Thank you rafwacchi for voting on the previous chapter!
**
The chauffer obeys when I tell him to go to the shopping district, where we had also went before. It took about less than an hour to get there, and I had just hoped that nothing bad had happened to Ikumi.
"Ikumi, hello? Where are you now?" Once the call was answered, I bombarded her with questions; asking if she was fine, where was she right now, did she encounter with someone.
"I'm fine, overall, Ayano," answered back Ikumi, and I can imagine her rolling her eyes at me even though we weren't facing each other. "But I'm still lost, I think I'm far from where I'm suppose to be. Where are you now? Wait, is th--"
"I see you," like the gangster I was, I cut her off, seeing the familiar tanned female holding her phone against her ear whilst standing outside a cute store.
Telling the chauffeur to stop, I ended the call and opened the door and went down, approaching Ikumi. With a sigh, I waved at her, "Ikumi!"
Quite flustered, the female still approaches me. When we were together, I dragged her by the arm until we were inside the car, "What do you think you were doing, going by yourself when you knew that you had no sense of direction at all, huh?" I began to scold her like when we were kids, having a stern look plastered on my face as the chauffeur decided to move out of the place.
"I-I just decided to che-check up on something!" Still shy and flustered, Ikumi exclaims, shutting her eyes tightly in the end. Really, what is up with people and being scared of me? I swear, I don't even look scary at all, and I don't wear a resting bitch face or anything, I just wear a blank look almost all the time unless I'm with one of my friends.
However, even though Ikumi tried to reason her way out of the conversation, I already knew what was up. It was quite obvious, and I refused to admit it out loud for herself.
"Look, Yukihira isn't going home for the break, he's staying at the dorm," I informed her in a much more harsher tone than I intended it to be. It wasn't like I was mad or anything, it just somehow slipped, though I meant it when I said that the red head was staying over the dorm for the break. "I'm not your childhood best friend for nothing, Ikumi," I added, rolling my eyes as I looked outside of the window to avoid her curious gaze on me, "I know how you feel about him."
There wasn't any response from her after that, and I just took it that she didn't want to talk about it. Or perhaps she was mad at me, because I just said it out loud, but it's not like anyone is going to hear it, it's just me and her talking with hushed voices, not wanting to annoy my chauffeur.
"We'll be heading to the Mito Household to drop her off," I ordered the chauffeur, but in a quiet and polite manner. Of course, I didn't forget to be respectful towards him, he has been here for several years now, and I think he was already working for my parents even before I was born, and that's a lot of years if you think about it.
And since Ikumi's home is much more father, it took more than an hour, probably almost two, for us to reach the destination. Though Ikumi and I didn't really speak for the whole ride, I kept my mind busy by just looking outside of the window and taking in everything I see, not minding the silence that we had.
**
"What the hell...."
The next thing I know, I was inside my room, laying on my bed. Since when did I even get here? Who carried me? Can anyone even carry me up until my room? For all I know, none of the butlers are allowed to do that.
"Mistress Ayano, are you already awake?"
"Yes," I answered back, not really caring who asked me the question. Right now, I have even bigger problems, there weren't technically problems, but I can consider it one if I want to.
"Oi, Ayano, I'm going to trespass."
The door of my room opens, and there still in his pajamas and with his always messy hair, was my brother.
"Saito, were you the one who brought me here?" I inquired, sitting up from my bed and looking at the clothes that I was wearing, which were still the same.
"Nobody else could, and even if they could, I wouldn't allow it," shrugging his shoulders, Saito answers, sitting on my bed beside me. "Where have you been, anyway? You were so tired, you had missed dinner last night. It was a good thing that dad and mom are currently away, if not, you'd be dead," Saito then spoke, telling me the information I didn't even know.
"With Ikumi," plainly, I told him, suddenly not in the mood to do anything at all. I just want to do nothing for the whole day today. It is summer. And that means no school for a whole month before I go back to Tootsuki, but for the Autumn Elections.
