"Hng…" suddenly Poseidon groaned.
Kenzo glancing behind, walked over to his bed. Sitting on the side he asked, "What's wrong?"
Poseidon half asleep asked, his voice hoarse, "Time…?"
"Time?" Kenzo repeated, taking his phone out, "It's not even 1:00 am yet. Go back to sleep."
Poseidon nodded.
"Do you need anything else?" Kenzo asked.
Poseidon shook his head in a 'No' snuggling deeper in his pillow.
Kenzo stood up setting his covers. As soon as he was about to leave, Poseidon caught his arm. Kenzo glanced behind.
"Don't… worry Kenzo." Poseidon assured with a light smile. His eyelashes fluttering. Just with a single look, it felt that every single word he spoke seemed to take a lot of effort. "You'll… be fine. And, We'll… definitely win the match tomorrow."
Kenzo gasped, soon revealing a confident beam, "Of course, I know that."
Poseidon nodded caringly before drifting to sleep once more.
Seraph who witnessed the scene uttered, "See? How much they care about you? And you're going on and hurting them."
With 'them' he meant 'Alan' about whom Kenzo had realized. However, still denied rolling his eyes, "He's not one of us."
"Still, you'd better apologize tomorrow." Seraph patted Kenzo's shoulder.
A loss of his pride! Kenzo recalled Alan's words, "You truly deserved it." "Apologize?" he whispered feeling offended. "I would never." he added stubbornly.
Seraph sighed, "And, that's so like you. I realized you would say that so hurry up and go back to sleep, your highness." he kept his glasses and files aside, soon laying down.
The room grew silent within minutes. The highschoolers had also wrapped things up and laid down, some tossed and turned for a while, until no voice was heard, only tired snores mingled alongside the light wind.
Kenzo stared at his hands for a while, then suddenly felt something creeping up behind him. A shudder ran down his spine as he jolted upright, only to find Will climbing onto his shoulder. A sigh of relief escaped his pounding, startled heart, though his irritation peaked. "You little…" he grabbed the small bunny in his arms.
As Kenzo looked at its energetic, flapping ears and joy-filled eyes, his anger faded. "Honestly… it's this late already. When will you sleep? Moreover, why didn't you go with your owner? Sigh~ I should've just cooked you alive back in the mountains." he jested at the end.
Will merely tilted his head, staring back at him innocently.
Kenzo smiled, gently rubbing his thumb on the bunny's soft, furry cheek. "Don't look at me like that. Your owner will kill me alive before that…" he whispered falling back on the bed with a 'plop'. Gently placing Will on his torso, he caressed his fur. Will cuddled comfortably.
Kenzo looked outside the window wondering, "Tonight feels rather long, doesn't it?"
_____
Alan sitting outside, on the hotel's entrance stairs, stared at the empty sky. His anger finally settling down, a reflective sigh escaped his lips. "I said too much." he whispered in disbelief. "I know he is always like this but to think I'd lose my cool like this…?" he thought, hiding his face in his hands.
Suddenly his phone began to ring. Picking it up, he replied, "Hello?"
"Hello~ recognize me, Alain?" a gullible, soothing woman's voice responded back.
"Ah…" Alan immediately calmed down, all his worries fading away, a caring smile spread across his lips. "Stacy…" he whispered back.
A momentary silence and that gullible, soothing voice had transformed into an irritated high-pitched complain, "Stacy? You little brat, it's been this long since I called you back and this is how you greet me? Stacy?"
Alan blinked startled.
"Oh my god!" the voice exhaled exhausted, "Dr. Stacy, Mam Stacy, Professor Stacy, Young miss Stacy and now even my niece calls me Stacy. Firstly, a senseless, outdated brother of mine who won't even receive my calls more or less even call me and now his daughter, calling me Stacy?! Offended! I feel, oh- so offended!" she complained.
And, with that Alan had to keep the phone a few inches away from his ears. His expression unmoved.
"Hmph, go on, you go on with this Stacy, Stacy and I am hanging up!" the voice grumbled about to keep the phone as Alan stuttered, "Al-right, alright, Aunt Sairah. Please don't hang up…" "So fierce! Did something happen?" he thought concerned.
"Hmp…" the voice continued, "That's better."
