Cross Worlds: The Tale Of Two Boys Who Swapped Worlds 3 A Day In The Royal Capital

By the next day, Tachibana was back to his bubbly self. He was getting discharged and finally going to be free of this hospital. It wasn't that the hospital was bad, if anything, compared to the aura on Earth, this was far better. He just didn't like to be restrained. One other thing he noticed was that the leash was gone and transformed into a small choker.

"Yuri~!" Akira sang as he entered the room. "Did you miss me~?"

"Uh, not really." Tachibana replied. "I'm not used to having an older brother so…"

Akira looked mortified. "Huh?!"

"I'm an only child."

"Why―!?" he stopped himself. He didn't try to figure out why he doesn't exist on Earth.

"But anyway, let's get you out of this h.e.l.lhole." Akira then waved his thumb and what seemed to be a shopping bag appeared. Tachibana was shocked at this and made a mental note to inquire about it later.

It was then Tachibana noticed what Akira was dressed in. And honestly, if he was a female, Tachibana would have had his heart stolen right there. Akira wore a white t-s.h.i.+rt underneath a black leather jacket and matching pants with white sneakers. At the sides of his pants were two chains, each of different thickness and length which seemed to be attached to his belt hoop and his back pocket. To complete the look, he rocked a dark pair of sungla.s.ses. Akira was hot in that outfit.

"Here," Akira said as he threw the shopping bag to Tachibana.

When Tachibana looked in the bag and saw the type of clothing he was shocked. There was a white fitted jeans, along with a royal blue turtle neck s.h.i.+rt and a white blazer. Beneath that, there was a pair of white and blue sneakers and a silver chain.

The j.a.panese was stunned. Well, he had been ever since Akira stepped in. Yesterday when he had just arrived and was interrogated, he hadn't taken notice, but now it was all coming at him. If this is a fantasy-like world, why were they in such fas.h.i.+onable clothing?

"What's wrong Yuri?" Akira asked upon seeing the look on Tachibana's face. "Don't hesitate to take them. I bought them for you because I forgot to bring clothes from home."

"Isn't this a fantasy-like world?" Tachibana asked.

"Remember, what "fantasy" is for you, will differ from what "fantasy" is for us."

"This is a world with magic and Kingdoms right?"

"Yes, even though there are a handful of republics and democracies elsewhere in the world."

"So why do you wear these fas.h.i.+onable clothes? Shouldn't you have some breastplate armour and some medieval like clothing? I've been wondering this for a while now."

Akira looked irritated. "You s.h.i.+t, you think our Kingdom is some backwater wasteland?" he snarled. "Look Yuri, you better get rid of those s.h.i.+tty preconceptions if you don't want to seem like an idiot."

Tachibana flinched. He had simply asked a question and this was the response? In his fright, he found himself nodding to Akira which earned him a smile from the older silverette.

Tachibana quickly got dressed, and when he was done, Akira applauded him as looking quite das.h.i.+ng. Thus, the two boys headed out of the room and Tachibana ended up even more shocked. The hallways were pristine, painted in a very light green with the floor tiled. All around, he could see cameras poised on the ceiling and watching them.

They then headed into what seemed to be an elevator, and when Akira pressed the b.u.t.ton for the ground floor, Tachibana saw a light and felt nothing. But within a split second, the door opened and they were at their destination.

"What was that?" Tachibana asked, looking back and forth from the elevator to Akira.

"What was what?"

"Normally, I'd feel when the elevator starts moving. But I didn't this time. And what's with that light?"

"Oh! We directly moved to the ground floor from the third."

"Directly?"

"Like, hmm…" Akira scanned his brain for the right word. "…like teleported so to speak. There's a magic circle in the floor that reacts whenever a b.u.t.ton is pushed."

"Well s.h.i.+t."

"Yes, it's good s.h.i.+t. But it's only in hospitals though." Akira chuckled. "Our drive is already waiting out front, okay?"