"Anyway, do you know when we're leaving?" Asked Saito randomly, and it took me a few seconds to get what he had meant.
When I got the idea of what he was talking about, I answered him, "I believe somewhere around this week. So you better spend your time with Krista wisely," I advised him in the end, getting out of bed and going towards my closet.
"Really?!"
"Yes, I'm not kidding, Saito," rolling my eyes, I deadpanned, opening the closet door. I grabbed mostly sweatshirts, because it would be really cold there in Italy. Plus I just love sweatshirts, almost half of my tops are sweatshirts.
I hear my door slam shut loudly, and I take it that Saito was in a hurry to talk to Krista. He really likes her, maybe to the point that it isn't puppy love anymore; but I can't be quick to assume. He is still young.
One of the things I envy about Saito, is that he didn't decide to be a chef and just be the normal one in the family. He said that he wasn't sure what he'd want to be, but he said that he was sure that he wasn't going to be a chef, because he wanted to have a change in the family. It was good that our parents had agreed, though, they weren't those strict parents that follow traditions and the like.
It was also most likely that Saito would want a future with Krista, so he'd pick to be a business man or something. I'm not saying that it's bad that he would be something different, but, he's missing a lot of things in life. I want to tell him, that he should've chose to be a chef, but that would be ruining his dreams and ambitions; and I'd rather not do that to a kid.
As I was thinking, I had finished getting my clothes and placed it inside my bag.
Since there was still time, I decided to take a long shower and just relax and have time for myself. I rarely had time to spoil myself back in Tootsuki, so now is the time to take that chance and just do whatever.
Normal Point of View
Ayano didn't know how long she was using the shower, but she knew that she was taking too long because suddenly someone knocks on the bathroom door, asking her if she was alright.
"Oh, yes!" Answered back Ayano, turning the shower off and grabbing the towel that was close to her. The young girl dries herself with the towel, and while doing so, she inspects her face as she turns to the mirror, trying to see if she had changed.
And she did change, somehow. Her hair had grown a bit longer, and Ayano smiles, not knowing the reason why she was doing so. The fact that she was happy for no reason meant that she had changed in personality, too.
"I'm sure I didn't change that much," Ayano tells herself, starting to wear the clothes she had picked out from earlier.
After that, Ayano exits her bathroom, sitting on her bed and checking her phone to see if she had any messages or missed calls. Of course, there were none, and Ayano just stares at her screen for a moment, waiting for something to happen.
Minutes passed, and when nothing happened at all, the female sighs and gets up. She had nothing better to do, so she just planned on continuing to pack her things for the trip that was going to take place in a few days.
Ayano was excited, she had been to a few countries because of the business of her parents, but now that she was much more responsible and mature than before, she had guaranteed that something good will happen at Italy; Ayano had guessed that maybe her parents will finally let her go off on her own, but there was still a chance that that was unlikely to happen.
As Ayano was halfway to finished in packing, Saito barges inside her room, panting.
"We'll be leaving tonight!" He announces, leaning at the doorframe as he desperately tried to catch his breath.
"What?" Surprised, Ayano responds back, "What are you waiting for, then? I'll be done in a bit, start packing!"
"On it!" Immediately, Saito runs out of the room, forgetting to close the door behind him. Ayano found his actions rather annoying, since Saito didn't close the door. She knew that he knew that she wanted her door closed, yet he scurried away anyway.
However, Ayano let it slide for now, since Saito was in a hurry. Ayano knew Saito hasn't packed any of his things, considering the fact that Saito must have been with Krista almost all the time.
**
(A/N: sorry for the super long time skip, but I kind of got writers block so yeah thank you for understanding! (｡･ө･｡))
Before Ayano knew it, they had arrived at the hotel at Italy. The room was super spacious, and the beds were really cold.
"Now's not the time to relax, Ayano dear!" Sang Aiko as she entered Ayano's room, a box in her hand.
