Reborn: The New Empress

"Sayori, let"s go to the garden again. You said you"d teach me something new." Sumire"s head poked in my room. She"s been my companion for the past week. Like I said, Yukio hasn"t come to accompany ever since our awkward encounter by the pond.

"Okay." I answered. She pulled my arm towards the garden but we immediately stopped dead on our tracks when we heard voices. I pulled Sumire behind a tree to hide. I took a peek; the voices sound too familiar for me. When I looked, I saw Eiji kneeling in front of Yukio.

"Please, your majesty. I"m asking to be excused. My fiance is still missing." He said. Yukio looked at him and sighed.

"Eiji, the Emperor is doing his best to look for her. You just have to trust his majesty." Yukio said. Eiji was still kneeling on the ground. He didn"t look up to meet the Prince"s gaze. He stayed there for a few seconds before he stood up and faced Yukio.

"I understand your majesty. I will put my trust on the Emperor." He said. Yukio raised his eyebrow at Eiji. Before he spoke, his eyes darted towards our direction. I was sure he had seen us. He looked at me intently before his eyes darted back to the man standing in front of him.

"Tell me, Eiji. You seem to be very fond of Sayori." Yukio started.

"Of course, your majesty. She"s my fiance." He said. Yukio didn"t seem convinced. He pressed Eiji harder.

"Is that it? You care for her because she is your fiance?" He asked. Eiji looked confused. He didn"t understand why Yukio was being so insistent. I didn"t understand his intention either. Sumire was behind me looking at the scene intently.

"Onii-san is being impatient again." Sumire muttered. I looked back at her and raised my eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Sumire quickly covered her mouth using both her hands. She shook her head which made me more curious about what she was talking about. Our eyes darted back to the two men conversing by the pond.

"What do you mean, your majesty? Is there any other reason I should be worried about her?" Eiji said. What an a.s.shole! Something"s pushing him to want to marry me; I just don"t know what. It"s seems that I wasn"t the only one who is p.i.s.sed about his answer. Yukio was clenching his fists as he struggled to stop himself from punching his guard.

"Is there any particular reason why you want to marry her?" Yukio asked. Eiji was surprised with the question. It took him a minute before he answered and even so, he was indecisive.

"We are engaged and I"ve known Sayori for a long time." He answered. I waited for Yukio to answer but he never did. He just sighed, unclenched his fists and excused Eiji. The guard knelt in front of his master before he left the garden. When we were sure that he was gone, Sumire and I revealed ourselves.

"Onii-san, are you okay?" Sumire asked. She went up to her brother and held his hand. Yukio sighed and placed his hand on top of Sumire"s head.

"You two are so nosy." He said as he pinched his sister"s nose. Sumire pushed his brother"s hand away from her nose and she rubbed it as it turned red. She looked at her brother as if he was a criminal of a horrendous crime. Yukio eventually laughed at his sister"s expression.

"You"re being mean again. Do you want me to tell your secret?" Sumire taunted. Yukio quickly stopped laughing and was all serious.

"Don"t you dare! You weren"t even supposed to know about that. You just pestered Mom so much that she had to tell you." Yukio said. Sumire turned on her heel and walked closer to me. Seeing them argue like this made me think about my brothers and sisters back at the orphanages. We used to bicker like this whenever we had small fights about inconsequential things.

"Sayori, my brother is bullying me." Sumire said to me. I giggled as I saw Yukio"s facial expression change. He was about to chase after Sumire when Empress Yukina showed up.

"What"s going on here?" She asked. All of our eyes darted towards her and immediately, Sumire and Yukio stopped on their tracks. I took a step back to separate myself from the two of them since they look like they"re going to be scolded by their mother.

"Sumire, what did I tell you about teasing your brother?" Empress Yukina said. Sumire lowered her head while fidgeting with her fingers. Empress Yukina walked closer to her and raised her head.

"Don"t be sad, I"m not mad at you." Empress said. Sumire"s face slowly brightened. She turned to her brother and bowed her head.

"I"m sorry for teasing you onii-san." She said. Yukio smiled at his sister and patted her head.

"It"s okay, you"re my sister. It wouldn"t be the same if you weren"t you." He said. A smile formed on my face while looking at them. Just then, Empress Yukina turned to her children.

"Yukio, Sumire, please leave us alone for now. I have to talk to Sayori." She said. Both her children nodded their heads and turned on their heels. Empress Yukina turned to me and I walked closer to her.

"Sayori, it has been a week since you arrived in the Imperial Palace. Your father has a.s.signed a few of his men to look for you. Do you still plan on hiding here?" She asked. What the Empress said had me thinking. I am very grateful for their help but I can"t keep relying on them. I need to make my move now. The Empress and I walked and talked. I quickly stopped on my tracks and turned to her.

"Empress, before I go back, I have one last thing I need help with." I said. Empress Yukina looked at me expectantly.

"What is it?" She asked. I was reluctant for a moment but I had to make a decision now. I can"t wait forever. I have to bring justice to Sayori; it"s the least I could do now that she"s gone and I"ve inhabited her body.

