• Chapter 2: The Entrance Ceremony

    Natsuhiko opened his eyes slowly. He put on his glasses and pulled open the curtains. It was still dark outside. He stared silently at the stars.
    Priscilla-one of the only servants that still served Natsuhiko Yamanaka-stepped into the dark room. When she noticed that her master was wide awake, she quickly left a glass of water by Natsuhiko's desk and left the room.
    Everyone in the mansion knew that whenever their young master woke by himself, it meant that Natsuhiko had had the dream again. They knew better than to bother their master during mornings that he had the dream.
    Natsuhiko would have a recurring dream every so often, the dream of how the Yamanaka household came to its current state. Natsuhiko had kept dreaming of that fateful day for seven years in a row now.
    Natsuhiko drank his glass of water and changed his clothes. He looked at himself in the mirror in his room, noticing once again that he had a dream of his former self, his weak and pitiful self.
    But now as he looked in the mirror, he remembered that he was no longer a frightened child, but rather a young adult who had many troubles that could not waste time on sentiments. He had turned 15 that year, and that morning, he would finally be attending high school.

    Natsuhiko left his room and headed out the front door, his servants awaiting him there. He put on a fake smile for them, just as he had done so every morning after his parent's death. "Good morning, Young Master," Cedric greeted as he handed Natsuhiko his bicycle helmet.
    Though many people had noticed that Natsuhiko had developed quite nicely, the same could be said about Cedric and the other servants.
    Cedric was now 19 and had graduated from high school the year before, so he was always at the ready for any order from his master. The rest of the servants were all 17; they only had a few classes with their master, so they were glad that they had Cedric to care for Natsuhiko.
    Cedric was the most dashing of all the butlers, young or old, at the school where Natsuhiko was going to attend. He had earned a good reputation at Rising Sun Academy by earning the trust of the teachers and student council.
    Cedric worked hard to become an exemplary person that everyone could look up to. Almost no feat seemed out of reach for this remarkable man. Truly, Cedric could be called a butler among butlers.
    In order to save money, Bala and another servant, Simon, decided not to get hair cuts. Bala had grown his hair so much over the years, that his braided hair reached his thighs. And though he looked like a thug in a suit, he was impressingly intelligent.
    Bala took the role of being Natsuhiko's tutor; he had a deep sense of understanding, and many people at school went to him for advice. He had also managed to skip a grade.
    Simon was often mistaken for a girl because of his braided ponytail. He was a good craftsman who had been assigned cleaning duty and repair jobs at the mansion.
    Regina proved to be an excellent cook, and therefore, she was assigned the role of chef. However, she was also the duty supervisor; if you didn't do your job right, you would not be fed for 24 hours. She was the strictest in the mansion, and she almost seemed like a mother to the others in the household.
    Priscilla tried to be invisible to people other than the ones living at the mansion because she was extremely shy. She had done a good job up until high school, where her looks never went unnoticed. She was, however, a klutz and was assigned the easiest job of all: laundry duty.

    Natsuhiko put on his helmet and rode down from the mansion. The bike ride to his morning job was a silent one.
    'I feel as though we didn't do much work over the summer,' he thought. Natsuhiko sighed as he remembered how much money he still had to pay for bills.
    He looked up and saw that his servants had caught up to him on their own bikes. 'How is it that they never break a sweat catching up to me?' he thought.
    The six of them rode to work and as always, they worked until they were sore. Then, they rushed to Rising Sun Academy so that they wouldn't be late for the freshman's entrance ceremony.
    They made it to the school five minutes late; the assistant principle, Mr. Rowen, spotted them. "State your household and your purpose," he exclaimed. Cedric stepped forward. "How have you been, Mr. Rowen, sir? Don't tell me that you have forgotten about me that quickly?"
    Mr. Rowen gasped. "That voice! Cedric you scoundrel! How have you been? Late as always I see?" Cedric chuckled. "I'd love to catch up, sir, but as you can see, Young Master is late for then entrance ceremony."
    Mr. Rowen studied Natsuhiko. 'What a shabby-looking boy,' he thought. "I'll let you off for being late this time. Hurry up and head to the auditorium."

