It's the thirtieth of December, marking the sixth day from Ryoma and Ryouko's thirteenth birthday. Ryoga had been staying in Japan for five days and was blending in nicely to both the Echizen and the Fujioka households. His carefree personality let him shamelessly intrude into the Fujioka manor anytime he pleased, even sleeping there for the last two nights. Of course, Ryoma tagged along, 'pretending' to look as if he was coerced into it.
The three of them (sometimes with the company of Ichidou and Licht) spent the last few days mostly fooling around, playing games, eating a lot, playing tennis and talking late into the night. Thanks to that, they learned quite a lot about each other including things that they were better off not knowing.
The two brothers in particular felt quite closer. It was as if they didn't grow up separately and had been alongside each other for years. Ryoma also got accustomed to calling Ryoga 'Aniki' in a more natural way.
Looking at them, Ryouko felt the same envious feeling she harbored on Christmas day. Although she receives a lot of 'sibling love' from her cousins, particularly from Ichidou whom she truly considers as a brother born from different parents, it doesn't change the fact that she doesn't have a sibling who shares the same blood and genes from her parents.
People often says that a blood connection with siblings is a special thing. Watching Ryoma and Ryoga kind of makes her prove the credibility of that belief to herself.
Because the boys ended up spending two nights in the Fujioka manor, a pouty Rinko told them that they're not allowed another sleepover until the New Year. Thus, Ryouko ended up spending the night in the Echizen residence instead and helped brighten Rinko's mood by talking and cooking with her.
The morning was spent quite productively as Ryoga, Ryoma and Ryouko all helped with breakfast and general cleaning. They finished in time for lunch and ate heartily. Food after labor tasted a lot better making them eat twice their usual appetites.
A little bit more cleaning was done before teatime and by the time Rinko was satisfied with the state of the house, the three were bushed. They took turns showering and planned to laze around until dinnertime.
Half an hour later, Ryoga, Ryoma and Ryouko could be found spread out lazily, occupying the entire carpet in the living room, with their hair freshly dried, covered in warm blankets and purring like cats. Karupin walked in to join the lazy bunch and settled between Ryoma and Ryouko's heads.
To help pass time much easier, Ryouko took her tablet and the three of them watched videos of professional tennis matches and other random sports. When Rinko passed by the living room on her way to the kitchen, she couldn't help smiling at the figure of Ryouko sitting on the couch between her two sons, snuggled together like a bunch of kittens, their cat-like eyes glued on the tablet screen. Karupin managed to wedge himself under the bend of Ryoga's elbow, settling on Ryouko's lap and occupying the very center of the snuggly bunch.
"Rewind that a bit. How did that happen?" Ryoga said, tilting his face closer to the side of Ryouko's head.
"Reduce the speed. It's worth it seeing that on slow-mo," Ryoma also remarked and reached a hand behind Ryouko's head to push his brother's mug a few inches away from her.
"Hey!" Ryoga exclaimed in protest, his cheek being squished by his brother's fist.
"Gosh, that slice is a killer. So fast and cleanly executed," Ryouko said, ignoring the sibling hostility that was starting to heat up.
They watched clip after clip and ended up watching a compilation video of inspiring moments during sports matches and competitions. It included clips of opponents helping each other during cramps and accidents happening mid-match, the sportsmanship shown during awarding ceremonies, the good regards that players displayed after tournaments and professional players taking the time to interact with their fans.
"Must be nice to go pro," Ryouko mumbled as she watched a famous tennis player reducing a die-hard fan to tears by presenting him the jersey he used during the match. "Should I keep a few autographed tennis balls on my person once I go pro? They'll come in handy..." she added absent-mindedly.
The two boys looked at her with eyebrows raised. "You think you'll be that famous to need pre-signed tennis balls?" they chorused which was rare to happen.
"Well of course. I'll surely be world-famous once I go pro. I dunno about you two though... You probably won't need pre-signed items to give to fans," Ryouko told them.
"Ryouko-chan, you're really irritating at times, do you know that?" Ryoga remarked.
"She knows that and she's proud of it," Ryoma answered for her. Ryouko smiled in satisfaction to show her approval.
Ryoga caught Ryoma's eye and the latter merely shrugged. "I'm used to it," he answered his older brother's questioning stare.
"Must be nice to be so close that you can answer questions for each other..." Ryoga commented. He pouted his lips. "Should I find a female best friend as well?"
Ryoma and Ryouko laughed at this.
"That's something that is nearly impossible for Ryoga-nii to accomplish, since the first thing you think of when you meet girls is not to make friends but to flirt with them," Ryouko remarked.
"Exactly," Ryoma said, seconding her remark. He lifted a fist and Ryouko bumped it with her own.
"Hey, that's not true! How come you think of me that way?" Ryoga exclaimed, scowling.
Ryoma and Ryouko merely shook their heads hopelessly and proceeded to browse the game records of the professional tennis players in the videos that they didn't know about.
All of a sudden, Ryouko's phone on top of the side table started ringing. As Ryoga sat closest to the table, he leaned towards it and read the name of the caller.
"Ryouko-chan, Licht is calling," he announced and plucked the phone up from the table.
Ryouko took it from him with a 'thanks' and slid her finger across the screen. "Yes, Licht," she answered, handing the tablet to Ryoma and pressing the phone closer to her ear.
"Oujo-sama... Are you busy right now?" he asked.
"Nope. I'm just lounging around with Ryoma and Ryoga-nii," Ryouko said and blinked. It was rare to hear her butler ask such a question.
"Then... can I trouble you to go home right now? We just... uhh, have a bit of a situation... to deal with... here at home..." Licht said, constantly pausing as if he was choosing his words carefully.
Ryouko found it really odd. Licht never stutter nor does he stop at intervals when saying a full sentence.
"Okay... I'll get up and go home immediately then," she answered and didn't bother asking any questions. Licht is not the type to bother her if he can help it. If he's saying that she needs to go home, then she must make haste. She really doesn't like it when her butler doesn't sound like himself.
"Well then. I'll prepare tea for your return. The temperature has gotten warmer lately but it's still chilly outside... Please dress warmly, Oujo-sama..." Licht told her before they hanged up the call.
"What'd he say?" Ryoga asked.
"Really, Aniki, are you deaf? She just said she'll go home so he probably told her to go home," Ryoma remarked.
Pissed off at his younger brother's insolence, he pinched Ryoma's cheek. "How many times do I have to remind you that that's not the kind of tone to use at your older brother," he hissed.
"Let go," Ryoma said and reached over to pinch Ryoga on the cheek as well. With Ryoga having longer arms, he evaded his counter-attack successfully. Ryouko became trapped in the couch with their arms fencing her in and sighed.
"Haha!" Ryoga exclaimed in victory.
