52. Familial Bonds and a Shopping Spree.

Suzaku Himejima's POV

Living inside this place since childhood, I have been exposed to the supernatural way early on, as it is the main job of my family, the Himejima Clan.

As an ancient clan of Shinto mystics, the Himejima clan has stood in the shadows to serve the Shinto Gods and perform exorcisms against evil creatures to keep humans safe from their influence. As part of the Five Principal Clans who rule over the powers of the Sacred Beasts, the Himejima Clan is in possession of one known as the Vermilion Bird. The Himejima Clan has been blessed by the Shinto Gods, allowing its members to use the Fire Phase, one of the Five Elements.

But even though we are supposed to protect humans, we fail to protect our own family members, which is infinitely disheartening. According to ancient practices, those born without the blessings of the Shinto Gods or those who practice other arts are forced into exile.

I have witnessed countless members of my family being expelled. The current family head, my great-uncle Suou Himejima, is said to have exiled his own sister, my great-aunt simply because she practiced Buddhist Arts.

Even the one I looked up to, my aunt Shuri Himejima, who was supposed to inherit the sacred beast, has been exiled because she fell in love with a fallen angel. Witnessing all this pains me as my own family members hurt each other.

Despite being chosen as the next Suzaku, inheritor of the sacred beast Vermilion Bird, I am determined to go against my family's tradition and bring all of my family together. It has become one of my most desired wishes.

*

*

*

I find myself in front of a shrine. This is the house of my aunt, Shuri Himejima. Even though she has been exiled, I have stayed in touch with her. She's honestly a lovable person.

When I get close to the courtyard, I find a small girl around the age of 8 sweeping the floor, adorned in a traditional Miko dress. I, myself, am also wearing one. She looks a lot like me. Well, everybody says that we both look a lot like her mother, my aunt. After all, we are cousins and sisters.

She's Akeno Himejima. Akeno-chan rushes over to me upon seeing me. She's honestly a good child.

"Nee-chan!" she says as she hugs me.

"How have you been, Akeno-chan?" I ask as I crouch down to her height.

"Fine. Why didn't you come for a while?" she asks with a small pout.

"Sorry for that, Akeno-chan. I will try to come more often," I reply as I gently stroke her hair.

To be honest, it has been harder and busier to keep up with my schedule as I am supposed to inherit the Sacred Beast in 2 years when I turn 15. So my lessons have become much harsher and more thorough, which leaves me with not so much spare time.

"Nn."

"Akeno-chan, please avoid bothering your elder sister; she's already quite busy as it is," a gentle voice from behind softly scolds Akeno-chan.

"I'm sorry, Okaa-sama," Akeno-chan says, her tone filled with dejection.

"It's okay, Oba-sama. She's not troubling at all," I reply as I look behind to find her standing, also in a traditional Miko dress.

"But aren't you quite busy around this time? It's already nearing time for the ritual," Oba-sama remarks.

"It's okay. I always have time for family," I reply, earning a smile from her.

"Now, let's go inside. The winter wind is very cold. And Akeno, how many times have I told you not to come outside around this time of the day? You will get sick!" Oba-sama looks displeased.

"Sorry," Akeno-chan meekly replies.

After that, we all enter the house. Inside, I find a middle-aged, gruff-looking man with black hair, a matching beard, and a muscular body. He's Akeno-chan's father, a Cadre Class fallen angel, Baraqiel.

"Greetings, Uncle," I say with a polite bow.

"Hmm," he replies shortly. He isn't one to talk much.

But I noticed Obaa-sama sending a glare towards him, compelling him to reply properly. It's always amusing, no matter how many times I see this strong-looking man easily frightened by his wife. Yet, it actually reveals their love, even in this humorous way.

"Hello. How have you been?" asked Uncle.

"I have been fine. Thank you," I replied, trying to stifle my laughter.

After that, he seemed to head towards the bathroom with some plumbing equipment in hand. I've always seen him doing mostly all the miscellaneous jobs in the house. I guess living for so long gives people all kinds of experience and makes them skilled in various fields.

Only the three of us were left behind. I conversed with Obaa-sama as I played with Akeno-chan. After a while, Obaa-sama seemed to want to say something.

"Suzaku, let's test if Akeno-chan is compatible with the blessings and abilities of the Himejima Clan," says Obaa-sama with an unusually serious face.

"Okay."

Akeno-chan was a bit confused, but after that, we proceeded to test out all her compatibilities. Fortunately, she was compatible with all the blessings and abilities of the Himejima Clan. However, for some reason, Obaa-sama looked sad. It felt like she wanted to say something more to me but refrained from doing so. She must be feeling sad that despite Akeno-chan's compatibility, she will not be accepted into the family, I guessed.

"Oba-sama, I will make sure that in the future, you all are accepted back into the family again," I declared with a determined look on my face.

For a moment, she looked surprised, but then she just smiled and hugged me tightly. I returned the gesture.

"Suzaku, you are kind—a child kinder than anyone in the Himejima Clan. Regardless of what suffering may happen, even if your dreams have changed, that kind and gentle heart alone will never change," Oba-sama said.

The words brought happiness, but for some reason, they felt ominous, like a foreboding of something. At that time, I still couldn't foresee what might happen in the future.