"Yeah,"

After pa.s.sing the reception, the two boys exited the hospital and Tachibana was caught in a daze once again. The buildings around were beautiful and clean. Across the street, there were multiple stores with their signs displayed in holography. People came and went, and similar to Akira (well, some degrees lower than him), they were dressed in casual clothing that seems reminiscent of Earth.

In his daze, he hadn't noticed that Akira had walked off towards a car.

"Oi, Yuri! Come on!" the older male called to him. Immediately, he snapped back to reality, only to freeze up once again. Their drive was a royal blue car with spinning white rims.

Still, Tachibana let out a sigh of defeat. Being a fantasy world, he thought that their ride would have been one of those wooden carriages, pulled by horses. Instead, it was a pristine car that looks like it came straight out of Toyota's factory.

"Yuri!" Akira snarled again. "I have a d.a.m.n date to get to! I don't have time to waste! Move those scrawny legs and get in the d.a.m.n car!"

"Yes Sir!" he said and sprinted towards the open door. Akira was really scary.

The drive back to the Palace was a quiet one; Tachibana was constantly looking out the window to avoid Akira's eyes. He couldn't quite understand him, as sometimes he seems so nice and big-brother like and the next, he seems like he hates him. But remembering what Akira said prior to him getting in the car, made Tachibana wonder.

Since when do Princes date? Don't they get in an arranged marriage and that's it? Shaking his head to rid the thoughts, he continued looking out the window. The scenery was…normal, much to Tachibana's displeasure.

Clear, sea green skies with cotton candy clouds were like a backdrop to the towering buildings and busy streets. On Tachibana's left, there were what seemed to be stores of varying trades and sizes closely packed together creating dark and narrow alleyways between each. These buildings seemed to be made out of steel and concrete as one thing was for sure, they looked h.e.l.la st.u.r.dy. Tachibana wanted to look to the other side, but he didn't want Akira to think he's staring at him. Getting on his bad side would be bad for his health.

He continued his gazing, and found that this area isn't so different from j.a.pan in terms of the atmosphere. People are casually going about their businesses, friends and couples could be seen walking and chatting, while some were sitting at outdoor cafés.

But the cafés that caught his eyes were definitely different. At each table, there were humanoid robots which were serving the customers. At first glance, Tachibana would have thought that they were humans, but he stared long enough to see the robot move off from one table to the next ―it had no feet. Instead, what would be the legs was attached to a hovering platform.

Soon, they turned right onto another road, and drove for a while until they came to an abrupt halt. At first, the two boys thought that they were at a stoplight, but when the waiting became unbearable, Akira asked the driver, "What's the matter, Jin?"

"It's traffic, Your Highness." Jin responded politely.

"What? At this hour? Shouldn't the roads be free at this time?"

"Indeed, but there seems to be ―" Jin broke off as a loud explosion shook the area like an earthquake. Tachibana pushed his face even closer to the window to see what had caused that, but he couldn't due to the sharp angle. But what he could see (Akira and Jin as well) were the pedestrians running away, some with their cell phones videoing. But one thing was evident; they didn't seem to be scared.

"The h.e.l.l's happening?!" Akira shouted as he leaned forwards to Jin.

"I can't see exactly, Your Highness. But what I can tell is that there's fire and water magic being used up ahead."

Akira slumped back in his seat and rolled his eyes. "Isn't this fantastic?" He hissed folding his arms. His voice was also laced with sarcasm.

Just then, the sound of a siren went off, and Tachibana saw people in uniforms dropping in from above after which some escorted the pedestrians to safety and some dashed off ahead. These uniforms seemed to be somewhat simple ―a black long sleeved s.h.i.+rt, with large crests on both sleeves. They also wore ties which matched their epaulettes on the shoulders, which Tachibana saw were varying in colour. Some had red epaulettes; some had blue and so on. Around their waists were thick black belts, which secured their pants and skirts; for the males, their pants s.h.i.+ns were covered by black boots and for the females, along with the boots, they wore thigh high stockings which greeted their skirts' hems.

