It was now around 7:45 am—the black bullet train finally reached Kyoto Station. Ayato woke up Anastasia while everyone collected their things.
They left the train.
"It's been a while, Ayato."
A woman stood in front of the train door with a smirk on her face. She wore a kimono and a white ring with a black crescent moon on it adorned her ring finger.
That ring was a ring only the wives of the patriarch possessed.
"Ah, Kaguya."
The woman tilted her head, almost as if she wasn't expecting Ayato to call her name.
"You remember me?"
"I remember all of my father's wives. I mean, they all—well, most of them—tried to kill me."
He said with a placid smile on his face. Kaguya felt slightly disturbed by his complacent attitude.
"Oh, by the way, don't worry, I won't kill any of my siblings even if they try to kill me."
"Is that so? Well, I only came to escort you. I'm not ruthless enough to try now. I know you hate ambushes. I'm the same."
"Nah, that was when I was young. Now, I don't particularly mind anything."
Ayato said, dragging his suitcase along with him. The rest of them silently followed from behind. Kaguya smiled coquettishly.
"Now, Kaguya, since I said that—"
The boy's tone of voice became deeper as he spoke. The woman could feel a chill travel down her spine.
"—will you attack with the four magicians you have stationed at the toilet, rooftop, stairs and entrance?"
"What is he talking about?"
Arashi mumbled. Retsuya and Ayaka shrugged while Yukina kept her usual calm smile. Anastasia breathed like she was proud.
Kaguya dryly chuckled before sighing.
"I guess I can't hide anything from those Blue Eyes. I thought the limit was what was in your sight but that doesn't seem right. Perhaps a mutation of sorts?"
She asked as she raised her hand, signalling the hidden magicians to withdraw.
"Looks like you're becoming what you're hating, Kaguya."
The woman had a downcast gaze, smiling bitterly.
"I wish that was the worst thing about this, Ayato..."
·———·
The Kyouya Family owned a large house in Kyoto. It was a large Japanese-styled house where only a portion of the Kyouya Family lived.
The Midnight Banquet would not take place there. It was going to take place in their private hotel near the same land they owned.
The hotel was called the Yoru Hotel. Everyone would stay in the Yoru Hotel or the buildings near it. Since Ayato didn't want to find himself another place to stay, he decided to stay at the hotel itself.
Staying at the family house would be complicated. He didn't want to ever go there again. That was one place Ayato wanted to avoid at all costs.
"So, Kaguya, what's on the schedule?"
"The banquet starts at 11:00 am but you're going to go on stage at around 10:30 am. Just be ready before then."
"Alright."
Kaguya made her way, separating herself from Ayato. He turned to Yukina.
"Well, I guess this is where we part ways."
"Yeah, the Shirogane Family are staying two floors above you. Let's meet up during the banquet, okay?"
"Sure. See you, Retsuya."
"Just don't die before we see you."
"Who do you think I am?"
Ayato giggled as Retsuya tapped his chest. Arashi pressed the button on the elevator. They waved as the doors closed.
Ayato and Anastasia were sharing a room. As a respectful male, Ayato didn't want to sleep in the same room as Anastasia whether or not they were master and servant.
It didn't matter in the end since they would take shifts sleeping. Since Ayato needed to be active during the day, he would be awake while Anastasia sleeps. During the night, Ayato will get his sleep as Anastasia protects him from any attackers.
"Well, good... Uhm, what would I say at a time like this?"
Anastasia wanted to say goodnight but it was still the morning. Ayato pondered for a short while...
"Good morning?"
"Well, good morning then, Master."
It didn't fit well but Anastasia went to sleep regardless. Ayato raised a brow before laughing. He exited the room and locked the door.
In that instant, he was confronted by five other people. They were all around his age. They were children of the concubines.
"Yo, Heir."
They were all around Ayato's age. Ayato was one of two children of the main wife and the eldest son since he was born on January 3rd.
Ayato shrugged his shoulders and laughed.
"So, we're getting it started already. The banquet hasn't even started yet. Man, I always thought that younger siblings were impatient."
He quipped.
"Shut up, we're not here to chat."
The girl in front said.
Unlike the other Kyouyas, she didn't have black-blue hair. Her hair was a lighter shade of orange while her eyes were purple like the patriarch's.
"Then what do you want to do, Kyoka?"
The girl, Kyoka, furrowed her brow.
"You know my name?"
Ayato, with a smug look on his face, pointed at each person.
"Haruto, Rei, Kyoka, Otae and Kazuya—are you happy?"
"Don't think that will save you?"
They all began muttering spells under their breaths—Ayato yawned. They fired their spells all at once. To make sure that they wouldn't collide, it was all Flamethrower.
The boy raised his hand to block the Flamethrowers aimed at him. As soon as they touched his hand, the flames unravelled and dissipated.
"What the fuck...?!"
"Our magic?! It's...!"
"What the fuck did you do?!"
They all panicked.
The boy listlessly stared at them. He wasn't amused. They're unwilling to fight only after one of their spells was negated. It slightly enraged him.
"You guys!"
Kyoka was the only one who continued the attack. She released a flurry of precise slashes and stabs at Ayato's chest. He parried every single one and chopped her wrist, disarming her before he kicked her into the other four.
"You all are boring. Kyoka is the only one who has some guts."
All of them bared their teeth in anger. They simply wanted to kill Ayato. None of them knew how impossible that task was.
"Ah, Ayato! It's been a while!"
A boy walked up to Ayato from behind. He had a friendly smile on his face as he waved. The only troubling part was the fact that he was a Kyouya, judging from his hair.
Despite this fact, Ayato was off-guard. He didn't feel any hostility from this person. There was also another reason why he felt comfortable around him.
"Hey, remember me?! I'm Shoya!"
He pointed at himself with the widest grin. It didn't ring a single bell to Ayato. He averted his eyes.
"Y-yeah... It's been a long time..."
"You don't remember!"
The boy shouted, shocked.
"I'll be going then..."
Shoya reluctantly turned around and slowly walked away while crying his eyes out.
"W-wait!"
Ayato chased after him.