Akina's POV:
I was happy to see Serco waiting for me after school. I hadn't been expecting it today. He stood with his arms crossed, tapping his foot impatiently and wearing a scowl—until he saw me. His expression softened into a smile.
"Hey." I gave a nervous little wave as he approached. Without a word, he closed the distance and lifted me into a tight embrace.
"How are you?" he asked.
I paused, trying to gather my thoughts. "I've been well. How about you?"
He groaned and pressed his face into my chest. "I don't want to talk about it. I have not been well... I've missed you."
My heart started to panic. I wiggled a little for some space, and he let me go without complaint. That's when I noticed the group of unfamiliar people lingering nearby. None of them looked exactly like Serco, but somehow they all felt like him.
"My brothers are here," he muttered. "Told them not to follow me, but they're irredeemable assholes."
One of them, a brown-haired guy with turquoise eyes and Serco's complexion, scowled. "We can hear you!" he barked.
Serco just shrugged, flipped them off, and reached out to stroke my head affectionately. The attention, especially in front of his brothers, made me even shyer than usual.
"Hey, Aki!" Nacina called out, approaching. Serco stopped petting me to wave at her. She was sharp and caught sight of the group right away.
"Who are all these people?" she asked, starting to count. "Eight? Oh! Your brothers?"
She gasped, putting her hands to her mouth. The tallest one stepped forward and took her hand with an easy confidence. He had black, curly hair with white tips and piercing grey eyes. His face resembled Serco's the most.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Smoke," he said, then kissed the back of her hand. Nacina froze like a statue. I'd never seen her shy before. A moment later, she yanked her hand back.
"Nacina," she said curtly. Hard to tell if she was blushing or angry.
"I'm not introducing all of you," Serco said, casting a cold look at his brothers. "You can either leave or shut up."
"I can introduce myself!" another one called out. He had platinum blond hair and reddish-brown eyes like Serco's—probably glowing bright red in his true form. His skin tone was lighter, more latte-colored. "I'm Tyrian!" he said cheerfully, waving. His bubbly vibe made me question whether he was really related to Serco.
Serco sighed, grabbed my hand, and began gently leading me away.
"I think we've heard enough for today."
Six of his brothers followed us. Smoke and the brown-haired one hung back, talking to Nacina. I clung to Serco's arm, feeling awkward being the only girl in a group of eight.
"Don't worry," he murmured. "I'm just walking you home. Something's... come up, so I had to contact my father."
"And he sent your brothers?" I asked, noticing a few of them still glancing my way.
"Why we're here doesn't even matter. Who are you?" one of them asked.
He had dark red hair and sharp golden eyes. Intense. He'd been staring at me since the start.
"I'm—" I began, but he cut me off.
"Oh. You're Serco's new sl—"
The slap of Serco's fist across his jaw cracked through the air. Blood dripped from the guy's lip as Serco glared him down.
"You will not disrespect her," he said coldly. "This is Akina. She's special to me."
The redhead wiped his lip and blinked, clearly surprised. "Sorry... I didn't realize she was special. I'm Litzo."
"Nice to meet you, Litzo," I said quietly, offering a small smile.
He stared again, but this time with a warmer look—like he wanted to say more. But he looked to Serco first. When Serco just sighed, he took that as permission.
"Does this mean... you know about us?" Litzo asked. Litzo was being vague, but I knew what he meant, do I know that they're not human.
I glanced at Serco, uncertain, but he turned away bashfully. That must mean he doesn't mind if I tell them.
"Yes. I... do know," I said quietly.
"Then... this really is a big deal."
We reached my house just then. Serco turned to me and pressed a long, deep kiss to my lips. I clung to him, gripping the back of his shirt. When we finally parted, he turned to leave.
"Wait... I hope I get to see you again soon. I know you have to go, so... bye for now."
It took all my courage just to say that. Serco smiled at me, and when the coast was clear of any onlookers, he and his brothers vanished.
Something about the way he's acting is making me worry. Maybe I'm overthinking… but maybe I'm not.
Meanwhile, with Nacina (her POV):
"You're cute... are you another one of Shion's local friends?" the oldest brother asked.
"Sort of... where are they going?" I leaned to look past him.
"They're just talking. Why don't you hang out with us?" he suggested. "Tell us how our brother acts when we're not around."
"Yeah, I'm interested in that too," Smoke added.
I sighed. "Shion barely likes talking about himself. It'd be rude for me to talk about him behind his back."
The two whispered to each other. Then Smoke commented, "Sounds like the two of you are close. You understand him pretty well."
I looked down, voice low. "We're not close."
I stepped around them, trying to catch up to Akina and Serco. But the elder brother and Smoke trailed behind.
"You seem flustered," the elder commented.
"I'm not flustered!" I snapped. He laughed, then turned to Smoke.
"Can you give us a moment?" Smoke nodded and sprinted off until he was just a speck.
"I can tell," the brother said. "From the moment I saw you. The way you looked at him." I hate it when people think they know me.
I stopped and glared. "You don't know anything about me. I don't even know your name."
"My apologies. I'm Tiren. And... I know you have feelings for my brother."
I especially hate it when people are right.