Alinea

Ara-chan?

Kazehaya Gin watched as the three girls' eyes popped out of their sockets as they stared at him.

"E-excuse me?" Miharu who had no idea whatsoever of what's going on was the most shocked among the three. She thought she heard wrong and was wondering if Kazehaya could repeat what he said.

Rin and Midori, however, were a different case. Yes, they looked shocked, but it was only a brief moment before their faces split into knowing grins.

"I knew it!"Rin exclaimed happily, totally forgetting her initial fear of Kazehaya as she started squealing.

Midori who was not as bold as Rin just clapped her hands together, but of course, she also looked very, very happy.

"What's going on?" Miharu was totally at a loss now. She was the only one who didn't know what's happening.

Kazehaya then took pity on the girl. It seemed Ara-chan only told Midori and Rin about her connection to the Homura House. He was about to explain when Rin suddenly spoke.

"Miharu-chan, the archer prince's girlfriend is Ara-chan," she said, but Miharu still didn't get it.

"Uhm..yeah?" Ara's and the archer prince's relationship was already known. "But what does that got to do with us?"

Rin then placed her hands on her shoulders and shook her. "Ara-chan's archer prince is the Koutaishidenka of the Homura House!" She then turned to Kazehaya who was beaming at them. "Right Young Master?"

"Right," Kazehaya answered in the affirmative, but his smile had already faltered.

He watched as Miharu blinked several times before she finally caught on.

"EEEEEEEEH? Oh my God!" she exclaimed and the three of them exchanged crows of delight.

Kazehaya Gin g.r.o.a.n.e.d inwardly as he realized that the girls really had no idea about Ara and Ryuu yet, and only had speculations. He revealed himself to them because he thought Ara already told them about Koutaishidenka but it seemed he was totally wrong.

Oooops…

"I was right! My ship is the best!"

Rin almost did a dance, until they remembered Kazehaya and all three of them looked at him with smiles now.

"Ehrm, please don't tell Ara-chan I told you okay? I think she wants to tell you about her and Ryuu on her own."

The three nodded eagerly. They were too happy they'd agree to almost everything.

"So, that's why we were suddenly invited to the Cedar Palace! It's because of Ara-chan!"

"Actually," Kazehaya began. He had already told them so much, he might as well tell them about the trip. "Ryuu was the one who arranged it because he thought Ara-chan would be here too. He didn't know that the graduating students had other itineraries."

"Ah…"

The three girls exchanged looks. "That's why the prince left? Because Ara-chan was not here?"

Kazehaya shook his head. "He really had some work to do. I was supposed to do it but I caught the flu so he attended the business conference for me instead."

"I can't believe Koharu's after Ara-chan's boyfriend," Miharu commented after.

"Yeah. She's been so obsessed with my boyfriend for years I was shocked she suddenly went after someone else." Midori was still amazed by the switch.

"So she was really after Sonoda?"Miharu confirmed and Midori nodded.

"But at least now that she's interested in someone else, she won't try to kill me now. But Ara's in danger again," she said unthinkingly, making the other two gasp.

"Midori-chan what do you mean by that? Koharu is man-crazy but she's just really an airhead. She won't try to kill someone right?"Rin and Miharu asked in disbelief.

Kazehaya looked as Midori clamped her mouth with her hand, appearing as if she let out a dirty little secret she's not supposed to tell.

"Midori-chan, explain!"

Kazehaya sighed. "Midori-chan," he called out the girl, who looked at him as if asking for help. But there was really nothing they could do. The two had already heard what they're not supposed to, and wouldn't be appeased if not told the whole story. "You can tell them. They need to know anyway," he said.

Knowing how that Okada worked, she would soon take revenge on all the girls. They needed to be told so they would be aware of what might happen to them. It's their right.

"Well," Midori began, and Kazehaya listened as she told the story from the beginning without omitting anything. He watched as Rin and Miharu's expressions turned horrified, their faces white as sheets and they started trembling.

"Oh my… Midori-chan. Why didn't you tell us sooner? Ara-chan suffered a lot," they sobbed as they hugged each other. "What kind of friends are we? We never knew. We're so useless!"

Kazehaya's heart twitched a little at the scene. He knew he had done more than Ara allowed him to. But he really believed it was the right thing to do. He just prayed to God Ara wouldn't kick his a.s.s upon learning what happened today.

===============

Suzuki Ara let out a loud sneeze. Then, another, and another, and another.

They were at the Hakone Glass Forest Museum, the one next to the old Homura House. It's an exhibit and shop selling glassworks in the Sengokuhara area of Hakone. The place was designed similarly with Venice, Italy since glass was one of the most famous items produced there. Her group was standing under a huge arch of crystal glass where several water fountains made of glass reflected the light beautifully.

"Suzuki, are you coming down with a cold? I told you not to take a long bath since it snowed again," the teacher told her, and she gave him a small smile.

"I'm fine, sensei."

It indeed snowed a little bit this morning, but she didn't mind as the water was hot enough to keep her warm. Also, she did feel a little bit sore from her fight with the arachnids, but aside from that, she felt just fine. She didn't believe she's going to come down with anything. Her nose just felt itchy all of a sudden.

Wait a minute…

Ara remembered the evening before when Kou called her and accused her of thinking about him since he'd sneezed a lot, and she grinned.

Hmmmnnnn...

She decided to get even, and so, she whipped out her phone and sent her fiancé a message. "Stop thinking about me. My nose is getting clogged."

Ara almost laughed at her silliness, but she was in a good mood.

As expected, Kou replied fast. Thinking the message was going to be a denial, Ara was stumped at his text.

"Can't. I'm in a blue room. It reminds me of your bra. I should remove it next time so I won't have to think about it again."

It was safe to say that Suzuki Ara nearly threw her phone that day. How did this guy escalate from being a quiet man to a flirty prince and now a perverted devil so fast? She wanted to know!