20/12/2022

_Good evening, Hisahito.
_Ah-!... Oh, it's you.

Hisahito gasped. It was his cousin, Aiko. Hisahito was deep in thought when Aiko said hello. That was the reason why he was startled. The Princess apologized to him, whilst offering him a can of drink.

_Hm, a fizzy drink is fine to me, although I like coffee best. But... I don't bring any coins with me at the moment.
_Who told you that you need to pay by yourself?

Aiko replied softly and inserted a coin into the vending machine at the same time. Hisahito tried to stop her, but it was too late. He smiled awkwardly, asking why she did so.
Both of them knew that their parents had a serious rift in their relationship along with endless conflicts, usually started by Hisahito's parents - Fumihito and Kiko. As a consequence, their children, Hisahito with his two elder sisters, Mako and Kako never had a chance to interact very often with their cousin, Aiko except for the New Year gathering. Despite that, they didn't quite like that kind of reunion since the four of them could sense a stiff atmosphere between the adults. Plus, since the birth of Hisahito, Mako and Kako was unintentionally ignored by their parents most of the time at the gathering. The duo was highly annoyed and sad, so they chose to talk to each other, which involuntarily strengthened their sisterhood over time. Luckily, for Aiko, because she was an only child and her parents didn't care about their baby's gender that much, she never felt uncomfortable with their presence. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the New Year gathering was put off so the youngest generation didn't have to suffer anymore. Nevertheless, Kako felt lonelier thanks to Mako's marriage to a gold-digging jerk, Kei Komuro.
Aiko went silent for a moment before saying that she just felt like doing so, which she lied about. Moments ago when she walked past Hisahito, her cousin looked very tired, and his eyes sparkled like he was going to burst into tears at any time. The Princess felt sorry for him, so she decided to cheer him up, or at least, distract him from whatever made him suffer. Aiko glanced, catching Hisahito's wry smile, with his hand quickly wiped the tears away. It seemed that he didn't want her to see the side that he, and most people with a conservative mind, considered "weak".

_Here, your coffee is ready.

The machine delivered the drink quicker than Hisahito expected. His head was in the clouds, so Aiko had to get those cans and drew his attention toward them. Aiko hastened him to drink, or it wouldn't taste delicious anymore. At first, the heir was reluctant, but Aiko shoved the coffee can into his hands so he had no other choice. Aiko got herself a fizzy drink, too. They leaned against the white wall, next to the vending machine, and silently drank their drinks while feeling the cold breezes passing through their hair. Aiko finally broke the silence.

_So Hisahito, how are your parents? Are they doing well lately?

_Oh uh... Pretty fine, I guess...

Hisahito halted with a nervous voice. Even he felt unsure about his answer. "Fine"? How, and to what extent? The only thing Hisahito cared about was his mom's Spartan education waiting for him at home. To be honest, he had enough stress with his mom already and his brain didn't have any space to memorize other stuff besides his school exercises. Hisahito looked at the red sun while sensing some weird feelings passing through his mind. It was like there was a hint waiting for him to be solved.

"The Sun... Amaterasu-sama... The Emperor... Descendants..."

Suddenly, Hisahito thought of his uncle, Naruhito, the present Emperor, and his cousin, Aiko, who was meant to be the next Emperor if his parents weren't always trying to take advantage. How could he not realize that talking to Aiko was the only reasonable way he could procrastinate his study with his mom? Hisahito knew he would get roasted anyhow, but at least his mom, Kiko, would only do so because he came home late, not because she assumed that the Prince had been hanging out with his mates at some inappropriate places. The conversation was rather unconnected as Hisahito didn't know what to say actually, but he didn't want to shut up and go home either so he tried his best to start the conversation again whenever he accidentally ended it. Aiko, on contrary, understood the assignment pretty well. The Princess was aware that Hisahito seemed to want to say something and lengthen the talk, though she didn't know what and why. Because of so, Aiko usually made her answers as long as possible while asking some small questions at the end. Their chat went smoother and Hisahito looked a bit better when all of a sudden, his phone rang.

