Crying Night

Eleven: The Tale of Two Powers

All of two minutes passed before we made it out of the cryptic hallway. It really didn't take long for the five of us to be in the Sora Estate's hallways.

So far, I couldn't recognize the place at all. The high ceiling extended a long way above us, and the white marble hallways seemed to go on forever. Each step reverberated throughout the hallways like we were in a canyon where people yodeled. I honestly started to realize the distance between Taiyou and me. Strength, power, money, knowledge... He seemed to have much more than me in all sorts of areas. It made me feel small.

"Is this really your house, Ken-san?" I asked, "It seems a lot different than what I remember it to be."

"Well, of course it is! Ten years ago, we started renovating our mansion once every year. Nothing stays the same for a long period of time, no matter how much we don't want it to." Ken replied.

"I guess so, but..." I closed my eyes, "sometimes they don't change."

"Tsuu-chan, what's wrong?" Teko asked, "You're crying."

"Eh? I'm not crying..." I denied what she said until she took a picture.

And she showed the picture to me without any words. Indeed, I had tears on my face. I dropped the book to take her camera and delete the picture. But Teko took her camera from me before I could even reach it.

Did Teko always have good reflexes? I asked myself.

"Th-this is..." Ken-san suddenly spoke,"Tsuki-chan, where did you get this book?"

"I gave it to her, nyaa!" Prul replied for me.

"You did...? Even though you knew the consequences of letting Tsuki-chan know the truth?!" Ken-san's anger suddenly flared.

"It's better than Mizuo-san killing her, Tou-san!" Taiyou yelled.

Ken-san calmed down as his son, the very son who killed my parents, told him that.

"So, it's finally come to this." He sighed.

I was left in the dark as Ken-san just walked away. His stride was quick but had a sense of sadness to it, and his back looked pitiful, almost as if he didn't want this to happen. He didn't look back once as he turned the left corner.

"Um, is it story time now?" Teko asked innocently.

"I think so..." I guessed.

Taiyou led us to his room where we would learn the truth. Without another word, Teko and I followed him.

We seemed to walk through the estate for hours before we stood in front of Taiyou's door. One turn to the right, one to the left, one to the left again, five more turns... And all of this through insanely long hallways. I didn't feel tired, but Teko started slowing around the fifth corner.

"We're... here?" Teko panted.

"Yes, we are." Taiyou announced as he opened the door.

Huh? No retort? I thought to myself.

After all of the retorts and mocking they threw at each other, you would think that Taiyou would have said something cruel to Teko about her tiredness. 

I didn't let my surprise or relief show on my face, but my mind was full of confusion.

Especially when we actually entered the room.

Taiyou's room was nothing like I remembered it. It was at least three times larger, and the furniture matched the change in size. A huge orange sun rug donned the floor painted a light blue color. Some tiles were still white, like clouds. A full moon was painted on the ceiling right above the sun with a dark blue background. The lights were probably the stars. The walls were red and purple, probably to show the sunrise and sunset. The whole room was the sky, just like in his name.