Chapter 3: Necessary Changes

Author's Note: Thanks for the adds and the reviews and whatnot XD I am officially done with school but it's looking to be a busy schedule…my niece may be coming to visit…and children are a handful, if you don't know. And I'm going to Canada o.O Yea…I'll try to rack out as much of this as I can. Enjoy! And this chapter is in line with Chapter 5 of 'This Love'.

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"…Your hair is crazy. Are you really Asian?"

Yagami Hoshiko looked up from her rough drafts and glared heatedly at Shimizu Julius who was staring at her weirdly. Huffing, she started to ignore him, but…

"My hair may have went back some generations in my family line…my family is American too."

"I see…"

It had been three months…three long, horrible, hellish months. Roshinko Day was a nice company, no doubt…it was just THIS guy.

Compared to this guy her brothers were doting marvelous little boys that would never call her names growing up. And besides that being an absolute lie, it was sad too. What was his problem, God!

Worse than that was Roshinko Eo had incorporated what he called 'coworker camaraderie'. People would be paired with someone and they'd both set a couple rules that would make them help each other and grow closer…and naturally, who else was she paired with but King Queen himself?

"You're going to get lunch everyday" he said simply.

"How about no?" she scowled.

He glowered, "SOMEONE has to get lunch!"

"Why don't we break the days up? You get Monday and Wednesday, I get Tuesday and Thursday, and then Friday, we'll just get our own lunch?" she grumbled.

Julius blinked rapidly before shrugging, "I guess I can handle that…"

She bought a dry erase board so that they could write what they wanted on any particular day…and yep, he brought her back the complete opposite of what she asked. If she asked for a chicken sandwich, he brought her back a fish filet. Jackass.

Roshinko Eo, so naïve, insisted that they have each other's cell phone number…why, God knew, but all she did know was that pansy liked texting and leaving her creepy messages all the time. Her retaliation for a while was sending him porn…with men. Course, once she sat down and thought about it, he probably liked it. However, he had looked fairly disgusted with her over it. Well worth it in any case…until he started sending her pictures of naked women.

…Yea, they both had had to call a truce on that one.

But she was so busy doing work, coming up with designs, and fighting back this womanish devil, she hadn't been able to go to her barber in nearly three or four months… and her hair was naturally kind of curly slash wavy, a horrid combination…

She had a barber who worked at Hitori that did her hair exactly like she wanted…then she had this other guy who didn't do it well at all and had once even left a patch missing in her hair. So…why not just go to Hitori?

…He was a pervert sleazebag. He groped her ass, slapped said spot, rubbed her thigh, suggested herbal remedies so her chest could get to a 'B'. Good barber, lousy man…it was one of the more interesting moments with her brother when she asked him to come with her, again one of the few times she admitted needing help.

"Uh…why?"

Hoshiko sulked, "Can you just PLEASE come with me? I swear, after this, I won't ask you again."

Jyun Yagami twirled around in his computer chair in his apartment, this being maybe a year ago as he cocked a brow, "You know, you don't really have to go to a barber…"

Her eyes narrowed and he quickly waved his hands, "So be it, so be it. Give me a second…"

So she led him down to Hitori's place and the man looked Jyun over rather heavily.

"…You need a haircut" he grunted, Jyun's hair past his shoulders.

"I'll pass" her brother said dryly, sitting down.

The man huffed and Hoshiko sat in the chair, feeling safe that the man was holding back his actions back. She glared at Jyun who was actually cringing as her locks fell on the floor, strand by strand, until she had a nice crop cut…

Satisfied, she stood and paid him. He glared up at Jyun who glowered back and Hitori grunted to her lowly. "Leave your hippy boyfriend at home next time, hun, it's more fun that way…"

Hoshiko opened her mouth to retort something…but Jyun jumped her to it.

"One, I am her BROTHER. And what the hell do you mean by that?" he snarled.

The man opened his mouth, "I'm just saying-"

"And I don't f—king like what you're saying! F—king mess with my sister, I'll cut you open!"

