DiMENSIONS [IDOLiSH7]

25: Punishment and Hatred

-Majabah, the Nanase Mansion, Nighttime-

Tenn wanted to see Iori, but he caught on that the boy was in the middle of a heated conversation with someone he did not know. Tenn set the herbs on the floor and began to gather some information by eavesdropping. It was hard to hear whole sentences. Still, Tenn could grasp that they were talking about Riku, and from that, he could already guess what happened. Iori was never happy when Tenn mentioned his family in their conversation, so he knew it was likely Iori put Riku in a depressed state. Riku was a kind, sweet, and sensitive boy. The idol could imagine his little brother's heart being slaughtered by Iori's sharp tongue.

Tenn felt conflicted. He should have been furious that someone hurt his little brother to the point where he could not speak. Yet here he was, feeling a little warm that someone cared about him enough to get angry at him. However, it did not change the fact that Iori took that anger out on someone who bore the burden of being a Nanase but did nothing wrong.

Deciding it was best to leave Iori in who was most likely his brother's hands for now, Tenn took the herbs to Gaku in Riku's room. The lord was already asleep. Tenn figured it would be best for him to get some rest too, so he could deal with whatever was thrown at him in the morning.

~~

Early in the morning, when the sun had not yet risen, Momo and Yuki were ready to set off for Silica in a carriage. Yamato decided to go back with them since he was worried about his husband. He was sure Iori would be fine with Mitsuki. The only thing this old man would complain about was how early the energetic butler came to wake him.

Iori was there too, to make sure Yuki had all the prescriptions needed to get a mechanical leg and some inhalers. Before long, the horses, powered up by time magic, pulled the carriage off into the distance.

The high school boy was sure he could not go back to sleep. He thought of an idea: it would be nice to explore Majabah for a little bit. It would help clear his head after that argument with his brother. Perhaps he could also look for Tenn.

The moment he was about to take the first steps towards the gate, Iori heard someone's voice from outside. It was extremely faint, yet he could tell it was nice and soft to his ear. With his eyes closed, he tried to focus on the lovely sound before following it.

The sound led him to the forest just outside the mansion, where Mitsuki first summoned Kinako. Iori looked left and right, walking as stealthily as possible towards the sound. Someone was singing, and the louder it got, the sweeter it sounded to the boy. He felt he was drawn to it.

Iori kept his slow pace until he found the source of the sound in the forest clearing. A person with bright red hair was so focused on singing that he did not notice Iori's presence. The Silican would have frowned had he not been so mesmerised by the young lord in front of him, who was singing with one hand on his chest and his eyes closed.

It was a sad song. One about having to leave someone they love. Judging from the lyrics, the songwriter must have been suffering endlessly in secret. It described how they would rather let the whole world freeze just to be with that someone.

Halfway through the chorus, a yellow aura expanded from the lord's body, shocking Iori. Is that magic? Iori wondered if there were some types of magic Tenn had not covered in his strict course. It seemed unlikely.

By the end of the chorus, Iori could hear strange noises. It sounded like something was cracking. The boy looked around him to find that tree branches were falling down. Somehow, Iori felt a sudden drop in temperature, and then there was a mysterious numbness in his feet. When he looked down, oh the horror!