The racket up ahead continued, but the reactions of the pedestrians made Tachibana feel much better. They were walking instead of running and some were even taking pictures. It seemed that whatever was happening was under control.

"Yuri, don't worry so much. It's not good for your skin." Akira said leaning over and patting Tachibana's cheek.

"I can't help it. I'm not used to this. Where are we, by the way?"

"Ah, but when your world has magic and thieving b.a.s.t.a.r.ds feel like they can do what they want, then it's almost an everyday occurrence. I told you, we aren't a utopia. We have crime rates you know." Akira sighed before he answered Tachibana's question. "We're in the Royal Capital, Kanagawa."

"Kanagawa?" Tachibana said. He then turned his back to the window, seeming to be in deep thought. He was in Kanagawa?

But Akira could feel the distance. To him, it felt as though Tachibana was keeping away from him. Akira didn't like it one bit. He was his little brother, just not from this world.

"Yuri, do you hate me?" He asked.

"Eh? Why would you ask that?"

"You're all the way in the corner, and you're barely talking to me."

"I don't hate you. If anything, I think that maybe you hated me. I mean, you shouted at me and called me a 's.h.i.+t'."

Akira laughed. "I shouted because I called you more than once and you didn't budge, plus I have a date with my girlfriend. I worked too d.a.m.n hard to get her; I can't let all that go down the drain. I called you that because well, it slipped out." Akira then threw a hand over his shoulder and pulled Tachibana close to his face. "Don't take it serious! Imagine when Sei gets back. You'll be in tears!" he guffawed.

"Akira, that's not funny." Tachibana pouted.

"Adorable!" he shrieked. "You really are my little brother!" He then fished into his pocket and took out a touch screen cell phone. "Do that pout again! I want to add it to my collection!"

"Collection? What?"

"Fufu," the older silverette crackled. "You're just too cute for your own good. Obviously I'm going to have pictures. Look ―!"

Yet another explosion. Akira had nearly bitten his tongue due to shaking of the ground, and seriously he was getting p.i.s.sed.

« Drivers and Pa.s.sengers, please stay in your vehicles. Do not exit. I repeat, do not exit. »

"Tsch, they should hurry and get the job done. f.u.c.k," Akira hissed in anger. "If those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds make me late for my date, I'll kill them."

Tachibana cringed. If the Second Prince was like this, he really wouldn't want to encounter the First. Then, he thought about what the Yuri of this world behaved like. Tachibana s.h.i.+vered. He hoped that his reputation isn't at stake.

"Akira, what's the other Yuri like?" he then asked.

"Hmm, well, he's short tempered and a punk sometimes. He has a very sharp tongue and can be really feisty. He's blunt and straightforward and a s.h.i.+tty son a b.i.t.c.h sometimes." The Prince answered somewhat absentmindedly. "But he's so cute and adorable! Especially when he pouts and begs! He has this cute face whenever he sleeps and this adorable habit of playing with his fingers when he's nervous! Gawd!" he then cooed. "He's like a playful little kitten too!"

"So…" Tachibana started to fret. If someone like that is loose in j.a.pan, he couldn't even imagine the disaster that could happen. "…is my reputation in danger?"

Akira smiled. "Probably."

But before Tachibana could say anything more, there was another explosion, before hearing yet another announcement which indicated that all was safe, however, they had to detour since the road up ahead was damaged.

This set off Akira even more, but Tachibana was thankful that Akira's anger wasn't directed at him. Everything went back to normal, Akira chatting away as though they were best friends. It was then that Tachibana learned that the other Yuri was indeed close to Akira and the two would often time 'play' together. When Tachibana asked what do they 'play' and how, Akira only responded with a smirk:

"If I tell you, you'll faint."