"Hai, hai, so glad you're getting along. Now let me pass, I need to get my coat," Ryouko told them, karate-chopping Ryoga's hand off from Ryoma's cheek.
"Why'd you suddenly have to go home?" Ryoga said and clung to Ryouko's arm just as she was about to vacate the couch.
"I don't really know, but Licht doesn't sound like himself... There must be something he needed to tell me in person... He also said there was some sort situation at home," Ryouko answered.
Ryoga's eyes brightened when he came up with the idea to tag along. He just opened his mouth to ask whether he and Ryoma can go as well but Ryoma beat him to it.
"Can we go with you?" Ryoma suddenly said, surprising both Ryouko and Ryoga. Ryoma wasn't usually the one asking to visit the Fujioka manor. He often waits for Ryouko to invite him or for Ryoga to initiate the visit.
"Well, I don't see any reason you can't. Licht said he'll prepare tea. We skipped teatime so I guess we can have it at my house instead..." Ryouko replied. Then she warily looked at the direction of the kitchen.
"I don't think it's that important to get my permission though... You'll need Rin-chan's permission to get out of the house... I think you'll have a hard time convincing her," she told them.
The brothers looked at each other. Ryouko has a point since their mother already made a fuss about them going out so often and spending more time in the Fujioka manor than in their own house.
The two boys communicated with their eyes and seemed to reach a conclusion. They nodded at each other and got up, looking determined, much more determined compared to the times that they were entering the court for an important tennis match.
Rinko is sitting on the kitchen table scribbling on a notepad and listing ingredients needed for the New Year's menu. She wanted to go to the market later for any housewife knows that there would be longer lines in the supermarket tomorrow.
It was then that the boys approached her. "Kaa-san," Ryoma called.
"Yes?" Rinko said, looking up from the list, able to hide her surprise efficiently like any experienced lawyer could. She was so focused that she only realized that the boys were there after she heard Ryoma's voice.
"Ryouko needs to go home and we want to walk her there. Can we stay in her house and have dinner? Licht invited us because he's trying out new dishes for the New Year," Ryoma said, lying so smoothly that both Ryoga and Ryouko hid amused smiles.
"Since when did he become such an expert liar?" Ryoga mused.
Rinko's shoulders dropped. "Again?" she replied, sounding exasperated. "Seriously, do you live here or there? Are you planning to get adopted to the Fujioka family soon?" she added.
Ryoga quickly played his tricks, sitting beside Rinko and clinging to her arm. "Oh come on, Rin-chan... It's just that I can stay here in Japan only until the second of January. My flight is already booked on the third, you know that, right? I also wanna spend time in the house but it's much more important to go out and have fun... It's the holidays after all..." he told her.
"I was planning on making you two go grocery-shopping with me later," Rinko whined, quite uncharacteristic of the lawyer who was always mature and professional.
"Then how about we do it like this? You can finish the list and the menu now and take a beauty rest then we'll go with you to the supermarket early tomorrow," Ryoga said.
"But it'll be crowded tomorrow," Rinko countered.
"That's actually good for me. I like being in crowds. I've never gone grocery shopping for the holidays before. It'll be a memorable experience," Ryoga remarked. He tightened his embrace on her arm. "Come on, what do you say? Rin-" he stopped himself and bit his lower lip a bit.
"Shopping together tomorrow would be even greater, don't you think, Mom?" he continued.
Rinko was genuinely touched hearing Ryoga call her 'Mom'. She was so happy that she agreed to the boys spending time in Ryouko's house until after dinner.
As the three walked out of the gates of the Echizen residence, Ryoma turned to his brother. "That was smart. Calling her 'Mom' so suddenly," he commented.
"Stop it really... I actually thought twice about it. It's embarrassing and I don't even know if I have the right to call her that..." Ryoga answered, blushing and covering half his face with the checkered scarf around his neck.
"Why is it embarrassing? You're my brother aren't you, then my Mom is your Mom as well. That's common sense..." Ryoma remarked.
Ryoga went silent at this and went even redder by the ears and forehead. Ryouko smiled. She can tell that he's genuinely touched. She nudged Ryoma on the elbow and told him 'Good job' with her eyes.
Ryoma responded by turning sideways, his cheeks pink. He might have been getting used to expressing his thoughts and emotions more openly especially after he admitted his feelings for Ryouko but it's still a little embarrassing.
Ryouko merely looked at them, her smile getting wider as she thought how precious and adorable they are.
Finally, they reached the Fujioka gates. When they entered the front door, they were a bit surprised upon seeing how dim the lights were lit.
"Tadaima... (I'm home...)" Ryouko called. Her tones reverberated and bounced off the huge front hall and living room.
When Ryouko got no reply, she looked at her two companions questioningly. at that moment, Ichidou's voice came from the grand staircase.
"No, Ryouko, go away, it's dangerou- mmlp!" they heard him shout. He was about to say more but his words got cut off unnaturally, as if someone just gagged him.
Ryouko, Ryoma and Ryoga's necks automatically swerved to the direction of the voice and immediately ran towards the staircase. They stopped at the very bottom and were horrified upon seeing the people at the top.
Both Ichidou and Licht has their hands at their back and on each of their sides stood four men, dressed in black with caps and masks. One of the men has his hand over Ichidou's mouth. Licht is gagged with tape on his mouth.
"A hostage-taking?" Ryoga mumbled under his breath, his hand making its way to his pocket where his phone is.
"Don't move!" the tallest among the men shouted upon noticing Ryoga's small movement. "If any of you move even an inch, I'll slit this boys' throat," he added, pointing a knife at Ichidou's neck.
"Bastard," Ryoma murmured, his eyebrows knitting together. He was thinking of what to do when Ryouko suddenly put her hand up.
"Don't hurt anyone. If it's money you want, we have more than enough. But do you know who you're dealing with right now?" Ryouko said. Her tone was firm and fearless but indicating that she's open to negotiations. "I don't know how you breached the mansion's security but trust me, negotiating with me would be a better option for you. If this gets out and we get reinforcements, I can't guarantee your safety. Seeing that you were knowledgeable enough to breach the mansion's defenses, then surely you know what kind of family you're dealing with..."
"Little missy, it looks like you don't see the reality of the situation. We have hostages, we have the upper hand," another of the four men said with a laugh.
"Let's see then," Ryouko said and suddenly smirked. She only put up one hand and while she talked and bought time, she used her free hand to get to her backpocket where she keeps her copy of the house key. The key chain for that is actually very special because it's a switch that activates the mansion's security defenses and locks down the entire property and sends an automatic SOS signal using the PA system to make an extremely loud siren blare from the speakers, loud enough to awaken the whole neighborhood.