    The group of six reached the auditorium. It was filled to the rim with students and their servants.
    Natsuhiko looked around to see if there were any people whom he recognized. He could not identify any familiar faces, but he did see some unusual students.
    There was a small child riding on the shoulders of a butler, and the kid's hair was tied in a ponytail. He also spotted an unusual person dressed in a ripped jacket, his cowboy hat blocked his eyes; he looked like a very dangerous person.
    Someone jumped on Natsuhiko's back. "How have you been, Natsu-chan?" It was Natshiko's childhood friend, Megumi Akiyama. Her dark hair was tied in two pigtails; she was a rather childish person.
    "Megumi, you startled me!" Natsuhiko complained as he shook Megumi off his back. "Sorry, Natsu-chan! It's a habit. heart
    "How's work been, Natsu?" she asked. "Work was good, but why'd summer have to end so soon? I still have many bills to pay," he whined.
    Megumi flicked Natsuhiko's forward. "is work the only thing you think about?! I didn't get to be with you all summer because of your stupid work!" she exclaimed.
    "Shush!" Natsuhiko pleaded, "You're drawing attention toward us!" Cedric stepped into the conversation. "Mistress Megumi, forgive the Young Master. He had many things to worry about over the summer. Please forgive him."
    Megumi nodded. "Very well then. I'll be going now. Good luck in school today, Natsu-chan!" Megumi walked toward a group of girls whom she was familiar with.
    Once she left, Natsuhiko sighed. "Seriously! When is Megumi going to stop treating me like a child? School's the safest place in the world."
    Cedric turned to Natsuhiko. "Megumi is right in wishing you luck, Young Master." Natsuhiko was confused. "What do you mean, Cedric?"
    Cedric looked serious. He cleared his throat. "While most schools ARE averagely safe, THIS school-as well as a few other private schools-are very competitive.
    "As you know, This school teaches some of the best students in the world, thus the school name, 'Rising Su...'"
    "Get on with it," Natsuhiko interrupted. Cedric cleared his throat. "The point is that some households try to prove that they're the best in the school through any means necessary. Money, power, and-on rare occasion-effort. Houses that lack these skills try to rid themselves of the competition.
    Our household is probably one of the targets." Natsuhiko gasped. "Why do they want to get rid of us?! What did we do to them?!"
    Cedric sighed. "They're going to do it out of jealousy, I'm afraid. We, your humble servants, have earned quite a reputation at this school. They call us 'the lowest of the high class families.' The fact that we are attending this school with very little money due to our grades has upset the other families. By lunchtime today, battles will surely take place in order to raise one's standing. Even though I will be supervising you, I suggest that you never let your guard down..."

    Natsuhiko took Cedric's words to heart. He was very jumpy during all his classes; he almost seemed like a person who had drank a little too much caffeine.
    The day went by slowly, almost painfully slow. Natsuhiko was grateful that there hadn't been any fights so far. Then, the moment that Natsuhiko dreaded the most came...lunchtime.
    Natsuhiko hoped that no one would challenge him to a fight; he had become a pacifist shortly after his parents' mishap.
    As he walked towards a table to eat the lunch that Regina had prepared him the night before, he saw three students-each was accompanied by a butler-taunting a solitary student. "Hey, kid," said the tallest of the three, "Don'tcha know that it's not safe to be caught alone at this school?"
    The three students pushed the kid around like a rag doll and chuckled while they did so. Their butlers watched silently. Natsuhiko could not just stand and watch as a possible fight ensued. "Hey!" Natsuhiko yelled. "Leave the kid alone!"
    The three bullies let go of their victim and walked in Natsuhiko's direction, their butlers behind them and itching for a fight. Cedric stepped in front of his master. "It's best not to stick our noses in other people's fights, Young Master. But since you're the new target of this fight, I shall do my best to protect you."
    The enemy butlers pulled out their weapons. Blades, guns, and brass knuckles shined in the light of the sun. Cedric stared at them, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The butlers stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Cedric decided to strike first and end things quickly.
    But before Cedric could strike the enemy, all three of the butlers fell forward, their weapons scattering as their bodies hit the floor. "Never leave your back to the enemy, fools."
    The bullies turned around to face the scrawny blond-haired kid that they had picked on moments ago. Natsuhiko faced the kid as well, curious as to how the kid had defeated all three butlers at once. There was nothing weird about the boy, but the oddly dressed butler behind him had eyes of a battle-hardened warrior. The butler wore a black robe and dark blue pants. His hair was tied in a braid, and a katana was strapped to his waist.
    He did not seem very strong, but his ability was not to be taken lightly. "Never mess with the Young Master of the De Leon household. Or you'll have to answer to his undefeated butler: me, Kagetora Sojo."
    The bullies were terrified by this butler, who was so skillful that he had been undetected by even Cedric, that they ran from the scene, leaving their unconscious butlers behind.
    The Young Master of the De Leon household walked up to Natsuhiko. He stared at him with his light blue eyes. Then, he extended his hand. "A pleasure to meet you. My name is Folgore De Leon. I appreciate your attempt to help, but Sojo took care of the situation."
    Natsuhiko shook Folgore's hand. "Sorry that we weren't much help. I'm Natsuhiko Yamanaka and this is my butler, Cedric Tempel."
    Folgore studied Cedric. "THIS is the famous butler named Cedric Tempel?" "Is there a problem?" Natsuhiko asked.
    "I didn't expect the famous, UNDEFEATED Cedric Tempel to be so...poor-looking. Well, I guess appearances don't matter TOO much. What do you think, Sojo?"
    Kagetora Sojo cracked his knuckles. His gazed was fixed on Cedric, his eyes similar to a wildcat ready to pounce at its prey. "I've wanted to fight against a worthy opponent for quite a while now. To defeat a man of such caliber-so much, that he is undefeated-would greatly improve MY reputation."
    Sojo unsheathed the katana strapped to his waist. "What say you to this duel, Cedric? There can be only one butler with an undefeated streak. Don't you agree?"

    TO BE CONTINUED...