Once again, Tachibana started to fret. Looking through the window, he wondered just what kind of world was he dragged into.

"Hey Jin," Akira called. "Could we go get something to eat?"

"Yes, you can." The driver said. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know." Akira shrugged his shoulders. "What do you want to eat?" He asked Tachibana.

"I can't answer that. A burger, maybe? Or maybe ramen…"

Akira sighed. "Let's just go to a café or a restaurant. Ramen shops are on the other street, and fast-food restaurants are packed at this time of day."

Nodding at his new brother, Tachibana saw Jin turn left onto a street where the buildings all had decorative signs. Neon signs hung low off the walls, for some, the sounds of blaring music could be heard, the ba.s.s making Tachibana's heart race.

Just then, Jin turned yet again, and after pa.s.sing a couple buildings, he pulled over at the side of the road. He parked in front of a building, one which was painted in a burnt colour and chocolate coloured window panes.

Hopping out of the car, Akira skipped inside with Tachibana following, looking a bit apprehensive. The younger male looked around the place and was left in awe. The interior was modern with chic wall art. But one thing caught Tachibana's eyes. The chandelier. It was ma.s.sive; the light-bearing arms were curved upwards while the lights themselves were in the shape of trees.

"Wow," Tachibana breathed out.

"How may I help you Sirs?" A young male approached them and said.

"Table for two, please." Akira replied.

"Right this way."

The male led the two towards the free table, but all the while, Tachibana was left in awe. There were large dining room windows framing a beautiful view of the garden outside. The outside's floral arrangements blend in nicely with the painted walls. There was no music playing, instead there were only sounds of other people's conversation, the clinking of gla.s.ses and cutlery or the sounds from outside.

There were cosy tables dotted around with beautiful tablecloths and comfortable padded chairs. One thing Tachibana noticed was that the tables were not cl.u.s.tered together; instead, there were s.p.a.ces in between them so that the large tables won't overshadow the small ones.

But Tachibana noticed, inside was quiet and elegant. The staff wasn't obtrusive like some of the ones on Earth, as a matter of fact, there was an air about them that made Tachibana feel welcomed.

"Are you ready to order, Sirs?"

"Yes we are." Akira responded. And within a minute, the waiter left, leaving the boys together. Tachibana kept looking up at the chandelier which attracted Akira's attention.

"You like it or something?"

"Yeah, it's pretty." Tachibana answered. "But seeing it, it reminds me of a song I heard couple times on Earth, even though it wasn't in my native language."

"I'm gonna swing from the chandelier~ from the chandelier~" Akira sang. He hit the right notes at the right time perfectly. But his amazing voice didn't stun Tachibana, it was the song. It was the same as the one from Earth, sung by an American female singer.

"That song was played almost everywhere with a chandelier when it just came out." Akira laughed.

"Haa, I see." Tachibana didn't know what to talk about so he kept his eyes on the outside. The view was beautiful; the towering trees had blazing red leaves which complimented the rosy pink flowers below. The flowers were so much that Tachibana couldn't see the gra.s.s, but either way, the sight was one to behold.

"It's so pretty." Tachibana said aloud without realizing his volume.

"I know right," Akira said in accordance.

"Is it autumn here?" Tachibana then asked. "The trees leaves are red." Although, it's too red. He thought.

Akira raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What's autumn?"

Tachibana paled. "Autumn is well, that time when the trees shed their leaves and it's right before Winter."

"What's Winter?"

"Winter is the coldest time of the year." He deadpanned. "You know, falling snow and all that."

"Oh…" Akira said in realization. "It's not Autumn but 'Aki' and it's not Winter but 'Fuyu'."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry my cute little brother, all will be explained in time. And no, we're not in 'Autumn'. It's Haru."

"Haru?"

"The season which signifies new beginnings! It's also the season right after your 'Winter'."

"Oh! Spring!"

"That's what you call it?" Akira laughed. "It's so tacky."

