[The Summer before the start of RoaGA]

*Layla*

[Kasai no Ki]

My pink-eyes glimmered as our plane flew toward the capital of Kasai ni Ki. The prince of the country had invited my father over to discuss trade relations. Of course, Daddy got approval from our king back home.

Daddy was sort of like the quasi-ambassador to Kasai no Ki, a nation whom Kuroriku had broken all formal diplomatic ties with decades ago.

Daddy saw it in the best interest of our province to fix those ties and improve them from their state prior to the war. That economic argument is likely what he used to convince King Osamu about this.

Unlike his father, the current king has a neutral at arms length sort of view of Kasai no Ki. Even though it wasn't the best relationship, it was still leagues better than open aggression.

If the king ever named a formal ambassador, I would like to be that person. Kasai no Ki was a pretty nation despite its tragic history.

"So pr-pretty," Big Bro Dan said as his eyes glistened at the brilliant light.

"Yeah," Big Sis Kiara said, grinning.

Big Bro Silas who was seated next to me grumbled. "It's alright."

I laughed. "Come on, admit that you think the same as us."

He turned away. "Why would I when I don't?"

I sighed. Why did he like playing the role of tough guy?

"I... Hope its not too crowded," Big Sis Camilla said as she slid under her seat.

"It's a big city, of course it'll be crowded," Silas snapped.

"It's alright, Cami, I'll keep you company," Kiara said, smiling at her.

"Thanks, Ki," Camilla said, smiling a little.

" M-me too," Dan said, smiling.

Camilla turned to look at Big Bro Hideo. He and our little siblings were fast asleep.

"Hey, wake up," Big Sis Amun said, shaking Hideo.

"Huh, w-what going on? Is the plane crashing" he asked, sitting up.

Amun sighed. "No, if it were then I would've thrown you out of the emergency exit and had you fly to save yourself."

Hideo grumbled. "Why are Sy and you always so rude?"

Silas scoffed. "Maybe because the rest of you are fools?"

Hideo stood up and looked down at him. "You really are a know it all, aren't you?"

Silas looked up at him. "Hey, it's not like you don't try to be one yourself when you get the chance, not that it comes to you often," he said with a smug grin.

Daddy sighed. "Stop arguing, and Hide, sit down and fasten your seat belt. The plane will be descending soon."

Hideo gulped and sat back down.

***

"What time is it?" Little Bro Alex asked as he rubbed his eyes with his tiny hands.

"It's nearly midnight here," Daddy responded.

Alex yawned. "Then can I go to sleep again, Daddy?"

"You can once we get to the hotel," Mommy said as she held on to his other hand. Her her left arm she carried our sleeping three-year-old sister, Dossie.

"Aww! I wanted to do so sight-seeing!" I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Same," Kiara said, frowning.

"You can do that first thing in the morning," Daddy said. In his arms he carried our sleeping four-year-old brother, Nate.

I sighed. "But I wanted to see the town at night."

"You already did from above," Silas responded.

I laughed dryly. "Cheeky response, you got there, but you know what I mean." I spread out my arms. "I want to explore it and see what kind of wonders it holds!"

"Best be careful, or else you might get more than you bargained for," Amun said as she followed Silas close behind.

"I'll be fine staying in the hotel..." Camilla said, keeping her gaze down. She stood between our parents.

"S-same," Dan responded as he too kept close to our parents.

"Come on, this might be a diplomatic mission for Dad, but for us it's basically on vacation!" Kiara said.

I nodded. "Yeah!"

"I rather accompany Dad in his meetings, might learn something from it," Silas said, turning away.

Maybe should go too... would help me learn more about how the job of ambassador works.

"Do you even know how to have fun?" Kiara asked.

Silas scoffed. "Of course I do, but not everything in life is fun and games."

Amun nodded. "You should know that best, Ki, being older than us."

Kiara puffed up her chest. "That's why I'm enjoying my youth as much as I can. I still got a few years more until I have to take on adult responsibilities. You two should try to enjoy the next few years too, else you'll look back at life in a few years and regret not having enjoyed your childhood when you could."

"You sister has a point," Mommy said as she eyed my sleeping little sister. "The years go by fast. The years of childhood are the time when once can have fun. That being said, it is nice to start gaining the skills one will need for adulthood, lest one grows up to be inept."

"Maybe I should go with Dad too, I am the next Duke of Makkuroyama after all," Hideo said as he rubbed his chin.

"You should go, especially as you're an adult, technically speaking," Silas said as he walked on ahead of us.

Hideo grumbled. "Hey, why did you add 'technically speaking'? Are you implying I don't act like one?" He sped up toward him. "Hey! Don't walk away! Answer me!"

Daddy sighed. "Now, now, don't start fighting here. The airport is no place for brawls of any kind."

We all fell silent as we made out way to the exit.

***

After having left the airport, we boarded a van that father had rented for us and headed for the hotel we would be staying at. According to Daddy, it was a place somewhat removed from the city.

"Woah," Kiara said as she stared at all the colorful neon signs of various shops as we drove through the business district. "Is this place for real?"

"How about you pinch yourself and find out?" Silas asked.

Ki narrowed her eyes. "You really are on a roll today with the snark, aren't you?"

He smirked. "I don't know, you tell me?"

"Hey, Mom! Can I punch Silas?" Hideo asked.

"No, you may not punch your brother. As for you, Sy, stop responding like that. You're getting on my nerves too," Mommy said, exasperated.

"Like I've ever been in your good graces," he mumbled as he glanced at Dan.

Dan looked back at him as he felt his gaze on his back. "S-something w-wrong, Sy?"

He turned away. "Nothing at all," he said as he pressed his head against the window.

Sy... why did he keep closing himself off to us?

