Empty Promises

|13| Blood Red Eyes

A/N: Recommend reading: Up to chapter 57

"So the commoooner marries the prince?" A five-year old (Y/N) asked her mother as she tightly clutched her plushie.

"Of course honey," Hanami giggled at her daughter's inquisitive eyes and her mispronunciation of the word 'commoner'.

"And they lived happily ever after?" The small girl grinned.

"What do you think?" She planted a loving kiss on her temple. "Now will you go to sleep?" She flicked her nose and arched an eyebrow, quite amused at the fact that her bedtime story had had the opposite effect on the young girl.

Instead of making her daughter fall asleep, it now looked like she had more energy than ever as she played with her mother's hair.

"Okay but only because you're asking me nicely," (Y/N) giggled and plopped down on her bed.

"That's the only reason?" Hanami teased as she tucked her into bed. "Are you sure you're not tired?"

"Am not." (Y/N) defensively crossed her arms against her chest though she couldn't stop herself from yawning.

"Hmm... not really convinced," her mother arched her eyebrows. "But oh well, I'll believe you for today." She smiled.

"Night mommy," the little girl's grin went from ear to ear.

"Goodnight my love," her mother planted a kiss on her forehead.

Hanami left her daughter's room and headed down to the kitchen where Akiro was doing his homework.

Ever since (Y/N)'s birth, her whole life had seemed to brighten. At first, she was a bit hesitant but as soon as she laid eyes on that innocent face of hers, she couldn't help but fall in love as she vowed to always protect her.

So, these past few years she had been less on edge and much more relaxed.

"What are you doing Akiro?" Hanami asked her now twelve year old son.

Akiro's whole body froze, his pencil stopping, his breathing hitching upon realizing his mother was talking to him.

"Math homework," he managed to say.

"Do you need any help?"

The black-haired boy was quite taken aback by his mother's question, not used to having her acknowledge him. He really didn't need her help, he could do this with his eyes closed but the thought of spending time with her was enough to have him nodding his head.

Mother and son spent no more than twenty minutes to complete the whole two pages, both front and back.

"Well that was easy," Hanami couldn't help herself from chuckling as Akiro stared at her in bewilderment. "So, your teacher wants you to skip a grade," she then hummed as she began pouring milk into a glass and handed it over to him.

"Yes, father told me," he nodded his head and slowly began sipping from the glass.

"And do you want to do it?" His mother asked, her brow furrowing in worry.

Once again, Akiro was thrown off guard by the concern his mother was suddenly showing in his life though he couldn't deny it didn't feel good.

"Why not?" The boy finally said as he placed the glass down. "I'm quite pleased with how quickly I'm advancing lately and father thinks so too. He says it's important that I start getting ahead of my competition so that I can get the top score with no complications. After all, anyone who stands in my way will just get crushed," he shrugged matter of factly.

Hanami remained silent. She wasn't blinking nor was she saying anything as her eyes were glued to her son's face, his words reverberating inside her head.