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is! It reminds me of those ancient beds that used the metal springs in their mattresses!"

"Not!"

"Is too!"

"Not!"

"Is too!"

Finally, their meal arrived; the boys stopped their petty argument. Looking at the food, it looked normal much to Tachibana's relief. Being in another world, he thought that he'd have to eat something more…less favourable. On the dish there were grilled skewers of meat which lay neatly atop what Tachibana thought were edible leaves. Beside those was a small bowl of white cream-like substance.

"Time to dig in!" Akira shouted, drooling. He took up the skewer and dipped it in the bowl before eating it. Tachibana followed suit, but the moment he started to chew, he felt the urge to vomit.

"What is this disaster?!" he choked out, heaving and trying his best not to vomit.

"Disaster? Bro, your mouth is the disaster." Akira said with a mouthful of food. "This is absolutely delicious!"

"It's nasty!" Tachibana countered, his face turning green as well. "It's absolutely sickening."

"It isn't. Your taste-buds are used to Earth's food; so of course, you may think that our food is nasty." The Second Prince reasoned.

Tachibana started to cry. "I believe if Mana doesn't kill me, I'll starve to death before." He sighed. "I miss j.a.pan's rice. I want rice."

Akira laughed. He then turned to the left and made eye contact with a waiter. "Hey, could I have one special rice bowl?"

"Yes Sir." He bowed and left.

"There were rice bowls?! And you have me eating this atrocity?!" Tachibana shrieked. "How could you?!"

"But it's us.h.i.+ meat. I thought you'd like it."

"Us.h.i.+ meat? What's it like? A Cow? Pig? Lamb?" Tachibana asked.

Akira stared at Tachibana for what seemed to be an eternity before he answered. "I have no idea what a cow, pig or lamb is, but the Us.h.i.+ is a four footed mammal with a lot meat, if that's what you're asking."

Tachibana internally face-palmed. How could he have forgotten?

However, all that was about to be forgotten when the waiter returned with the rice bowl. Tachibana's face brightened at seeing something familiar and using the chopsticks that were provided, Tachibana dug in.

"This is delicious! I won't starve!" Tachibana said with tears of joy streaming down his face. But in his joy, he hadn't realized Akira snapping pictures of him with an evil grin on his face.

"That's it my cute little brother…" he cooed. "…keep making those expressions."

…

...

Reaching back to the Palace, the two silverettes hopped out of the car and headed down a long corridor. The walls were painted in a rich royal blue with many framed pictures being displayed. On the left wall, Tachibana saw pictures of sceneries ―one was a beautiful and lush blue meadow, the one beside it was of a waterfall in the jungle. On the right wall, he saw pictures of what he thinks are animals. One was a tiny four footed creature, covered in what seemed to be white fur. Its eyes were bright and orange but behind it were two fluffy tails. The creature was cute no doubt, but seeing the two tails on its body left him shocked.

"What is that thing?" Tachibana asked aloud.

"It's an Inu." Akira replied. "They are really adorable and soft."

"Inu?"

From his ring, Akira got a small notepad and pen and wrote the name. Tachibana immediately perked up, recognizing the word. "You mean, Dog?! Why didn't you say so?"

"I didn't mean Dog! What the h.e.l.l is a 'Dog' anyway?"

"It's Earth's equivalent to that creature." Tachibana said as he pointed on the picture. "But ours don't have two tails, or orange eyes."

"How boring." Akira sighed. "Honestly, I wouldn't want to live in your world."

"My world is fun, if I do say so myself." Tachibana countered.

The two boys then continued their walk and headed up some gla.s.s-like stairs. There was yet another corridor but at the end, there was a ma.s.sive white door, and Tachibana had a feeling that that's where they were headed. Throughout their walk, there were people dressed as maids and butlers who kept greeting them; Akira returning their equally polite greeting, Tachibana followed his new older brother by doing the same.

