He's My Knight in Shining Armor (Akagami no Shirayukihime Fanfiction)

Chapter 10

Shirayuki woke up the next morning happy, careful to not wake Obi or Ryuu up when she went to go get dressed. Once she was finished doing her morning routine—sans putting her hair up since Obi didn't have any hairbands lying around—she went back and found the two of them awake starting to play a game of "Two Truths and One Lie."

"I hate tight clothing, I occasionally pickpocket from unsuspecting onlookers, and I can sing," Obi told Ryuu. "Which one is the lie?"

Ryuu placed a finger on his chin thoughtfully and he slanted his eyes slightly in concentration. "That you can sing?"

The ex-assassin let out a soft chuckle. "And you thought I actually pickpocket from unsuspecting onlookers?"

The boy just shrugged. "Seemed a whole lot more likely than the possibility of you singing good."

"I can sing very well, thank you very much!"

"Oh, really?" Ryuu goaded him. "Do so now!"

Obi raised his eyebrow in mischief and opened his mouth to sing, but suddenly spotted Shirayuki watching them from afar. "Maybe some other time."

"Hmph!" She mocked-pouted. "I was really looking forward to it, too."

After the other two changed, they set off for the garden and took a seat on one of the many benches, save for Ryuu since he went to go inspect a plant.

"It was a good idea to bring him here before telling him," Shirayuki whispered quietly to Obi. "How do you plan on telling him?"

"I'm not sure," He admitted with hesitation. "Should I just straight out tell him or slowly build up to it?"

"Just tell him directly," She instructed him. "If you build up to it, he'll think you were treating him like a kid."

He didn't have time to question her before the boy in question ran up to them, holding a flower in his outstretched hand. "Look, look! It's finally bloomed!"

Upon closer inspection, they both realized that the flower he was holding was a fully-grown yura shigure.

"I thought they withered and died in the fall?" Obi stated it as a question. "How is it still unaffected?"

"That's the point," The young boy informed him boyishly. "It should be nothing but a stem, but it managed to survive against the odds!"

Shirayuki smiled kindly at him as a mother would to her child. "It truly is magnificent that it survived thus far. It must be a lucky flower indeed."

Ryuu blinked, his eyes suddenly focusing as if he had just realized something. He took a few steps closer to her before pulling her hair from her face and setting the flower into her hair. "You remind me a lot of this flower. Please keep it."

The young redhead's eyes widened in surprise, but she clamped her lips shut and nodded slowly. Her face had reddened close to the color of her own hair. Whether she was unwilling or unable to speak would remain a mystery.

Obi's mouth was open wide, blinking several times to make sure what he saw was real. She looked beautiful with the flower tucked into her hair, and her blush only served to make her even more beautiful. She looked... ethereal.

He shook his head to clear himself of those thoughts before turning to Ryuu. "Ryuu, I need to tell you something important."

The young boy suddenly stood at alert. "What would that be?"

"Remember that noble-ish lady we saw yesterday?" He asked rhetorically. "Well... she's... kinda... my sister."

"WHAT?!"