"Big brother!" Ami exclaimed skipping towards Yuuma. They had run into each other assumingly on their way to dinner.
"How long have you been waiting for me?" But Yuuma knew better than to think this was coincidental. He looked down at the girl wearing a puffy pink dress and the jewelry sparkling around her like a halo. She had curly dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes. Mako had the same eyes but straight brown hair and Ena had wavy blonde hair with dark brown eyes. They looked like their parents.
He looked nothing like this family.
Maybe he was adopted? Or an illegitimate child? But from his memory, he was raised as the eldest legitimate son and the mother really did seem to birth him. Yuuma would contemplate this later but for now, it's not important.
"I-I wasn't waiting for you!" Ami held her hands in front of her not looking him in the eyes.
"Was it mother that told you to wait?" After a moment of pause, she tentatively nodded her head. Yuuma sighed rubbing his eyes that burned with sleepiness. "Don't wait for me anymore or better yet don't listen to your mother," his voice was cold and heartless and his face held a bit of agitation.
Ami only said okay while nodding her head but wasn't too sure as to why she shouldn't listen to mom. They made it to the dining room early and only his siblings were present besides Ena who would be fed by a maid so she won't be attending tonight's dinner.
Mako was playing with some wooden toy horses making them crash into each other and made them fly around the room like a plane. He sometimes bothered Ami by making the horse crawl on her arms which she kept trying to dodge the boy's attempts while scolding him. It was a funny sight.
A moment later food started coming out and his mother and father finally made an appearance. Yuuma's mother dressed in a similar fashion to Ami and she gushed about how smart Yuuma was for reading today.
"But that library is very old and dusty, you could get sick! So I don't want you going there again I'll buy you some new books if you want," his mother said. They were already eating and Yuuma was so tired he groggily hummed while taking his first bite of steak. A second later and he decisively picked up his napkin and spat the contents out. No one seemed to notice this action and he ate anything around besides the steak.
"Father, can I follow you to your meetings and political parties? I would like to learn what you do and gain experience," Yuuma yawned trying to keep his eyes open as hard as he could. His father raised his head in startled surprise and smiled happily.
"Of course you can, do you agree honey?" Like a dog to owner, he asked his wife the one holding the leash. Yuuma's mother smiled and agreed readily thinking it was a good idea.
Yuuma was the first to leave the room and only a few steps in he couldn't hold it anymore and fell apart on the floor. This time giving the hard marble a hug. His butler was late to turn the corner and almost stepped on him. Kenji studied the boy seeing his chest rise and fall evenly, soft breathy snores coming out with each exhale, and the peaceful sleeping face like he didn't have a care in the world.
Without saying a word he gently picked up the boy who didn't stir an inch. He walked him to his room and placed Yuuma into his bed making sure he was still asleep before leaving. Kenji's shoes clacked in the silent hall and made it to a big door giving it a few knocks.
A poised female voice called out from the room and the butler entered.
"Why aren't you with my son?" Yuumas mother chastised with sharp eyes, her question more of a demand.
"He's asleep madam," the butler bowed trying to shake off her anger.
Yuuma's mom narrowed her eyes and then sighed reclining on a couch and eating some pastries with a nod for the butler to continue.
"Give me the report, tell me why he's like this suddenly," she huffed unpleasantly. Kenji cleared his throat with a small bow as he spoke, "he woke up this morning without a fuss and ate breakfast as you know. He went to the library and read some books but I don't think he actually read anything, just flipped through the pages. He stayed through lunch until dinner, he dropped a book off in his room claiming he was going to read it later, and went to dinner where he ran into young miss Ami. I've noted that besides the abnormal behavior he's also very sluggish and tired."
She hummed caressing her wrist and picking her nails, "he's probably just in a bad mood tell me if anything else happens, go on now," she waved the butler out leisurely. When the doors closed she abruptly stood up with clenched teeth plus fists and muttered darkly, "hopefully this is just some early phase."
Butler Kenji narrowed his eyes on the handle and instead of heading towards his young master's room he took the opposite way. In a quiet unused room, he took out a stone that glowed when he pressed it a few times. An annoyed sigh came from the stone with a lengthy pause afterward.
"Why are you reporting on the Oxblood family so early?" An old crisp voice broke through.
"Something happened to young master Yuuma," Kenji stated firmly.
"The eldest son? The brat? Did he die or something?" The old man behind the stone didn't seem too concerned.
Kenji tapped his foot and seemed to be in deep contemplation.
"No nothing like that-" Kenji explained everything Yuuma did in great detail much more than he had said to the madam of the house and at the very end concluded some theories. The old man at the other end of the stone was quiet for a while also in thought.
"Perhaps it's best to keep an eye on him it's only been a day, but I'll report this to the head, thank you once again Kenji. Report tomorrow if anything else happens." With that the call ended and Kenji went back to Yuuma's room to check on him. Seeing Yuuma still asleep he left the room again for his lunch break.
Yuuma who was apparently still asleep cracked an eye open and pinched his cheek.
Still here.
He sighed defeatedly and curled up under the covers falling asleep shortly after.