A lone male stood outside the gates of an oriental house as he looked up at said gates with a nostalgic smile. Wearing a black suit, he looked as if he was part of a secret service.

What made the person more interesting was the fact that his hair was colored white as snow and his eyes heterochromatic eyes, left being teal colored while the right one was colored gold; An odd combination of colors.

“Elder brother!” upon hearing the voice, the male looked down and saw a girl around three quarters of his height in gothic Lolita dress with frills opening the gates. Without any warning she instantly flew into her brother’s chest and hugged him tightly. The male was not even surprised and returned the hug of his younger sister

If one looked at the two; they did not look like siblings at all. The male; with his silvery white hair; and the girl; with her fiery red hair; looked nothing like each other unless if they looked closely at their faces which contained a bit of similar characteristics.

“You came back!” The girl, probably overjoyed, still held the male whom she called older brother in her hug.

The male smiled and gently stroke his younger sister’s red mane with a soft smile. “Of course… I was only working you know…” The male gently planted a small kiss on her head. “What kind of brother would I be to leave you all behind…?”

A small creaking noise alerted the white haired male to another presence. Looking up: he saw an identical yet completely opposite person. Unlike his white hair kept slightly long and slightly messy, the person at the gate had long and straight black hair that reached his back. Dressed in a custom tuxedo, if the flames on the sleeves and slacks were of any indication, the male’s pale white complexion drew in gazes if anyone else was there. Other than hair and clothing: everything, even the face, was the same.

“Brother” The white haired male called out to his twin who had the same eyes as him, albeit alternately. Unlike the white haired male, the black haired male had teal on the right while the gold on the left.

“Yo, Hayato~” The black haired male replied with a smile. “You finally done with work…?” The male approached the hugging siblings. “… and Ayra: let your older brother into his house will you?” He pried off the redhead from the now known as Hayato.

“My bad~” The redhead showed no signs of reflecting and merely smiled and scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

“You’re Ryutou alright…” Hayato shook his head with a smile.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Ryutou playfully poked his younger brother in the forehead. “If I had known any better; you were insulting your esteemed brother, did you not?”

The two stared at each other with serious faces before erupting in a laugh.

“Since when did you start calling yourself ‘esteemed brother’?”

“I don’t know. It came naturally like that”

The two calmed down. Probably feeling left out, Ayra coughed once loudly before entering the gates.

“Mom and dad have been waiting for your arrival since yesterday so come on~” Ryutou turned and entered through the gate. “Come on, we don’t have all day you know?”

Hayato picked up the sole luggage, which was a black bag, and followed after his brother and to a smaller degree: his younger sister.

After entering the gates he once saw as a towering giant when he was a child, Hayato noticed that not much had changed since he last left.

The gravel pathways were still lined with different flowers of different species that blended well together, the garden he played in was still kept in good condition and his house still oriental and large even though it was a one story building.

He did see some changes like the Koi pond with an abundant amount of Koi fish and the sapling in his childhood which had turned into a large towering tree that overlooked his house.

Hayato kept in mind and listened to his younger sister who was telling him about what had transpired when he was still in service in the government as an assassin.

“-Taka placed first in the national martial arts competition! He took down people older than him like they were nothing and even after he won he didn’t change from that naive little brother he was when he was younger~ Kuren also became-”

Hayato listened intently to his younger sister talk about his other siblings.

Hyakuren, the fourth child of the Ichiharu family, had won quiz shows like they were nothing and was number one nationally in academics. He had also become a little bit too much proficient in crafting and blacksmithing which earned him a good position in [Aquila Corporation] which dealt with a lot of the current technological advancements.

Takamoto, the fifth child of the Ichiharu family, had been taking the family martial arts seriously and became a nationally acknowledged martial artist even when he is still in his second year of high school. Currently, he was working part-time at a café in Akihabara to gain some working experience.

Shinichi, the youngest of the Ichiharu family, was doing above average in high school and had aspired to become a chef. He was the one responsible to cook for the family as well as doing most of the household jobs alongside mother.

“-but believe it or not: Father actually re-opened the dojo! He’s the one in charge currently and if Ryutou is going to succeed him voluntarily~”

Hayato smiled. He was glad that his father had re-opened the dojo. Though he knew the students would be only trained in the basics of the basics but then again: the Ichiharu style could probably have 8 sub-dojos to teach the specialized versions of the style.

Before Hayato had realized it; he was already inside his house and was walking down the wooden floors that reminded him of his past. After passing by the guest rooms and the receiving rooms, the party of three went through another set of halls and entered a room where a man with maroon colored hair and a woman with white hair sat, as if waiting for them; which they were of course.

“I have come home father, mother.” Hayato sat in front of the two and bowed gracefully.

“Come now, is that a way to greet your parents after 10 years?” the maroon haired male, who barely looked 35, cracked out a smile at his overly formal son. He looked young but his age was not. He had turned 48 this year and yet he still looked to be in his prime with his face devoid of any wrinkles.

“I agree, shouldn’t you just be honest and hug us?” the white haired woman let out a gentle smile. Like the male next to her, she was not as young as she looked. She was in fact the eldest in the household, being 49 next month but probably due to taking care of herself and her family genes: looked more like a 28 year old mother.

Truly, the Ichiharu family was not a normal family with their colorful hair and apparently strong vitality.

Hayato smiled and righted his posture. He slowly stood up, approached his parents and gave them a hug.

“I’m back~” He cheerfully said as a few tears managed to escaped from his closed eyes.

““Welcome back son~””

His two parents returned his hug with their own and they too cried tears of joy.

While they were doing this, Ryutou and Ayra watched without making any noise to ensure the three had their reunion. After all, the child they loved was taken from them after an accident they did not foresaw and ended up with him being taken in as an assassin due to the government’s influence.

That day, the day which their son was accused of murder for protecting his mother, was a day in which they would never forget.

The two watched as both mother and father kept asking forgiveness from their second eldest son for their shortcomings while the son kept reassuring them that he would never condemn them even if they killed him.

Ayra wiped away a tear that threatened to fall from her eyes. “There, there…” Ryutou comforted the girl by patting her head gently while he himself had glistening eyes due to his own tears.

“He won’t be leaving again. I am sure of it…”

—End of chapter—