The sound of a ringing phone pierced the air in a small, dusty living room. The loud noise startled Kei from her spring cleaning, causing her to fumble with her feather duster and almost drop it.
"Jeez..."
She huffed once the duster was finally secure in her grip and turned to glare at her phone, vibrating on the coffee table.
It was Sunday, the only day Kei had free and she was forced to spend it cleaning because her apartment was a complete pig sty. She had told all of her friends that she would be busy in hopes that no one would interrupt her and she would finish before the day was over so she could relax some. Her plan had worked and Kei finished her kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom in record time. All that was left was the living room, the easiest part. There was just a little dusting left, then Kei would be done, but someone decided to call, ruining the music she had been playing along with her mood.
So Kei answered her phone quickly, murmuring a mild 'Hello' into it, and hoping whoever it was had the wrong number so she could hang up. If she didn't hurry there wouldn't be a lot of time to chill out until she had to do homework.
"Hello? Is this Raikatuji Katelyn?"
The familiar, uncertain voice on the other end made her stomach tighten into a tiny knot of nerves. Her heart was beating so hard Kei was almost choking on her pulse. The feather duster slipped through frozen fingers to clatter on the floor. She paid it no mind as she placed a hand on the wall to steady herself. Just hearing that voice again was enough to knock her off balance.
"Y-Yes," Kei cleared her throat to rid it of it's tremble and tried again. "Yeah, I'm Katelyn. Who's calling?"
It was pointless of her to ask, but she hoped against everything it wasn't who she thought it was. She hoped she heard wrong, that the person on the phone was some telemarketer with good English pronunciation. It had been a long time since anyone had called her Katelyn.
"It's, um, me, Katelyn. Your Father-"
"How did you get this number?" Kei cut him off sharply. "Why are you calling me?"
The confirmation caused her previous irritation to boil over into anger. She wanted to demand how dare he call her. To yell at him until her voice was gone, rage until she couldn't anymore and let him know all of the pain that he'd caused. Instead, she took a breath, gritted her teeth, and waited for his answer.
Her father hadn't been physically abusive. Instead, he was completely indifferent to her and barely acknowledged her existence on a good day. He had been a neglectful douchebag that had the audacity to use Kei's mother leaving him as an excuse for his behavior.
Thanks to his silent refusal to take care of her, Kei had been forced to survive in her own home. She learned to cook so she could eat, learned to sew so when her clothes fell apart she could put them back together for just a little longer. She would run errands and babysit for the people in her neighborhood. Even though taking money from people that looked at her with such pitying expressions (yet did nothing to actually help) felt wrong, she persevered. Making money and getting out of that house couldn't be delayed.
Kei finally left at fifteen and moved as far away as she could as soon as she was able. The 'farthest place away' turned out to be Kichijouji, Tokyo. It was a hard lifestyle she chose to pursue and very much worth it. Becoming free from him was the best decision she'd ever made. Kei had hoped she'd be free of him for the rest of her life. She had believed it for five years until this sudden phone call.
Reizo sighed wearily over the phone. Kei bet if she could see him right now he'd be pinching the bridge of his nose like he always did when he was tired.
"My fiancé knows your art dealer. As for why...I just wanted to see how you were doing."
Kei somehow refrained from scoffing in disbelief.
"...And I just thought you should know I'm different. I have a steady job and I'm getting married soon in Japan...I would like it if you came to the wedding. And my soon-to-be stepsons live in the city, at a place called the Sunrise Residence. They'd really like to meet you..."
His words trailed off into an awkward silence that Kei lets linger as she tried to collect her thoughts. She was becoming more focused now that the anger that had welled up hot and fast slowly froze. The feeling spread through her veins, chilled her temper and brought clarity like she had just dunked her head in icy cold water.
This is my chance to get revenge.
A clipped, frosty voice whispered through her mind and the thought struck a chord with some hateful part inside herself. That part perked up at the idea and urged her to follow through, almost quivering with excitement at the chance to hurt that man. There was barely an internal struggle, before, fueled by resentment, she responded.