Alan exhaled relieved, "Honestly, Aunt Sairah, you should call Seles this way. He has handful of ways to keep the call going on…" suddenly realizing what he had said once again, Alan twitched his eye thinking, "Crap!"
That momentarily silence once more.
"You're gone, Alain…" the voice gritted from the phone, annoyed and raging.
Alan could clearly picture in his mind; the devil with fire spewing out of his mouth burning everything down. He slapped his forehead at a loss of words.
"B-ut really… unlike me and Old man Nidou you never call him. That doesn't sound fair, right?" Alan tried to keep the conversation up however, seeing how only stupid nonsense came out of his mouth. He felt like banging his head on a nearby wall.
"Oh? And who am I to him?" the voice asked with a hint of authority.
"Um… his teacher?" Alan scratched his hairs responding confused.
"I am hanging up, dear. Go find someone else to annoy, bye." Sairah was about to hang up as Alan stood up calling nervously, "Aunt…!" His voice loud suddenly fading in between, Alan looked low, his expression troubled, he uttered, "Don't please… I am sorry." His fist clenched, the wind rustled hiding his expression. He held the phone tightly to his ear.
The voice from the phone exhaled. "Continuous sighing, Frequent pauses, hesitation, anxiety in voice, heavy heartbeat, clenched fists and now an unusual apology… say Alain, what's going on?" she just asked.
Alan's expression widened as he revealed a proud smile, "As expected of the world's best psychiatrist. There's nothing that can be hidden from you."
"Then don't hide it. Just tell me, who bothered you? Was it Rauf, Nidou or anyone else? Come on speak up." the voice asked.
Alan shook his head replying, "No one… I just had a little argument with one of the middleschoolers."
"Huh? That's it? I thought it must be something big, why is something so trivial bothering my little girl?" the voice asked surprised instead.
"Girl…" Alan thought sighing, "She won't even deny the fact that I am a girl while here I am concealing it so cautiously." "I was genuinely worried about him, Aunt. And, he fought me over that. Honestly, I don't know if I am furious or speechless right now. That brat always gives me a headache, fights me out of the blue, he is arrogant, narrow-minded, annoying and gets irritated with just my sight! Could you believe it? Am I that horrendous?!" Alan poured his heart out breathing heavily.
The voice gasping, replied with a relived laugh, "Haha, That's good, then. At least there's someone to keep you busy. Haha,
Alan blinked, "Huh?"
"Remember how you were back then? How much you made Nidou suffer with your arrogance, narrow mindedness and annoyance?" Sairah asked.
"Ah…" Alan recalled and surprisingly all of Kenzo's actions now, mirrored Alan's in the past. Not thinking about anyone or whatever anyone says. Always thinking he's right. Narrow minded and full of anger. He whispered reflecting, "Consequences of my past actions… so true."
"Pft! Haha!" Sairah laughed loud while Alan sshook his head in disbelief. "Haha… what you sow is shall you reap, love. But who knew you'd actually reap it so early? Nidou must be laughing at you somewhere there." she teased.
Alan rolled his eyes, "When does he not laugh at me?"
"Sigh~ and here I was worried you might be bored since you weren't selected in any of the matches."
Alan gasped, "Are you probably watching the PSL?"
"Yup," Sairah replied proudly, "Congratulations on winning the previous two matches. I wish you best of luck for tomorrow's match as well. Hurry up and win this Alain and come to Britain."
Alan narrowed his gaze confused, "Britain? Why?"
"This year's World Cup, England is the one hosting it, I believe. There's a new life blossoming here this time around." Sairah replied.
Alan smiled with a nod, "I didn't even do anything but I will try my best."
"Listen up, whatever you are doing right now is hard enough. Don't lose hope, Alain. You will fight each other and join hands in the future numerous times, you are a team after all, not many heads agree with each other every time but if you keep thinking about things so trivial you'll hurt yourself before even achieving anything. Didn't you say, you have to stay as strong a fort? Even if there are boulders and spears trying to break through you, shattering you. You will remain audacious to the very end?"
Alan recalling her words agreed with a light hum. "You're right… this is no time to be faltering." he thought.
"Thank you for calling me Aunt Sairah." Alan said.