She was about to press hard on the switch when all of a sudden, the man took the knife off Ichidou's neck and started clapping. "Bravo! Bravo!" he said and for a moment, Ryouko thought that the voice sounded familiar.
Instantly, there came loud pops from the entirety of the second floor, coming from the banisters. Confetti rained down with a chorus of 'SURPRISE! SURPRISE!' coming from quite a crowd of boyish and manly voices.
The lights suddenly turned bright and Ryouko's eyes went wide at the sight of heavenly gorgeous and adorable collection of boys with varying heights, hair and eye colors.
"Ryouko!" Fujioka Hotaru's voice came from the right side of the banister. She saw him waving along with Tetsuya, Tatsuya and Gaito. From them going further to the right were familar but subtly changed faces. She had not seen her other cousins since her last birthday and clearly, the additional one year caused a few changes in appearance.
The four men in black took off their caps and masks. Their identites were Setsuna, Kaname, Natsu and Ren.
Natsu laughed out loud. "Really, Ryouko. You should've seen your face! It's so priceless!" he said as he fixed his brown hair and dangled the fake knife in front of him.
"She can actually see her expression since we got everything on tape," came the voice of Fujioka Hibiki from the left side of the banister. He was on his stomach, lying on the floor with a hand-held video camera carefully positioned between the gaps of the banister. His head of silver hair and purplish-blue eyes were barely visible from where Ryouko, Ryoma and Ryoga stood. They watched him lift himself up with a grunt, careful not to damage the camera.
Ryouko shifted her eyes to Ichidou and Licht who were 'taken hostage'. Licht whose hands were not at all tied took the tape off of his mouth himself and revealed an amused simper. Ichidou was downright grinning from ear to ear. "Out acting skills were top-notch, don't you think, Ryouko?" he snickered.
Ryouko was in no state of mind to formulate any comeback. She just looked around at the people on the second floor, looking as if she just got off a particularly rocky roller coaster ride. She was mentally counting heads, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven... Are her eyes deceiving her or are her cousins really present as a complete group? Sixteen-year old Haru is even holding the toddler Fuyu who watched on with uninterested eyes. Only the youngest, Fujioka Tsuki, currently two years old, cannot be seen anywhere.
"Ryouko-neechan!! I missed you so much!" a shout from the stairs distracted Ryouko and she saw one of the younger ones, Fujioka Yoru, aged nine with a silky head of silver-white hair and large moist blue eyes, climbing down the staircase with his hands held out in front of him.
"Why that shameless little..." twins Hiruma and Haruta chorused as they saw their little brother getting a headstart towards Ryouko. They chased after him and intercepted him right in the middle of the stairs, reaching a hand to take a hold of his jacket.
"Yoru, you little crybaby cheater," Hiruma hissed, restraining the younger boy by the arms.
"Have some self-control!" Haruta added, helping his twin.
"Waaaaaaaaa!" Yoru cried even louder.
"Hey, don't goof around on the stairs, it's dangerous!" Ryouko quickly told them and marched up, forgetting her shock.
The twins softened their grip on Yoru upon seeing Ryouko approaching them and the younger boy squirmed away. He met halfway with Ryouko and clung to her legs as if a baby koala to its mother.
"There, there..." Ryouko said, crouching down and giving his back a pat. Yoru ceased his sobbing as soon as he was holding her hand.
Eleven-year old Hiro and Hiou, and nine-year old Sora looked at Yoru in disgust.
"That little whiner. Is he even a man?" Sora commented, masking the fact that he's envious.
As soon as she was sure that Yoru calmed down, Ryouko sighed and brought her attention to the eldest group of the bunch. "Now, if no one cares to explain what on earth's happening right now, there'll be heads rolling."
~~~
"And so we decided to spend the New Year here with you and Licht and Ichi. We got permission properly although the younger ones needed to beg, plead and cry to get theirs. We were supposed to arrive tomorrow and stay until January 2nd but everyone agreed to go earlier since it'll be a long flight and the kids would be exhausted on New Year to go visiting temples. Via a majority voting, it's been decided that we'll rest on January second and board a return flight on the third," Ren explained.
"What do you mean we needed to beg, plead and cry? Take that back, Ren!" seven-year-old Daichi exclaimed and threw a cushion at him.
Ren caught it effortlessly. "You did plead and cry, and that's Ren-niisama to you, you snot-nosed brat," he retorted.
Daichi's face turned red all the way to the roots of his bright blonde hair and his aquamarine eyes looked moist.
Out of nowhere, another cushion went sailing in the air and hit Ren on the head. "Stop making kids cry seriously..." The counter-attack came from Haru, Natsu's younger brother with dark brown hair and chestnut-brown eyes. Haru loves water-related activities like surfing and scuba-diving and thus his cousins often see him completely tanned but his gorgeous tan is fading from being unable to stay outdoors during autumn and winter.
"Haru, you punk. How dare you," Ren said and poised to throw back the cushion.
"Ren-chan, baaakaa (stooopiid)!" four-year old Fuyu suddenly remarked from fourteen-year-old Aki's lap, pointing a chubby forefinger at Ren and smiling with his brown eyes. Aki is the third born son following Natsu and Haru and Fuyu is the youngest from the fifth family of the current Fujioka generation.
"Well-said, Fuu-chan," Aki told the toddler and gave his head a pat.
"You rude brats. Tell me seriously... Natsu told you to act this way towards me, didn't he?" Ren said, making an accusation.
"I definitely have nothing to do with my brothers' attitude towards you. Blame your own unloveable personality," Natsu snapped.
"Can you cut it out?" Ryouko interrupted. It hadn't even been ten minutes since they were able to settle properly in the sitting room.
From the moment she demanded an explanation, Setsuna announced that they should comfortably sit down. For all twenty-eight cousins plus Ryouko, Licht, Ryoma and Ryoga to be comfortably seated, mattresses were dragged from spare rooms and taken to the sitting room. All of that plus getting everyone to quiet down took forty-minutes.
Ryouko's head is already throbbing. She didn't mind getting together with her cousins but that was whenever they were under adult supervision. They very rarely complete their numbers and the few times they do was during reunions. The Elders and their parents were all present thus her cousins keep themselves behaved.
However, this current reunion doesn't have the adults and Ryouko knows just how crazy her cousins can be without anyone to hold them back.
Meanwhile, Ryoga and Ryoma who were kind of getting out of place with the arrival of the cousins were stuffed together on a plush couch, sitting side by side.
Ryoga slowly leaned towards his younger brother's ear and whispered, "Are these all her cousins?"
"I'm afraid so," Ryoma answered, quite dispirited. "There's a few unfamiliar faces since I didn't actually meet them all in the past," he added.