"What, why? I was planning to just see and--"
"Your father and I are meeting our partners here, and they have a son! That's great, isn't it?" Giggling, the woman had a knowing glint in her eyes as she sets the box down. "Now hurry up and take a quick shower, then I'll doll you up," she tells her daughter, sitting on the bed.
Huffing, Ayano rolls her eyes, grabbing a fluffy white towel the hotel had prepared, and she marched to the kitchen, glaring at everything she sees.
And just as her mom said, Ayano did take a quick shower, and Ayano immediately grabbed one of her favorite sweatshirts and white pants.
"Now hurry up, sweetie, I still have to fix your face," hummed Aiko, still at the position she was at earlier.
"Is there something wrong with my face?!" Exclaimed the daughter, eyes twitching in annoyance. If she was honest, only her family can bring out the angry yet childish side of hers, none of her friends back in Tootsuki had yet to discover this side of Ayano.
But if she keeps this attitude until she's outside, maybe someone at Tootsuki will find out about this side of Ayano..
Quickly, Aiko applied make up on Ayano's face once the younger was done putting on her clothes. Aiko had applied a light amount of blush on, purple colored eye shadow, and lip gloss for the finishing touches.
"Are you done ye--"
"Not yet," said Aiko as she brought out hair curlers.
"Hell no, you have got to be kidding.." Ayano was so done, but she had no choice.
Aiko, amused by her daughter's reaction, carefully curled Ayano's short brown hair.
Ayano didn't know how long she had waited, but it was quite long, so she assumed about an hour or less, then they left the hotel to meet the business partners of her parents.
They entered a restaurant named Trattoria Aldini. Ayano had thought the name was familiar, but shrugged it off when nothing came to mind.
Both Ayano's parents and the owners of the restaurant, Ayano had guessed, greeted each other warmly. Meanwhile, Ayano just stood at her place, her left hand holding the green scarf that was wrapped neatly and securely around her neck; it was cold, so Ayano was happy when she could bring it along.
"Ah, is this perhaps your eldest daughter?" Questioned the other woman, and Ayano stiffened, but she walked closer to the four adults anyway.
"Yes! Honey, why don't you introduce yourself?" Happily, Aiko ushers her daughter, smiling brightly.
".. Nice to meet you, I'm Hirashima Ayano," bowing her head in respect, Ayano did as her mother told her to, introducing herself.
"Aren't you just cute? You're probably my son's type! He's quite the charmer, like his father, but he means good!" The woman then blabbered on and on about how she expected her son and Ayano to meet.
"Speaking of the boy, where is he?" Suddenly stopping his wife, the husband then wonders, looking around the empty restaurant, since it had just opened about a minute ago, and it was the holidays, so other people had other things to do than just go to a restaurant and eat.
"Dad, mom, sorry I'm late!"
Ayano then watched the boy who suddenly rushed from the kitchen with wide eyes, recognizing him as the boy she saw with Souma from before.
Aiko saw how Ayano's eyes widened, and she took it the wrong way, thinking that her daughter was surprised to see a handsome boy at her age.
But in truth, Ayano was just shocked that she saw someone from her school, the same year as her, and a friend of her friend. Moreover, she hasn't seen the boy other than his uniform, so she was quite dazed.
"What a handsome young man!" Laughed Aiko, nudging her husband lightly to say something.
"Indeed. I believe he's also a chef at this restaurant?" Then spoke Koutarou, staring at the blond boy quite intensely.
"Yes, of course! Our son here, why don't you introduce yourself? He loves to cook, coming up with his own recipes and the like," mused the father, chuckling as he now ushered his son to speak up.
Clearing his throat, the boy nods, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Aldini Takumi, the older twin."
"Now, why don't you and Ayano-chan talk as her parents and I converse? I heard that she's been dying to know more about Italy," winking, Takumi's mother then suggests.
Slightly blushing, Takumi nods his head, gesturing towards an empty table far away from their parents. Ayano, mentally agreeing, headed towards the table, but not before unconsciously checking out Takumi's outfit.