"...Do you really mean that?"
Kei was a natural actress after years of kissing ass and playing the sweet, naive girl to get where she wanted to go. She spoke quietly, tone soft and beguiling with its faint hope. She sounded like a young child that was just told, 'no, sweetie, there aren't any monsters under your bed.' Inwardly, she felt slightly sickened that she was stooping to such a level. Even more so when she realized she felt almost bad for trying to deceive him.
Kei shook that feeling off quickly. She had no reason to feel guilty.
"Yes! I swear that I do, Katelyn. I know that I must've caused you so much pain and I am so, so sorry for that. I also know that just saying sorry won't even begin to make it up to you and I want to make amends. Will...Will you hear me out?"
For a brief moment, Kei entertained the idea of hanging up. She could block his number and erase this conversation from her mind. Back out before she was lost to the darkness in her soul that wanted to hurt this man so badly. It would be done in a moment, all she had to do was press the end call button and she could return to her life.
Cold anger quickly chased that urge away, overwhelming it and forcing it into a box. He deserved all of the pain she was planning for him. Steeling herself, Kei let the ice in her veins freeze her heart. Reizo would not be let off easily. She refused to even think about the word 'forgiveness' until her pound of flesh and pint of blood was extracted.
"I'm listening."
If her voice was just a tad deeper, slightly darker, Reizo paid it no mind. He talked and Kei listened, playing her part as tentative yet willing as he spoke with hesitant enthusiasm. He told her of his fiancé and her sons, how he thought she should meet with them, and when the wedding would be. Kei was inaudibly gagging as he went on and on, bitter that this was the first time she heard him speak with something aside from apathy.
After he finally hung up, leaving her with an address and a time, she used that bitterness, all of her negative emotions, and channelled it into steely resolve. Then, she began to plot. Her goal wasn't a short term one. It would definitely take a while to get into the Asahina family's good graces, but Kei was confident. She would integrate herself and ruin everything for Reizo. If she could, she'd try to keep the Asahina brothers out of it. Unfortunately Miwa couldn't be spared. She was the closest to him after all. If she couldn't let the brothers be, c'est la vie.
Any softer, kinder ideas were squashed ruthlessly. She couldn't afford sentimentality during this. As a wise woman once said, "the only soft thing about a woman should be her breasts."
Kei crouched down to pick up the previously forgotten feather duster then stood stiffly. She really didn't feel like cleaning anymore, but once Kei started something she would finish. Besides, she needed a moment away from her dark thoughts before she was submerged once more. She had three weeks to prepare, then she would meet the Asahina family.
Let it not be said that Kei did things half-assedly. Even if she was being extremely petty and vengeful.
It was with a grudging curiosity and a feeble excuse to scope out the enemy that Kei found herself outside of the Sunrise Residence a week early. She had taken her time to think, respectfully chew out her art dealer for letting her father call her, and wonder what her father's new family would be like.
As she gaped up at the huge estate, Kei wasn't ashamed to admit that she felt jealous. If her apartment was a room in a nice hostel, the Sunrise Residence was a five-star hotel. It made her wonder about the type of people that lived there. Were they the rich, snooty kind of people? The kind that never had to work for anything in their lives? She hoped they were. It would be easier for her to deal with intruding in their lives that way.
Although, it didn't matter if the Asahina family were the nicest or worst people ever. Kei wouldn't miss what might be her only chance of revenge.
"Onee-san! Get out of the way!"
Startled by the yell, Kei spun to see a young boy on a bike hurtling towards her. She didn't fully realize he was talking to her until he was so close that she could count his eyelashes. She had a split second to consider letting him fly by and possibly crash, or stop him.
"Whoa, there," she said as she simultaneously stepped aside and grabbed his handlebars. Her arms jerked from the force and she had to take a couple dragging steps to offset his momentum, but she safely pulled the young bicyclist to a stop.