They reached the white door and Akira knocked thrice before they heard a "Come in, you brats!"

Tachibana remembered the voice, knowing it was from the King.

"I'm not a brat, Papa." Akira started as he skipped inwards. "I'm so hurt."

Shyly, Tachibana greeted the King, "h.e.l.lo, Your Majesty." Add to that, he didn't want his head to be chopped off for being insolent.

King Ayumu laughed. "If only my son was this polite. Loosen up, Yuri."

"Yeah, it'll be awkward for your son to be so respectful all of a sudden." Akira laughed.

Wasn't he supposed to show respect to the King? In the mangas and anime he's watched, a King's children always referred to their father as 'Father' with a capital 'F', or 'Lord Father' or simple 'Your Majesty'. Has he been tricked yet again?

"Yuri, please don't shy away from us. We won't bite if you don't anger us." King Ayumu smiled.

Ugh, I'll try my best not to. Tachibana thought. He made his way to the King and the Second Prince, and what the King said next almost left him in tears.

"Since you're my son's stand-in, there'll be a lot of pressure on you." The King started. "First, you'll have to know this country like it was your own j.a.pan." Tachibana nodded, he'd expect as much. After all, he was pretending to be a Prince. "Secondly, you'll be taught two different types of lessons ―one for catching up to Yuri's school knowledge and the other for what Yuri learnt as a Prince."

Tachibana looked lost. "I understand the last part but school knowledge? Isn't he a Prince? What's he doing at school?"

"In the Royal Family, we attend school like normal. It's been like this since…" Akira started, "…almost forever."

"What? Then don't you guys get special treatment or something? Isn't that unfair for the other students?"

"Nope, because the Kingdom doesn't know what we look like yet. They don't even know our names." Akira grinned.

"Eh?"

"You'll eventually learn this." Akira said as he patted his back. "I mean ―" he broke off as he phone rang. Das.h.i.+ng out of the room, he answered the call, but Tachibana and King Ayumu couldn't hear his conversation (not that they wanted to).

"So Yuri, how are you faring?" King Ayumu asked.

"Uh, fine I guess." Tachibana replied. "I got really scared today, though."

"Oh, because of the gang?"

"It was a gang? I don't know. But there was a loud explosion and people in uniforms and all sorts of crazy stuff."

"It's not crazy, it's normal." The King sighed. "With everyone being able to use magic, not everyone obeys the laws put in place."

"Laws? That reminds me, why do the police, I presume, wear different ties that match their epaulettes?"

"One at a time." King Ayumu chuckled. "The Laws are simple, unless you are a police officer or someone from the Defense Force, the use of grand magic is prohibited in a public s.p.a.ce. The only leeway one has with grand magic is if they are in the presence of authorized personnel." The King explained. "The Police wear different tie colours to indicate their element."

"Element?"

"Yes, magic is entirely elemental. There are five elements ―Fire, Wind, Water, Earth, Lightning & Thunder."

"I take it Lightning & Thunder is cla.s.sified as one, right?"

"You're quick." King Ayumu smirked.

"So does that mean, red represents Fire, white represents Wind, blue represents Water, brown represents Earth and yellow is Lightning?"

"That's right." He then leaned forwards. "I have a feeling you'll make a very good Prince."

"Haa…I'll try my best." Tachibana sighed.

The door then opened to reveal Akira who had a sullen look on his face. The King covered his mouth so as to not burst out laughing but Akira wasn't looking. Tachibana then wondered if this was some inside joke, and that if the other Yuri was here, would he be laughing as well?

"Let me guess, she broke up with you?" King Ayumu asked.

"Yes," he said in low voice. "That ungrateful b.i.t.c.h."

Tachibana wanted to ask why he's calling his recent girlfriend a b.i.t.c.h, but he withheld his tongue. The Second Prince looked like he was about to snap both in anger and sadness.

"d.a.m.n it, what's wrong with me?" Akira asked.

