ʟᴇꜰᴛ ʙᴇʜɪɴᴅ//ᴋɴʏ (ᴀᴜ)

O n e

Time skip 7 years

Kota (Daughter)'s POV

It's dark. I faintly hear a whip as blood splatters onto my face, blinding my eyes from seeing. 

I gasp for air, opening my eyes to see the same ceiling that I see everyday.

I had the same dream again. 

I take a deep breath as I pull myself up, sitting there blankly for a minute. 

I hear a knock, and a pause for about 2 seconds. Then the servant girl comes in. My usual morning routine. 

"Good morning miss," She says quietly, making sure she doesn't meet my gaze. "I brought your breakfast and a change of clothes."

I shuffle out of my blanket, and move over to where my breakfast is. The servant girl places my kimono beside me and bows. She hurries to leave and shuts the door behind her.

I shove the food into my mouth, because I'm starving. In a blink my food is gone. I sigh as I grab my kimono and start getting changed. After that, I grab the tea beside my now empty plate and drink it down in one sip. 

I quietly open my door, and step outside. I'm thinking of going to see my father, but then he might be busy. He always is. He never has time for me.

I pause and shove away my thoughts. Instead, I walk outside to see the beautiful sky greeting me. The soft breeze plays with my hair as it moves along through the trees.

"Miss Kota?" A small voice comes from behind. I quickly turn around to meet my gaze with my closest servant. Akari. 

"Oh, hello Akari. What brings you here?" I question, tilting my head.

Akari puts on her sandals and walks up beside me. "Lord Douma has asked me to accompany you. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all!" I perked up, squealing. "I was actually kind of bored. What do you want to do?"

Akari seems to be taken back by my friendly actions. "Whatever you wish to do, Miss Kota."

I groan. Whenever someone says that, I can't think of anything to do! Also I hate when people treat me like a grown woman. I'm way younger than her and she still addresses me by 'Miss'!

"Akariiii, you gotta help me out here!" I cling onto her like a little baby, wailing as I shake her arm.

She is silent. She seems to be hesitating to say something.

"C'mon, Akari! Just tell me. Think of me as your best friend right now. What would you suggest?"

"If I was your best friend right now, Miss Kota, I would suggest to go flower picking and later planting the flowers beside the building." She finally speaks up.

Better than doing nothing. I grab Akari by the wrist and start running towards the forest.

"Miss Kota! Please consider your manners!" She scolds me, but keeping up the pace.

I rush over to the river and stop there. I quickly look at my reflection on the waters. Same green eyes, same fading blue hair color. I turn back and grin towards Akari. "My favorite place! There should be some flowers here..." I trail off as I spot a beautiful blue flower at the corner of my eye. I quickly skip there and pick it, careful not to lose its precious petals. 

I go around gathering more flowers I see. I realized that I picked every color in the rainbow. 

"Come on, Akari. Let's go back now." I order and she follows. 

We're back inside the building and I'm tightly holding the flowers in hand. I just asked Akari to check if my father was available. I'm hoping he has some time for me...

"Miss Kota?" I hear Akari calling, so I walk over there. 

"Was my father available?" I ask, hoping he was, even just for a little bit.

She nods and leads me to his room. I can't help myself from grinning. I hope he likes the flowers.

"Lord Douma, Miss Kota is here to see you." Akari says, and on cue another servant is there to open the door for me. I take a deep breath as I step inside. 

He's always sitting in the same position, in the same place, with the same expression. That's my father right there.

"Well, darling," he says, snap opening his fan.  "What brings you here today?"