Hoshiko was stunned, else she would have told Jyun to stop being so spazzy. Her family, the males in particular, tended to be…overprotective. Her Uncle Koji, her father's twin brother, once said it was because the Yagami and affiliate women tended to be…very attractive? And that, overall, they knew how men thought and knew they couldn't be trusted. Strange indeed, but wasn't something she'd expect to be extended from her brothers...

So after that, she just couldn't bring herself to go back. But…she couldn't really afford to have poorly kept looking hair. Thus…time to go get Jyun who probably wasn't going to begin to comply. Maybe…maybe Kyo…or her dad…definitely not her mom, she'd start to sob and throw a hissy fit…

Hoshiko stood and glowered at Julius who was typing something, "I'm going to go get a haircut."

"Not a moment too soon…while you're at it, send your partner some flowers. I'm sure she's upset you decided to get all girly suddenly."

Hoshiko flicked his back off and grumbled, stalking out. UGH! She hated this!

…She'd put it plain and clear: she was not a lesbian. She had nothing against it whatsoever but that somehow the clothes she tolerated were getting her generalized into something she wasn't irritated her greatly. So what if she wore guy's clothes and wore her hair short and had a bold attitude? That didn't mean she was attracted to women!

…Course, with men like Julius and manwhores like her brothers, it sounded like she'd be better off if she was...

Swallowing as she walked into the magazine Jyun currently worked at called Kikanki, she asked the front door lady where she could find 'Yagami Jyun's' office. She received stares as she headed in that direction, flustering. Ugh, she should just become a pariah…

As she came to the door, she stiffened when she heard Jyun's secretary's voice…oh no…

"I mean, your work is great and all but there has to be something to actually waking up before 2 p.m." she apparently told her brother.

Hoshiko almost snickered. Seriously. Peeking in, she expected Jyun to be there…but his desk, apparently the big one, was empty…

Seiwa Roomi was sitting at her desk, legs propped up on the table...somehow, the phone pressed to her ear. Hoshiko sulked…ugh, personally she'd hoped never to see her again.

Roomi, seeming to forget about her butch comment, blinked at her, "Oh wow, you grew your hair out."

Hoshiko glowered a bit before looking around once more, just to make sure Jyun wasn't in the office, "Is Jyun here?"

"I'm on the phone with the idiot now" Roomi answered with a sigh

Hoshiko groaned. Meaning he wasn't there and she wasted a trip…Roomi played with the cord, glancing at her, "Your lazy ass brother wants to know why you're here."

Hoshiko scowled and crossed her arms. What did it matter? He wasn't there. But maybe he could meet her there… "I needed him to go to Hitori's with me. He'll know what I mean."

Roomi cocked a brow some but told him, "She said she needed you to go to Hitori's with her and that you'll know what she means."

Hoshiko nearly rolled her eyes, hearing her brother's voice from where she stood. Roomi sighed, "Stop going to sleaze ball barbers."

Very annoyed, Hoshiko slammed her foot, starting to march away, "Ugh! Whatever, I'll go myself!"

Hoshiko could hear 'the hell she will!' and Roomi rolled her eyes…she really couldn't blame the secretary, arguing between siblings. Frowning as her cell phone rang, she could have chucked it out the window when she saw it was Julius. This day was getting better and better! Answering, she grumbled, "Hello…?"

"Oi! Where's my lunch?!" he demanded loudly.

"I told you that I'm going to get my hair cut!" she growled. Besides, she left a note saying that she'd left the lunch in the refrigerator anyway. Maybe it wasn't hot…

"Oh, that's right. You have to maintain your husband-like appearance…" he said snidely.

"Shut up!"

"Now, now, I understand how important that must be in your relationship. Gender roles seem to be an essential in some cases…"

Hoshiko flushed, feeling very angry and irritated and upset and wanting to kill something, "I-I am not…I hate you. I'll see you tomorrow."

Clicking off, stuffing her phone in her pocket with a heavy sigh, she pursed her lips. She had to be the mature one but…she wished he'd stop…it…it wasn't funny anymore. At least Kyo and Jyun knew when to stop…

"Who was that?"

