Chapter 78 - Restless

"Isn't he Ara's boyfriend?"

Midori's heart was beating fast. She wondered if her hunch was true. But of course, she couldn't say this to anyone. But it was definitely possible though. Last Friday was when Kou came to pick Ara up from school, and Koharu said she met the prince outside the school on the same day.

But if that was the case….

Ichihara felt worried all of a sudden. If it really was the case, then Ara would be in danger again. For sure Koharu would target her – and who knew what she'd do the next time?

"An archer prince just like Ara's boyfriend, "Rin suddenly said that made Midori look at her.

No! "Please don't say anything more Rin," she silently prayed, but it was all for naught.

"Don't you think maybe that's Ara's boyfriend?"Rin asked with a giggle, and Okada's face became fierce.

"What are you talking about Rin? Ara's boyfriend's name is Kou. That's Homura Ryuu," Koharu snapped. "Besides, even if Ara's rich, she's in no way the same level as my prince."

Rin turned to Koharu with an unhappy expression. "Maybe not. But, speaking of level, if Ara doesn't pass, so do you. Your level's much worse Koharu."

Oooh …

Midori resisted the urge to whistle. She had always thought this girl was such a pushover. She'd never realized Rin could be this catty, she almost wanted to purr. "Oh grandma, such long, pointy claws you have there…"

"Hey, don't fight." Miharu got in between the two.

By now, they had seen how Koharu's face suddenly turned ashen, her eyes constricted in anger. It was a total surprise she managed to stop herself from hitting Rin. She looked like she wanted to hurt the other girl.

"Anyway, Young Master Homura's our host. It's not good to chat about him like this. For the rest of our stay, don't talk about this stuff anymore," Miharu continued, and Midori sighed in relief.

It's not really that they couldn't talk about Homura Ryuu. God knew he's the topic of everyone's chitchat since he appeared. But for world peace's sake, Midori verbally agreed.

"That's right. Let's not be like the other girls who've been gossiping and giggling about our host."

Ichihara put an emphasis on 'other girls' to let Okada know that she's not the only female swooning over the archer prince. Of course, her comment made Koharu more upset, but at least her animosity was not purely centered on Rin anymore but to all the other girls.

THWIP! THWIP!

The sound of more arrows resounded in the hall, followed by cheers, and they just realized that the prince had shot more projectiles on the target and all found the center. With that, the spat between Rin and Koharu ended as they got busy watching the rest of the demonstration.

Afterwards, the prince invited the students to try shooting arrows as well and even started giving tips to some boys who were already there. Needless to say, their group had no choice but join the exercises as well because Okada rushed into the chance to get close to the prince, and the rules said they should do activities as a quartet.

However, it was so funny because they were asked to change clothes to the kyudo uniform, but when they returned, Homura Ryuu was no longer there. He was replaced by several kyudo instructors. It was obvious it took a lot of self-control for Koharu not to throw a tantrum and back out then and there.

Seeing Okada Koharu's face crumble time and time again during the day was getting old. She had lost count how many times the burikko had dropped her serene mask just because she couldn't get close to the man she's going after now. The prince never showed up again even at dinner time.

Midori felt extra exhausted when the evening finally came to a close. As soon as she lay in the futon set up at one of the dojos with the girls, she immediately closed her eyes to sleep. Regardless of the once in a lifetime chance of coming here at the Cedar Palace, she already felt like wanting the trip to be over. She should have just stayed home to study.

===============

"Young Master, I'm here…"

Kazehaya Aoi, Kazehaya Gin's younger brother announced as he bowed in front of the Koutaishidenka who sat behind his usual seat in front of the zen garden. As opposed to his older brother's carefree and wild personality, the younger brother had a serious demeanor and a complete servant attitude when it came to Ryuu.

They had no idea how he became so stuck up, but since Ryuu took over the clan, he changed into this staid man. He was someone who wouldn't even lift his head to look at the master unless told otherwise. However, his loyalty to the clan was profound. There were times though when he wouldn't follow some orders given without a question.

"What's going on at the portal?"

"Young Master, as reported, the portal's been acting up since yesterday. But, so far, it hasn't sent anything over yet."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, Young Master."

There was silence for a while before Ryuu spoke again. "Send all the available squads there now," he ordered.

"But Young Master – "

"Look at me, "Ryuu ordered even before Aoi could protest.

When the young man did look, he was stunned.

Homura Ryuu sat there behind the table with an imposing aura as usual. But what was unusual was the black dragon tattoo that seemed to have settled on the side of his jaw, down to his neck. He had never seen Mavara come out like this. The dragon usually stayed on the Koutaishidenka's back or wrapped around his ankle.

"Y-young M-master t-that is…"

There was no need to say that Aoi was scared of Mavara. Well, aside from Kazehaya, everyone in the clan feared it. After all, it was one moody flame dragon.

"He's been restless since this morning. I think something will come out of the portal soon," Ryuu informed the other.

"Understood, Young Master, "Aoi answered with a bow.

With Mavara very active, something more powerful than they usually dealt with might appear. If that happened, they would need everyone's effort to suppress it in case it was aggressive. If not, blood would spill on the ground.

"I will gather our forces and hang out there…"