"I need to get into my mother"s old home but it"s heavily guarded. She left something for me but I can"t remember what it is. It might just help me find my killer." I said. Empress Yukina looked at the sky as she contemplated what I just said. She must think I"m asking for too much. I immediately regretted my decision about telling her.

"Do you know which part of the house you need to be in?" She asked.

"In my mom"s room. That"s the room I remember where she gave me something." I said. Empress Yukina looked around the garden. I already expected that she"d decline my request. It was too much for me to ask. Maybe I can still tell her to forget what I said. As I was about to, she immediately turned to me.

"I"ll go with you." She said. I was dumbfounded. What did she mean by she"s going with me?

"I don"t think I understand, Empress." I said. Put her hand on my shoulder.

"Tonight, you and I are going to your mother"s house to retrieve that thing you"re looking for." She said. I was still confused about what"s happening. I don"t understand what she meant when she said she"s going with me. She"s the Empress, how can she just casually say that she"ll go with me to a place where it"s heavily guarded? She must"ve noticed the confused look on my face.

"It"s okay, Sayori. I"ll help you in and out. But we have to be quick about it." She said. Empress Yukina walked in the opposite direction of the garden. She was walking back to the Palace while mumbling something under her breath.

"Aino!" She called. Her maid came in and she whispered something to her. The maid nodded and went back inside.

"Come, Sayori. We"ll have to prepare." She said. She took my arm and led me inside one of the rooms in the Palace.

"Wait here for me. I"ll go to the Emperor." She said. She didn"t even wait for my answer. She headed towards the Emperor"s study. I waited here as what I was asked to do. A few minutes later and Aino arrived while carrying a few pairs of black clothing. She handed them to me without another word. A few minutes later and the Empress arrived.

"Did you try them out?" She asked. I was confused for a second and then I realized she wanted me to try the black outfits. I shook my head and she got one from my hands. She slipped into it like she"s been doing it for years.

"How do I look?" She asked. I was astonished. What stood in front of me wasn"t the Empress.

"You"re like a ninja." I said. She pulled down her mask and smiled.

"Now, you put on yours." she said. I did what she told me to and I was able to wear it without any trouble. It fit me like a glove. She looked at me and smiled.

"Good. This will do." She said. I was still on the fence about what we were about to do but I trust the Empress so I just have to follow her.

"Tonight, I"ll come to your room. Be sure to wear this before we leave so we won"t get spotted." Empress Yukina said. I"m not sure if I"m confident about doing this. I"ve experienced escaping from police by running through the neighborhood. I climbed up walls and jumped from roof to roof. This shouldn"t be any different.

I went back to my room to hide the outfit. Just as I placed it under my bed, there was a knock on my door which frightened me. I quickly got up and went to the door. To my surprise, it was Yukio. I still couldn"t look him in the eye after what happened. I still feel weird whenever I"m around him.

"Sayori…" He started. I avoided my gaze, as usual.

"Do you need anything, Prince?" I asked. He sighed and took a step inside my room. I couldn"t stop him from entering so I just took a step back.

"I need to talk to you… About what happened." He said. I looked up at him and our eyes met. My heart started to pound for some unknown reason.

"Do you really not remember anything about me? About us?" He asked. I was even more confused than I was a while ago. What is he talking about? Now that he"s mentioned something about our past, Sumire"s words rang in my head. She mentioned something about his brother"s secret but it didn"t hit me until now.

"What are you talking about? I don"t… I mean, I"m not sure if I remember anything… I remember seeing you in the Palace when you were little." I said. My mind went into spirals of confusion. It"s like I"m trying to recover Sayori"s memories on purpose. My head started hurting and I didn"t know what to do.

"Sayori, are you okay?" Yukio asked. I felt his arms on me as he helped me stand up. When I felt like my legs couldn"t keep me up, Yukio carried me to the bed. He was about to put me down but I stopped him.

"Don"t! Don"t put me down. I might lose consciousness if you do." I said. He ended up sitting on the bed with me on his lap. I closed my eyes to gather my thoughts.

"I"m sorry if I triggered your headaches. I know you"re still trying to remember things." He said. I didn"t focus on his words. I focused more on collecting my consciousness. I didn"t want to faint since the Empress and I had plans to do tonight. I didn"t want to disappoint her.

"Just shut up for a second, Yukio. I"m trying to concentrate." I said. I couldn"t hold my sharp tongue. Yukio kept quiet as he gently rubbed my back to help me relax. My headache slowly faded and I felt better. I could still feel Yukio"s hand on my back and it made my heart race. Why does my heart race for Yukio? I felt my face getting hotter when I realized that I was still sitting on his lap. I quickly got up but the sudden movement made my head spin and I almost fell but Yukio managed to grab my hand.

"Careful, you might fall and hit your head." He said. I looked over at our hands and the heat suddenly rose to my face. I quickly let go of his hand and I turned away. Why am I feeling this way? I don"t understand.