Hoshiko looked up and scowled, the questioned directed at her from Jyun's secretary who seemed curious. Not that it was any of her business ANYWAY, she thought bitterly.

UNTIL… "Is there a boy you like, hmm?" the purple haired woman asked with a smile.

Hoshiko could have passed out. Where did THAT come from?! Why would she be yelling at someone she liked? …And oh GOD, what if everyone at work thought something like that? Mortified, she flushed, blurting, "W-what?! No, I hate him! H-he's just like you were, calling me butch and manly and whatever else and I hate it!"

Roomi seemed to look her over thoughtfully before commenting, "I see…"

Hoshiko stiffened, wearing a tweed pantsuit that was rather comfortable though admittedly awkwardly loose on her. She commented further, knowing that look, "I-I don't have to dress girly to satisfy the chauvinists in the office!"

The woman blinked rapidly but slowly, giving her a 'are you serious?' look, before countering, "So you dress like said chauvinists as a way of saying…I can be just like you, hmm?"

This caught Hoshiko off guard…and rather puzzled her. What? No, nothing like that, just …why should she have to dress a certain defined way? And…and she did get more respect dressed this way…what was so wrong with that?

But Roomi shrugged, replying, "Everyone is judged by appearance, whether it's right or not or how much people tell you not to. It's just hard to stop, I guess, because your appearance kind of tells a story and it's the first thing you see. 'Don't judge a book by it's cover', sure, but the cover has to have made you pick it up. So what's your cover? Beside equaling men?"

...What she wore sold the story? It sounded materialistic and Hoshiko hated that. However, maybe that was the problem here anyway. To be honest, he didn't really like guy clothes. She just…wasn't all that comfortable in girl's clothes.

Shrugging, feeling awkward because she could slightly see her point, she remarked "I just wore guy clothes because I ran around with my brothers a lot when I was younger. It just became more comfortable, I suppose. I don't want to be uncomfortable while working…"

…Thing was, which one did Hoshiko hate more…being uncomfortable or being tortured? She didn't want to change for him but…

Roomi tapped her chin, "So it's just a comfort thing?"

…Yea, who was she kidding, she wasn't out to surmount gender roles…or was she? She didn't know what she was doing. Comfort sounded about right. "Pretty much…"

The secretary clapped her hands, smiling, "Then how about we make this guy eat his words, hmm? Go for a little shopping?"

…Really? Shopping with…her? Hoshiko hated shopping with a passion…but…well, maybe she could upgrade her wardrobe? And…Julius eating his words sounded really, really awesome somehow…

"I…I guess I don't mind. But I don't…don't do skirts." Just had to lay that on the line right there. Her legs were stick thin and nothing to be proud of.

Roomi treated it as no consequence, waving a hand as she went behind her desk and grabbed her purse, "Fine, fine."

Hoshiko followed after her sheepishly as the smaller woman fished through her purse and pulled out some rattling keys. She was just walking away?

"…Don't you have to work?" Hoshiko questioned.

"Your brother comes two days out of the week, I'm usually done within three hours and sitting here twiddling my thumbs" she snorted.

"Ah…" Figured.

Hoshiko was startled when they walked out not to get on a bus…but in a car. And not any car, a purple Volkswagen Beetle. Quite possibly the girliest thing she'd ever seen in her life.

Hoshiko, feeling kind of reluctant riding in a car with a complete stranger, climbed into the passenger seat and looked around. She had lacy seat covers and a purple polka dotted steering wheel cover…crazy. Hoshiko glanced at her before noticing…holy crap, she was short. She looked like she was going for a joy ride. Not able to fight it, she snickered. Roomi had started the car and gave her a quick glance before looking into her side mirror to back out of her parking spot, "What?"

"Nothing" Hoshiko coughed, "You just look…very kiddish."

The woman pouted at this statement, "I know I'm short, sheesh! Just seems like everyone in your family is tall. Kyo and Jyun are giants."

Hoshiko froze. She knew Kyo? What…? Wasn't she just Jyun's secretary? Unless Kyo was hanging out at the magazine…but she had to ask, "You've met Kyo…?"

