“The Bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn”

Yori dragged one of the armchairs and placed it in front of the glass window that overlooked the gate of the manor. Lucky for her, the chosen seating was not too distant away. She sat down, leaned back and fixed her gaze on the gate. She did not know the purpose of her spacing out but she felt a strong propulsion in her mind to do this.

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Knock … A soft tap on the door indicated another person’s presence beyond the room’s door.

“Enter please,” she stood up from the armchair and turned to face the female attendant who had just taken a few steps into the room.

“Yori-sama, dinner is ready. Please let me escort you to the dining hall,” the female attendant who guided her to the study room announced. Yori nodded her head and followed her out of the room. Taking slow but steady steps, leading the way in front of Yori, the female attendant guided Yori down the stairs, across the reception area on the first level and out of an exit on the left side of the manor. They were soon walking along a pebbled walkway , in the open (out of the manor), lined with pine trees that grew towards the darkening sky. Halfway through the path, previously unnoticed lamps lit up and brightened their trail. Soon, they came to another structure that looked like a greenhouse as it was completely made of transparent walls, ceilings and there were no visible windows. From where she was standing, the brightly lighted structure looked like a glowing bulb amongst the thick forest of pine trees that surrounded it. In it, there was a long table and 6 matching dining chairs. There were a few attendants strategically placed at different corners. When she finally got close enough, she discovered that all of them were wearing an identical white uniform, donning on aprons and high chef’s hats.

“This way please,” the female attendant that had been showing the way stopped beside an opening in the structure. Yori walked in and became conscious of the warmth inside. To her left, there was a chef standing beside a grilling counter, and in the other direction, many others were all positioned by their posts. One of them were arranging the cutlery on the long dining table.

“Good evening, Yori-sama,” they greeted her as she strode towards a seat indicated by the female attendant. One of the chairs was placed at the “head-position” of the long dining table, facing the rest of the 5 chairs distributed between the lengths. Yori was seated on the chair that was to the right of the “head-position”. There was no one else seated by the table.

“The masters will arrive soon,” the female attendant informed her and backed off towards the glass wall behind Yori.

She kept both hands under the table as she waited for the others to arrive.

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Yori heard a playful giggle followed by barely audible conversation. Ran had entered the building with another male who was much taller.

“That should be Ran-sama’s warden,” she made a mental note to herself when she instinctively turned to inspect the source of the giggle. Rising to her feet, she took a bow towards Ran and his warden.

“Good evening, Ran-sama,” the words came through her lips even before she could think of what to say.

“Told you to cut the honorifics,” Ran was standing in front of Yori, displaying a big grin on his unworldly face. “Here, this is for Yori-san.” She did not notice that he was holding a basket of freshly plucked flowers; they were of various colors and looked extremely brilliant.

When Ran realized Yori’s hesitation to accept, he took a step forward, tip-toed and whispered into her ear, “It’s a welcome gift for Yori-san.”

“I did not plant the flowers myself,” he lowered his head and looked a little embarrassed at what he revealed. “They actually belonged to Touma-ani-ue’s garden, I just took some off the sides.”

He looked back up at Yori, “But I thought they go really well with Yori-san. Beautiful flowers should go together with beautiful people.”

Yori felt her cheeks heating up as Ran looked directly into her eyes and said those words sincerely. Feeling a little touched by the young boy, Yori stretched out her hands and collected the basket off Ran’s.

Without taking her eyes off the brilliantly colored flowers, “Thank you…”

“I’m glad that Yori-san liked the flowers,” he started walking towards the seat that was beside the chair directly opposite Yori’s.

As she sat down, she started to wonder why she slipped and opened up a little to Ran. Was it because he reminded her of Setsuna?

“No, they are too different… he cannot possibly remind me of Setsuna,” the rebuttal came up instantly.

Yori was lost in her thoughts, thinking about Setsuna, Shou and her family. What are they having for dinner tonight? How is Setsuna coping without her presence? He made a big fuss when she was leaving the house. It took Shou and Chito to restrain him and she thought she saw tear streaks on his cheeks. Yori felt something wrung her heart. It must be … I must be looking upon Ran-sama as Setsuna…”Why is everyone taking so long tonight?” Ran’s childish voice interrupted her thought process. “Touma-ani-ue was at home the entire day, I heard him playing the piano when I reached home. Why is he not here yet?”

