steam everywhere.
"Amazing, it's like a hot spring."
He washed up with the shower hose on the side and then wrapped his hair in a towel. He stepped into the bath, and the water was up to his shoulders.
"Feels good, " he thought.
Sakuya flashed into his mind.
"You idiot, you're not dragging me down. I wouldn't be here if I weren't in love with you. I'm in love with you, damn it, so let's go inside now."
"I wanted you as my own; that's why, before you died. I wanted to confess my feelings, but the emptiness I saw in your eyes and knew words wouldn't be enough to get through to you."
"Shou, I won't keep you imprisoned with me; I'll summon you soon. I don't want you to fear me."
"Sakuya's feelings towards me, what are they," he thought as he sunk deeper into the water.
After 20 minutes of soaking, he got up and headed to the changing room. In the basket was a pair of blue plaid pajamas, and he dried off and put them on.
"These are so comfortable."
Shou saw that Shizuna had left a brush. After drying his hair, he started brushing his light blue hair.
He picked up Cebris.
"Shou, how do you feel, " Cebris asked.
" So relaxed but tired, " Shou said.
Shou opened the door, and Zetsu was waiting outside it. His face turned red.
"Um, Zetsu-san?"
"So adorable," Zetsu thought
"Um, Zetsu-san?"
"So adorable," Zetsu thought.
" Come on; I'll show you to your room, " Zetsu said while grabbing Shou's hand.
Cebris got mad.
"Hey, you demon, let go of his hand; he's not a child, " Cebris shouted.
" I'm a bit afraid of him getting lost because he looks exhausted. Do you want him to get lost, Cebris-san?"
"I guess not."
Shou looked at Zetsu. Zetsu began pulling him towards a vacant room. He opened the door to a massive room with a Queen size bed. Shou's eyes widened.
"An apartment, it's an apartment, " Shou thought.
" Wait, this room is huge. I don't think I should, " Shou said.
Zetsu smiled.
"Just lay on the bed. Trust me; your guilt will fade away," Zetsu said.
Shou places Cebris next to the bed, and he lays down on the bed. Shou was blushing.
"It's too comfortable, " Shou thought.
" Shou-chan, are you comfortable, " Zetsu asked.
Shou nodded as his face looked flushed.
" Well, you enjoy yourself, Shou-chan."
"Thank you, Zetsu-san...I'm..thankful...to have you as a...frie..nd., " Shou said as he fell asleep.
"So cute!!! I want to spoil him so much, " Zetsu thought as he smiled.
"Hey, what are you thinking about with a smile on your face," Cebris asked.
" How adorable Shou is, " Zetsu said.
"Shou is adorable, but I won't allow you to have him."
"Hey, don't be like that. What if he falls for me?"
"If he falls for you, I will allow you to do whatever. Only if he allows you; otherwise, don't touch my angel," Cebris said as the sword radiated purple mana.
" Cebris, why did you put yourself into that sword? Hisami would have allowed you to join the guild, you know?"
"It was a punishment to myself. Before I allowed myself to be killed, I had to place almost all of my mana into the sword. It was my duty to punish me for the many people slaughtered, " Cebris said.
"Cebris, you realize you're not living a punishment, right? You will be used by Shou-chan, the cutest person I have ever met."
"That's true; you should leave. Let Shou rest. He's pretty tired."
Zetsu narrowed his eyes and looked around.
"Why are you here, Prince Sakuya?"
He appeared and sighed.
" I guess I wouldn't have been able to fool you, Zetsu-san. I'm here to see Shou, " he said before looking a Shou.
"He's tired, so leave him alone," Zetsu said while glaring at him.
He walked over to him; he tried to touch him but was electrocuted by Cebris. A blue aura surrounded Shou.
"A barrier, of course; you would do something like that, Cebris. I'm so glad I didn't go over there, " Zetsu said while feeling fear for his life.
"It was just in case you tried to do something in his sleep. Those with high mana are more affected, so this person probably feels terrible right now. You're Sakuya, you in Shou's memories. He's feeling quite conflicted because of you, " Cebris said.
