Since then, summer break has arrived.
The two high schoolers thankfully passed their exams so they could enjoy summer break without worry.
Currently, Keiko and her family are on their way to their family's private island, where Kaname's temple is holding a summer festival. Everyone freed up their schedule since Keiko begged them, wanting everyone to be present for their 'summer family trip'. However, their parents weren't coming since they're in Malaysia, wanting to meet orangutans.
Kaname had gone first to prepare for the festival while Fuuto had work in the morning so he'll come later.
They rode three cars, the first car was driven by Masaomi with Ukyou, Subaru and Wataru as his passengers. The second car was driven by Natsume and Azusa, Hikaru and Keiko were his passengers. The last car was driven by Tsubaki with Louis, Iori and Yuusuke riding in it.
"What are you thinking about, imouto-san?" Hikaru asked as they made their way to the port. They need to take a ferry in order to go to the island. Thankfully, the family have their own private yacht so they won't be riding the scheduled ferry.
Apparently, Keiko seemed absent-minded as she looked at the moving buildings. She actually was lost in her thoughts, thinking about a certain someone. "Hmm? O-oh, nothing at all."
Hikaru smiled slyly. "Really? Then, may I ask you something?"
"Sure!"
"Why didn't you invite your boyfriend to join us?"
Keiko suddenly coughed, her cheeks slowly turning red.
Yes, she and Daiki are officially a couple.
After the surprise birthday party ended, Daiki excused himself to return home. Keiko offered to walk him down, also wanting to discuss his sudden claim of her being his girlfriend. Of course some of her brothers wanted to accompany her, disguising it as a reason for them to send death glares to Daiki. Keiko quickly declined it, wanting privacy.
Thankfully they don't push any further. So, when they were out of her family's sight, she hit his shoulder.
"What the hell was that?"
"What?" He asked, brows furrowing as he acted like he just didn't declare she was his girlfriend.
"You know what. Don't act clueless."
When the elevator arrived, they entered it.
"What? About you being my girlfriend?"
"Uh yes." She stated as if that's not the obvious.
"It's true. You're my girlfriend."
"Since when? You never confessed to me..."
The door to the elevator opened and they exited. Daiki still hasn't answered her question.
She was starting to get annoyed. What's so hard about answering that question?
When they neared the door, Keiko quickly stood in front of him, blocking his exit. He's not going home until he answers her question.
"Tell me... please."
Daiki looked away, his hand covering half of his face, from nose to chin. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he let it go, he faced Keiko with his red cheeks.
"I like you in case you haven't noticed. So much that I become a coward. I couldn't confess because I was scared you wouldn't like me back..." His eyes held a serious gaze. "But when you called me, hearing your cracked voice and your sniffles, something hit me. I wanna be the one to make you smile again. As cliché as it sounds, I want to protect your smile, the smile that makes my day better."
Her mouth opened and closed, not knowing how to respond to his confession.
"Cat got your tongue huh?" Daiki asked with a smirk. Now he's back to being the teasing idiot that Keiko is used to.
"S-shut up." Keiko crossed her arms, a pout forming on her lips. "You've never been the serious type."
"I'm not... but when it comes to my feelings for you, it is."
Keiko bit her lip, trying to stop herself from smiling wide. She's happy but she's also feeling bashful.
Whenever people confessed to her, she wouldn't act like this. She'd act cool and calm, rejecting them but comforting them after. But when her crush confessed... it's hard to act like that.
"So, we're..." Keiko gestured towards both of them. "... a thing now?"
"Yeah."
"Even though you don't know how I feel about you?"
"Oh, Keiko, I know you like me too." He smirked.
She could feel her whole body warmed up. He knew all this time! Well, there's no use in covering or lying about it now.
"Yeah, I do like you." She confessed. "But if you get cocky or tease me about this, I'm gonna like you less."
"I'll try my best not to." He smiled.
Not only did Keiko become closer with her family, she even got a boyfriend! It was one of the best and memorable days that she would cherish forever.
"He's busy." Keiko answered Hikaru's question.
"Eeeeeh really? That's too bad. I would've loved to interview him, it would make for good material." He said, winking.
"I'll ask him later about the interview." She laughed awkwardly. 'There's no way I'm letting you meet him again... nor the other guys without preparing him for the death glares he'll receive from you guys!'
