Deep breaths filled the silence of the room. Kai suddenly jumped up, as if something had shaken him awake. He glanced left, then right. He was in a pink room. Lying on a bed.
"This looks like Mei's old room…" he thought, but he didn't have the strength to get up. He lay back on the pillow. "This pillow is soft…"
Feeling the softness, he turned to check the pillow. But instead of it — there was Yuki. He was lying on her lap.
"Are you awake?" Yuki asked him, smiling as she gently laid his head back onto her lap.
"Soft…" he said, getting comfortable.
Yuki softly ran her fingers through his hair. "Don't worry, you're safe here."
Yuki's legs were like clouds of silk under Kai's touch, perfectly soft. Her skin was warm and smooth. As he lightly pressed his head into her lap, he could clearly feel that perfect softness — gentle muscles subtly relaxing under his touch.
He was in paradise.
Until Mei shifted beside them and opened her eyes. Her pupils, still half clouded, sharpened instantly when she saw them.
"Kaiiiiiii!" she shouted.
Kai immediately sat up. His paradise quickly turned into hell when he saw his sister's gaze. Her eyes were wide open, with a quiet jealous sparkle. She smiled, but it was definitely not a happy smile.
"I… um… Yuki…?" he stammered, his words breaking apart before they could come out.
BAM!
The pillow hit him right in the face.
"Hey, hey, hey... It's okay..." Yuki tried to calm Mei down, but then she got a pillow to the face too. "That's my pillow!"
"And that's my brother!" Mei fired back, turning her head sideways and puffing her cheeks.
"He's my boyfriend!" Yuki shouted, retaliating with another pillow strike.
Kai looked between them. "Huh?"
"He's MY brother!" Mei yelled, hitting Yuki with the pillow again.
Kai just quietly climbed down from the bed and started crawling on the floor, trying to avoid the drama.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Yuki asked.
"Um…" was all he could say before slipping out the door and running away.
"Hey!" Yuki jumped off the bed and ran after him.
Mei followed too, but tripped on the first step and landed on her knees.
"Wait for me!"
Soon all three of them were outside, standing in the yard, breathing fresh air. Kai turned around to see if they were still chasing him, but the sight stopped him cold.
Yuki caught up and smacked him on the back with the pillow. He didn't even flinch.
"What are you looking at?" she asked, noticing his gaze.
Mei came up to them, then she too stared up at the huge Villa they had just come out of.
"T-this is… your house?!" Kai stammered, still shocked.
"Yes!" Yuki proudly lifted her chin.
"Massive!!!" Mei exclaimed.
It was definitely one of the biggest houses the brother and sister had ever seen.
"There are about 1 987 rooms… I think," Yuki stated.
Kai and Mei both gaped at the same time, then slowly turned toward her.
"Did you… actually count them or what?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, but I was little back then…" Yuki shrugged.
Kai and Mei glanced back at the massive villa in silence, trying to imagine a kid counting nearly two thousand rooms.
Then Kai's gaze slipped back to Yuki… and only then did he realize — she had been standing there the whole time in pajamas.
The late morning sun bathed her in light.
She was barefoot, toes curling slightly under the cool touch of the grass. Her lavender hair was tousled from sleep, with strands catching the sunlight, giving her that "just woke up" look.
She wore an oversized, soft blue pajama shirt; the fabric was thin enough that in the daylight, the outline of her narrow shoulders and gently curved back was visible. The shirt's hem ended near the tops of her thighs, leaving her long, smooth legs completely exposed to the relentless gaze of the sun (and Kai).
Her legs—long, slim, perfect—gleamed in the sunlight as if made of porcelain.
"W-why are you looking at me like that???" she muttered, blushing slightly as she gently lowered her gaze.
Mei looked at Yuki. "Hmmpf!" Her eyes sparkled with jealousy as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
"I... wasn't looking!" Kai shouted, quickly turning his gaze away. Pretending like he wasn't looking.
"No, it's fine… Feel free to look…" Yuki stretched lazily, raising her arms above her head, making her shirt ride up a bit more, revealing a bit of her stomach.
Kai put his hand over his nose. "My nose is bleeding…"
Mei pushed her jealousy aside to ask a very important question. "How are we still alive?"
Yuki lowered her arms. "How are you alive?" she seemed to ask herself. "I used a potion…"
Mei stared at her closely but said nothing. "That makes no sense... Using the potion drains blood… I lost a liter when I saved Kai, she'd have to use about two liters… Yet she still has so much energy... How is that even possible?"
The sister pondered, while Kai thanked Yuki.
"What even happened to you guys?" Yuki asked, genuinely curious.
"Doesn't matter," Mei cut her off. "We have to go."
"Already? Wouldn't you want to eat first?" Yuki was surprised at their rush.
"Sorry, we're in a hurry!" said Kai, agreeing with his sister's wish to leave as soon as possible.
"Okay, see you then!" Yuki waved at them as they left, but quickly remembered something. "Wait! Have you seen Kitsune anywhere?"
The brother and sister looked at each other, then answered together:
"No!"
Without any further explanation, they headed straight for their house.
"I had a weird dream…" Kai started, but couldn't finish.
"Me too…" Mei added.
They arrived at the White House, went inside, and started looking for Lily.
"Lily!" Mei shouted from the hallway.
"One second!" Lily called back from the top of the stairs.
It took her a few minutes, but she finally came. "Where have you even been?" she asked, but was ignored… as always.
"We need a ride to the Elf city," Mei said.
Lily just blinked several times, totally confused.
"Excuse me?"
"No time for explanations!" Kai added.
"Okay, okay. I'll get everything ready. Just need to ask Vorenhart," Lily ran off down the hallway.
Kai turned to Mei with a soft smile and asked,
"So… are you ready for a new adventure?"
"Of course! I want that wish!" Mei exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.