Eyy I finally got myself around writing a full story again. But considering school's over for summer, and that I currently only have afterschool lessons to bother me, this may start happening more often.

This is something I was trying to write for some months now. I'd started it, but it's stuck in my laptop, which died some weeks ago. So I just restarted it, and to be honest I like this version better.

It's just some Aya/Kanetsugu fluff, but I wanted to explore this plot and it seemed fun. Plus, I've been writing too much angst. Some fluff never hurt anyone!

A few notes before the actual story. I wanted to invest some lines on Kanetsugu's link with Kirlia, as it seems very interesting. I also headcanon his father, Kagetsuna, as great friends with Aya and Kenshin (childhood friends to be specific) thanks to some things that played in SW4E.

I should also mention I assigned Diancie as one of Illusio's legendary guardians, instead of Mew (I mean, look at Diancie's design). I should change that in my anthology fic too, I guess.

Anyway, on we go! I hope you enjoy it!


"This is bad."

Kanetsugu let out a weak, anxious mumble, staring at the small, crumbled piece of parchment that lay in his hand. Kirlia, sitting dignified atop of his short desk, looked at him with increasing interest, her vivid rose eyes following him as he paced back and forth across his room. She was able to sense something was stressing him up thanks to her ability to read her partner's feelings, but she did not know the reason behind all the fuss. Why a letter from his parents would stress him that much, was beyond her knowledge after all.

The Pokemon's thoughts echoed into Kanetsugu's mind through the Link, causing the young warrior to turn towards his partner, an exasperated expression plastered across his face.

"What do you mean 'it's not that bad'?!" He blurted out, causing Kirlia's confusion to increase. "It is pretty bad! I haven't seen my father in a while, and I don't know whether or know I've done something to soil his honour, and-"

"Kanetsugu."

"Ahh!"

Even as the cry was leaving his lips, Kanetsugu whipped around, the letter falling from his hand, as his heart did a few extra backflips, for good measure.

Lady Aya, from the threshold of his room door, tilted her head on one side, stifling a small chuckle in an attempt to cover her own confusion.

"My, I wasn't aware I was that scary." She said simply, not at all minding the fact that the other warrior seemed to be having a breakdown.

"N-No, my Lady, I-I just-" Kanetsugu paused, falling into an ungainly bow as he tried to regain whatever was left of his dignity. "Please forgive me, Lady Aya, you merely startled me."

Aya smiled, finally walking into the room.

"I noticed that." She said, almost in a teasing manner. "What I fail to understand though, is the reason for your general… discomposure."

Ah, so she had noticed that too. Well, he shouldn't expect less from the woman that could read him like an open book anyway, Kanetsugu realised. And, to be honest, there was no point hiding the letter from her–she'd have to know sooner or later. He needed her and Lord Kenshin's permission to visit the city after all.

Picking up the accursed piece of paper from the crystal floor, he stood up.

"Apologies, my Lady." He cleared his throat, trying to straighten the crumbled letter. "A letter from my father arrived a couple of hours ago… He wishes me to visit him and the rest of my family for a day or so."

He had secretly hoped that Lady Aya would dismiss the idea, with the excuse that he had to train, or that she needed him for an errand, or something along these lines.

It was like experiencing the initial shock of the letter first arriving all over again, when her smile widened, and she shook her head in a manner that he could not help but call affirmative –and his heart sank.

"Well, you've worked rather hard these past few weeks, dear." She replied, thankfully not taking immediate notice of the horror reflecting into his expression. "Permitting you a little break wouldn't hurt at all. Old man Kagetsuna must be missing his son, I see." She added this part in a rather quiet voice, mostly remembering her and Kenshin's friendship with Kanetsugu's father. "You should undoubtedly visit him, if that's his wish. I'm sure Kenshin won't mind, either."

Well, there went his only chance of avoiding this. Lady Aya evidently wished him to go, so there was close to nothing he could to avoid it. It was better to accept it and focus around getting himself together… And Kirlia's expression, that read all too clearly "See? Others also agree that it isn't that bad" did not help. At all.

