Magi: Hiraeth

9: Before the storm

Before the storm

After Yukiko left Sinbad and Hakuryuu alone to talk, she headed to his brother's study in the Black Libra Tower.

"Ren-nii, I've come to visit you. Are you free right now?" She greeted as she enters his quarters. Her brother, Aoren, then put down a scroll he was reading before smiling.

"It's quite rare for you to visit me here. Let me guess, Sinbad again, huh?" He chuckled as he removes his glasses.

Aoren is a tall and slender young man with long blue hair that he keeps in a loose low side ponytail. He has a long fringe that he trims when he has the time to do so or when it becomes annoying or starts getting in the way of his work.

He wears his usual clothes which is a yukata that ranges from any shade of blue to white. It was the same clothes that he wore in the palace back in Xue.

His eyes are blue unlike Yukiko's who has green eyes. He also has a beauty mark under his left and right eye which gives off a sexy vibe (according to the palace's staff and some citizens of Sindria).

He may look somewhat cold but he is a very warm person. He dotes on Yukiko too much sometimes which causes the latter's dismay. Aoren is a mature man who knows how to handle difficult situation without losing his cool.

Being near death for six times helped him with it since he accompanies Yukiko in her dungeon conquest. He also loves to spend his free time with Yukiko instead of sleeping despite being tired since he claims that he misses her very much. He helps her in her training with their Royal Sword play and her magic.

"Yes. Sinbad again." Sighed Yukiko as she collapse on a couch on the corner of the room.

Aoren knows about his sister's feelings for the king and he is somewhat against it but decided to let her be since he can clearly see how happy she is when she's with Sinbad. He gets jealous sometimes about it especially if Yukiko refuses to spend time with him. He has a mild case of sister complex or so he says.

"I just don't get it, nii-sama... he acts like that only to me. Does he only see me as a friend or something more? He doesn't treat the ladies he mingles with like that, as far as I've observed. Also, I didn't fail to send him signals. Is he just denying it?" She ranted as she covers her face with a pillow.

"Maybe he can see you as someone important. A close friend since you were the one who understood him the most when he was a child, didn't you say so? But love starts with something like that. I suggest that you keep on pushing forward, imouto." He replied as he sat on the space that was available on the couch.

"Nii-sam, we'll leave here sooner or later. We can't stay here forever. This is not our country. We are needed by our people. My spies had gathered enough information about our people's whereabouts and I am determined to take them back." She said seriously as she looks at his brother with determied eyes.

"Are you sure that you'll wage war? You know how peaceful our country is. Will you be able to kill?"

".....I will. They exploited our country. Our beloved citizens. They're our family and I'll do anything to save my family. Even if I had to soil my hands with blood." She looked at her hands before clenching it to a fist.

Aoren observes her expression before leaning on her, resting his head on top of hers.

"Such a scary expression." He nuzzled his head on top of hers. "It doesn't suits you, my beloved sister. I like you better when you're smiling." He closed his eyes and fell into silence for a minute before speaking again.

"...but you are right. We can't stay here forever. We made a promise, right? That we will take back our country and regain peace. We'll take back our people and go back to Xue. Our homeland." He smiled at the thought.

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

"Yukiko, I'm done dealing with the matters I have to do. So, let us go? I want to roam around with you." Sinbad told her as soon as he spotted her walking around the back garden.

"Oh, then let's---"

"Sinbad-sama!" Called out a cheery voice from behind her. Yukiko turned around only to spot the pink haired princess, walking up towards them.

"It seems that you have someone who needs your audience, Sin." She took a step to the side to give way to the princess. Yukiko saw her once at the imperial castle in Kou but didn't engage into any type of communication. Yukiko mostly talked to Hakuryuu and Hakuei at that time but was introduced to Kouen as a representative of the tribe back then.

"Sinbad-sama, I want to apologize again for what I did earlier. I am reflecting on it and I realized that I've hurted your standing as the king of this country." Kougyouko hid her face behind her sleeve as she was still embarrassed of her actions back at the port. "I'm terribly sorry."

"Kougyouko-hime, please lift up your head. I understand why you reacted like that. I shouldn't be touching someone like you so casually. You are a refined lady and having a man touch you is ground for immediate actions." Sinbad console her.

Yukiko, on the other hand, was looking at him with an uninterested gaze that looks somewhat intimidating making Sinbad jolt a bit when he felt her presence.

"..Kougyouko-hime, as much as I want to talk to you, I'm afraid that I fixed something with someone already. If you'll excuse us." He escorted Yukiko away from Kougyouko by placing his hand on her shoulder like he always does.

The white haired maiden took a stealthy side glance at the princess and saw how her gaze hinted a tinge of jealousy. She just gave her a half smile before looking forward again.

"I shouldn't be touching someone like you so casually. You are a refined lady and having a man touch you is ground for immediate actions. WOW." She said in a rather sarcastic manner as she removes Sinbad's hand on her shoulder.

"So I'm not refined? Meaning you can touch me casually like you do with those cabaret girls?" She opened her fan and covered half her face with it to hide her frown but her eyes says so otherwise.

"No, I didn't mean that. You are a mature woman and physical contact such as this is something normal to you now, right? I remember when we were kids, you let me hug you when you act all adorable and stuff." He explained as he leans down to take a peek of her expression. He has that teasing smile that he only shows to those close to him.

Yukiko then closed her fan and whacked him with it before sighing. "Still, if you treat women like that, they'll get the wrong idea." 'Just like me..' she said to herself. "There's a limit to everything and I am still not used to you casually touching me and invading my personal space."

"I don't lead women on, Yukiko. I consider their feelings since hurting a woman's emotion is a big no-no for me."

"Yeah, go and say that to your generals and you'll see those look of disgust and disbelief again." She puffed her cheeks a bit in annoyance.

"Don't be so stingy now." He then grabbed her by her waist as his other hand held her hand. He then began twirling and waltzing with her through the hallway as he hums a small tune, still with a smile on his face.

Yukiko can't help but stare at his expression and give in to his mellifluous voice as she follows along with his movements.

"I hate you for being such a smooth ladies man, High King of the Seven Seas." She mumbled as she rest her head on his chest.

"I know, I know." Sinbad chuckled then resumed humming. He noticed Jafar who was just looking at him with a disappointed gaze before turning to pity as he saw the indulgent Yukiko. Sinbad just gave him a small nod and Jafar bowed politely before leaving.

"Using her feelings to your own will. Sin, just how cunning have you become." Jafar whispered as he took one last glance at the two who are now laughing as they exit the door. He looked up to the skies and saw the gray clouds approaching from afar. "...A storm is coming.."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A/N:

Lolololol I started playing Mystic Messenger again. My sleep schedule is fcked 😂

Speaking of Mystic Messenger, I've published a one-shot of it and it's a V/Kim Jihyun x Reader so give it some love~