"Oh, great, my mom's calling. I guess I have to go home now."

"What a pity... Well, see you later, Hisahito."

Hisahito annoyingly said and glanced at his phone. After Aiko said goodbye to him, Hisahito answered his mom. The voice's tone of the phone made it seem that Kiko wasn't happy at all. The heir talked cursorily about his excuse for coming home late and hung up. Hisahito frowned, violently shoved his phone back in his pocket, and went home.

"See you later, Aiko."

"Alright. And don't forget to fix your posture, Hisahito. You know, bad posture can cause backaches."

Even though he didn't turn around to look at his cousin, the Prince said thank you to her and adjusted his posture immediately. The sky was getting darker so Aiko went home shortly after that. She was curious about her cousin's facial expressions. Why did he look so sleepy and tired? What made him annoyed and angry? Based on Hisahito's attitude towards the call from his mom, Aiko guessed that his parents could be a possible reason.
The present Emperor and Empress, Naruhito and Masako, were a bit worried when Aiko came home late. They asked her not to do so again, as it was dangerous to walk home alone at night. Aiko explained that she was having a small talk with Hisahito, her cousin because he didn't look fine today, although she did promise to go home earlier. The three people had dinner together as usual. The atmosphere was very peaceful. The Princess told her parents about Hisahito's condition and expressed her concerns about that.

_We've just read the newspaper this morning, sweetie. It seems that Hisahito was locked in a room and he was given a Spartan education by his mom. That must be the reason why, right, honey?

Naruhito rehearsed while putting the information together. He also turned to his wife to check if she was thinking the same. In return, Masako lightly nodded and rolled her eyes. She mocked:

_I really wonder about what's going on in that woman's head. Her son will soon get traumas if she doesn't have the slightest idea of changing her ways of educating a teenage boy. What was Fumihito even doing?

Both Naruhito and Aiko knew Masako didn't like Kiko at all but they never had any comments about that. Her excuses were reasonable as Kiko was always picking a quarrel with the present Empress. But unfortunately for Kiko, Masako was too busy struggling with depression and her own business, she didn't give a damn care about all those shit. Her Majesty rarely expressed her opinions about the Akishino family as well. No one wants to look for trouble, to be honest. Well... There were some exceptions, but the present Emperor, his wife, and his beloved daughter would rather not talk about them. Masako asked Aiko if she had any intentions on what she would do next week or at least, tomorrow to which Aiko said no, not yet. The Princess explained that she was thinking about Hisahito for an evening straight because he somehow reminded Aiko of her mother when her mental health was in serious crisis.

_Should I help him, mom, dad? If yes, what should I do? And if not, then... it's fine, I can understand the reason behind that.

Aiko asked softly. Naruhito and Masako both looked at their daughter, then turned to each other. It was good for Aiko to feel sympathetic toward her cousin, Hisahito, but her parents were worried that Fumihito and Kiko might use her kindness as an excuse to attack them like they usually did. The Emperor hesitated, but in the end, he and his wife decided that they would help that boy anyway.

_However, if they don't know how to behave nicely toward you, Aiko, I'll give them a lesson and you won't have to help Hisahito anymore. We don't want you to waste your kindness with somebody who doesn't know how to appreciate it.

Naruhito expressed his opinions firmly about this problem. His brother, Fumihito, had crossed the limits a long time ago, so there was no such thing as he would go easy on Fumihito under any circumstances. On the other hand, Masako advised her daughter to talk to Hisahito more or maybe check on him through texting, and small calls when they both have some spare time. Aiko nodded and thanked her mother while keeping the advice in her mind. When the young Princess was about to stand up to go back to her room, Naruhito, who was sitting opposite her, looked at her with tenderness in his eyes.

_You've been a very nice person, and we're very proud of you, Aiko. Just... don't push yourself too hard, okay?

[End of chapter 1]