Childhood DUO

...II....

...~:•:~...

Okenochi, Nijitaki's POV:

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"One! Two! Three! Four! Five!"

"Again!"

"One! Two! Three! Four! Five!"

"Again!"

"One! Two! Three! Four! KICK!"

I landed perfectly on my feet after performing the kick attack against the air as I was counting with my moves. I raised my left palm bent over my shoulder with my right palm positioned lower marking a pose of a fighter ready for the next attack. My legs were also bent with my posture.

"Bravo!" Someone complemented behind me with a clapping sound preceding his statement.

I brought my palms down to my sides and I dusted my shoulders before turning around to see the one who praised my skill and eyed that person.

"It's PERFECT." I uttered after meeting his gaze with my cold glare.

"Ah~ yes. Yes, of course. Perfect is what I meant when I said bravo, Young Master." Lenor implied.

...

Lenor Treville.

He is my personal butler in our mansion and he is about fifty-two of age.

I walked my way towards him and sat at the rocking chair under the old tree in the yard.

"You really are never fading with your skills, Young Master." Lenor said and brought down the snacks he was carrying with him and placed them on the table beside the rocking chair.

"Lenor." I called out.

"Yes? Young Master?" He asked and stood before me.

"Where's father?" I imposed a question.

"He went early this morning with your mother and left for a business meeting in France. You were still asleep though when they left and they told me that they'll be there for two months, Young Master." Lenor replied.

I stood from the rocking chair and gazed up at the clear, blue sky seeing birds fly past.

"I see. They left without informing me about it. "

"Your father instructed me to give this to you." Lenor took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to me.

"Make sure you don't forget your identity as a successor, Nijitaki. Don't get distracted with anything apart from your path as a son of the Okenochi household. S.O." I read the letter and Lenor only smiled after I finished.

"Shizen-sama indeed expects your future as his successor, Young Master."

"Yare Yare~ Of course, I know my identity. I am born to be a successor. That's all there is to my existence and nothing more. So I will live accordingly to be suited as the perfect sole successor of my father, Lenor."

"Young Master, he has arrived." A maid came with that message and left after a bow of respect.

I looked at Lenor querying with my eyes.

"Hn? A request for information is being displayed by your brilliant blue eyes, Young Master. Then, it seems like Shizen-sama hasn't told you??"

I felt the gentle breeze blow my smooth, black hair to move along with it.

"Speak, Lenor. Who has come?" I nonchalantly stated then my attention drew to the person who has come to us and lowered himself with his left knee on the ground.

His right arm was placed over his right knee and his left hand was touching the ground.

He was bowing himself dressed in some knightly clothing with a vessel of arrows behind his back. He then laid his bow to the ground and maintained his position.

An archer? Where did he come from?

"It's my delight to see you again, Ouji-sama." I heard the young man spoke staying down on his knee and not yet lifting his head to let me see his face.

He is seemingly the person that the maid was pertaining to earlier. But who is he?

He had this slightly ruffled, dark blue hair partly fixed uptight to which was carried off by the following breeze of air here in the yard

"It's good to have you back, Ryu..." Lenor spoke making the young man lift his head and I viewed his face entirely.

He has a pair of soft, fuschia eyes and his gaze was protruding a manly presence before me.

"Ouji-sama, Ryu Kishiame has returned for duty. Your father has sent me." He spoke ever so softly.

"Ryu Kishiame??" I repeated his name attempting to remember this person.

"Young Master, Ryu here, has been your personal knight since your childhood years. Have you remembered him?" Lenor asked and this young man stood up.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you, Ouji-sama. It's understandable if you have not remembered. But I'm back to serve you again and for the rest of my life. I hope that you'll accept me willingly." This Ryu said and I only rolled my eyes from his head to toe.

...

"Hn.. Ryu... I have remembered you now."

I paced towards him and looked up to meet his pair of soft, fuschia eyes, and he was a few centimeters taller than me.

"Welcome back." I said and I saw this guy smiled with my statement.

"I'll excuse myself for now, young master." I heard Lenor and he was absent after a while.

>~>~>~>

"Tell me, Ryu. How have you been?" I asked.

I am walking with this guy at the garden a few meters from the yard where I was practicing my self-defense earlier and he is behind me holding his bow. We stopped under an apple tree and he shot one fruit from above and caught it perfectly.

"I'm perfectly well, Ouji-sama. I've been attending my training for the past eleven years that I am gone." Ryu cleaned the apple with a square, light blue handkerchief and cut it in four equal parts with a pocket knife he took from his clothes.

He gave me one quarter part and we sat down the verdant grasses of the garden.

"I've recognized how you've grown as a fine young man, Ouji-sama. I have really missed seeing you again and I'm really glad to have this opportunity to come back here." Ryu stated and I only listened to him.

"Shizen-sama called me the other day from France and told me to come back here to be your personal assistant and to be your protector."

Ryu shot another of his arrow up the tree without even looking up and he caught the apple with his right hand without moving from his place. He cleaned it with his handkerchief again and sliced it in four equal parts too. He placed them on another clean cloth and laid it on the grasses.

