"What did you find?" I ask, sitting across from him at the coffee table in the living room.
"Well, apparently you are the first Princess born in a long time. And because this world runs on matriarchy, everyone thought the family was cursed since there wasn't an heir. So, your life is probably in danger because you're literally the first Princess born in a long time which challenges the patriarchal power that ran for the last two centuries." Mitsuki says.
"But if this world is matriarchal, where is my mom?"
"The news say, she passed away after giving birth to your sister."
"That's..sad. I know this isn't the real world, but after what I saw tonight, I want to see my family to make sure they're okay."
"I feel the same."
"Mitsuki?"
"Hmm?"
"I.. I kinda feel exhausted now after all this reading."
"Go ahead and sleep."
"I- is it okay if.. We slept together in the living room? I don't feel comfortable sleeping alone in the bedroom."
Mitsuki nods, "Sure, that might be a good idea that way I can see you're okay."
"I just feel uneasy when I'm not around you..." I sleepily say. I fall asleep on the couch as Mitsuki puts a blanket over me. Then, he continues to read.
I listen to the sound of sizzling. "Haru!" I yell out into the scene of gold and red flames. I watch my brother's knee bleed out.
My body jolts me awake.
"Are you okay?" Mitsuki asks worriedly. I look around the room and see Mitsuki standing in front of me. My eyes follow the sound of sizzling. I see some pans on the stove and I sigh in relief.
"I'm okay. I… I just had a little nightmare about my brother," I said and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
"I know this might sound weird since we're in a game, but I'm going to take a quick shower, is that okay? I feel gross right now," I tell Mitsuki.
"Sure! I'm making breakfast!"
"Thanks for making breakfast!"
"No problem, now go shower. Breakfast will be ready soon."
"Um.. about clothes?"
'If you don't mind wearing my clothes, you can go ahead and grab them from the first drawer on the left in my room!"
"Thank you!" I say and rush to his bedroom.
It was different from the first time I came. His room from the future had a dark brown wooden dresser, but this one was smaller and white. His walls were covered in drawings and music sheets. I pull out a shirt and shorts from the drawer and head to the shower.
I finish showering and walk downstairs to the kitchen.
"Smells good. Hehe, I bet you're popular with the ladies in real life. A man who can cook can win a woman's heart!"
"Pftt.. I mean I did have girls confessing to me, but I don't think I was popular because I can cook."
"So you admit you're popular, wow," I laugh a little.
"I may look 11, but I am going to be a stud when I grow up, like my dad."
"And I may be 13, but I am going to be short and kinda look the same because I had an early growth spurt in grade school. I wonder if this game will let me have a chance to grow taller," I laugh some more.
Mitsuki shrugs, "We'll just have to wait and see."
He places a plate of dark, brown pancakes in the center of the table and sets a bowl of pink whipcream on the side.
"I like chocolate pancakes with strawberry whip cream so I made some. I hope you like it. It's my favorite," Mitsuki tells me.
"I've never had that combination before. Kinda sounds sweet, but I'm excited to try it out."
"I make it semi-sweet because sometimes I like eating it plain."
"I usually do cinnamon and brown sugar and use blackberry or blueberry jam."
"That sounds really good, too."
I pick up two rounds of pancakes and place them on my plate, smearing butter on each side. I catch Mitsuki staring at me as I slice my pancakes then I plop some pink, strawberry whip cream on the side.
"Interesting. You cut your pancake into really small triangles. I cut mine in half and then into strips."
"I've never seen anyone do that before."
"I guess we're both unique."
"At home, my brother just eats it plain. Everyone else in my family doesn't really eat pancakes, so me and my brother would be the only ones who would eat them."
"Same for me and my brother. My dad and mom were too busy and would leave really early for work, so my brother and I would eat breakfast together," Mitsuki said.
"Haha, not me and my brother. We would stay up late to watch anime so we would be in a hurry to go to school. But, I guess only my brother made time to eat breakfast."
"My brother and I like anime, too." He says and takes a bite of his pancake.
"What anime movie is your favorite?"
"Definitely Owl's Moving Mansion and Ghosted Away," Mitsuki says.
"Mine is Castle in the Blue."
"Nice choice."
"Earlier, when I went into your room, I saw lots of music sheets. Were you studying to be a singer even when you were younger?" I asked.
"Yeah, I would write music as often as I could. My parents are musicians so they understand my desire to be a singer."
"Lucky. My parents like that I make music, but they don't support it as a career path. I also wanted to be an author."
"What do you write?"
"Sci-fi, fantasy, and romance."
"You should tell me one of your stories someday."
"And you should sing me one of your songs someday."
"Deal," he reaches out for a handshake.
"Deal" I say and smile, shaking his hand.
We finish our pancakes and hear the front door open.
"So this was where you were all along!" Yuzuki says.
Mitsuki looks at Yuzuki, shocked.
"H-how did you get here?" Mitsuki asks Yuzuki.
"I got here by horse. If you were going to escape by a royal carriage, you should have done a better job at hiding the carriage."
"There wasn't really a place to put it at."
He's right. This world may have mechanical carriages almost like cars but they are way too big to fit in a general sized garage.
Yuzuki looks at me, "This whole time this was where you were Princess? In these clothes? Well, I suppose that can't be helped. Everyone is worried about you! We need to head out to let everyone know you're safe, but maybe right now isn't a good time. I should at least let his highness know somehow."
"Haru knows. Maybe he told my dad already."
"What happened last night for you Yuzuki? We left as soon as we could so we don't know what happened afterward."
"The royal family is safe. The king suffered some burns and the younger princess is fine. But the prince… he lost his leg and the doctors were able to give him a mechanical leg."
"I'm glad he's okay," I say.