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
"You guys are filthy rich." Keiko muttered as she gazed up towards her family's beach villa.
"Nah, okaa-san's rich, not us." Yuusuke corrected her, walking past her while pulling his bag inside.
"I want to share a room with onee-chan!" Wataru shouted as he clung to her waist.
"Wataru, let her have a room all to herself. She needs privacy." Masaomi advised.
Wataru pouted but nodded his head.
Keiko giggled, patting his head. "Don't worry, Wataru-chan. If you have any nightmares, you can come sleep with me."
"Yatta!!" Wataru shouted, running inside the house happily.
"Wataru, she only said if you have nightmares! Not the whole night we're staying here!" Yuusuke ran after him, making sure he didn't claim Keiko's room as his.
"Eeeeeeh I want to sleep with imouto-chan too!" Tsubaki whined, hugging her.
"No, you're not. You have your own room here." Azusa hit Tsubaki's head, pulling him away from Keiko. "Gomenne imouto-san."
"Thanks, Azusa-san." She thanked with a smile before turning to Tsubaki. "Let's spend some time together instead, okay Tsubaki?"
Tsubaki's face lit up. "Alright, we'll go island-hopping tomorrow together!" He said before going to his room, Azusa trailing behind him.
"Island-hopping huh?" Hikaru asked, appearing behind her causing her to jump. "You better wear sunblock if you don't want to get sunburn."
"Thank you for the reminder, Hikaru-san."
"Island-hopping? I was hoping to spend time hanging out with you." Louis muttered, standing beside her.
"We can do that too, of course. We all will be at the beach tomorrow anyways. You can even come join us island-hopping, I'm sure Tsubaki wouldn't mind."
"You made a big mistake trusting Tsubaki to go island-hopping with you." Natsume said, walking past them.
"Huh, what does that even mean?"
Hikaru and Louis glanced at each other before smiling.
"That's something you'll find out tomorrow."
"Eeeeeeeeeh?"
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
That night, the Asahina's except Ukyou, Kaname and Fuuto went to the summer festival held by Kaname's temple. When asked why Ukyou isn't going, he answered, "I'm not interested in that obscene festival, so I'll be home cleaning the villa." Kaname was already at the temple to help around while Fuuto hadn't arrived yet.
"Onee-chan, hayaku hayaku!" Wataru shouted from the top of the stairs.
They were wearing colourful yukata to suit the event.
Keiko was wearing a soft pink yukata, her hair styled into a loose braid with pink flower hairpins secured to it thanks to Louis' styling.
"Wataru-chan, matte!" Keiko shouted, running after him.
"Be careful, don't want you guys falling down!" Natsume shouted behind them.
Once they all arrived at the top of the temple, where stalls were aligned left and right on the pathway leading to the temple, Masaomi excused himself to greet Kaname's superior.
"So, everyone's on their own from here on out. But don't wander out of the temple area without letting one of us know." He advised as he looked at Wataru.
"Don't worry, I'll be with onee-chan!" Wataru pulled her hands, leading her towards a shaved ice stall. "Let's go, onee-chan!"
Keiko giggled as she was being pulled away, "Wataru-chan, the shaved ice isn't going anywhere, slow down."
As their brothers watched them walk away with a smile, Hikaru smirked.
"Looks like the youngest son is the most aggressive one."
Their heads quickly snapped towards Hikaru.
"What do you mean by that?" Natsume asked, one of his eyebrows raised.
"Oh you know what I mean. Too bad you guys already gave up, I'd love to see some drama." Hikaru replied, walking past them.
They looked at his back before looking back at each other.
"You guys already gave up, so don't bother her with your confession." Yuusuke warned.
"Don't worry, Yuusuke. I'm sure all of us gave up, right?" Azusa asked, looking at his brothers one by one.
Iori nodded his head. "Even if someone doesn't give up, we lost to her boyfriend."
"Boyfriend huh?" Subaru muttered. "We need to make sure he doesn't do anything that she dislikes towards her."
"Oooh, being protective big brothers huh? I'll make sure they won't have their first kiss together!" Tsubaki shouted, getting fired up.
"Don't be too over-protective of Chii-chan." Louis advised. "She wouldn't learn to grow if you protect her from stuff like that."
"No! She'll forever be our innocent little sister!"
"One day she won't if she gets married and decides to have children." Louis casually said before walking towards a nearby stall, causing some of the brothers to scream internally.