"Waa, this is amazing... When she said she had a big family and that she's the only female among her generation, I kind of imagined this sort of scene but witnessing it like this, I'm still overwhelmed," Ryoga commented. "I can see now that being gorgeous is in th Fujioka blood. No wonder Ryouko's so pretty... They're all quite the looker. Even those kids are good-looking," he added, pointing at the youngest members of the troupe.
Ryoma only listened half-heartedly and sighed deeply inside. "Just what kind of chaos is this? They should at least give a heads-up... I thought I can still spend the New Year quietly with Ryouko even with Aniki being here but I can't handle this plot twist, seriously..." he thought, groaning internally.
Suddenly, Kaname, the first born of the third family made his way towards Ryoma and Ryoga, smiling at them with his coal-black eyes. His black hair is sleekly styled, giving him a sort of clean, mature look.
"By the way, Ryouko-chan... You seem to have some guests. Do you mind introducing them to us?" Kaname said, loud enough for the whole room to hear. The low buzzing of voices from the random bickers of the cousins quieted down. All eyes were on the hot-pink plush cushion where the Echizen brothers sat rigidly.
"Is an introduction really necessary?" Ryouko mumbled but stood up anyway and gestured to the brothers.
"Some of you already knows Ryoma, Echizen Ryoma, my childhood friend from when we were living in America," Ryouko said then shifted her eyes to Ryoga who in turn smiled and waved at her as if encouraging her to give him a cool introduction.
"The one beside him is his older brother, Echizen Ryoga," she said plainly. Ryoga made a face at her for the boring introduction.
"You have an older brother? Weren't you an only child like Ryouko? How did that happen?" Setsuna told Ryoma.
"Well, we can talk about that when we have the time. It's a bit of a long story," Ryoma answered.
Setsuna approached the Echizens and exchanged greetings with Ryoga. After knowing that they're almost the same age, they hit it off quite well.
The introductions continued but with Ryoma's presence placed in the spotlight, the demeanor of most of the cousins changed.
Overprotective older brothers Kaname and Umino, both eighteen years old, thought the same. "So that punk is 'Ryoma'..."
Umino twirled a lock of his wavy cream-colored hair and narrowed his eyes at Ryoma, sizing him up.
As for Kaname, he had heard a lot about Ryoma since he hangs out with Setsuna the most. Setsuna seems to like the guy overall but unlike easy-going Setsuna, Kaname is not that easy to please. Kaname have memories of seeing Ryoma in the past but he remembered being neutral towards him. However, his intuition tells him that he should no longer be neutral, and his intuition rarely fails him.
Eleven-year old Hiro with the classic Fujioka black hair and blue eyes looked particularly peeved. He remembered Ryoma and he never liked him since Day 1. He definitely didn't expect seeing the guy so early and the fact that Ryouko takes him so leisurely into the house tells Hiro that the bastard often visits. Hiro doesn't like even the thought of that.
Akira, aged fourteen with the same features and the older brother of Hiro following Kaname, Ren and Keima, didn't bother hiding the hostility in his clear, deep-blue eyes. He never met Ryoma before but he did saw the boy from afar some years ago. He saw him comforting a crying Ryouko and hugging her tight. Even the memory makes his hand clench to a fist.
The twins Hiruma and Haruta, currently twelve, definitely remembers him. After all, it was them who dunked ice-water on the guy on Thanksgiving when they were about eight years old, one of their best, most successful pranks. They only did it because it annoyed them that he sticks so close to Ryouko but then, they became very appalled to see Ryouko raging on them afterwards. It was then that they realized that Ryouko regarded Echizen Ryoma more importantly than anyone. The fact that he's still beside Ryouko after all these years doesn't sit well with them.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Hiruma, with hair like pink cotton candy and golden eyes, whispered to Haruta's ear.
"Yeah, we'll end this punk's whole career," Haruta with his light blue hair and deep blue eyes that contrasts Hiruma's colors replied.
Ryoma looked around, ignoring the obviously hostile stares from the cousins and identified the weirdos of the group who cared nothing about him. He located Keima and the latter saw him looking. The brown-haired, brown-eyed eccentric math prodigy waved at him with a hand holding a particularly large eight-sided rubics cube. Having gotten acquainted with Keima during the previous camp, Ryoma thought him a cool guy. He waved back and the older boy acknowledged the greeting before going back to his rubics cube.
Another of the eccentrics is Reino, aged seventeen with the same features as Keima. Despite keeping his straight, brown hair longer than the standard with his bangs almost hiding his brown eyes, Reino still looked eye-catching. Ryoma met him once but he couldn't quite remember. People say he always seem to say strange things and Ryouko told Ryoma once that the older boy sees ghosts and other paranormal stuff.
"He has a sixth eye and his third sense is veeeery sensitive," six year old Ryouko told him one day during the first grade.
"Isn't it supposed to be 'third eye' and 'sixth sense'... Ryouko, you stupid," six year old Ryoma answered and it sparked a fight that lasted the whole week.
At that instant, Ryoma's eyes met with Reino's eerie brown ones and the older boy gave a solitary nod. Ryoma nodded back to show courtesy but looked away almost immediately, quite nervous to look too long into the pools of deep brown that seemed to peer into his soul. "He's as creepy as the rumors said," Ryoma thought.
Meanwhile, Ryouko decided to just accept the situation and catch up with her cousins. She can't really do anything at this point so she might as well reduce the pressure by interacting with them naturally.
She went to the Echizen brothers and apologized to Ryoga for the ruckus then Licht arrived with refreshments. As they all helped themselves to the variety of fruit juices and baked pastries, Ryouko engaged in random conversation with everyone. Ryoga, being a natural social butterfly joined in effortlessly. The cousins were wary of him at first but after seeing him act so friendly and making no passes at Ryouko, they marked him as 'safe'. He hanged out with the older guys, Setsuna, Kaname, Umino and the other seventeen-year-olds, talking about themselves and getting to know each other better.
Ryoma caught up with Hotaru, asking how he'd been since they last time they saw each other. Keima and Ichidou joined them afterwards.
The little ones, cute red-headed Momiji with pinkish eyes aged eight, seven-year-old Daichi, nine-year-olds Yoru and Sora with the toddler Fuyu focused more on the snacks than the random conversations, while the sensitive ten to twelve year olds, red-headed, emerald-eyed Yuuji aged eleven the same as Hiro and Hiou, the quiet twelve-year-old black-haired, black-eyed Hikaru, and the pair of prankster twins, did their own thing while looking out for an opportunity to get Ryouko's attention to themselves.
Upon observing for a while, Ryouko noticed that there were a handful who were not really socializing with the others, particularly Gaito. That struck Ryouko as odd because Gai is usually friendly. Taking a plate of cookies, she approached him. "Hey, Gai, how come you're being so quiet?"