(A/N: how tf do you choose clothes for guys I'm sosososos sorry for this ('๑•_•๑))
Takumi, still flustered, cleared his throat. Ayano flushed in embarrassment, scurrying towards the table.
And as Ayano turned around, it was Takumi's turn to eye Ayano's outfit. He was quite surprised as well, not even thinking of the possibility to meet a classmate on summer vacation. It was his first time seeing Ayano wearing makeup, because she wasn't the type to wear makeup at school like most females at Tootsuki, and he thought that Ayano was familiar to him because of the scarf she was wearing.
Clearing his head, he then proceeded to follow Ayano and sat opposite towards the female, seeing that she was already seated and staring blankly outside the restaurant windows.
"So um... I-Is it true that you really want to know more about Italy?" Stammering, the blond asked, trying to keep his cool because he was still embarrassed about the fact that he was late.
".. Not really about the country," said Ayano, adjusting herself so that she can face Takumi, "More about the cuisine. I like how they make the pastas, and pizzas, and garlic bread."
"Do you have a favorite dish?"
Nodding her head, Ayano was suddenly smiling giddily, happy to talk about her favorite French dish. "I love shrimp. I rarely eat those at home, but anyway, I'm not really sure what was the name, but I love the pasta with shrimp," the girl then rambled on, not even staring at Takumi's eyes as she imagined the taste of the food she was talking about. Her eyes held a certain glint, excitement, as she talked.
"Oh wait-- sorry, was I rambling?" Questioned Ayano as her eyebrows furrowed in question, her eyes losing the glint Takumi was amused about.
"W-Well, you actually were," sighed Takumi, "But don't worry! Shrimp pasta you say? Those are one of the recipes I'm good at!"
"Really?"
"Of course!" Smugly, Takumi then answered, "I can cook it for you, if you want," he suggests, about to stand up from his seat.
"Is it really okay?" Confirmed Ayano, her eyebrows furrowing yet again in confusion as she thought that she might be a burden to the boy.
"Do you want to try?"
"Definitely!"
And so, Takumi stood up from his seat, going towards the kitchen. Ayano followed after the boy, wanting to see how he works at his own kitchen.
Entering the kitchen, the people inside stopped what they were doing as they saw Takumi entering with a girl trailing behind him.
"Please don't mind the girl. I am only here to make her a dish, since she is a guest," said Takumi professionally to the adults.
The adults did as they were told, yet they were surprised that Ayano had actually wanted to watch Takumi cook the food. Usually, the blond didn't make any exceptions on who can watch him cook. Even though he had many girls chasing after him, he had never let any girl enter the kitchen, let alone someone he was cooking for.
Anyway, Takumi started doing his thing, as if he was at his own world, but he does glance at Ayano, making sure that she was watching him, wanting to know if she still had that glint in her eyes this moment. And he was right, Ayano had that glint in her eyes as she watched Takumi the whole time cooking.
Ayano was in awe, licking her lips in anticipation. She had never been offered to watch someone cook food for her, and it was her favorite dish at that, so this had made her even more nervous yet excited.
When the dish was done, Takumi and Ayano exited the kitchen, going back to their table from earlier, but now with the pasta that Takumi had made.
Sitting herself down, Ayano did not hesitate to eat the food that was cooked for her, and she smiled happily as she swallowed the food. "You're the best, Aldini!" She says, "Thank you so much for the food!"
"I-It's no problem, H-Hirashima," nervously, Takumi then replies back, averting his gaze to not see Ayano's rare and very bright smile.
For the rest of the time Ayano was there, they both made small talk about their life, Tootsuki and the like.
It was only Ayano's first day at Italy, and she was already having fun.
***
Okay, so omg this chapter was like 3000+ words long. I did not even notice it.
So yeah, anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter (^o^)／
I'm also really sorry that nothing is actually happening with Souma and Ayano ( '∵｀), but don't worry, I'm planning something for the upcoming chapters, so look forward to it!
Till next time ヽ(●'∀｀●)ﾉ