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
"Shaved ice is so tasty!" Wataru scooped another spoonful of shaved ice into his mouth.
"Wataru-chan, that's your third one already. That'll be your last one okay?"
They were walking around when a group of girls ran to the side. Their eyes followed them, wondering what they were running for. They looked at each other, silently agreeing to follow after them.
Upon following them, they found themselves facing a stage. And on it was Fuuto!
"Welcome to a special live performance by Asakura Fuuto!" The emcee for the event introduced him.
"Let's keep it pumping all the way to the end!" He shouted energetically, causing the crowd to scream enthusiastically in return.
"Woah!" Keiko looked around, amazed that he could hype up the crowd with just a few words.
"Fuu-tan's live! He's so cool!"
Music started playing and Fuuto sang the lyrics to the song.
Keiko thought he wouldn't know she was there. She doesn't want to hear Fuuto boasting about his harmonious voice or teasing her for being in the crowd. But that wasn't the case.
During one part of the song, he pointed his finger straight towards her, causing her eyes to widen.
'There's no way he notices me, right? There are so many people here...' She thought as she looked around her. 'Something else must have caught his eyes, that's where he's pointing at, right?'
"Onee-chan." Wataru called out, one of his hands reaching out for her sleeves while the other was cradling his stomach. "Toilet."
"Ehhh, right now?" She looked around before nodding her head and pulling Wataru away from the crowd and searched for a nearby public toilet.
When they found it, Wataru quickly went inside, telling his sister not to leave him like how Yuusuke or Tsubaki would.
Keiko chuckled, shaking her head before walking to a nearby tree and leaning against it. She was on her phone, scrolling through social media before a voice spoke from behind her.
"Hey, you there. Are you alone?"
Keiko flinched, surprised by the sudden voice. She looked to her left and made eye contact with a blue-eyed man holding a fan.
"Didn't find any nice guys?" The man asked as Keiko kept quiet. "How about me?"
Her brows immediately furrowed. Typical boys wanting to flirt with women. "Sorry, not interested." Her eyes fell on his fan, where something was written. "Club Buddha?... Are you Kaname-san's colleague by any chance?"
"Kaname?"
"Imouto-chan!"
They turned their heads towards the owner of the voice, Kaname.
"There you are! I've been searching everywhere for you." He said as he made his way towards them. "Thanks for coming."
The man looked at Kaname before returning his gaze to Keiko. "Oh? This pretty girl is your imouto, Kana-san?"
Kaname went behind her, holding her shoulders. "Yes, Chii-chan."
"Chii-chan?" That's Louis' nickname for her!
"Imouto-chan, meet Chiaki, my coworker. Hence, Chii-chan. However, he's known as Senshuu here."
"So you're the infamous adorable imouto Kana-san's proud of."
"Huh?" Keiko glanced up towards Kaname. "What did you tell people about me?"
Ignoring her question, Kaname replied, "Yes, she's the one."
"Well, well, well." Another voice said. A man with blonde hair walked towards them. "Both our No. 2 and No. 3 here together with a girl... are you guys fighting over a cute customer?"
"Ryusei-san." Kaname greeted.
"She's Kana-san's imouto."
"Imouto?" Ryusei asked, stopping in front of her.
"Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Asahina Keiko." She introduced herself with a slight bow.
Kaname introduced the man who just arrived, Ryusei, as Club Buddha's No. 1.
"Hello." He greeted her with a smile before looking at Kaname and Chiaki. "You guys are needed at the main temple. It looks like we double-booked some customers, you guys are gonna get yelled at."
"Geeeeeeeh! You should've told us sooner!"
"Yeah!" Kaname patted her shoulders. "See you later, imouto-chan. Have fun with the event."
"So that's Kaname-san when he's in work mode huh?..."
"It's nice to finally meet you."
"Hmm?" Keiko faced Ryusei.
"Kana-chan was so happy that he'd gained an adorable sister."
"He said that?" She asked, a smile was trying to make its way but she bit on her cheek to stop it.
"He did. He's very lucky to have met you."
She shook her head. "I think I'm the lucky one, getting nice brothers who care for me." She smiled.
"Onee-chan!" Wataru shouted as he ran out of the public toilet. "Sooooooooooooorrryyy!" He looked to the man besides his sister. "Who is he? A friend of yours?"
She patted his head before introducing Ryusei as Kaname's colleague.
