The Sea of Tranquility (MayuzumiXOCXAkashi)

Part 07

"Hotaru." he called.

The girl lifted her head, quickly eyeing the person in her front. "Yes, Seijuro-sama."

The red head stared at her quite longer.

Did she realize she responded after being called for the third time? Usually, whenever he spoke, he wouldn't have to wonder if she was listening because she had always been attentive. She wasn't the type to space out.

"Is something bothering you?" He asked.

The girl dropped her gaze. The fact that he was asking meant that it became obvious.

"Nothing." Yet, Hotaru refused to say it.

Despite that, he knew something happened and Hotaru was also aware that he saw through her lie. It wasn't like he would understand even if she said it, and not like it was a big deal, she reasoned to herself.

"...I see." Akashi went back to writing.

His eyes glanced briefly at the window located in his front, just exactly near his study desk inside his room. The weather was nice. It would be a good idea to visit the ranch. "Anyway Hotaru, could you arrange me a free schedule? I'd like to visit Yukimaru." He requested while jotting down more notes from one of the books that his private tutor gave him.

Immediately, the girl pulled out a memo from her pocket, scanning every detail written on it which typically the redhead's schedule.

"If you could finish your studies quickly, then, you could get a few hours to visit the farm. However, you must be back before 6:00 P.M to meet Masaomi-sama." She informed in one breath.

This wasn't the first time that Akashi requested for this. Due to the tight schedule that he often had, finding the time to do the actual activity he preferred – horseback riding, was actually not easy. Either he had to specifically lend a time for it or cancel another activity.

Sooner, the whole room was filled with silence. The girl quietly stood beside one window, opposite of Akashi's current spot. His back was the one facing her.

Instead of having a staring contest with his firmed shoulder, her eyes wandered outside the window, watching the swaying of the trees, the birds flying at the sky and the people busying their selves on trimming the bushes around the garden. She had her own worries to think about but whenever she was in the mansion, being beside Akashi Seijuro, everything just kept disappearing. All she could think about was her superior's schedule, his upcoming appointment and other matter that she hadn't given focus on. So much for a drama and worries she couldn't control, duties in the mansion must come in priority. The situation that happened between her and Mayuzumi was nothing to be worried about. A word or two from him shouldn't affect her. It wont be good for her, for her work, for Akashi Seijuro.

She closed her eyes and inhaled a long breath.

It was fine.

After some time, she heard him closing his book as it produced a low clicking sound. She turned upfront to see Akashi preparing to stand.

That was fast, she thought. He must have really wanted to spend time with that animal, Hotaru thought.

Without uttering anything, the two went off and headed out.

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Hotaru still remembered the day when Akashi Seijuro showed the horse to her for the first time.

"Yukimaru. Just Yukimaru." he said while gently stroking the white hair of the horse after she asked its name.

Hotaru looked at the animal in full wonder and amazement. It was definitely the first time she seen a horse in real life.

Back then, Yukimaru wasn't that tall, the three of them fit just fine inside the stable.

Her eyes trailed at the redhead, it seemed to like Akashi very much, she noticed. It was one of those rarest moments she had witnessed him plastering a kind of smile so serene and calm. It looked so genuine and sweet that she couldn't help but form the same expression.

"It's like a unicorn, Seijuro-sama." She commented after a long while of staring.

He glanced briefly at her and gave a short smirk. "Unicorn doesn't exist, Hotaru."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

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Akashi stroked the hair of the horse from its head all the way to its body.

Hotaru had seen Yukimaru a lot of times since they were a child. Similarly, she had seen the sight of Akashi spending time with the horse many times. And yet, it never ceased to amaze her how much sincerity Akashi could show in his face when he was touching the animal.

There were few things she knew about it. One, Yukimaru was born during a snowy day, just like Akashi Seijuro. Second, it was on the same age as Akashi, that meant for her the third one, Yukimaru was introduced to him by his Mother.

Now that she realized, it was the only animal he treated like this in the ranch. Was it because the connection it had to his Mother and the fact that it was born on the same season as him? It was only a guess that never given a chance to be confirmed.

Looking at him now, as he caressed Yukimaru's white hair, the earnest smile was still present. It was the same smile from before, as if it was still the same boy from before. Maybe in the eyes of Yukimaru, Akashi Seijuro didn't change.

Akashi put the saddle at the back of the horse as he gracefully went up to sit.

Hotaru gave them a way outside.

He didn't have to say it. She already knew that he was aiming for a short run, a short bonding with the horse.

"As expected, Yukimaru only likes Akashi-sama on its back." The caretaker commented, obviously wanting her to hear it.

She blinked and turned at the person who suddenly appeared from her side.

"Well, Yukimaru is the finest horse in this ranch." he added, nodding a bit at the end.

Her eyes trailed back once again at Akashi who was already far away.

From her sight, he was like a thin dot, constantly moving on and on around the wide green land. She may not be seeing his expression anymore but she could tell that he was having fun.

It felt like she hadn't seen that for a long time. Maybe the last time was during his middle school days.

How she wished he could feel that way all the time.

Watching Akashi Seijuro with the magnificent white horse that looked like it came out straight from a fairy tale made her remember the comment she made when they were young.

"It really looks like a unicorn." she recalled, all of a some fairytale, it was said that a unicorn's horn had that power to render poisoned water potable, as well as heal sickness.

If Yukimaru was a unicorn, for sure, it wouldn't hesitate to heal whatever pain that its owner had.

"Eh? Oh," the man lifted his brows, before narrowing his eyes at the horse that was currently running around. "You're right. It looks like a unicorn."

Hotaru fainted a smile, "But Unicorns aren't real."

The caretaker blinked, not sure what to say. Why she had to oppose her own comment, he thought.

If only it was real.