❀✿

Sᴏʀᴀ

I was roughed up, tired out, and sick of being where I was. But that didn't mean I would show it. Tomoe and I were forced to escape through a hidden tunnel to the front of the mansion, after someone set it all ablaze. And let me tell you, some things occurred.
I need a moment to complain and register everything before I continue with the strange girl who stood before us all.

Tomoe didn't look well when I saw him. His gloved white hands were usually still when I saw him, always calmly ready for a fight, but they were trembling.
I hadn't seen him this way since his parents passed. Murdered by a masked vigilante, that was the common excuse that was given to the people when it happened. I heard that his mother was stuck in an abusive relationship from one of the maid's gossip. Surely that must have struck him as a child, but he never had to see a therapist or doctor about the matter. That my father knows of, of course. He's one to meddle in the royal family's affairs, not I.

Well, to continue, when we noticed the fire, we were searching the place for Haruka and Hibiki, on my request. Of course, Tomoe whined against it, but he gave in quickly. It went something like:

"Oh, Sora?" He whispered, walking alongside me through the decorated corridors.

"Yes?"

"It seems that something's burning."

I stopped walking, breathed in, then turned around to face him. "It would appear so, my liege."

He frowned, but not the cocky sort that he usually gave me. Actually, everything he did was pretty cocky, and I hadn't noticed truly how he carried himself until I saw it all change. "Now's not the time for meaningless sarcasm. We should find the others as you said, and if there's any chance the upper floors are burning, then there's always that exit through the supply room."

"You sure someone's not burning a fancy steak?"

"Honestly, Sora, anyone with the nerve would have been fired by now," he replied. I think he meant to get a laugh out of me, and I normally would have, if it wasn't for a mixture of worry for whatever had happened to his usual gusto and hatred for that damned house.

I grabbed his hand, then started walking back the way we came with no further word. I don't know what I was thinking, but I could have sworn he flinched when we touched. Likely disgust above all. I made sure to not look back.

We came to a shady mahogany door, with copper tag painted gold, saying "SUPPLY." I had the urge to vandalize it, as a small way of revenge against our lovely hosts, but I quickly controlled myself. It was all already burning anyway. I turned the knob and stepped inside, Tomoe still too quiet for my liking. It was unnerving.

It was an ordinary supply room. Stone walls and wooden floors, barrels of goods, some open, some closed. Cloths, a selection of animal hides, bottles of ink, wooden crates, and ale to name a few. No perishables. Speaking of ale, in the corner was a cask with a beer mug on the floor below it, sitting there like someone had had a party, but promptly left. A beer keg... the mere thought of drinking still makes me frown. I preferred, and still prefer to remain abstained.

I turn my head for one second, spotting a small latch behind another barrel, and Tomoe's already gulping down a cup.

"What is your problem?!" I exclaimed, rushing over to snatch the drink from his hands, and pour the remaining guck onto the floorboards. "You need to stop being such a downer. Alcohol isn't going to solve your problems. Do you want to tell me what's going on?"

He just stares at me. And I stare right back, and I simply see guilt.

"I had a problem with alcohol far before you knew about it."

"Ironically, I already know that. I also know that you have a canister in a pocket full of liquor of a better quality then this stuff." I put the mug on top of a wooden crate.

"That's for emergencies," Tomoe said, "but that's besides the point."

"Are you planning on telling me anything?"

Tomoe pat my head. It reminded me of a small child asking a parent about something beyond them, getting a filtered answer in response. My father always did that to me. And I was definitely right about the response.

"Not anything much." He paused, and took a short peer at the door.

"What happened to you?"

"I may have injured Maeko."

I crossed my arms. "Was it self-defense?"

"Well, sort of. She was trying to seduce me, but it came out as the kind of novella rubbish you'd hear from a drama series of some sort."

"You should be used to these type of things." As I spoke to him, I could already see his better sense healing.

He responded more securely. "Well, I just lost my temper and..."

"And?"

He very partially unsheathed his blades. They were stained red, a liquidish stain. I don't know how else to describe it. Tomoe really wasn't the type to keep dirty swords.

"Oh, um, anyway," I tried to piece things together in my head, but I'll be clear with you, I didn't seriously think about it until later that day.

He pushed his swords back, and clenched a hand. It must have taken a toll on him, and it was wrong of me to press onwards, I recall thinking.

"Do you know approximately how long it takes for a building to burn down?"

I curled my hair behind my ear, and responded "Not a clue."

"Well I'm not prepared to find out. Have you found the passage? You do remember..." he trailed off, stepping towards the wall on the opposite side of the room.

"Yes, Maeko and Roka's father told us if there was ever an emergency--"

He kicked a vase over, more like tapped it with his foot very gently, and it rolled to the side rather then breaking.

"Oh." I muttered again.

A small latch was there, keeping a thin piece of wood in place, the covering to a small hole, with just enough room to crouch through. Tomoe unhooked the door, and crouched.

"Woah, woah, woah. Are you sure we can't save anyone else in the mansion? I mean, what if they're still in there?"

He replied promptly, "As much as it pains your kind heart, there's not enough time to go back for anyone else. Besides, we both know very well that those two would have detected a fire before us. After all, they're special." He slipped through the exit, and stood.
How I might know this if I was standing a few feet away, you ask? He grunted as he rose, complained about the filthy floor, and proceeded to dust himself off.
Sometimes I can't help but smile at how silly he is.

I slid through the door much more gracefully then he, and dusted off my dress as well. Simple attire, a simple dress that allowed for movement yet still covered enough. With hair like mine, my clothes were the least of my problems.

Tomoe helped me to my feet, and I finally took in what little surroundings there were.

A long tunnel going straight ahead, carved hastily, and structured with bricks wedged into the dirt and stone surrounding us. The only light around was from where we had come from, and bits and pieces of a ray bleeding through from the end, definitely a hatch to the surface. I did see a ladder. It was about, maybe, two dozen yards away. Ah, I don't know. I'm not good with big estimations.

As soon as I was up, we started walking. I didn't know what to expect beyond that hatch.

Before we came up, I did ask Tomoe one final question.

"Are you never Sober then?"

He laughed heartily, and straightened his shoulders. "I haven't been drunk since the wedding."

When we finally had come up, we had bumped into one of the gardeners, but that's not as important as what happened next.