Chapter Sixteen: Complication:

I paused when I heard two people talking outside. Curious, I pressed my ears against the door. I recognized who was talking.

That sounds like Akemi and Sakura-hime, I thought.

“What were you doing in my brother’s room?” Akemi asked.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Sakura-hime said.

“So you went to my brother’s room?! Isn’t Isaac enough for you?! You have to go after my brother too?!”

“I didn’t do anything to him.”

“Yeah, yet! I know how you are!”

“I won’t do anything to him, I swear!”

My sister snorted at her. “Liar!”

“I’m telling you the truth, I promise I won’t do anything to him.”

“No better not jerk him around! If you ruin him, I will kill you.”

“Fine, fine.”

“I’m fucking serious here!”

“Okay! Geez, calm down.”

I waited until I heard footsteps to open the bathroom door. Akemi looked up at me in the hallway.

“Oh, how long have you been in there?” she asked.

“Not long,” I said. I noticed her staring me down. “What?” I asked. Akemi grabbed me by the shoulders.

“Tell me right now!” she demanded. “Did Sakura-hime try to do anything to you? Anything at all?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. Akemi breathed out a sigh as she let go of my shoulders.

“Good,” she said. “Listen, Sakura-hime isn’t exactly right in the head.”

“I kind of figured that,” I muttered to myself.

“No, I mean she’s really not well,” Akemi insisted. I looked at her with a puzzled look on my face.

“Okay…” I muttered. She grabbed onto my shoulder again.

“Look I know you are grown and all, so I won’t tell you not to be around Sakura-hime,” she said. “Just be careful around her, okay?”

“Alright,” I said.

“Thanks, bro,” Akemi said, letting go of my shoulders. She turned and walked back to her room. I tilted my head, puzzled at what just happened here. Sakura-hime says that she likes me and my sister is worried about her doing something to me. I don’t understand the whole concept about either one. I shook my head to myself. Maybe I’m over-thinking things here. I need to sleep. I walked back to my room.

The next morning, I wandered down to the dining room. Everyone sat at the table eating. At first, it didn’t look out of the ordinary. Soon, it donned on me that no one was saying a single word. In fact, they were all staring at me, all of them, except for Sakura-hime. She kept her eyes down in her bowl. I looked at all of them, trying to piece together what was going on.

“Good morning…” I said in a soft voice. Nobody spoke a single word of response to me. Okay then… I took a seat at the table. The others didn’t look at me at the table. Silence doesn’t work well with this bunch. My eyes trailed over to Akemi. She wasn’t much help as she gave me an “I warned you” look. I lowered my eyes towards the table. I need a way to fix this and fast. Right now, I got a bowl and chopsticks to eat breakfast. Maybe I can think of something while I eat this leftover fried rice Cassius made last night.