"Haru's cute and can boost up pudding. Extra points for that," Aki teased.
"But I'm sizzling hot," Malachi countered.
"I think we've overheated Crim with all the blankets on her. She doesn't need your sizzling ass turning up the heat. Sit down," Quil huffed.
Itsuki and Aki laughed.
"Poor Malachi. His steamy touch isn't working anymore," Yoshi taunted.
"You haven't seen me work my magic in the bedroom, my friend. Then you'll see how steamy my touch can make Crim," Malachi declared suggestively.
We all gawked at him and he shrugged proudly.
I turned to Aki who grinned and looked away, but not before Malachi noticed. His gaze darted from me to Aki and back to me.
"Oh, you did not! I knew us helping those little brats was a setup!" Malachi declared.
Aki relaxed, and sat at the end of the bed before he shrugged. "Not my fault I slept in," he defended.
I could imagine the unconcerned look on his face.
Haru shrugged and lifted the spoon to my mouth. "Crimson, pudding!" he called cheerfully.
I giggled, opening my mouth to eat the butterscotch snack, ignoring their crazy conversation about how Aki and I had sex first.
I finished eating and yawned, rubbing my eyes. The guys all stopped what they were doing to stare at me.
"I'm fine. Just tired," I confessed, relaxing back into the sheets.
I'd spent three days in bed, recovering from the aftermath of the attack on the Arashi residence. That's what most people were calling it anyway.
The guys hadn't left my side. Even if I had to pee, one of them came with, giving the excuse that an assassin could burst through the wall and attack me. I'd been trying to catch up with everything that happened when I was sleeping, which was a good twenty hours of sleep every day, but my mind was just frazzled.
The doctor put me on strict bed rest and I wasn't allowed to even be stressed. I think he was being so strict because of the guys’ urging, but I really didn't have the energy to argue.
Mother had been just as strict and checked on me every hour to make sure I was okay. She promised to give me some alone time today with the guys who'd all introduced themselves to her as my lovers to be, or something along those lines.
We'd sat down last night and discussed the issue of me being sealed in the womb and gathering the hidden evidence that was in Father's office. During all the chaos, my mother had been acting innocent, but had gone through the entire office, gathering everything and was ready to present it to the Emperor whose son would be present for the meeting.
A knock came at the door and we turned to see Hotaka Jiyuna at the doorway. His pink eyes met mine and then looked over at the other guys, particularly lingering on Quil who was still sitting right next to me on the bed.
My Kitsune sounded like she was laughing and I could feel her amusement. "Guys, can you give us a minute?" I asked.
They all nodded and bowed to Hotaka. They each came over and gave me a quick kiss before exiting the room. I smiled and then turned my attention to Hotaka, who returned my smile with one of his own.
I hadn't seen him since I was really young, but he didn't look much different. He approached the bed and sat down next to my feet, turning to face me.
"How are you feeling today?" His voice was still as calming as when I was little.
“A little better. I get tired easily though," I admitted.
He nodded. "You went through a lot and the shock of it all is probably exhausting. Adding in the electric shock attack that hit you and the frostbite you endured during the blizzard, I'd suggest you sleep for a week and stay in bed for another after that."
"Aww, not you too. I hate bed rest," I grumbled before yawning.
He smirked and lifted an eyebrow at me.
I groaned. "A few more days with bed rest. But next week, I'm catching up on my commissions and other works. I never finished my art piece for my last client. I hope he doesn't give up on me. It would be a shame, especially after everything else," I confessed, sliding my body further down the bed so my head rested on my pillow.
"I'm sure they will understand. What were you required to draw?" he queried.
"I was asked to draw a weapon of my choice. He hoped I was well and wished me a happy birthday," I replied.
Hotaka crossed his arms and a wide grin formed on his lips as he closed his eyes. "Indeed. I did request that," he remarked.
I blinked and stared at him in confusion. "Request for what?" I asked, not following what he meant.
"Draw any weapon of your choice. I asked you the same thing when you were six before I left to go abroad and you drew me a pair of twin swords and told me you'd sword dance one day. I asked you again when you were eighteen and again before your twenty-third birthday," Jiyuna revealed.
I slowly sat up and he helped me ease backward to rest my back against the headboard.
"Wait…are you saying you’re J.H.? But that makes no sense. Let's see, Aki was A.T. Green which makes sense cause his initials are A.T. and his eyes are green. How are you J.H.?" I tried to figure that one out.
My brain could barely keep up with the revelation that Hotaka had been my other long-term client.
"My initials in reverse," he said simply, shrugging like it wasn't a big deal.
"Wow..." I trailed off, unable to find words to help me wrap my head around the news. Not like I hadn't dealt with enough truth bombs in the last three days.
"Has your Kitsune adapted well?" he inquired, changing the subject when he noticed my silence.
"She's great. It's interesting being a shifter and having some kind of visual of how she looks. She likes to laugh at you when you come in to glare at the guys," I pointed out.
Hotaka frowned and pouted his lips. "They're too close to you," he muttered.
I laughed. "They're my boyfriends. I think they're allowed to sit next to me." I continued to giggle.
"It’s annoying," he grumbled.
I stared as his pink eyes locked onto mine.
"I'm sorry, Crimson," he whispered.
I smirked, shaking my head. "We were all deceived. Mom's taking it the hardest though," I admitted.
Hotaka sighed. "I'm aware. She was inconsolable until your men brought you home. She feels horrible and so do I. I should have done something."
"It's not anyone's fault but Konashi's. I guess I don't need to call him Father anymore, seeing as he's not. He sealed my powers with the doctor when Mother was sleeping during the entire pregnancy, adding an extra dose of magic so she wouldn't remember the test results. He then threatened to kill Mother if you didn't keep silent about me being your child and not his. He even forced you to say an oath in order to keep Mother and me alive. He married Mother, bribing the Council to pull some strings and agree to it instead of allowing you two to marry, which was the original plan. When I was six, Konashi noticed how close we were getting and sent you away to another branch abroad to keep distance between us so his secret would be safe," I explained.
"That doesn't give me an excuse for not trying to find a way around it. A loophole of some kind. Instead, the only way I could support my child was by buying her art from far away and asking Hakua's family to keep an eye on you," he admitted.
"I still can't believe you paid for my sword training classes. You didn't have to," I whispered with gratitude.
"That was the least I could do. I should have been the one to teach you and take you to practices." He sounded so remorseful.
"That would have been fun," I admitted. "Still, thank you for contributing to my life without me even knowing it."
When I first saw the name Hotaka Jiyuna on the second sheet of paper in Father’s office, I was stunned. I didn’t know if it was all a hoax or actually true. All those years I wished he would have replaced Konashi, only to find out he was really my biological father and I was a victim of Konashi’s lies and deceit to gain power.