"Young lady," Rae looked at him and bowed her head.
"Yes?"
"Thank you for coming." His response shocked them both. He looked at him in disbelief. She smiled.
"Thank you for inviting me."
"No one did though. You weren't invited." Emi spoke up from the side of them, eying her with daggers. He sighed.
"Emi, stop embarassing yourself." She rolled her eyes and looked away.
"Ebere is it?" She smiled softly and nodded once.
"Yes."
"You are very beautiful. I am proud my son has such good taste." She blushed and glanced at him. He smiled back in return.
"Um... t-thank you so much."
"We are delighted to have you here. You will be joining us to Nara?"
"Yes sir."
"Ah, so respectful too. Hiroto, you've done well." He looked at him, no smile.
"She's just a friend Father." His father chuckled.
"Even so, she is a really cute girl. Very delicate. Much like the sakura."
"I don't think she is cute. I think she is-"
"No one asked you for your opinion Mother. Show some tact. She is not going anywhere. Deal with it." He turned to Rae.
"Why don't I introduce you to some of the relatives our age?" She smiled.
"Sure." They got up and made their way to a small corner where his cousin Tomoya and others was sitting. Upon their arrival, he eyed her with interest, his eyes slowly snaking up her body, settling the longest on her breasts. He felt the urge to pull her against him but refrained.
"Hiroto, you surprise me every year. But this year, you take the cake." He ignored the statement.
"This is my friend Ebere."
"Ebere huh? Does she go to school with you? Since when did your school allow black people to attend?"
"Is she African?"
"American. They do have black people in America."
"Interesting."
"She's... weird looking." Another relative spoke up, looking at her.
"Is this what you're experimenting with now Hiroto?" Emi took the opportunity to sneak in.
"Rae, you are just a phase you know darling. Once Hiroto gets done, he'll come back to his senses and to his own women. You're just an experiment." She grew stiff. Emi grinned at her reaction.
"Poor girl. She really thought he liked her." They shared a laugh.
"This is what you spend your days doing huh Hiroto?"
"Hiroto, what are they saying about me?" She asked, looking at him. He swallowed. He couldn't... couldn't tell her.
"They aren't being very nice to you my dear. My, Hiroto should have better taste." Emi spoke, a condescending smirk on her face.
"Emi shut up." He spoke, looking at her.
"Don't make me embarrass you in front of all these people."
