Familiar

"My Lord," Daisuke greeted Naoki as he lowered his head with much reverence.

He was tempted to ask him what he was doing there, but he couldn't. Questioning him in the presence of Haruka was wrong and so he kept mute about it.

Sensing the situation, Naoki responded to his greeting with a nod before shifting his gaze to the little woman still sitting on the horseback and staring straight at him.

Feeling his casual gaze on her, Haruka glanced at him before lowering her head in a slight bow.

Somehow, the goosebumps that had appeared on her skin disappeared, leaving her guessing he was the one behind that powerful ambiance.

When the horse pulled over in front of him, she had felt the intense gaze on them slowly die down.

'The aura was coming from him.' She mentally noted.

"You worry your family a lot," he began, shocking both she and Daisuke who were least expecting any words from him.

"You have a lot to learn," Naoki finalized.

"Huh…" Her voice trailed off as she shot him a quizzical look.

She seemed confused at his statement and hoped for a better explanation but unfortunately, he didn't give her one.

Instead, he just shifted his gaze to Daisuke who was having a thought of his own.

'Did he see something?' Daisuke wondered.

He deduced this idea because they were standing a block away from Haruka's home. It was plausible that he must have seen or heard something.

"Bring her down," Naoki instructed, ignoring both of their thoughtful states.

Immediately, he turned to his side and reached out his hand toward Haruka. Having no objections whatsoever, she instinctively took his hand and allowed him to help her dismount the horse.

She was still curious as to what Naoki meant when he mentioned her parents.

And the second her feet landed on the red earth, the creaking sound of the entrance door a block away, drew their attention, causing them to cast their glance over.

"F-Father…" Her lips quivered as her heart raced in her chest.

She saw her father stepping out of the house with her brother, and her mother following behind them with a worried expression on her face.

Then without thinking, she left their side and quickly ran towards her house.

"Father!" She called out in a desperate tone.

She had taken note of the swords tied to the waist of her father and brother and presumed they that were out to search for her.

It would be bad if they left when she had returned. She did not wish to trouble them any further.

Naoki and Daisuke's gaze trailed after her as she left their presence to walk toward her family.

Retracting his gaze from her a moment later, Daisuke looked to his Master and called out hesitantly with the rest of his words, hidden in his heart.

"Master."

He didn't need to say the rest of his words for him to understand, and Naoki actually did understand.

Peeling his attention from Haruka, his gaze narrowed at him before nodding in approval.

Daisuke lowered his head to him first and quickly turned to chase after Haruka as he watched from behind.

Hearing the familiar voice of his daughter, Mr. Ito quickly walked ahead till he was out from the entrance before stopping and averting his gaze to his left side.

0_0

His eyes went agape as his jaw fell open in disbelief. Words failed to make their way out of his parted lips and someone else beat him to it.

"T-That's Haruka?" Lady Ito said with her eyes widening in surprise.

Kenji's brows furrowed as he immediately stepped forward and came to join them.

On seeing Haruka running towards them with the unsheathed sword in her possession, relief first washed over them at her return, before anger followed at the worry, she brought them.

They were delighted she came back in one piece but equally unhappy that she sneaked out with a sword.

"Father," Haruka called out again, her steps slowing as she neared them.

She could feel her heart pounding against her chest at the inevitable scolding that was to follow.

Instinctively, her fingers clenched and unclenched.

She didn't know what punishment she would be given, but more than that, she was afraid of getting scolded.

"Where have you been?" Mr. Ito inquired as he checked her out with his eyes.

Her thin lips slowly parted, but no words could come up like a cat got her tongue.

It took her some seconds to summon up courage and finally form words at the tip of her tongue while watching the anticipating gaze from her father.

'I'm doomed, aren't I?' Haruka wondered within her.

Just then, her mother who had been waiting earnestly came forward and interrupted them before she could respond.

"Are you fine? Where did you go?" Lady Ito asked as she placed her hands on her shoulders while her gaze thoroughly raked over her body attentively.

She did not bother to hide the petrified look in her eyes even though her face showed signs of relief.

This was her daughter. Had something happened to her, she would not have been able to take the pain.

"I-I'm fine," Haruka hurriedly replied, easing her mother's worry a fraction.

Just then, Daisuke stepped into their line of sight. Noticing his presence, Mr. Ito called out to him in familiarity as his wife took a step away from their daughter and stared at him in surprise.

"Mr. Suke,"

Kenji stopped beside him before nodding towards Daisuke in silent greeting.

"Mr. Ito." Daisuke acknowledged and offered him a small nod.

"You brought my daughter home?" Lady Ito asked as a glint of joy appeared in her eyes while goggling at him.

As soon as she voiced that question, Mr. Ito and Kenji had a look of anticipation directed at him.

"Yes, I did," he curtly replied.

Instantly, a deep sigh was released from the trio as relief washed over them

They have known Daisuke for some years. He was not someone they saw regularly, but the number of times he had come to their aid was more than the number of times they caught a glimpse of him.

Because of their daughter's naughty nature, she had gotten into some webs of trouble. Not only her, but he had also saved Kenji too.

Their family was indebted to him. They owed him not just words of gratitude, but a feast for all the troubles.

To hear that he brought their daughter home, lightened the heaviness in their hearts. And with that, their confidence that no harm had come to Haruka, heightened.

"I sent out the servants to search for her, but she was nowhere to be seen, where did you find her?" Lady Ito inquired with a curious gaze.

She wished to know where in heaven's name her daughter went that caused the servants to not find her.

Getting the hint as the right time to explain herself, Haruka immediately took the opportunity.

"Mother," she called out, instantly drawing their attention before she continued.

"On my way to train after I left the house with brother's sword for which action I apologize, I met with some troublemakers. That was when I ran into Mr. Suke and his Master. They saved me and brought me back."

While mentioning about Naoki, she looked toward the place he was standing and pointed at him.

Immediately, everyone turned their gazes toward the direction her finger was pointing at, only to see the figure standing there with his gaze on them.

Naoki who was casually listening to their conversation from the short distance, "…"

One train of thought reigned in his mind at that moment.

'Couldn't she just leave me out of this? Wasn't Daisuke enough to aid her in evading punishment? Why must I be included?'

0_0

<Naoki: Author, what is wrong with that girl?>

<Author: Pfft… hahaha… I guess she wants to use you as an escape route.>

<Daisuke: Nice one… hahaha.>

<Naoki: *shooting a deathly glare at him* You were saying?>

<Daisuke: Nothing master.>

<Naoki: Better.>

<Haruka: You should feel proud to be the hero of my escape plan, Naoki-san. *wink*>

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Dearest Readers, I apologize for the long absence. Editing is not my forte, and because I'm trying really hard to make this book near to perfection, it has brought delay.

But here I am, promising to keep up with daily updates from today, but Sundays may be an exception.