"Hello, youngest of the Asahina. I would love to chat with you guys more but unfortunately, I have customers waiting for me. Have fun and take good care of yourself." Ryusei excused himself before walking away.
"Hmmm... there's only less than an hour left before we're supposed to meet up with our brothers and return home. Is there any place you'd like to go?" She asked as she looked at the time on her phone.
"Hmmm... let's get takoyaki and bring it home for Kyou-nii!"
She giggled. "You're just saying that as an excuse to buy takoyaki aren't you?"
Wataru pouted. "Emmmmmmm no, I'm not!"
"Hai, hai." They began walking hand in hand towards the bright lit stalls. "Let's continue enjoying ourselves okay?"
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
"Thanks for everything! The festival was really bustling too." Kaname opened a can of beer. "Thanks to you too, Fuu-tan."
Everyone was back at the villa, chilling at the dining area as they shared snacks they bought. Some of the adults were drinking too.
"Don't make me do a gig just because we're brothers. It causes problems for my agency, too."
"But you still did it." Keiko smirked before taking a sip of her orange juice.
"And you were cool too, Fuu-tan!" Wataru exclaimed.
Fuuto looked at them before looking away, a small pout forming on his lips. "You left early, how would you know I was cool till the end?"
"Eh, you saw us Fuu-tan? You're so awesome!"
"It's not like we left early on purpose." She explained. "Wataru had to go to the toilet. We would've stayed until the end and cheered on you if that didn't happen."
"Hmph, inexcusable." He muttered, turning towards the door and watching the night scenery.
"Don't tell me you're mad?" She teased.
Before Fuuto could reply, Ukyou interrupted with a chuckle. "I'm glad everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves."
"You should've come too, Kyou-nii." Kaname said.
"How utterly insincere."
"You said it." Natsume agreed with Azusa's statement.
"Don't go saying the truth like that." Kaname joke.
"Things are lively as ever when we brothers get together." Hikaru stated, sitting next to Keiko. "Have you gotten used to this lively atmosphere, imouto-san?"
"Definitely." She giggled. "And it'll be livelier when we play at the beach tomorrow!"
"You seem excited." Natsume pointed out.
"Of course!" She hit the table with her hands, standing up. "It's natsu, my hot girl summer starts now! Aren't you excited?"
"Just because my name is Natsume, doesn't mean I would like summer. It gets too hot sometimes."
"Says the person who works in an air-conditioned office." Subaru muttered.
"Ah, imouto-san, what should we cook for tomorrow morning? I'll buy the ingredients tomorrow at the morning market."
"There's a morning market here?"
"There is, it's around 10 minutes walk from here." Azusa answered.
Ukyou nodded. "They sell fresh produce and seafood that they caught in the early morning."
"Can I come? I've never been to a morning market before."
"Are you sure you want to go?" Hikaru asked, putting his head on his hands. "You won't be able to sleep in."
She nodded her head. "I'm sure of it. And it's more efficient with two people going rather than alone."
"Ah then I want to follow onee-chan and Kyou-nii too!"
"I bet you wouldn't be able to wake up early." Yuusuke said, some of the brothers nodded their heads in agreement.
Wataru pouted, stomping his feet. "I will wake up early!"
"If you want to wake up, then you should get ready for sleep." Masaomi advised, trying to console him.
Wataru nodded his head before bidding them goodnight and went to his room.
"He'll never wake up early." Yuusuke stated.
They all nodded their heads, agreeing.
Keiko and Ukyou discussed their morning plan for tomorrow. One by one, the brothers excused themselves to head back into their room.
Keiko decided to hang out on the balcony overlooking the beach. The sound of the waves and the slight breeze of the wind cause her to feel relaxed.
"Can't sleep?"
She looked to her left, seeing Kaname walking up to her.
"Just wanted to see the ocean before I go to sleep. It's calming. You don't get to hear this back home."
He chuckled. "That's true."
"You know, I heard something interesting from Ryusei-san." She said smiling.
He raised an eyebrow. "And what is that?"
"He said you were so happy when you gained an 'adorable' sister." She answered proudly.
He chuckled. "That's true. An adorable, kawaii sister." He took a strand of her hair and moved it behind her ears. "Aaaah, but unfortunately, she has a boyfriend."
