The great obsidian gates of the Akatsuki Manor creaked open with a soft groan. The setting sun bathed the courtyard in orange and gold, long shadows stretching across the stone floor like reaching fingers.
Aria, cloaked in black and crimson, stepped through the gates with a rare smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Her silver eyes glimmered with something unusual—contentment.
Leaning against a pillar ahead, arms crossed, stood a young boy clad in regal attire: silver cuffs, deep blue robes, and a blade strapped to his back. Renji, her younger brother by three years, raised an eyebrow.
"You look happy. That's dangerous."
Aria didn't slow her stride. "Is it a crime now to be in a good mood?"
"It might be. Father's furious. You vanished again. No guards. No escort. He said—" He lowered his voice to a gravelly imitation. "'She's reckless, irresponsible. She's not a child anymore.'"