Ryouko's sudden appearance by his side made Gaito flinch. The last time he saw her was when he, Setsuna, Ren and Natsu dropped by because of the issue about Ryouko being a workaholic and neglecting her health. That was the time when he realized that he doesn't really want to be an observer anymore after being threatened by Ryoma's return to Ryouko's life. He had done a lot of thinking since then and truth be told, he's very confused. He tagged along hoping to clear out his foggy feelings by seeing Ryouko in person but it seemed to be having a reverse effect.
"Oh don't mind him Ryouko-chan..." Kaname suddenly said, passing by to return to Ryoga and Setsuna's group after refilling his glass with lemonade. "He's just upset because he wasn't selected among Ryouko-chan's fiance candidates..."
This remark earned a frown from Umino, Ren and Natsu as well.
"I'm not upset about that!" Gaito exclaimed, denying with all his might.
"Hush, Ryouko doesn't know about that yet!" Ichidou hissed.
"What do you mean she doesn't know? Didn't you already tell her?" Ren said.
"What makes you think I told her? I'm not that thoughtless!" Ichidou retorted.
"What's this about fiance candidates?" Ryouko suddenly said, making all of them shut up. She looked a bit agitated because somehow, she already placed two and two together and guessed the gist of what they were talking about.
"Uhh, Ryouko-chan... I can explain..." Setsuna said before she gets even more agitated. He then told her everything and the fact that before the engagement between him and her was announced, there were five canditates chosen namely Setsuna, Kaname, Hibiki, Ichidou and Hotaru.
Those aged twelve below didn't know anything about that arrangement and reacted quite violently as to why their older brothers didn't tell them about it. Four-year old Fuyu who despite looking like a brown-haired angel loves chaos and quarrels laughed and cheered at the verbal fights. Daichi and Sora ignored everything and Yoru looked like he's on the verge of crying again.
"Ahh seriously you guys are so noisy!" Ryouko exclaimed and the verbal fights toned down. She couldn't help but sigh. "Well, that's done and all so I don't care anymore... However, I would appreciate it if any of you guys tell me something when things regarding my future are being decided. It's so unfair," she told them.
"Sorry, Ryouko..." they said one by one, hanging their heads in apology.
Umino elbowed Kaname in the ribs. "This is your fault, why'd you have to let that slip?"
"I really thought she knew," Kaname said, rubbing the side of his chest. "Well anyways, it's true that Gaito, Umino, Ren and Natsu were upset that they weren't chosen as a candidate," he added quite unnecessarily.
"That's only because Hibiki was selected. How come a yankee delinquent gets chosen and I wasn't, I can't see the logic in that. What were the Elders thinking really," Natsu pointed out, making Hibiki's ears twitch.
"This happens rarely but we're on the same page on that," Ren added.
"It's a mystery. I do play around with my rock band but I'm still better than Hibiki," Umino commented.
"I'm better than the four of you combined despite me being younger. It's an even bigger mystery that I didn't get chosen when Ichi also got in," Gaito added, slowly returning to his old self.
"Don't drag me into this," Ichidou snapped. "And isn't yankee and delinquent the same thing? Combining both is redundant."
"Hibiki's worse than your average yankee and the average delinquent so he deserves both titles," Natsu pointed out. The others said 'Ahh' as if they understood the logic in what he said.
"Hey, you guys do know I'm right here and I can hear everything," Hibiki hissed through gritted teeth, the veins in his temple throbbing in irritation.
"And so?" Ren, Natsu, Umino and Gaito chorused.
"I'm gonna murder you guys..." Hibiki said, rolling up the sleeves of his sweater.
Tetsuya and Tatsuya who joined late because of helping out Licht in the kitchen saw the commotion and were eager to join in.
"What's this, what's this?" Tetsuya said, his gray eyes twinkling
"You look like you're having fun!" Tatsuya added, hooking an arm around Hibiki's neck.
"Does this look like 'fun' to you?!" Hibiki snapped.
And just like that, the disoriented reunion continued with Hibiki, Tetsuya, Tatsuya, Gaito, Ren, Natsu, Umino and Kaname starting another verbal fight, Ryoga and the other fourteen-to-seventeen year olds watching in amusement, Ichidou and Ryouko ushering Ryoma, Hotaru and the other eleven-to-twelve year olds away from the troublesome older boys and the kids running around, getting tired of the snacks and starting a food-throwing battle. Fuyu showered Yoru with cookie crumbs reducing the nine-year-old to tears. Daichi and Sora were not helping, chasing around and pelting each other with half-eaten cookies.
Ryouko lifted a hand to her head. They just arrived and it's already such a nightmare on the first hours... Can she really survive until January third? That's approximately more than eighty hours away...
Suddenly, she felt a tugging of the hem of her pants. She looked down and saw Fuyu holding onto her pants with a chubby hand, looking up to her and holding up his free hand full of cookie crumbs. "Ryouko-chan, cookie! Fuyu, upsy-daisy!" he said with an adorably squeaky voice.
Ryouko's hearts always melted for the younger ones. She crouched down and lifted the toddler in her arms. "Cookie," Fuyu said again and offered the crumbs for the second time. Ryouko opened her mouth and Fuyu clumsily fed her the crumbs.
"Yay! Ryouko-chan, erai! (Ryouko-chan, good girl!)" Fuyu said and started patting Ryouko on the head, the remaining cookie crumbs falling all over her hair.
Ryouko laughed and the sound of that made the room go silent once again. The older boys watched her smile at the toddler, forgetting everything at the moment.
The twins Haruta and Hiruma who were just a few steps away from Ryouko looked at each other and smirked. They approached her and clung onto her shoulders, much to everyone's surprise. Then without another wasted moment, they each took a lock of her long, dark hair and kissed it.
"Those slimy twins..." Hiro hissed, his face full of unspoken protests.
Ryoma who is just a step away from Hiro thought the same. "That pair of snakes, if I get my hands on you..." he thought, his clenched fists starting to itch.
"What are you doing?" Ryouko said, not at all fazed by the twins.
"You're covered in cookie crumbs," Haruta said.
"We're just helping you get them off," Hiruma finished.
"Why on earth would you pick cookie crumbs on my hair with your lips? Stop that, it's unsanitary, I haven't washed my hair yet," she told them.
"Ehh?" Hiruma and Haruta chorused, their hands flying to their mouths, looking disgusted.
The older boys burst out laughing, including Ryoga. "That's our girl!" Umino chuckled.
Despite of himself, Ryoma also smirked. "Serves you right," he thought, narrowing his eyes at the twelve-year-old twins.
"Kyaa!" Fuyu squealed, joining in the fun. Yoru had made his way to Ryouko as well and demanded to be held.
