Today was the day when the rest of the Duodecium were scheduled to come and visit the Yayoi manor, as the head of the Yayoi family found himself exceptionally busy for the past couple of weeks to prepare for this day. Once the all the heads of the families had gathered inside for their meeting, the head of the Yayoi family's daughter found herself outside within the garden as she tried her best to find a way to pass the time.
Today of all days wasn't much fun for her. She kicked her ball around the grounds, but was failing to find much fun in it. Sure there were the other children from the other families that had came to visit, but unfortunately for her either the children were way too old for her to find much fun in or the other children made her feel intimated. She often would do her best to avoid the other children, which lead to more issues when her father would become mad from her lack of socializing.
This time though the young girl made a promise to her father... That she would do her best to find and make a friend with one of her fellow Duodecium member's. It wasn't as easy as she promised.
The girl let a sigh escape her lips as she picked up her ball and looked around her, to her left she spotted some other children from the Kisaragi clan. She had met them before, however they were much older then she was. She continued to look around, finding relief that she didn't spot any of the children that made her feel rather distressed.
She then continued to walk further into the garden as she felt a little strained by the promise she made her father. How was she suppose to make friends when all she felt was belittled by the other children that were the closest to her age.
She then stopped in her tracks as she saw the beautiful row of camellia bushes lined in a perfect row within her family's garden. She walked over to them and gently touched a single flower as she brought it to her nose, giving it a slight whiff. 'Am I ever going to find a friend? I know I promised father... But, most of the other children scare me.' She then borrowed her head into the palms of her hands as she let out a another sigh. Then spotting a wilting camellia beneath her as she then knelt to it, gently brushing her fingers against the small petals of the flower. 'You look the way I feel.'
"HIAH!"
She gasped upon hearing the sudden yell. She stood herself back up straight as she then crept through the garden towards the source of the yelp. Once she found herself close to the voice she peered her head out from behind a shrub to see a young buy swinging his practice sword around.
...He looked about her age...
Slowly the young redheaded girl crept out from behind the bush as she then stepped closer towards the boy who looked just about done with his practice as he began to wrap his practice sword within a brown cloth. When she approached the boy close enough she spoke up in a gentle tone, "Who are you?" She asked, pointing at the blonde boy with his mildly long hair. He turned to her, his emerald eyes piercing through hers, only to then stare blankly at her as if he were surprised.
'Huh? Maybe he didn't hear me...' She thought, only then speaking up to the boy. "Umm.. Hi! Who are you?" She asked, slightly sounded excited.
"Who are you?" The boy growled lowly as his eyes squinted. He acted almost as if he was half expecting her to start bullying him.
"I'm Tsubaki Yayoi." She responded in a friendly manner as she tried her best to ignore the glare he gave her.
"...Oh, the girl from the Yayoi family, huh?" He mumbled in response, trying to not sound rude despite his lack of interest.
"Uh-huh, have you heard about me?" She asked, causing the blonde to roll his eyes from her oblivious manner.
"I heard that there was only one child in the Yayoi family... A girl." He replied blandly from his obivious answer.
Tsubaki gave him a nod before asking nervously, "U-Um, so.. what's your name?"
At first the boy didn't reply, almost as if he didn't want to tell her. While he kept quiet he indirectly caused the young girl to begin fidgeting. And finally, after a few minutes of silence they held he decided to break it as he responded.
"...Jin. Jin Kisaragi."
"Oh, I know the Kisaragi manor. I've been there with my father before!" She spoke up brightly while Jin kept quiet. "I don't think I ever met you before thought, Jinny the Kisaragi." She replied, calling him a rather hilarious nickname.
Jin flinched at the name that she called him, but attempted to ignore it. "The Kisaragi family has a whole brood of children, so the fact that we've never met isn't surprising."
"Ohhh, I didn't know that..." Stated Tsubaki, "Um, so, what are you doing here, Jinny the Kisaragi?" She asked, using that name that caused Jin's eye to twitch from hearing it.
Once more he tried to shake that ridiculous name out of his head by occupying his head with their current conversation. "I'm attending the conference of leaders. It seems that I've been nominated to be the next head of the Kisaragi family." His response clearly went over the young girl's head as she gave him a rather confused expression.
"Nomi-what? I don't get it, Jinny the Kisaragi." She replied, using that same name for now the third time which caused Jin's patience to snap.
His response was less then cold, "If you don't understand, then it's nothing you need to worry about... More importantly, hasn't anyone ever taught you how to speak, you know, politely?"
"Huh?" Tsubaki tilted her head slightly in response a she gave a blank stare to the young boy.
"You see, you're younger than me. So I'm telling you to show me some respect!" He growled in a vile tone, causing Tsubaki to shuffle back a little.
"Oh, my father tells me I need to be polite to everyone too... He gets mad at me when I don't... I'm sorry." She replied in a upset tone as she hung her head down, looking to her feet below her.
Jin let out a sigh, he didn't want to make her feel that bad about it. "It's..." He turned his head away from her as she raised hers. "-Nothing you need to apologize for. If you could just... stop calling me that."
"W-Well, what should I call you?" Tsubaki asked as she gazed at the blonde in curiosity.
"Ah, well, I mean, my name.." Jin stuttered.
"Then you want me to call you Jin?"
"I-I mean my family na-" Jin went to reply, only to have Tsubaki interrupted him as she began to jump up and down.
"Jin! Jin!" She sang happily as she gently clapped her hands while still jumping up and down.
Jin stared at her in disbelief as he was rather confused by her excitement over something simple as his name. He then grunted before letting a sigh of defeat. "Whatever works for you."
The boy went to walk away from her, only to find her skip in front of him as she dropped her ball to the side as she grabbed his hands within hers. "Yaaaay! That means you're my brother now, right?" Tsubaki chripped as she gave him a bright smile, feeling something she had never felt before... joy in finding a friend.
"Where the hell did that come from?" Jin spluttered as Tsubaki knocked his sword from out of his grip as she crashed into him and gave him a tight hug.
However, she only ignored his question as she continued to happily rant on. "OK, you have to promise! You gotta promise to be my brother forever and ever, alright?" She chimed happily, ignoring the cross between annoyed and disturbed look plastered across Jin's face.
"Promise? Fine, whatever." Jin replied bluntly as he truly couldn't give a damn about Tsubaki's promise...
That was until something she said next had caught his attention..
"Th-then cross your heart!"
Jin looked to her with a surprised look in his eyes. He could hardly believe that someone within the Duodecium would want to be friends with HIM of all people. She wanted to be friends with him and he could tell that it wasn't just to use him then back stabbing him later either. It was a odd sensation he felt..
The two children then stood there as they held their deep gaze, emerald to sapphire. They on that very spot came up with a cute pledge that was reserved for one another and only between the two of them.
Cross my heart and hope to die
I promise that I will never lie
And if that promise ever does go...
I give to you my eternal soul!
The both chanted at the same time, marking the new beginning of their new found friendship and bond that they now shared.
A/N: I hope you guys all enjoyed that, even though it was mainly dialogue from the game for the first chapter. Anyways, please feel free to leave me a review, I really appreciate it and I hope you guys found this enjoyable to read.