Alinea

"– that's him! That's my prince…"

Koharu spoke excitedly as if in a trance, but even if she was smiling, her expression gave Midori goosebumps. Her face…

The countenance on her face was almost maniacal. It was a total wonder how Rin and Miharu couldn't see that.

"What do you mean Koharu-chan?"Rin and Miharu both whispered, trying to calm the other down.

"That's the guy I met last Friday," Okada Koharu said as she shook Rin's arm.

"Him?"

Midori watched in amus.e.m.e.nt as both Rin and Miharu looked at Koharu, then at the prince in front, then back at her again, and shook their heads in sync.

"W-what?" Koharu asked, her voice a bit annoyed with her friends' reaction. "Why are you shaking your heads?"

"Koharu-chan forget it,"Rin, the dreamer surprisingly advised her matter-of-factly.

But Koharu was not shaken. "What do you mean? Didn't we talk about destiny earlier?"

Miharu shook her head again. "Koharu-chan, there's destiny, and there's dreaming." She pointed at the young man in front. "That… is totally a dream."

Midori by now was fighting her laughter. How she wished Ara was here so she could see how Koharu looked like she'd been slapped so hard on the face. However, her mirth vanished when a dark, murderous cloud passed by Okada's face. It was so brief one would have missed it when he's not looking properly, but Ichihara saw it. The murderous intent was actually directed towards the two girls who indirectly told her she's delusional.

With this, Midori felt uneasy again. She had a feeling Koharu's already beyond redemption. She had already crossed the border between the actual reality and the 'reality' in her head. There was no getting her back.

"Shut up,"Koharu surprisingly snapped, shocking the other two.

Midori reckoned it was the first time she ever did so, as Koharu had always acted the sweet and innocent girl that bordered on being an airhead. The burikko was finally showing her colors. Unlike before when she slipped, this time, Koharu didn't even apologize as she obsessively stared at the man in front.

"Everyone," the principal's voice suddenly announced, and everyone stopped whispering. It was so quiet with everyone looking in front, anticipating what would happen next.

The old man who usually looked stern now looked fl.u.s.tered as he laughed nervously in front. The gorgeous young man next to him, however, remained poker-faced as he eyed the students.

"As you all know, being able to come to the inner court of the Cedar Palace is unheard of until now. This is a real privilege given to us, and we have to be grateful, and use this experience to learn a lot of things about our culture and tradition."

Midori tried hard not to laugh. After all, the principal was just repeating what he had practiced in front of them earlier – a speech he had prepared.

"And all of this is possible because of the generosity and compassion of none other than Homura Ryuu-sama of the Homura House."

The room was suddenly filled with applause, and the young man called Homura Ryuu inclined his head in acknowledgment. He was truly a master, not bowing low to anyone in the room.

"Welcome to my home," Homura Ryuu started, and Midori frowned at the somewhat familiar voice. She couldn't remember where she heard it though.

"I hope with this experience, all of you would learn something that you can use in your lives when you leave. If you need anything, don't hesitate to approach any of the attendants. I will be hanging around as well."

Homura Ryuu's message to the students was brief and to the point. For the students who were listening, because of the prince's imposing demeanor, and his looks, none of them dared not learn anything from the activities they were scheduled to have in the next few days.

"Oh, he will stay with us?" the students started whispering in excitement and Midori who was looking at Koharu saw that maniacal smile on her face again and she shuddered.

Well, good luck. Judging by the reactions of the people, Koharu was not alone now with her delusions. Most of the girls and some of the boys were suspiciously star struck as well.

Half of her wanted Koharu not to do anything, but her other half wished she would. If Okada was going against this prince, Ichihara was sure Koharu would experience being yanked back into reality.

Soon, they were invited to partake in the food served. Homura Ryuu asked the servants to transfer the principal's chabudai and place it next to his on the elevated platform so they could eat together. It was a very kind and respectful gesture on his part, and the old man had accepted bashfully.

Everyone's eyes were on the gorgeous creature, however, noting how elegant he ate, as he spoke to the principal. Even Midori couldn't take her eyes off of him, although it's for a different reason. She was watching him and then watching Koharu's reactions surreptitiously. However, there was an instance when the prince suddenly looked her way, and their eyes met that her breath hitched.

Someone else thought the gaze was for her though.

"Did you see that? He looked this way. I'm sure he recognized me, "Koharu who was sitting next to Midori whispered in delight, her face looking smug.

Rin on the other hand sighed. "Just eat Koharu so you'd stop imagining things."

"Yep. Hunger can make you hallucinate," Miharu agreed.

It was safe to say that Okada Koharu became angry she almost broke her chopsticks. But she clamped her mouth shut and ate in silence. Homura Ryuu however, after that one brief glance never looked back at them again.

Midori thought it was just coincidence earlier. Maybe he felt Koharu's delusions and glanced their way because of it. After all, there was a rumor about the Homura clan. It was said that just like the royal family, they had descended from the heavens to grace the human race. If they had divine powers, surely they could detect malice a mile wide.

"What are we going to do after this again?" Rin asked afterwards.

They had finished lunch and were given time to explore the allowed areas on their own. Each area had a guide and several attendants to assist them in case. Today, many different activities were available for each area that the students could watch. Then, starting tomorrow, all of them would be divided into different groups so they would all experience each activity with expert instructors teaching and guiding them.

"We'll just explore the allowed areas today," Midori reminded her, and she clapped her hands.

Koharu who had been chastised many times was giving them the silent treatment, although she still tagged along. Then, out of the blue, they saw the students rushing somewhere with excited faces that they wondered what's happening.

Curious, they all followed where the people were going and were surprised to end up at a kyudo dojo. There were only eighty students in total, and so, there was a lot of space for people to stay and watch on the sides.

Huh?

All four of them stared dumbfounded at the gorgeous young master as he stood at the shooting area with a long bamboo bow in his hand. Behind him, at the waiting area, stood the school officials and the teachers, talking to him as if they were the ones who requested the young man to demonstrate his skill.

"Oh my God, is he going to shoot?"Rin asked – and of course it was a stupid question, but she asked it anyway.

"Yeah," was Midori's equally stupid reply.

Duh? The guy had a bow. Of course, he'd shoot.

As if on cue, Homura Ryuu, loaded an arrow into his bow, took a position and released the projectile towards the target about twenty-eight meters away.

THWIP!

Everyone watched in amazement as the arrow found it's mark – a bull's eye on the target.

"Oh my… isn't he an archer prince?"Rin uttered in amazement, and Midori was hit with a realization.

Archer prince…The familiar voice…

"Isn't he Ara's boyfriend?" Midori wondered but only to herself as she continued to watch the archery demonstration.