"Can this get any worse…?"

But by Diancie's name, he shouldn't be quick to think. It easily could get worse, and it easily did get so the next instance.

"Oh, Kanetsugu. One more thing."

The man sighed, looking up at his mentor.

"Yes, my Lady?"

"I haven't seen Kagetsuna in a while, either." Aya smiled once more, but this time Kanetsugu sensed a chill running up his spine –and his intuition proved itself correct, as her next words made Kanetsugu's heart sink down to his stomach.

"I'll be coming with you."


Aya and Kanetsugu walked through the quiet paved streets of Illusio's suburban district, followed by Kirlia and Froslass –both of which were excited to be doing something entirely different than their routinely training. Normally, Kanetsugu would have shared the sentiment, but at this point, he would much rather be back at Illusio's roof training, even if that meant he'd end with Lady Aya reducing him to an exhausted corpse by the end of the day.

Aya must have read his thoughts –which wasn't really a surprise, considering his expression- and she looked at him in slight confusion.

"Are you not excited to see your family, Kanetsugu?" She asked with a hint of curiosity. "It's been a few years since you last saw your father. And let's not talk about your mother. You haven't seen her ever since I took you as my student."

"I-I suppose you're right, my Lady…" Kanetsugu couldn't really come up with a better answer, and he'd rather not explain many of the reasons right now. After all, they'd soon be impossible to hide…

They remained quiet for a while as they walked, although Kanetsugu could feel Kirlia's mind nagging his through their Link. As much as he didn't want to, he tried to ignore her, and he started observing the surroundings to distract himself.

There weren't many houses at this part of the kingdom, that lay near Illusio's great forest. Most of them were either abandoned, as there was a greater sense of safety further into the city, and those that were not were owned mostly by Lord Kenshin's retainers, or the families of said retainers. Kanetsugu's family fell under the second category. His father, Kagetsuna, had served Lord Tamekage, and for a short while he'd also provided his wisdom and loyalty to said Lord's heirs, before retiring and suggesting his son to take his place. Kanetsugu wondered whether his father would be proud of his progress, or disappointed by the lack of it –that was one of the reason the visit was stressing him.

"Which one is your house, Kanetsugu?"

Kanetsugu was abruptly brought out of his thoughts by Aya's question, and wishing to oblige, he lifted his head. His heart skipped a beat as he realised they were closer than he'd thought. He hadn't been home in a while, had he…?

"It's just around the corner, my Lady." He assured her, realizing she was trying to break the uncomfortable silence that had settled in between them. This, he had noticed, was something that happened very commonly when the two would be alone together, in the occasion that they were not training.

They rounded the natural corner that formed around one of the massive, pristine crystals that the kingdom was famous for, and Kanetsugu felt a strange nostalgia swirl inside of his chest as the simple yet noble-looking building, made out primarily of wood, came into view. He swallowed the strange knot that suddenly formed into his throat, praying that Aya wouldn't notice his emotional turmoil.

Even if she had noticed it, she chose to not comment on it, and instead smile at him.

"It looks nice. I don't understand why you wouldn't- ''

"Big brother!"

Kanetsugu felt all the blood drawing from his face as he heard the all too familiar, shrill youthful voice above him, and the tree branches overhead rustled with a strange noise, as if someone was to…

"Ahhh!"

Kanetsugu felt a sudden, crushing weight fall upon his shoulders –quite literally, as a young girl dropped from the tree and onto him, sending him crash into the ground with a pained cry.

"Kanny, you're back! I've missed you so much!"

Kanetsugu groaned, and as soon as his head stopped swimming, he focused on pushing the girl away from him, something that proved quite the challenge as she clung around his neck and waist with arms and legs, refusing to get off.

"S-Sumire! Get off of me, please!"

The urgency in his voice eventually persuaded the girl to let go, as she jumped up onto her feet, grinning from ear to ear. Her eyes, dark amber just like his own, were shining with glee, as she pushed a strand of her light violet hair away from her round, youthful face.