"Yoru, you're a big boy now... I can't give you upsies anymore," Ryouko told him. Yoru's shoulders sagged in disappointment and Fuyu giggled.
"Now, now, let's behave like the civil gentlemen that we are and settle down on the couches and mattresses. Let's catch up with each other in a more organized way, shall we?" Setsuna said and he started giving out orders to sort out the seating arrangements, having brothers sit close to each other.
"This is amazing, really... I've never seen such a huge collection of cousins..." Ryoga commented.
"Well, our generation is actually setting a record in Fujioka history. There hasn't been these many children in just one generation since the Meiji period. Mind you, that generation only has eighteen," Ren pointed out.
"How many are you exactly?" Ryoga asked.
"Twenty-nine, including me," Ryouko answered, joining in the conversation.
"Waa," Ryoga said in awe. "I'm surprised you don't get anyone mixed up," he added.
"Trust me, it was a struggle at times especially when we were younger. We're not together all the time since the residences chosen by our parents were scattered around the world," Natsu commented.
"Can you tell me who is who?" Ryoga asked, settling on the spot next to Ryoma via Setsuna's arrangement.
"Sure, Setsu already arranged everyone by family anyways..." Umino said.
"I'll do the honors, Ryoga-nii," Ryouko said. She sat next to him after giving Fuyu back to his brothers.
"Well, to start it off, Dad and his brothers are seven in total and that makes up the current seven branch families of the Fujioka clan. From the left-most, starting with the first family born from the eldest, Uncle Shintaro and Aunt Christina," she started, pointing at the largest mattress full of red-headed and white-haired boys. Setsuna's black hair stood out from the crowd, being the only one with a different hair color.
"Setsuna-nii is the eldest," she continued at which Setsuna waved a hand. "Followed by Tetsuya-nii and Tatsuya-nii, as you can see, they're identical twins," she added.
"Tatsu and Tetsu at your service!" the sixteen-year-old twins chorused.
"Gaito is next, he's fifteen," Ryouko moved on.
"I've been curious about this for a while but why won't you attach -nii to my name as well?" Gaito asked.
"I've always called you Gai since Ichi does. Do you want me to attach -nii to your name then?" Ryouko asked.
Gaito made a face in response.
Ryouko shrugged and continued. "After Gai is Ichidou," she said.
Ichidou lifted his hand. "This is fun, just like taking school attendance," he commented.
"Says someone who took the junior high GED because he thinks that school systems are a waste of time," Gaito remarked.
"It's true though..." Ichidou replied.
"Are you taking the GED for high school as well? We never bothered asking but we ought to know what our younger brother plans for his education..." Tatsuya asked.
"I'm still thinking it over... Attending senior high with Ryouko and Ryoma sounds fun," Ichidou answered. "And Miyako often says that I'll miss some important life experiences from opting out not to attend school normally..." he added in his mind.
Truth be told, he also think that it's not such a bad idea to attend school with Miyako. He just hope that she would attend the same high school that Ryouko and Ryoma would pick so they'll all be together.
"Moving on, after Ichi is Yuuji. He's eleven and a soccer prodigy," Ryouko continued, interrupting Ichidou's musings.
"Stop it, you're embarrassing me..." Yuuji said, his chin resting on one fist. among all of the brothers in the first family, Ichidou and Yuuji looked the most similar with their red hair and emerald eyes. It's a pity they don't get along that well since they have different lines of interests. Ichidou is mostly an indoor person while Yuuji enjoys the outdoors.
"I heard your current team in London won this year's nationals for the junior division?" Hotaru commented.
"How'd you even know that, Hotaru-nii?" Yuuji said, quite surprised.
"I have a lot of free time so Grandpa gave me the task of watching over everyone's social media accounts and informing him of what everyone's doing these days... Almost everyone's active on social media, except for Ryouko, Reino-nii, Keima-nii, Hikaru and the kids," Hotaru answered.
"Eek, what a stalker," Hiruma and Haruta said in perfect synchronization.
A vein throbbed in Hotaru's temple. "I'm trying to turn over a new leaf with my attitude so don't make me go there and smack you silly," he hissed with a forced smile.
"Moving on..." Ryouko said to divert the situation from heating up into another fight. "After Yuuji is Momiji, the cutest little violin prodigy," she said, her tone going from neutral to doting. She opened her arms wide. "Come here, little strawberry, you haven't hugged me yet," she added.
Momiji got off the mattress and obediently ran into Ryouko's arms, his pinkish eyes looking expressionless.
"What 'little strawberry'? He's such a brat, how is he cute? He ignores everyone except for you, Setsu-nii and Gai," Ichidou remarked.
"It's because little Momiji has high standards in judging people," Gaito answered with an air of pride.
"I got second place in a concour, do you know? Next time, I'll get first place," Momiji told Ryouko.
"Really? That's impressive," Ryouko smiled, gave Momiji a pat on the head and a kiss on the cheek before sending him back to his brothers. Momiji climbed back to the mattress, feeling good about himself.
"Ryouko-chan only kisses the younger ones... Why won't you give us kisses?" Tetsuya said in a complaining tone.
"So that sums up the sons of the first family. Moving on..." Ryouko said.
"And she's ignoring me..." Tetsuya added in exasperation.
The others laughed and Tetsuya demanded to be comforted by his twin. For him to be older than Tatsuya by eight minutes, it's truly pathetic how he always has to be the one being comforted.
"The second family only has me so let's skip that," Ryouko said. "Starting with the third family, from the marriage between Uncle Mitsuhiko and Aunt Hitomi, the eldest is Kaname-nii," she continued. Kaname responded with a smile.
"And I'm the second born, currently seventeen" Ren said, waving a hand in dismissal.
"Third, fifteen years old" Keima remarked, taking part in the conversation because he had already solved the eight-sided rubics cube and currently feeling bored.
"Fourth, fourteen years," Akira said before yawning.
"Fifth, eleven. I'm the youngest," Hiro followed.
"Kaname-nii is currently studying Business Ad, I'm an active pianist and will be a pro soon, Keima's a math genius so he often helps Dad with his work, Akira is a cellist and Hiro does track and field," Ren said to sum up the most important details about him and his brothers.
"Wow, all of you sounds so accomplished already," Ryoga commented. He really knows how to flatter people, probably coming from the habit of picking up girls.
"We have to be accomplished or we'll get looked down upon... That's how it is in the society of the bourgeosie," Akira answered.
"Rich people have a different set of problems," Hiro added.
Akira is older than Ryouko and Ryoma by a year and Hiro is younger by also a year but somehow, Ryoma could feel a somewhat mature vibe from both of them. He thought once again that the environment at which children are raised really affect their mental growth.