"Conflicted? What do you mean," Sakuya asked while staring at the sword.
"Shou has been thinking about if you were truly friends. He's been thinking about how you feel towards him, he feels that you aren't in love with him, but rather you want him at your side."
"I forgot how dense Shou was. How could I have forgotten he is horrible with romance? He doesn't understand that ever since we met, I've been in love with him. I was sent to that world to regulate his power, one wrong outburst, and he could've taken out an entire city, but now he's less fragile than he was. I want him to be mine; I want him to want me at his side. I want him to smile for me, not look at me with fear like earlier today."
"Shou loves you as a friend; I can tell from his emotions. He's too innocent when it comes to sexual activities. Today with Hisami, I saw him feel up his sides when I looked into his memories. Just so you know, that is not how you measure someone," Cebris said as the sword began floating.
The sword floated and landed next to Shou.
"Shou is very innocent; he's like a little child exploring the world. He doesn't know what's here yet, and although he's smiling, he's happy. If you love him, will you give up on his love and be his friend, Sakuya?"
"Cebris-san, you, why are you such a better person for Shou than either of us? You understand his thoughts and emotions and can feel his happiness or sadness. I'll be worried when Shou won't be able to do anything for you, and that will make Shou very sad, "Zetsu thought.
"Cebris, when Shou comes to hate me, that is when I'll give up my love for him, but I will be his friend. Tomorrow, bring him to the castle Zetsu; I need to speak to both of you."
Sakuya left after that.
The next day...
Shou's POV:
I woke up, and Cebris was beside me on the bed instead of where I had left it.
"Cebris, did I grab you last night?"
"Yeah, you did; it wasn't surprising since you probably could sense my mana protecting you."
"I did?"
"Yeah, Zetsu is on his way here; I can sense his aura."
Zetsu knocked on the door.
"Come in."
He opened the door and smiled. His smile looked kind of fake.
"Good morning, Shou-chan."
His voice sounds sad too.
"Good morning, Zetsu-san. Um, what's wrong?"
"Prince Sakuya wanted to speak with you."
"Eh, Sakuya, what time did he say?"
"At the moment, his royal guards are waiting downstairs."
"HUH!!! HIS GUARDS ARE DOWNSTAIRS, "I yelled.
Someone knocked on the door; she then walked in.
"Hello, Master Shou, I have your clothes for you," Shizuna said while holding them.
"Thank you, but is Zetsu-san telling the truth?"
"Yes, two royal guards members are awaiting an audience with you."
"Why is this happening to me, of all people," I thought.
"I'll get dressed after you two leave."
"Hey, we're both guys, so it doesn't matter to me, right, "Zetsu said before Cebris got angry.
"YEAH RIGHT, AS IF I'LL EVER LET THAT HAPPEN, " Cebris yelled.
After they left the room, they shut the doors behind them. I got dressed.
"Why so early in the morning do I have to go to a castle," I thought.
I saw a brush on the dresser.
"My hair is still out; I need to brush it."
I brushed my hair into a low ponytail. If someone were to look at me from the front, they wouldn't be able to tell that I had long hair. I grabbed Cebris and put him at my waist.
"Cebris, wish me luck, okay?"
"Yeah, Shou, be careful; I've seen that boy before; he is solid and fast. Although he won't be able to defeat Zetsu or Hisami".
I opened the door and saw that Zetsu was waiting for me.
"Zetsu-san."
"Shou-chan, those guard members, don't let them know about your ability to use magic. They'll want you for the royal guard if they find out about your potential and won't leave you alone."
"Okay."
"Follow me; I don't want you to get lost."
"I'm not a kid."
"I know, but this place is big to you, right? It's easy for someone who hasn't been here to get lost."
I followed Zetsu and saw two people downstairs, a man and a woman. They were staring at me.
"Woah, are you Moriyama Shou," the guy asked.
"Yes?"
"You're beautiful," the girl said.
"I am?"
