Haru’s Love (A Stepbrothers BL Harem) - Chapter 46

Uncle Jin continued. “When the Shrine Maiden died, for she is human, after all, another would be born to replace her. Her soul and her power continue in another child’s body. It’s called reincarnation, Aiden-san.”

Aiden said, “Are you implying that Haru is really a Shrine Maiden of your family?”

Uncle Jin nodded. “A Shrine Maiden in our family brings wealth and prosperity. Do you know that the Onos were one of the most powerful families in all of Japan, Aiden-san? That is, until the Shrine Maiden disappeared.”

Aiden said, “When Haru moved to America.”

Uncle Jin nodded.

Aiden said, “You mention Mom Sana wanted to save Reo and Haru?”

“Yes,” Uncle Jin said. “She did and she succeeded. You see, the Onos are horrible at treating their most prized possession, their Shrine Maiden that has the power to bring them wealth. They kept her existence a secret, hidden away from the world. Sana and her sons, you see, were made to live in a small village near the mountains, cut off from modern civilization. Their every move was monitored. They had no freedom. They were…prisoners of their own family.”

Aiden said, “Are you saying you’re not Reo and Haru’s only relative?”

Uncle Jin shook his head. “Far from it. The Onos are a big clan, Aiden-san. But since the Shrine Maiden’s disappearance, the family has broken apart, businesses failed, and the Ono clan is no more. Ten years, it only took ten years for everything to be destroyed.” The man chuckled. “But deep down, I’m glad Sana managed to escape and took her sons with her, because they were no longer prisoners of their own bloodline. I cut ties with the Onos after Sana left and started my own business here, from scratch. Of course, I kept in contact with Sana because we were close, and eventually, Reo. Your father and I planned her escape together, you see. He fell in love with Sana at first sight when he met her all those years ago.”

That was right, Aiden thought, he remembered their father traveling to Japan for a business trip on two occasions, and he and his brothers had a stay-at-home housekeeper to look after them. When he had returned the second time, it was to announce that they’d be getting a new mother, as well as two brothers.

“See here,” their father said, showing them a photo of three people—a beautiful Japanese woman, a teenage boy, and a little boy.

Back then, the moment Aiden had seen Haru’s adorable face, he felt drawn to the boy and had felt that he could love this boy for the rest of his life.

Uncle Jin’s voice drew Aiden’s attention back to the present. “Sana’s first husband, a distant relative, was dead a year after Reo was born. She married for the second time with a Swiss man who worked for the Ono’s business. Might I add that the marriage was not approved by the family because the man was a foreigner. Of course, I supported Sana, and it was only I who attended the pair’s wedding. When Haru was born, they were very happy. Sadly, Haru’s father died due to a severe case of pneumonia when the boy turned two. Such a tragedy. The last time I saw Haru and Reo had been at the airport ten years ago. Haru had been very sick, but of course, that’s normal. The Shrine Maiden usually has a weak body but strong spiritual power.”

Haru had a weak body and fell sick easily. Could this explain why?

Uncle Jin said, “I don’t expect you to believe what I’ve just told you, Aiden-san. I know myself that it’s far-fetched, the tale, but I’ve seen it firsthand, the existence of the Shrine Maiden and what her guardians can do.”

Aiden said, “You speak of guardians, which are spiritual beings. If Haru is truly a Shrine Maiden and he has four guardians with him, why have I never felt anything? We’ve lived together for ten years.”

Uncle Jin smiled, his eyes twinkling. “You believe the guardians to be some spiritual creatures just floating around the Shrine Maiden?” He shifted his gaze to look at the mural on the other side of the wall. “They’re not.”

Aiden frowned for a moment. Wait a minute. Four guardians. Suddenly, he widened his eyes. Shit.

“Fate, Aiden-san,” Uncle Jin said. “I call it fate. Your father and I helping Sana escape was fate, too. In the end, it’s where the Shrine Maiden should be, with her guardians.”

Aiden shook his head. No way. Just no way he was going to believe this nonsense. This was all just hocus pocus. Like Patricia said, a tale to make them seem more mysterious and intriguing.