"There's nothing wrong with you, my boy." The King said as he got up from around his desk. He then embraced the boy in a hug and rubbed his back. "You just keep choosing the b.i.t.c.hes."

"But-but Papa," Akira sounded like he was about to tear up.

"It's alright; you'll know the right woman when she appears."

"This is quite touching." Tachibana said to himself. He felt King Ayumu's affection back at the hospital when his doctor had stated that he was pathetically weak. It seemed that the King was quite loving and affectionate to his children just like his father was on Earth. But at the same time, he wondered where the h.e.l.l did this come from? Didn't Akira said that he had a date to get to? Why the sudden break up?

"Darling~!" A voice said in a sing-song. The door flew open to reveal two people, a woman and a young man. The woman was beautiful, with silky black hair done in a chignon. She wore sophisticated clothing ―a white peplum dress with a small keyhole collar at her chest. She wore red crossed strap closed-toe stiletto heels which were held securely around her ankle by a thin buckle. To match her shoes, she wore a genesis necklace with red beads and same genesis red earrings.

Seeing her, Tachibana could immediately tell she was. She was none other than his mother's counterpart ―Queen Azusa.

Beside her, Tachibana deduced that the silver haired male with the piercing green eyes was Seiya. The left side of his hair was pushed back behind his ears while his right fringe hung slightly over his eye. He was dressed in the same colours as his mother, red and white. He wore a white cardigan over a red dress s.h.i.+rt which he folded into a cuff at the elbow over the cardigan. His white jeans was emphasized by his blazing red belt, his shoes were red as well. Around his wrist he wore a golden watch with diamonds embedded in the wristband, while on his fingers of the same hand, there were two rings on his index and one on his thumb.

Tachibana was floored.

He knew his mother would look gorgeous because even on Earth, she was extremely stunning no matter what she wore. But Seiya…Tachibana almost tore up. He felt like he was the average looking one of this family. King Ayumu was great-looking, Queen Azusa was stunning, Akira was handsome and Seiya was just to die for. In times like these, Tachibana was happy that he was a male, if he wasn't; just by seeing Seiya, he'd think that he just found a reason to live.

"Azu!" King Ayumu released Akira and sauntered over to his wife and embraced her in a bone-crus.h.i.+ng hug after which he gave her a kiss. "Welcome back."

King Ayumu then moved to hug Seiya who seemed to be waiting on it. Tachibana felt like he should have left and when he had stood up to leave, he saw Seiya and Azusa's eyes locked onto him.

As if sensing the danger, Akira jumped in front of Tachibana, King Ayumu restrained Seiya.

"Akira." Queen Azusa snarled. She looked absolutely murderous, and poor Akira who was acting as a s.h.i.+eld for Tachibana, was trembling. "Who the h.e.l.l is that?"

Just by hearing her voice, Tachibana could tell that she was livid. Using his mother as reference, the only time Azusa would call any of her children by their names was when she was p.i.s.sed.

"I can explain." King Ayumu said, totally unfazed. "Akira can too."

Akira was so frightened that he couldn't move. Queen Azusa and Seiya backed down, but the murderous glares didn't. Tachibana felt like he was being strangled, and he just wanted to get out of there.

"Alright, he's Yuri but not ours." King Ayumu started. "He's from a different world."

And without even allowing the Queen and the Crown Prince to say anything, Akira spilled everything that happened yesterday. Throughout the story, Queen Azusa and Seiya's faces changed from anger to shock. They then looked across to Tachibana with pity.

"You poor soul," The Queen said as she shook her head. "To be forcibly hauled here must be mortifying. Add to that, you almost died."

"Uh, uh," Tachibana couldn't find the words to answer the woman.

"But don't worry, we'll take very good care of you," Seiya grinned sinisterly as he threw an arm over his shoulder. "New Third Prince of the Sais.h.i.+ Kingdom."

Tachibana had a feeling that his life was just getting worse.