"Why did my father sent you, Ryu? Did he say anything about it?" I inquired finishing the sliced apple I was eating and picked another one.

"He only told me to protect you at all costs. Shizen-sama stated, Ryu, protect Nijitaki for my wife and I will be going there in France. Come here at once. Another thing, my son will be attending high school already so I want you to go with him to his school too to keep him in assistance. I highly expect from you, Ryu. Don't fail me.' That's all he instructed me."

"You'll be attending school with me starting tomorrow??" I asked in disbelief and Ryu only nodded his head down and closed his eyes before answering, "Hai, Ouji-sama."

"Fine then. But I don't want to be treated as a kid under your protection, got it?" I imposed and picked another sliced apple.

"Hai! I understand. I won't forget." Ryu replied and he chuckled after his statement that I grew amused to know why.

I only lifted my eyebrow and he likely recognized how I looked at him so he smiled rather than chuckled.

"You have not changed a bit of yourself, Ouji-sama. Still not letting someone to protect you like you're unable to protect yourself. Makes me happy." Ryu said and took out a necklace and opened it that a photo came to show before my eyes.

It was a picture of two kids standing back to back with each other.

I have recognized that I was one of the kids in the photo. I was still very young in it and my arms were crossed over my chest with that calm gaze of mine and an unnoticeable smile merely tracing over my face. The other kid at the right appears to be Ryu himself and he has his arms crossed over his chest too showing off his teeth with his visible smile.

"You used to address me as your big brother back then, Ouji-sama. And your father taught us about self-defense together. I also used to go with you outside the mansion secretly when you tried to sneak out from the guards and they failed to spot us both since you're undeniably witty and clever as a child. You formulated splendid plans to escape from Mr. Lenor and the others then declared reasonable statements to your father that prevented us from being punished during those times." Ryu narrated.

"But that doesn't imply that I was a naughty child, Ryu. I was only trying to get a glimpse of my subject of study at that time about the insects' life cycle in a certain park we used to play back then. But my father did not permit me to go outside the mansion." I spoke and leaned on the trunk of the tree.

"So you remember now? Those things too, Ouji-sama? Well, you won't forget those knowledge quests you've conducted that is. You indeed are a witty child back then. You even experimented with lightning and thunder one stormy night that nearly killed one of your father's men." Ryu recalled and there was an amusement of a smile running his face as he was looking up in recollection with our memories.

"I guess I have forgotten those things until now. But things have moved forward from then and those are but lessons to my young and curious mind. And at present, I'm still continually learning more and more." I uttered and stood up after dusting my shin that has caught a bit of the weeds.

"Then will you allow me to tend by your side again, Ouji-sama? This time, as your loyal pledged knight." Ryu stated and I walked pass him before uttering the words.

"So be it."

>~>~>~>

"You don't plan to go home yet, Ouji-sama??" Ryu questioned from behind me as he was carrying some books in a medium-sized box that he placed on his right shoulder supported by his right hand.

"We have only gone out of the mansion for two hours. We are still bringing those books back to the bookshop now. We have only gone from the company earlier because there was a meeting and I am to attend in the absence of my father. Now, we'll return those books back to the owner and buy new ones."

"But haven't you bought these books? Now, you'll be returning them?" Ryu asked and I stopped my pace when we arrived at the entrance door of the bookshop.

"I have a habit of returning the books I have bought from this store since I turned seven, Ryu. The owner doesn't mind it though since my father talked to him. And besides, I don't really ask for my payment back and they also sell those books again for a different price."

"I see. I understand." Ryu answered and walked ahead of me and opened the door with his other hand.

The bell chimes sounded upon my entering in the shop and I roamed my sight around spotting but a few customers in the shop.

"Ryu, talk to the guy at the counter. I'll be looking for new books to buy there." I instructed before pointing at the area I planned to go to and Ryu followed my order.

I searched for books that caught my interest and intentionally pulled them out one by one from the shelves. I brought the eight books to the guy at the counter and Ryu was there waiting. The books I have returned were already taken and so I paid for the eight new books.

"What's the matter?" I asked after recognizing Ryu to be frozen in place where he was standing and he shook his head as a reply and averted his gaze from the books I have bought which were being wrapped in a package.

Ryu carried it with him and we went out of the shop.

"Something wrong in there? You looked pale a minute back there. Mind telling me what caused you to fret awhile earlier?"

We are currently walking our way at the sidewalk going further from the bookshop and I imposed the question because it seems like there's something wrong that bothered him in that shop before.

"There's nothing to worry about. Nothing was wrong back then, Ouji-sama. But thanks for worrying either way." Ryu replied and we halted and turned to cross the street.

He is carrying the packaged books with him on his shoulder again just like before and he smiled at me before taking his attention on the road.

"AHh!!" I heard a girl screamed a few meters from where Ryu and I were standing and she seemingly lost her balance that she unknowingly tripped herself and let go of the trolley she was pulling and she was about to stumble on the road with an incoming truck that would suppose to hit her.