“Touma … So, he was the one playing the piano. Who is this Touma? Since Ran-sama addresses him as ‘brother’, he must be another son of Tachibana-sama.” she wondered about this new character in her head.

“Yori-san… has Yori-san met Touma-ani-ue yet?” Ran asked.

“No, not yet.”

“Yori-san must meet him! Touma-ani-ue is a brilliant person!”

Yori tilted her head slightly at the compliment.

“Does he think the best of everyone? He just said I was being nice to him in the afternoon…” she pondered.

Thoughts about Setsuna and her family came flooding back into her mind. How similar was the bond between the Tachibana siblings and that of her brothers and herself.

“Ani-ue!” Ran called out merrily and Yori glanced into the direction that Ran was calling out to.

“It’s him!” her heart skipped a beat; whether it was out of fear or surprise, she did not know. The rebel in her had stopped her from rising and greeting the villain, who was now approaching his seat beside Ran’s. Unlike the way he dressed when they had their meet ups, he was not in blazer nor slacks; instead, he was still wearing the polo-T-shirt and bermudas that she saw him in, earlier in the day. When their eyes met, Yori reflexively looked away. She could not bear to look into the eyes of the man she hates.

“Ran, where’s chichi-ue?” he inclined his body to face Ran.

“Chichi-ue and Shiraki-san had gone back.”

“Gone back?” Yori’s words escaped her mouth before she could stop herself; the curiosity was too overwhelming. “Don’t they stay in this manor?”

“Chichi-ue and Shiraki-san do not stay here… They live in another manor. Chichi-ue mentioned that he wants to personally receive Yori-san and that’s why he’s here today.”

Yori was dumbstruck. Could they really be nice? But, when she stole a glance at the tall figure beside Ran, she convinced herself that it was not possible.

“The nobles are good at diplomacy… you would never know when they are acting and when they will stab you in the back to achieve their goals,” Yori recalled Shou’s words. “Be cautious of who you’re dealing with.”

“I see that you’ve made yourself comfortable around here.”

Yori turned to face the voice’s owner. It was the Tachibana Keiichirou that she recognized, standing by the opening that she entered from. Black hair, glasses, wearing a formal suit and tie. His eyes gave off the familiar glint when Yori knitted her eyebrows. She took another wary glance at the “Tachibana Keiichirou” sitting beside Ran.

“There are two of them?” the question flashed in her mind.

“Good evening, Kei-ani-ue!” Ran let out a cheery greeting. Yori took another look at the Keiichirou by the entrance, and returned her sight to the ‘Keiichirou’ in front of her.

Keiichirou took his seat at the “head-position” of the table while Yori continued to think about the doppelganger she had witnessed.

“Yori-chan, you haven’t seen me in a week and you’re already mistaking another person for me?”

The irking “Yori-chan” address had returned and she felt disgusted by his words and expression.

“Yori-san…” Ran called out to her. “This person is Touma-ani-ue .”

The silent Touma stared at Yori as if she was an alien.

“What a stupid mistake…” He commented.

“Twins! Kei-ani-ue and Touma-ani-ue are identical twins,” Ran explained in an excited tone.

“That explains…” she thought.

“Ranka,” Keiichirou summoned the female attendant standing behind Yori. “From now on, you will serve Yori as her personal attendant.”

“Yes, Master,” she took a 90-degree bow.

“Teach her the regulations and formalities of the nobles,” he continued instructing. “And … teach her about the Tachibana clan. I don’t want to see another case of mistaken identity.”

“Yes, Master. Ranka apologizes for what happened.” the female attendant blamed herself.

Instantly, Yori felt responsible. Although they are identical twins, both of them do look significantly different from each other when placed side by side. Touma’s hair was not waxed and he looked a little younger than Keiichirou. It was ignorant of her to make such a mistake.

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Published on: 30 Apr 2008

Rating: For everyone

Author: Orangeline (ICC)