***

After an hour of driving, the van came to a stop in front of a small hotel on a mountain side. The area was covered in dense forest which looked rather frightening in the dark of night.

"Is this the place? It looks abandoned," Hideo said as he looked out.

"Yeah, come," Daddy said as he unbuckled himself. 

Hide gulped. "O-okay." 

Silas chuckled. "Is the heir scared?"

Big bro shook his head. "Not at all," he said, opening the door. "How about you?"

"Nope," he said as he jumped out. He rubbed his bare arms. "Why is this place so cold? It's closer to the equator than back home, yet its colder."

"That's because we're at a higher elevation, plus the forest makes the surroundings cool," Mommy explained.

"I re-remember learning that fr-from my science book," Dan said as he jumped out. "I'It's due to the shade a-and evotranspiration."

"Evo what now?" Alex asked.

"It's when water evaporates off the leaves of trees," Daddy said as he locked his door. 

 "You sure this place isn't haunted?" Hideo asked, staying in place.

Mommy laughed. "Don't worry, your dad made sure researched every place."

"I see, but couldn't we just stay at a place less removed from civilization? I mean, we finally came to a big city and yet we're still having to sleep in the middle of nowhere."

"If you're scared, just say it," Kiara said as she walked past him.

Hideo's face reddened. "I'm not!"

Suddenly, something flew out of the tree and made its way toward him.

"Wahh!" Hideo yelled as he ran off.

"Wait, it's just an owl!" I yelled as the sound of hooting rang overhead.

Daddy laughed. "So much for not being scared."

Hideo stopped by the front of the hotel. "It's not funny!" he snapped.

Silas grinned. "For me it is."

"Ditto!" Amun said, nodding.

"Who asked you?!"

Amun chuckled. "Great comeback, bro. Not!"

"There, there, think that's enough teasing of your big brother," Daddy said even though he too was smiling.

Hideo's face grew redder. "This is why I hate going to places like this..."

"Relax. You're going to love it. They have a hot spring here and everything!" Mommy said, making her way toward him.

His eyes lit up. "A hot spring?"

"I could use one of those," Silas said, rubbing his right shoulder.

"Let's get checked in first," Daddy said.

"Yeah!" Hideo yelled, turning around.

Daddy reached over and grabbed a hold of his arm before he could take another step. "Now, son, announce yourself before you enter. It's common courtesy in places like this."

"Hello!" Mommy yelled.

Suddenly, the front door slid open, revealing a red-haired woman in a green yukata with a red obi.

"Ahh, what a large family. You all must be the Makkuroyama."

"Yeah," Daddy said, putting his arm around Mommy.

The lady bowed her head and stepped aside. She raised her left arm out and pointed it toward the interior as if to welcome us in. "We've been awaiting you and your family, Lord Hideaki, Lady Rene."

"Thanks," Daddy said, stepping in. He stared at the shoes lined up near the entrance and removed his shoes and slid his feet into a pair of red slippers.

There were enough pairs for each one of us.

Daddy removed my sleeping little brother's shoes and replaced them with a pair of tiny of blue slippers.

As I removed my shoes, I took the time to glance around the place. It was spacious despite looking so small from the outside. In a way, it reminded me of school after most of the students had already gone home.

"So, where's the hot spring?" Hideo asked, smiling at the lady.

"Hide, first we must check into our room and change into our yukata," Mommy explained.

I smiled. I couldn't wait to put on mine. It was a nice peach color and had little cartoon cats all over it.

"Oh, okay," Hideo said. The shine in his eyes from before vanished. He stepped deeper into the hotel and glanced around. "This hotel is really different from what I'm used to."

"It's actually an inn, young lord," the lady in the green-yukata said, laughing nervously.

"I probably should've cleared that up, huh?" Daddy asked, laughing.

"An inn? Isn't that where peasants stay at?" Hideo asked.

I gulped. Hideo, don't say that when there's workers around!

"Not at all, in the old days, nobles stayed at inns similar to this one too," he explained.

"Sorry, my son is kinda unused to the world outside," Mommy said, looking at the lady in green.

"Don't worry. I understand. Now, if you've all got on your slippers, follow me. I'll show you to your room," she said, turning her back to us.

We all followed our guide, but we only walked a few meters before she came to a stop. 

"Here we are, this is your room," she said, handing Daddy a key. "Dinner will be ready in about an hour. If you need anything, such as knowing where to find the hot spring, I will gladly help."

"Yahoo! Hot spring!" Hideo yelled, swinging his arms up.

"You really love them, don't you?" Silas asked.

Hideo grinned. "Of course I do!"

"Don't forget that you got to change your clothes first," Mommy said as she took the key from Daddy and opened it.

"Woah, so this is our room?" I asked as I followed Mommy in. The inside was filled with tatami mats.

"It's so spacious!" Kiara said.

"Where are the beds?" Hideo asked, looking around.

"We're going to be using futons," I said. "Why else did you think we brought them?"

"Are we all staying here?" Silas asked as he stood by the doorway.

Daddy smiled at big bro. "Of course. I choose this place as it's a traditional inn. We no longer have many of these back home, so I figured it would be a nice change of pace if we all shared a room."

"Couldn't you have gotten a room for me only?" Silas asked, sighing.

"It's to bring us closer as a family," Mommy said as she made her way to a door on the opposite side of the room.

Dan smiled.

"Is there a changing room here?" Hideo asked, looking around.

Mommy chuckled as she opened the door on the opposite side of the room. "Yes, but I call first dibs."

Hideo sighed. "Alright, but I'm second, okay?"

She laughed. "Sure!"

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed this chapter ^_^. This extra is the start of a short-story line. Hope that it proves entertaining :). This chapter is dedicated to Jackitalyy, an amazing writer and friend. Be sure to check out his work, it's very comedic xD**