Moved by my reflexes, I dashed towards her and quickly grabbed her arm by the hand and pulled her back to the sidewalk that I was the one to be incidentally thrown on the road and goes the truck coming that I only closed my eyes going with the fall and the impact I was about to experience. I, then felt a strong gust of air run over me after I sensed my back touching the ground of the road. I felt a hand under my head and I was lying on the ground when the sun's light dazzled me when I opened my eyes.

"Ouji-sama! Ouji-sama!" I heard Ryu calling unto me and I tilted my head and saw his worried expression marking his face.

He was lying on the ground beside me and his right arm was extended with his palm serving as a lifesaver. It was where my head rested when I dropped myself on the road.

"Let's go." I told him and stood up and walked across the road after I brushed off the dirt on my shoulders and did not look back. .

I sensed him going back to get the packaged books he likely threw off just to save me from that truck.

I rolled my eyes after thinking about that truck. From my peripheral vision, the truck was parked and the people who witnessed the incident are getting crowded over it when the driver has gotten off the truck and I halted my pace when someone called out to me after I stepped on the other side of the road.

"Don't be STUPID to rush to your death, kid!! You're gonna end up being arrested!!" I heard from behind me.

"Why you?! What did you just call, Ouji-sama~?!" Ryu's agitated voice followed after the statement of whoever that person had called me.

"And you're with him, right? What's with that outfit of yours?" Says the one who sounded as the man who called unto me criticizing the knightly attire that Ryu was wearing.

"Do you have any problems with my clothes??"

"Ryu Kishiame!" I called out and I turned my body half-way right with my hands in my side pockets and saw him confronting an old man about forties of age and likely the driver of that truck.

"Let's go home." I added with my voice being cold in intonation and I glared at him with my serious face.

He refrained himself for he was about to grab the man's collar and he turned around carrying the packaged books with him to walk towards me.

"We'll let you go." I heard Ryu uttered before continuing his walk and tilted his head and stared at the man.

"Remember that you nearly ran over Ouji-sama. Leave like this never happened. Also, we didn't cause any damage or anything after all. Just go~"

With that, I continued walking away and Ryu followed after me. I heard that the crowd finally settled down when we walked away.

>~>~>

"Forgive me~ I caused you trouble on my first day as your knight." Ryu uttered dropping himself low on the floor after we entered the door of the mansion.

"Never mind that. It was an accident. I won't tell it to my father. Don't worry. I don't have any scratches or wounds too. Rest assured and bring those books in the library." I told him and I walked away going to my room.

"You better change your clothes too." I added before continuing my way.

"You're covered with dirt, Young Master." I heard Lenor stated after I met him on the stairs and he rolled his eyes down to who was walking his way towards the library.

"Please prepare the bath, Lenor. I'm taking a shower." I told him and took a few steps up the stairs going past him.

"As you wish, Young Master. Dinner will also be served after you have cleaned yourself."

I headed my way in my room and locked the door behind me. I stopped at the glass mirror on one of the walls of my room and combed my hair after reaching for the comb.

"Messy. Getting my hair messy today wasn't really sanitary." I muttered to myself and looked at the mirror recognizing how dirty I was.

The thought of being run over by a truck played again in my mind after looking at my sapphire irises reflected at the mirror. Ryu didn't fail to save me back then. I was rest assured during the fall that he'll save me just in time. But I can't let anyone notice it. And I won't admit that it is because I trusted him that I wasn't so worried about what could have happened.

Besides, I don't need to trust anyone other than myself.

"Don't you dare lay your trust in mortals, Nijitaki. Or you won't succeed in becoming the sole successor of this household." Goes the voice from a memory.

It's my father's voice when he was advising me back when I was seven, the time I started buying and reading books as part of my training as his successor of our businesses and possessions.

Right...

Ryu is a childhood acquaintance who grew together with me and was raised in this house until he was six and I was five. He was sent to France with the command of my father to train him there to become my protector and he is now back to fulfill that duty he had received after eleven years. That's all there is to it. If he wasn't able to protect me from a simple accident like earlier, he won't be suited as my protector either way. But at least, he proved earlier that he is capable of protecting me. I could say that his training paid off.

He being my knight, as what he prefer to call his job, will only be something to keep me from encountering unpleasant things starting tomorrow.

My high school life....

Will it be a normal school life for me? Or will it be something more than it?

"Young master, the hot bath is ready there. We'll be waiting for you in the dining room too." I heard Lenor speak from outside the door of my room after he knocked thrice.

"I'll be there in a few minutes." I only replied and Lenor seemed to have gone his way since his shadow disappeared from the floor of my door.

I entered my bathroom and washed myself clean then I wore my pajamas with my night clothes after finishing. I walked past the mirror and combed my hair for another time before proceeding my way downstairs to eat dinner.

~'Don't trust any mortal??' what is the reason behind it?

🌟 AerixielDaiminse 🌟

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