Ryouko moved into the fourth family from Uncle Hatsuharu and Aunt Haruka. Their marriage was from a typical arranged engagement that later blossomed into love and mutual understanding.
"I'm the eldest, Umino's the name. I'm eighteen and the lead guitarist and vocalist of a rock band called Awake," he introduced himself.
"Awake is rising up in popularity nowadays. I saw your page has over ten million followers. You guys should just go to an agency then you'll be managed better and be real celebrities," Hotaru suddenly commented.
"The boys and I are actually considering that these days but we're still waiting for everyone in the band to reach legal age so we can make our own decisions. The drummer Axis is seventeen so that gives us another year," Umino answered.
A hand suddenly reluctantly shot up in the air. "My name... is Reino..." the second born of the fourth family said, his voice as timid as usual. "I study literature and my hobby is reading up on supernatural phenomenon. Tomorrow during New Year's Eve, a vase will break in the third floor of the mansion. I advise everyone not to go there even if you hear it breaking..." he added, his voice sounding eerie and mystical.
"Rei-chan, really, don't do that here!" Kaname exclaimed, the hairs in his nape standing up.
"That's it, I'm sleeping on a room with a bathroom in it okay? I'm not going out all the way across tha hall just to pee," Ren added, calming down the goosebumps on his arms by rubbing on them.
"I'm the third born, Hotaru," Hotaru immediately said to help brighten the mood. "I'm quite sickly so I was homeschooled most of my life and would probably still be homeschooled for the rest of my education. I'm interested on studying Computer Tech because I like surfing the web and exploring social media outlets."
"Wouldn't that worsen your health? I heard comp tech includes working deadlines and pulling all-nighters," Ryouko asked, quite concerned.
"Relax, Ryouko... We're a rich family. I could just hire people to do the straining activities and just enjoy comfortable working hours once I get a degree. I can even take the college course at home. I got it all planned out," Hotaru told her, smiling.
"Good luck with that," Ryoma suddenly said. Hotaru looked at him. Ryoma smiled and added, "I sincerely hope you'll succeed."
Hotaru hid the fact that he was touched and merely smirked. "Well, of course. I'm smart and capable after all,"
The fourth-born Hikaru went next. "I'm twelve and interested in chemistry and physics. I want to be a scientist when I grow up," he said, his cheeks pink. Hikaru is very timid and spends most of his time alone in the laboratory he got for his eighth birthday. Because he looks quite feminine, he was made fun of by Hiruma, Haruta and Hotaru. That made him feel a distance from his older brother but because Hotaru apologized to him a month ago, he was starting to think that he should exert effort to get to know his brother more instead of acting scared all the time.
After Hikaru finished his introduction, Hotaru placed a hand on his head and gave his black hair a gentle ruffling. "Good job," Hotaru said, smiling at him.
The youngest of the fourth family, Hiou went next. "I'm eleven, a junior chess champion," he said coolly.
"Ahh, Hiou, there's a worm on the couch next to you!" Haruta suddenly said. In that instant, Hiou looked down, saw a white longish thing lying next to him and jumped up with a screech.
"Get it off, get it off!" he yelled.
"Calm down, Hiou... It's only a rolled up piece of tissue paper," Hikaru told him, picking up the white thing.
Haruta and Hiruma laughed out loud. "You still hates bugs? Really, when will you grow up?" Haruta snickered.
"Why you..." Hiou hissed, his whole face beet-red.
"You two, that was not nice," Setsuna scolded.
"We're sorry..." the twins chorused but didn't sound apologetic at all.
The introduction of the fifth family came next. They were the four sons from the marriage of Uncle Hotohori (who is actually Hatsuharu's identical twin brother) and Aunt Nae Il.
"Name is Natsu and I play soccer and the flute. Currently seventeen so let's get along well since we're the same age and all," brown-haired, green-eyed Natsu told Ryoga with a friendly tone.
"Sounds good to me," Ryoga said, giving him the thumbs up.
"I'm the second born, Haru, sixteen. I enjoy water-related activities," he said simply and passed the baton to the next.
"Aki, fourteen. I like books," the third born Aki said, straight to the point.
Four-year old Fuyu who is sitting on his lap seem to sense that it's currently his turn. "Fuyu likes sweets and horsies and upsies!" he squealed, making everyone go 'Aww...'.
"How old are you again, Fuu-chan? And can you tell us more about yourself?" Haru asked, eager to show off his little brother's intellect.
"Fuyu is four years old," he said, holding up four fingers. "My Mama is Nae Il, my Papa is Hotohori. My brothers are Natsu, Haru and Aki. Fuyu can speak three languages, Japanese, Korean and English," the toddler added cheerfully and just like that, he showed off his language efficiency, introducing himself in Japanese, Korean and English respectively.
Everyone clapped in appreciation and Fuyu gave an adorable giggle that melted everyone's hearts.
"This is why kids are so loveable..." Ryouko mumbled under her breath, swooning at Fuyu's cuteness.
The sixth family went next, born from Uncle Motoki and Aunt Isabella.
"I'm Hibiki, seventeen, a freshman majoring in Political Science," the eldest among four sons said. "I may have caused trouble before but I already picked myself up. You can expect great things from me in the future," he added.
"Okay, next," Natsu, Ren and Gaito said, perfectly in synch.
"You bastards really won't stop getting on my nerves..." Hibiki hissed, exercising control over his temper meter.
"Hiruma here, the older twin" the first born among the second set of twins among the twenty-nine Fujioka children said.
"Haruta here, younger than Hiruma by ten minutes," the other one said. They were very easily to take apart because unlike Tetsuya and Tatsuya, they're fraternal twins.
"Truth be told, we don't care about anything. We just want to have fun," they chorused before displaying similar evil grins.
"You guys can't keep that up forever though..." Hibiki commented with a sigh.
The youngest went next, looking around shyly with his blue eyes. "I'm Yoru, nine years old, in the fifth grade. I skipped a level last year," he said.
"Erai (Good boy)," Ryouko told him with a smile and he brightened.
The final and seventh family only has three children and the youngest Tsuki is not with them because no one knows how to take care of someone that young. There is another reason why the toddler couldn't be apart from his mother and that would be revealed later.
"I'm Sora, nine years old. I play hockey and I also skipped a level so I'm in the fifth grade," the eldest introduced himself, looking like a little prince with his bright blonde hair and large green eyes.
"Daichi, seven, third grade. I like computer games and large dogs and my future dream is to be Ryouko's husband," the second-born confidently declared.
Almost everyone choked on their own saliva including Ryoma and Ryouko.
"Daichi, you're still saying that?" Haruta remarked.
"Give it up, you don't have a chance. Just go drink more milk," Hiruma added.
Daichi stood up in mutiny. "I'll be Ryouko's husband, Mom and Dad told me so!" he said obstinately and went to Ryouko. "You said you'll marry me right? You pinky-promised," he told her.