"Yeah, you're even prettier than most women I've seen, " the guy said.
"I'm Kisame, Horiatsu Kisame, of the royal guard; nice to meet you, Shou-chan," the girl said.
She had long black hair in pigtails and blue eyes. She smiled at me.
"I'm Midoriya Hatori; nice to meet you."
He had brown hair and brown eyes.
"It's nice to meet you both."
"Let's go; Prince Sakuya awaits you both," Kisame said.
After getting to the castle...
Zetsu and I were both taken to a room with a table. The table had sweets on it and some tea.
"Lemon Marange pie, chocolate pudding, Coffee jelly, Dango, Imagawayaki; why are all my favorite sweets here? They look so good."
Third POV:
"What the hell is going on? Just a second ago, he was sad and didn't want to come, but now his eyes are sparkling. Does he like sweets? That's right, yesterday he looked pleased to eat chocolate cake. He's so cute," Zetsu thought.
Sakuya entered the room; he looked even flashier than before. He wore a red robe, and his crown was on his head. He saw Shou staring at the sweets.
"Cute as always," he thought.
Sakuya's look turned serious.
"Ah, you're both here; I have something to discuss with you two. It's a rather important matter."
Shou turned around and saw him.
"Good morning, Sakuya-san."
"Please sit down."
Shou and Zetsu sat down. Shou drank some tea after Sakuya poured it.
"Thank you."
"No problem; now I called you both to tell you what happened before I met Shou in the other world."
Shou looked at him.
"What do you mean," Shou asked.
"The other world was a world where people didn't have magic, although we saw mana forming around you through our world lens. You were different, and your mana levels weren't the same as the other humans. So after I turned five, I was sent to investigate you."
"Investigate me?"
"Yes, I met you in kindergarten, right, some people were bullying me, and then you came over with an angry look. It was the cutest thing I ever saw, " He said.
"Hey, you were the one letting them bully you, " Shou said as he crossed his arms.
" That look right there is what he gave me. It was love at first sight, and the kicker was he was the one I was supposed to observe."
"It was fate, " Zetsu said.
"His mana energy was leaking everywhere. It was strange to see a small child with all that power besides myself. After we made it to high school, it got worst. He started attracting people with his beauty, and his mana grew more."
"You're making it sound like I'm the evil one, " Shou shouted.
"Well, it wasn't your fault you're pretty. His mana became too strong that it began pulling me in too. Of course, I was already in love with him before then, but I started becoming overprotective of him."
"Overprotective?"
"Once he started dating women, his mana went out of control, and his depression left behind by those shallow women killed his self-esteem. It took away his control; finally, at age 20, he was pushed to take his own life."
"But why do I have so much mana?"
"The Dragon king passed his mana onto a child born in another world; this was 20 years in the past."
"So that child was me?"
"Yeah, that is why that sword you carry is attracted to you."
"Is that true, Cebris?"
"Your mana was excellent, although it wasn't the main reason I chose you, " Cebris said.
"So, what else did you want to talk about, " Zetsu asked.
"Nothing else; I just wanted to see Shou-chan, " he said with a smile.
Shou gripped his fist and turned to Sakuya.
"Were you my friend, Sakuya?"
"Of course, I wasn't pretending when I was with you. I loved every moment that I spent with you. It was nice, and I felt freedom from my life here. Although observing you, my parents have passed on, and my younger brother has taken the throne. After he passes, I will be next. Time works differently between our two worlds. It's quite the frightening concept."
"Sakuya, " he thought.
"Shou, you don't have to worry; I will never hate you or force you to love me. In this world, you are still my greatest friend."
"Sakuya, when I saw you yesterday, you scared me. You were acting differently from before. You have no idea how afraid I was, " Shou said while looking down and crying.
"Shou."
"But I'm glad; I'm glad that you weren't playing me like a fool. Thank you, Sakuya, " Shou said with a smile.
"That was way too cute, " Sakuya thought.
"Why were you so worried? There's no way I would ever try to trick you."