The boy breathed a sigh of relief and beamed up at her, caramel brown eyes just as bright as his smile. He was a cute kid. Lightly tanned with blondish-brown hair that somehow had a pink tinge and framed a face rounded with baby fat. He was dressed in soft pastel colors with knee high socks and a blue bunny peeking out from his jacket pocket. The little plush toy had a paw raised as if it was waving at her.
"Thanks, Onee-san! I lost control coming down that hill."
"No problem." Kei released her hold to place her hands in her pockets and chided him gently. "But please be more careful. What if I wasn't here and you crashed?"
His expression sobered at the thought and he nodded contritely. "I'm sorry, Onee-san. I promise to be more careful."
"Good." Kei ruffled his hair playfully, causing the boy to giggle. Her heart thawed slightly at the sound. "And wear a helmet next time, alright?"
"Okay, Onee-chan!" His smile was back in full force. He seemed pleased when she patted his head and a little disappointed when she pulled away. He actually pouted slightly at her, but that didn't stop him from talking rapid fire.
"So, what's your name, Onee-chan? I'm Wataru! You're really nice, you know. When my new big sister gets here, I hope she's as nice and pretty as you," he blurted out so quickly that Kei almost felt dizzy, still that didn't stop her thoughts from whirring.
Big sister? Is he...? No. It's probably a coincidence. He might not even live here.
"Ah, I'm Kei," was all that she managed before a man's voice cut in.
"Wataru! I told you not to get too far ahead!"
The voice belonged to a tall young man that shared Wataru's complexion but that was where the similarities ended. His hair was a dark, solid brown that curled into matching eyes that were creased with worry. He was dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt with a calm, almost laid back aura about him.
Wataru smiled sheepishly at him as the dark brunet neared, descending quickly down the hill Wataru previously came down. "Sorry, Makkun. I didn't mean to."
'Makkun' gave an exasperated sigh then turned to Kei with an apologetic expression. "Are you alright? He didn't run into you did he?"
Kei shook her head. "Nope. We had a close call, but everything's fine now."
"That's good..." He trailed off suddenly and did a double take at her. He blinked at Kei, faint recognition and surprise on his face. His brow furrowed and he took an unconscious step toward her, hands held out in an uncertain gesture.
"Are you Raikatuji Katelyn?"
Kei couldn't help it, she froze for a second.
How unlucky.
Meeting any of the Asahinas when she had to come to scope out the place had not been in the plan. Kei couldn't even act like she didn't know what he was talking about since he recognized her somehow, she was in too deep to lie. She'd have to improvise.
She forced herself to unfreeze and widened her eyes to look curious. "Yeah, But I prefer Kei. Are you an Asahina?"
"Yes. My name is Asahina Masaomi. It's very nice to meet you, Kei-san," Masaomi said kindly, a warm smile gracing his features. "You're here early. We weren't expecting you until next week."
"Nice to meet you, too, Masaomi-san and I was really curious about you all so I decided to drop by and see where you lived." Kei paused and offered a mildly embarrassed shrug. "I didn't expect to actually meet anyone," she admitted.
Wataru, who had been watching the conversation like a tennis match, gasped. "You're my new Onee-chan?"
"Yep."
"Yay!" Wataru cheered. He suddenly hopped off his bike and threw his arms around Kei's waist. Caught off guard by the sudden hug, Kei hesitantly laced her arms around Wataru's shoulders, then relaxed and ruffled his hair again.
Resting his chin on her stomach, Wataru tilted his head back and grinned up at her, eyes glittering with glee. "Please take care of me from now on, Onee-chan!"
"Same to you, Wataru."
After Kei untangled herself from the boy latched onto her like a monkey, she surprised Masaomi by giving him a hug as well. She knew many Japanese weren't as open with public displays of affection as Americans, but she thought it would be good to establish herself as an affectionate and friendly character to lessen the chances of someone suspecting her motive.
When she pulled back, she decided not to tease him about the light pink dusting his cheeks. Instead, she equipped her most charming smile, that may or may not have caused that pink to deepen, and let out a cheerful chirp.
"I hope we'll all be able to get along."
Kei felt a little dirty at the lie.