"I'm so glad to see you!" She grabbed him by the hand as soon as he had managed to stumble back up, and she started waving her free arm towards another growth of trees, a few meters away. "Yoshichi! Come here! Brother is back!"

Aya –who had the wits to move a few steps backwards as soon as the branches had started to shake-, threw a questioning look towards her student, and Kanetsugu blushed, shaking his head apologetically as the girl continued to tug at his hand with force disproportionate to her size.

But there was no time to explain anything for now, as another person, this time an older boy, jumped down from another tree, and ran up the few meters that separated them, his grin equaling that of the girl's.

"Wow, brother! Father mentioned the letter he sent, but we were all unsure about you visiting!" He slung a makeshift wooden bow across his shoulder. His hair was a light, almost orange shade of brown, but his eyes were, once again, identical to Kanetsugu's.

"Kanetsugu… you never mentioned you had siblings." Aya's voice helped Kanetsugu get a hold of the situation, and he let out a sigh as both the boy and the girl turned to look at his teacher –who they had appeared to notice just now, and only after she has spoken.

"I, um… You never asked, m'Lady-"

"Kanny, who is she?" The girl interrupted him eagerly, still not having let go of his hand. "Is she your girlfriend?!" She exclaimed with renewed excitement, causing Kanetsugu's whole face to turn a bright shade of red.

"What- No! No way! Sumire!" He yelped, baffled, before turning to Aya. "My Lady, I am so sorry, it appears my father never actually explained-"

"It's alright, dear." Aya just smiled, which at present could be interpreted as both a good and a bad thing. "Would you mind introducing us, please?"

"I, um-… Yes, of course." Kanetsugu sighed in resignation, bowing his head a little, before turning towards his siblings. "Sumire, Yoshichi, this is my mentor and one of Illusio's warlords, Lady Aya. Lady Aya, this is Sumire, my younger sister, and this is Yoshichi, my younger brother."

"Pleased to make the acquaintance!" Yoshichi smiled, bowing his head down, and Sumire did the same -although in a much more clumsy manner. However, Aya seemed to mind none of it.

"Pleased to meet you as well, children." She patted Sumire's head gently. "My deepest apologies for my initial confusion –your dear brother has never spoken a word about you." This was quite a direct remark, but Kanetsugu felt he righteously deserved it, and just hung his head even lower.

"Should we…" he swallowed with difficulty, his throat having gone completely dry. "Should we get going…?" He suggested numbly.

"Oh, right!" Sumire finally let go of his hand, only to clap hers together excitedly. "I almost forgot! Mother and Father are waiting for you! Mother cooked your favorite dish too!" Much to her eldest brother's despair, she grabbed his wrist again, and immediately started pulling him towards the building. Aya followed behind them, but Yoshichi bolted towards the door faster than Kanetsugu had imagined could be possible.

"Mother, Father!" He called from the door, that Kanetsugu realised had been left slightly ajar "Kanetsugu is here!"

"And he brought his girlfriend too!" Sumire shouted behind him, letting go of Kanetsugu once more and barging into the house.

"S-Sumire!" Kanetsugu's complaints fell on deaf ears, and he let out an exasperated groan, turning towards Aya. "I am so, so very sorry for this, my Lady, I'd never-"

"Relax, my dear." She cut him off, covering her mouth with her hand to hold back a chuckle. "Let her have her fun. I find it quite adorable, to be honest."

"D-Do you…?" Kanetsugu blinked in confusion, and his face started burning again, but this time because of an entirely different reason. But he chose to just let it go and focus on more pressing matters, as the door opened fully, to reveal his parents…


I initially wanted it to be an one-shot, but it was getting too big so it's split into two parts (part two coming tomorrow, because my mum would like me off her computer before midnight).

Anyway, I confess I'm a sucker for the "my younger siblings think I'm actually dating my secret crush but I'm not and I feel so ashamed even though I do love that person and would love to actually date them'' trope. Silly, I know, but fun to do.

Anyway, part two coming tomorrow! Hope you liked it, and please R&R if you want! ^-^

P.S: I'm practically half-asleep, so there might be some slight mistakes up there