Alinea

"Kaze-nii,"Ryuu woke Gin up, but it took a while before he was able to.

"Sorry. I really dozed off there," Kazehaya apologized as he yawned and stretched.

Ryuu narrowed his eyes at the other. "Kaze-nii, if you're really tired then we really should take the bullet train. If you push yourself, it's going to be a big problem."

He didn't want Kazehaya to really run out of gas.

"Nonsense," the CEO didn't want to wait for the train. "I really should get back home, and it's faster if we fly. I will take a rest as soon as we get home."

Ryuu looked doubtful, but he relented. "Then sleep at the Cedar Palace. You will waste energy to fly back home."

"Okay, "Kazehaya readily agreed.

It was not as if it's the first time he'd stay at the Homura House. He was a frequent visitor, and so he had his own sleeping place there complete with his clothes. There wouldn't be a problem to go to the conference from there.

"Let's go," the older man said as he summoned the wind once more.

But, as soon as he grabbed Ryuu's hand, the prince became alert. Kazehaya Gin was scorching!

"You, "Ryuu started his eyes accusing at Gin, but he was not able to finish his sentence as they had shot up in the sky almost immediately. The wind howled around them so the prince didn't bother. He, however, alerted Mavara.

This foolish friend of his didn't tell him he's burning up with fever. Being sick plus the fatigue from sleepless days in preparation for the business conference, there was a good chance he'd collapse – and it would mean danger.

As if Mavara sensed his mater's wish, he slithered from Ryuu's back to wrap himself around his wrist, the same hand Kazehaya was holding. In case the latter collapsed on the way, Mavara would take over, even if there's a high chance people would see him.

Also, it was so it would be easy for the dragon to attack in case one naughty elemental would try to take over its master's body if he collapsed. Kazehaya Gin's wind elemental was a lot stronger than a normal beast, that only Mavara could keep it in line.

Soon, they reached the back of the Cedar Palace where Ryuu's private quarters were located. He had his own big yard, and so, they free-fell there from the sky, and Mavara took care of their landing since Gin was not really alright anymore. He had slumped on the ground, dazed with fever.

As soon as they arrived, servants came to meet them, but Ryuu stopped them from approaching. At first, they were wondering why, but seeing Kazehaya Gin's look, they all hurriedly obeyed.

"Young Master, what happened to Young Master Kazehaya?"Yayoi asked worriedly upon seeing them.

"He's burning up. Prepare some medicine,"Ryuu ordered, and she ushered the servants who quickly left to prepare medicine and Gin's room.

Koutaishidenka, however, remained in the yard with the semi-conscious Gin. He couldn't take him inside the house yet until he took some medicine to make his fever go down. The wind caster shouldn't have a muddled head; else, the elemental would try to wreak havoc.

Shortly, a young servant came out with a digital thermometer, some pills for fever and a glass of water. Some brought a recliner where they placed the weakened Kazehaya. Ryuu took his temperature and looked grim upon reading forty degrees Celsius.

"This idiot..."

He immediately made Gin drink the antipyretic, placed an ice pack on his body, and hoped it would work fast. But in case it didn't…

"Go summon the doctor. Tell them to get me an IV of fever medicine."

If worse came to worst, Ryuu would inject Kazehaya the medicine. It's not as if this was the first time anyway. He had learned how to do it the first time it happened, as nobody could approach Kazehaya when he's delirious with fever. It would be deadly.

The medicine hadn't taken an effect yet, and the doctor was taking time to arrive. Gin seemed to have succ.u.mbed to his malady, and soon his aura changed. His body was wrapped with malice, as the soft wind blew his hair, enveloping his body.

Ryuu, noticing the changes immediately turned to the servants. "Stay away!" he bellowed, and everybody took cover.

Koutaishidenka signaled for the water casters to put up a barrier so that whatever would happen in the yard would be invisible to the others who were staying there. He had also asked some of the warriors who were present to standby and guard the students.

"Young Master!"

Ryuu turned his attention back to Kazehaya in a flash and frowned when he was no longer in the recliner. Gin was now floating in the middle of the yard, his feet dangling above ground as a small tornado sustained him. His hazel eyes were replaced with white light as if beams were coming out of them.

TSK!

Ryuu released Mavara, and the servants trembled more. After all, even if Kazehaya's elemental was destructive, the dragon far surpassed it in power.

Soon, as if an old projector was on, a huge form appeared and disappeared behind Kazehaya Gin. The form was that of a female beast which was half-woman, half-bird. It was fifteen meters in height, only five meters shorter than Mavara, with a burnt red body, a pair of blood-colored wings that spanned twice its size, and a pair of coal eyes that glittered with malice.

It was coming out, everybody thought, as it materialized completely, standing like a huge demon bird behind Gin.

Kazehaya Gin's elemental, the reason why, in spite of their bloodline's end, he was still so powerful, was the strongest type among the wind beasts. A harpy!

Normally, if they were at a different place, this creature would have already started thrashing everything and killing everyone it saw, since the only one who could control it, its master was unable to do so.

But since Mavara was there, the harpy remained unmoving like a docile pet as it eyed the dragon who had pummeled it so hard the last time it tried to do something bad previously. It could recognize the strength, and since both Ryuu and Mavara were there, the harpy chose to behave.

"It's here!"

A man came running with a cold box bearing the medicine. Ryuu stopped him several meters away, and he personally walked towards the man to take it. Harpies were sly creatures. It might be behaving now, but if it's able to reach someone who couldn't fight, it might strike just to have a taste of blood.

Koutaishidenka swiftly and expertly placed the needle in Kazehaya's veins, and hooked him up to the IV bag, and injected the fever medicine in it.

After several minutes that felt like a lifetime to most of the people there, the harpy scowled as it slowly turned translucent until it vanished completely, and Ryuu immediately caught Gin when he fell. He was in control again, in spite of still being sick.

Seeing as the harpy was gone, the servants scrambled to their feet to assist both the young masters. They took Kazehaya to his room, where he started coming back to consciousness.

"Hmmmmnnn…"Kazehaya g.r.o.a.n.e.d as he opened his eyes.

"You pushed it, idiot,"Ryuu scolded him, and Gin sighed.

"My bad. I was worried about the conference."

"Who cares about the conference? You should have thought about what would have happened to the people around you if you had lost control."

Gin closed his eyes, looking morose, before opening them again. He was obviously guilty. He thought he was going to be okay, but it turned out he wasn't.

"I won't do it again, "Gin mumbled before pouting. "I was just worried about not being able to attend tomorrow."

"Well, congratulations, you're not going to attend tomorrow, "Ryuu informed him matter-of-factly. When he looked like he was about to protest, Koutaishidenka dismissed him. "I will go tomorrow. You should stay here and take a rest. If you're better after, then you can attend from Thursday to Friday."

Gin looked unhappy, but he relented. After all, he didn't want to cause another disturbance and scare their people. "Fine…"