"Errr..." Ryouko said, unable to say anything and looked around for help.
"You pinky-promised? When?" Ichidou asked.
"I only did it to make him stop crying and he was three," Ryouko reasoned.
"Ryouko-chan, you must be crazy," Hotaru said, shaking his head.
"Get out of that mess by yourself," Ichidou added.
Daichi who was listening to the conversation looked devastated. "Ryouko, you liar!" he exclaimed and ran to the door, almost colliding with Licht who was carrying more refreshments.
"My, what is happening?" the butler asked, placing the tray on a table.
"Daichi's upset. Can you go follow him and cheer him up with hot chocolate or something?" Setsuna told him.
"Understood, obocchama," Licht said and vacated the room again to chase after Daichi.
"Ryouko-chan, you can't just irresponsibly say such things. You know that Daichi is stubborn and pushy. You can't spoil him with empty promises," Kaname remarked after Licht had gone.
"I apologize. It won't happen again. I really thought he won't remember it since he was so young..." Ryouko replied, scratching her head.
"Daichi's just being spoiled. Don't mind him," Sora said as if he wasn't talking about his own brother.
"Sora, you should care more for your younger brother... You're the eldest after all..." Hibiki told him. Sora just flipped his head with a 'hmph'.
"How is Tsuki doing, Sora?" Ryouko asked with a smile, making a mental note to talk to Daichi earnestly later.
"He's fine. I have pictures of him on my phone. You want to see?" the nine-year-old blonde said, taking out his phone.
Ryouko brightened. "Of course I want to see. Come here and let's look at the photos together," she told him and gave her lap a pat.
Before he went to Ryouko, he looked at Yoru and gave a victorious smirk. "Unfair," Yoru mumbled.
But then Ryouko also invited him and Momiji to sit close to her and Sora ended up scowling.
"By the way, have you heard the news yet, Ryouko?" Hibiki asked.
"What news?" she asked back as she ruffled Sora's hair.
"The twenty-nine Fujioka cousins are soon to be having an addition," Hibiki told her.
"Mom is pregnant with the fourth sibling," Sora added nonchalantly.
"Really?" Ryouko said with a delighted smile. "Wow, that's awesome. there'll be thirty of us soon."
"More trouble on the way," Setsuna commented and laughed.
"I'll send my congratulations to Uncle Misaki and Aunt Mamori later," Ryouko said, genuinely pleased.
With that, Ryouko and younger boys continued with browsing Tsuki's photos on Sora's phone.
"Tsuki is so adorable..." Ryouko murmured, zooming into a picture with Tsuki in a panda onesie. The two-year-old has the same features as Sora, blonde with green eyes but Tsuki's eyes were a brighter shade.
Ryouko's remark made Umino recall something and he laughed. "Hey Ryouko. Do you remember the time when the adults commented that you dote on Tsuki as if he's your own son? Then you told them it's not so bad to learn how to care of babies because it'll be easier once you have your own. The faces of everyone who heard that, it was really hilarious," he told her.
Others with recollection of the incident also laughed and commented about how funny it was.
"Wow, I can't imagine Ryouko-chan saying that..." Ryoga commented. "In that case Ryouko-chan... It's still far off, but how many kids do you plan on having with your future hubby?" he suddenly asked.
It didn't even take Ryouko a second to answer. "Four or five, maybe," she replied, not taking her eyes off from the screen of Sora's phone.
Ryoma who was sipping from a glass of the new set of refreshments Licht provided choked and coughed.
"Oi Chibisuke, take it easy... No one's gonna take the juice from you..." Ryoga said and gave his younger brother consecutive pats on the back.
"I'm... I'm alright..." Ryoma coughed and stood up. "I'll go to the toilet. Drank too much juice," he added before vacating the sitting room.
Seeing Ryoma's peculiar reaction, the sharper ones among the Fujioka bunch narrowed their eyes suspiciously.
Setsuna looked particularly interested. One of his objectives for this New Year's visit is to have a serious talk with Ryouko about their cancelled engagement. He had a concrete plan however, there seems to be some kind of development that he has to investigate first.
"Ryoma... Are you possibly..." he thought and decided that he might have to talk to the dark-haired adolescent as well.
Setsuna has three days to make that happen. Surely it won't be difficult to confront them both before their flight back to England.
"By the way..." Ryoga suddenly said, cutting into Setsuna's thoughts. "What are your plans for the New Year?"
"Well, we can have a party tomorrow during New Year's Eve and stay up together for the countdown," Kaname answered.
"Then do you have anything to do tomorrow morning?" Ryoga asked.
"We'll probably just lounge around," Natsu answered.
"In that case, do you want to go to the mall tomorrow? Ryoma and I are going to the supermarket with Rinko-chan. You can tag along if you want. It'll be fun," Ryoga told them.
"Hey, wait. Ryoga-nii, that's-" Ryouko said but her words were drowned out by the interested murmuring around the room.
"The supermarket?" the two sets of twins Tetsuya and Tatsuya, Hiruma and Haruta all chorused together, their eyes shining.
"Wow, I don't think I've gone mall shopping before... We shop for clothes and other stuff with private catalogues so it's not necessary to visit malls," Umino said.
"I went to a mall once. There's a lot of things you can see there, attractions and stuff..." Hibiki commented.
"I go malling pretty often these days. I can guarantee that it's fun," Ichidou told them.
"Really? Then I wanna go," Natsu said.
"Are there playgrounds there?" Momiji asked, tugging on Ryoga's shirt.
"There is," Ryoga answered the little boy. Momiji's pinkish eyes shone a bit. Yoru and Sora also looked interested.
"Those who want to go to the mall, raise your hands," Setsuna said, initiating a vote before Ryouko could say anything.
Everyone's hands went up in the air (except for Ryouko's) and when Fuyu saw them, he raised both arms as well.
"That's settled then!" Ryoga remarked enthusiatically with a loud clap. "I'll inform Rin-chan later, text the details to Setsuna and we'll meet up on a set time tomorrow! It'll be fun!"
"Fun?" Ryouko repeated, her brain going haywire.
Her crazy bunch of cousins, going to the mall as a complete group?
Fun?
Fun?!
"Oh my good lord..." Ryouko mumbled under her breath as if a countdown to her execution had been set.
Ryoga just initiated a huge event! Did he do a good job or a terrible one? 😆
Ryoma is still not informed about this little outing. Should he start running away? 😂
Poor Ryouko... Oh the headache... 😥
Author's true feelings: 😂😆😁🤭
Spoiler:
Guess who's 'shopping mall' is it that they would be visiting. 😏😏 Someone's going back to the Tennis no Oujo-sama screen.