Uncle Jin said, “I read it in one of the ancient scripts our family kept. I’ve managed to salvage a few before everything was turned to ruin, you see. I contacted Reo six months ago, thinking perhaps he or Haru would want to keep those themselves. It’s a history of the Shrine Maiden, and one of the scripts mentioned the guardians. According to the script, the guardians themselves have a strong connection with the Shrine Maiden, and if I were to translate the flowery language of the Heian era to modern language, it would be something along the lines of ‘The Shrine Maiden would surely die if her guardians were to be apart from her.’”

He cocked his head to one side. “I also remember it mentioned symptoms, such as falling sick from a broken heart or a panic attack. Ah, there was also mentioning of the guardians having strong sexual attraction to the Shrine Maiden as well, especially the dragon, fox, and snake. Apparently, the cat merely wanted to be friends with the Shrine Maiden.”

Aiden swallowed hard while Uncle Jin chuckled.

“Can you believe that? A spiritual cat wanting to be best friends with a human? I guess even something like that happened back during the Heian era. As for the sexual attraction between the Shrine Maiden and the other three guardians, the script mentioned a sweet smell, like the scent of flowers in spring.”

Sweet smell. Scent of flowers in spring. That was Haru’s smell.

The first time Aiden had become aware of it had been when Haru had turned fifteen, when the boy had hit puberty. At the time, he had thought one of his brothers had sprayed the apartment with some sort of new scent, but of course, they hadn’t the money for that sort of waste, since they hadn’t enough to live on. Eventually though, he realized that the smell had come from Haru, and he had thought the boy had started using a new type of deodorant. He hadn’t known that Haru had never used any until Mason asked one day, “What type of deodorant do you use, Haru? I like that sweet smell. It’s different.”

Haru had shaken his head, saying, “I don’t use any.”

Every time he had returned home from a hard day of hustling to earn a few extra dollars, the sweet smell that filled the apartment had always soothed him, relieving him of the exhaustion—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Aiden could smell Haru’s sweet scent, and so could Noah, as he had mentioned last night. Mason? Ah, yes, the brother could, too; otherwise, he couldn’t have asked back then, right?

Isaac? He remembered now. The boy couldn’t since he had said, “But I don’t smell anything on Haru,” when Mason had asked.

“Again, I don’t expect you to believe all that I’ve said, Aiden-san,” Uncle Jin said. “But there is no doubt in my mind that you are important to Haru, which is the reason why I’m offering you the job as the CEO of the company.”

Aiden said, “I’m merely a real estate agent, Uncle Jin, and I have no prior experience running a company this big.”

Uncle Jin chuckled. “The golden dragon has many capabilities, strong and powerful, Aiden-san.”

Golden dragon? So he was supposed to be the dragon?

“I believe in your abilities.” He grinned. “You think I’d offer such an important position to just anyone? I’ve done my research on you, Aiden-san, and your business acumen is top-notch. Mark Williams Realty, the company you work for, its success has mostly been because of you, your business plan, and your execution. The family who ran it, your friend and his family, were merely the people who own the company because they had money.”

Aiden was impressed the old man had managed to dig all that up. He himself had never even told his brothers what he had been doing, operating that real estate company behind closed doors for Peter’s family since he had finished at the university, hence growing the once run-down failed business into a multimillion-dollar company in just five years. Of course, even though he had never earned more than the commission due to him when he made a sale, Aiden still thanked the Williamses wholeheartedly for giving him the chance to earn the experience of running a business.

“I see you’ve done your research,” Aiden said, chuckling.

Uncle Jin grinned brightly. “Of course.” More serious now, he said, “What do you say, Aiden-san?”

“Three years from now,” Aiden said. “Until Haru finishes his business degree at the university. I’ll take the position then.”

Uncle Jin burst out laughing. When he managed to stop, he said, “Aiden-san, I look forward to handing the position over to you.” More quietly, he added, “And please grow it even bigger, the company.” He relaxed back against the seat. “Three more years until I can retire, eh? But I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.” He laughed.

Aiden chuckled.

A few moments later, he made a move to leave. Before he could walk out the door, Uncle Jin said, “Aiden-san, Haru is in your care. Please take care of him.”

Aiden nodded. He said, “It’s a given. Haru is special to me, after all.”