"You meant 'fortunately'." She corrected him before leaning on the balcony rail. "Don't you want a girlfriend, Kaname-san? Or boyfriend, I don't judge."
He chuckled, taking a step closer to her. "What if I want you?"
She raised one of her eyebrows. "We're step-siblings. And you're bored, not 'in love' with me. You play around with others, wanting to relieve your boredom. Guess that's the life of a popular hostess huh?"
"Imouto-chan, I'm a monk that offers sweet words and comfort to my customers." This time it was his turn to correct her. He put a hand on his chest, feigning hurt. "How could you think of me like that?"
"You rarely act like one... hmm? Is that a sword tattoo?" His kimono had moved, revealing a little bit of his chest.
He looked down, grazing his fingers on the tattoo. "Yeah. Have you heard, the pen is mightier than the sword'?" Seeing Keiko nodding her head, he continued. "It means words transcend violence but... I believe there is something more powerful than that. Which is-"
She interrupted him before he could end his sentence. "Love. That's very cliché, Kaname-san. And something that you and your brothers need very much."
His eyes widened as he couldn't hide the surprise on his face. "Why do you think so?"
"Well, your little sister showed some kindness, and some of you guys would be on your knees, falling for me. I guess it's because of the way you guys grew up, with your parents busy working to provide for you guys. But, don't you think it's time to love?"
He chuckled. "I do love. I love my family, my job, my life."
"Are you sure? You said in the past that something happened between you and Iori-san, which affected your relationship with him. And you also don't look like you love your job nor your life that much."
'How did she notice?' Kaname thought to himself as he scanned her face. He did his best to mask his feelings towards things. But his imouto was able to see right through it.
"Right now, you're just doing things because you have to but isn't it boring? You don't have something and someone you love that makes you want to improve yourself, be the better version of you. That's a waste you know."
He doesn't like this atmosphere. Everything that his imouto said is correct, but he doesn't want to admit it- no, he couldn't admit it. Because if he did, it's proof that deep down he's lonely.
"Oh right! I think I saw Fuuto in your room."
"Fuuto-kun?!? Kaname-san, why didn't you tell me earlier?" Keiko bid him goodnight before quickly running to her room. She doesn't want him to snoop around her stuff.
He watched her figure disappear. "Love huh?"
•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•Δ•
"Fuuto-kun!" Keiko shouted as she entered her room. "What are you doing in my room?" She asked, arms crossed on her chest.
"Nothing." Fuuto was on her bed, arms crossed behind his head as he leaned on the headboard.
"Yeah, right." She scoffed. "You're upset because I didn't stay for your show until the end right?"
"Wataru could've gone by himself. He's 10 not 1." He pouted.
"He's still a kid. Someone needs to make sure he doesn't get lost or hurt himself." She replied, taking a seat at the end of the bed. "How did you even spot us? There were lots of people."
"It's not hard to spot your dumb-looking face." His statement earned a glare from his step-sister. "And no one brings their little brother to my show. Usually."
"Wataru's your little brother. He really looks up to you a lot. Be nice and spend some time with him." She leaned on her arms. "Actually, spend time with all of us."
He scoffed. "I'm busy with work. I have a commercial to film tomorrow too."
"Take the day off. You need the rest anyways."
Fuuto stared at her for a few seconds, contemplating her suggestion.
"I'll work half a day then. I guess you'll be bored without me huh?"
"I don't rely on people to have a fun day." She scoffed, standing up. "That's something you should remember." She said, poking his cheeks. "Now get up, I'm sleepy."
"What if I don't want to?"
"Fine, I'll sleep with Yuusuke-kun."
Fuuto immediately got up. "There's no way I'm letting that happen. Two baka can't be in a room together, they'll end up dead."
She rolled her eyes before smiling. "Thank you for your concern but I'm not dumb." She walked him to the door. "Goodnight, sleep well Fuuto-kun."
He bid her goodnight too before going to his room.
She locked the door and got ready for bed.
Tomorrow's going to be a blast.
°~°~°
Hayaku - Early/Quick/Quickly depending on the kanji and context.
Matte - Wait a minute/Wait
Natsu - Summer
Honestly, I didn't expect this story would have a lot of chapters. I don't think I'll be able to update for the next two/three weeks because I've joined programs and such. And it's the holiday for me so I'm gonna enjoy myself hiking and hanging out with my friends :)
Happy reading!
Published on 5 August 2022