*

*

*

Kouske's POV

Currently, I'm at a mall with Saki, Rin, Lavinia, and Sakuya. Saki had suggested this shopping trip, not just for herself but also for Lavinia. She even got Sakuya to join us. Rin has been with us since the start, as usual. I ended up joining their shopping spree even though I had initially decided not to come to the mall with the girls.

Saki is leading us around the mall, going from toy stores to restaurants, and even browsing through clothing and jewelry shops. She's quite the shopaholic, even buying jewelry. Rich kids, huh?

Well, at least I'm not the one burdened with the mountain of shopping bags this time. Saki has servants scurrying around with those bags for her. Oh, it seems someone just dropped a bag. Fortunately, she didn't act like a typical brat and yell at him.

"David-san, are you alright?" asks Saki.

The now-named David-san quickly gets up and replies, "I am fine, Ojou-sama."

"Umm... Am I shopping too much?" asked a slightly concerned Saki as she looked at the mountain of shopping bags in his hands.

"No, no, Ojou-sama. I just tripped a bit. You don't have to worry. Just have fun like you always do," says David-san with a smile.

"Nn!" Saki regains her enthusiasm and starts doing her things again.

It seems they spoil her quite a bit. But at least they are loyal and care for her genuinely, it seems. When Saki turned around to enter another shop, all the servants could only sigh. It's already been one and a half hours since we came here. I also want to get out, but all of them look so happy that I didn't say anything. Shopping with girls can be quite scary!

"Sakuya, don't you need to buy some more?" I ask her, noticing she only bought a single outgoing dress and three sets of maid's dresses. The outgoing one was only purchased because Lavinia forced her to.

"Thank you for your concern, Kouske-sama, but I've already bought plenty," she replies, lifting her bags to show me.

"I meant for more normal everyday clothes."

"You don't have to worry. I have enough of them. Though I could use some spare undergarments," Sakuya says, the last bit just a mumble to herself, though.

Hearing her mention of undergarments sparks some healthy delusions in my mind.

"Kouske-sama?! What happened? Your nose is bleeding!" asked a concerned Sakuya.

Thank God we were behind everyone, and nobody saw this. Well, considering God's dead, there's no need to thank him. I take it back.

"It's fine. Don't worry. It's just proof of being a healthy young man," I replied, which caused her to be confused.

I quickly wiped the blood myself with the tissue she brought out to help me clean it.

"I'll go to the bathroom to clean up properly," I say as I turn towards that area.

Before going, I notice one of the servants talking to Sakuya while pointing at me. She'll handle it properly, I believe.

I rinsed off the blood with clean water, but the uncomfortable part was hearing someone take a huge dump in one of the toilets.

Sometimes, having supernatural hearing backfires.

I hastily exit the toilet, but shortly after taking only a few steps, I begin to hear the sound of a child crying in the corner. With no one else around, I became concerned and decided to follow the voice to see what happened.

When I arrived, I saw a small girl crying with her hands rubbing her eyes.

"Oniii-chaan! Onii-chaan!"

"What happened? Are you okay?" I asked.

Seeing me, she stopped shouting for a bit, but the tears falling from her eyes didn't stop.

"Are you lost? Where is your mother?" I asked.

"Onii-chaan!" She just started calling her brother again as she cried.

*sigh*

"Calm down. I will take you to your brother. Just tell me about him," I said.

"You... will?

"Yes. Where did you get separated from your brother?" I asked.

"We were....hic...shopping for my clothes...hic...but onii-chan ran off alone....hic..so I followed him...but I got separated in the crowd," she said while crying in between her sentences.

"Okay. Then let's go to the children's store section first," I said while giving her my hands to stand up.

She stared at me for a bit, then took my hands and stood up. I used this moment to use Memory Manipulation on her to get the pictures, names of her family, and where she was before.

I used Search to scan the area to see if I could find anyone from her family as I talked to the girl to calm her down a bit.

"So, what's your name?" I asked.

"Kotegawa.. Yui," she replied.

"Your brother's?"

"Umm... Kotegawa Yuu."

"Pretty close names."

I kept talking to her as I scanned the area. After a while, I found them around the area where she got lost. She seems to be from Issei's school.

"Kokegawa-san. Just walk straight ahead. You will see your family."

"Nn?"

"Walk straight up there." I showed her a path.

"Kotegawa..." (mumbling)

"What?"

"My name's KOTEGAWA! Not Kokegawa!" [A/N: Koke means fool.]

"Oh, okay," I said to her as she left. I did hear a small thank you from her, though.

I saw her reunited with her family. She was pointing this way to her parents, but I quickly started heading back to the shop Saki had entered.

After meeting with her, everyone continued their shopping for a while and had lunch in a fine restaurant. After only that, we all went home. I have come to realize that I hate shopping. PERIOD!

[A/N: Unlock Exclusive Content Early! Join my Patreon for just $2 or $5 to read 7 or 15 advanced chapters, respectively!

https://www.p@treon.com/Sol_Pendragon

Change @ to a

How is the chapter? Remember to leave comments (your thoughts on the chapter), reviews, and powerstones. Add it to your collection if you like it. It would help me get better!]