Roomi was cautious merging onto a main street before nodding, "Uh huh, he's Jyun and my designated driver."

Hoshiko silently digested that. She wasn't sure why that bothered her so much, it wasn't that important. But knowing that her brothers were hanging out with a girl with possibly no intimate relations involved irked her. They never let her hang out with them…God, she was childish. Still…"They always treated me like crap but I guess you fit the 'one of the guys' persona more than I did."

But staring at the purple striped floor mats, she really didn't quite see that being the case either. Her brothers just hated her.

She disliked being the only daughter because it just was…well, a difficult position. She had wanted to be one of the guys but then she didn't at the same time. She wanted her brother's attention but they were loathe to give it to her. And her mother often came up with the excuse 'because you're a girl' when she asked why can't she go play football with them? Or why couldn't she have a tree house? And when she was younger, much like that memory of the mines, her brothers never neglected to point out that she was a girl, that she didn't belong. And when she got older, tried being more like a guy, they called her butch…there was just no winning.

"They were being bad ass little kids. I think the main purpose of an older brother is to pick on their little sister. It's just the order of things" Roomi responded, interrupting her sulking.

Maybe she was holding onto the past. She just couldn't get over that discrimination though… "Regardless."

Roomi continued, "I think they'd hang out with you. Jyun is ALWAYS complaining about how you never come to this dinner night thingy he always disappears for."

Jeez, that was her obsessive older brother…she'd never understand that. Didn't everyone have something to do on Mondays besides get together and talk to their family…? Sure, it was nice to have a reunion every once in a while but every Monday? And there was such high attendance too! It was lollygagging to her.

…And maybe that wasn't all it was.

It was something she wasn't. Something she never would be as long as she could help it. It was something that made her look like the odd one out and she hated it. She hated that everyone just seemed to be so gung-ho about it and how everyone thought it was weird when you weren't. She could get past Kyo and Jyun's past tortures, she honestly could. But that…

"Honestly, that has nothing to do with my family…well, my direct family anyway. The problem is that…well, all the cousins, they're…they're married" she grimaced.

Roomi blinked and gave her a quick look of confusion, "God forbid."

Hoshiko winced. Truly she wished she could state her opinion in a way that didn't make her sound like a bitter bitch. "That's fine too. Except it just follows this stereotype…all my cousins get married and their wives are all so devoted that they'll have hundreds of their children. Like my tomboy cousin, Kaede? She just suddenly falls head over heels in love with this guy and has three of his children without question. It just…irritates me."

Though she had to admit, which may surprise her 'lovely' coworker, Kaede's husband was pretty cute. Maybe the three kids did make sense.

Roomi was gazing at stores they passed, murmuring as she did so, "People change. It's probably hard to understand if you've never been in love though, I guess…and really, they're still your cousins, right?"

Well, true enough. Kaede was just about the same, besides being a mama…all her cousins had matured but still had those tendencies. Being married made them different but at the same time…they were still them.

Maybe she should just stop finding fault with everything, she thought with a sigh. But still…

"I guess. I don't know, it also seems really lame, the whole family getting together every Monday."

Roomi pouted suddenly, "I tried to convince Jyun to let me go to see what's up but he told me there's no way in any circle of hell that's happening. Something about his mother would never let him live it down…"

That made Hoshiko laugh. Jyun bringing a woman to family dinner night? That'd be so hilarious and weird, "Oh God, our mother has been trying to get Jyun to marry someone for years. If he brought any form of a female home, I can just imagine."

And indeed, Yagami Elli would have his wedding planned by the end of the night. Their mother tried her best to get her sons to consider calming down their promiscuous tendencies. Jyun, having been hurt in the past by someone he'd really liked, had sworn off marriage, much like she had but for different reasons. And Kyo claimed he hadn't found the right one yet. Nonetheless, their mother couldn't stand it and tried to hook them up whenever she could.

Roomi noted, "She seems kind of overbearing, your mother, but Jyun and Kyo seem to think the world of her."

Her brothers were mama's boys, somewhat. "Of course they do, they were her little darlings. But she hates how they're…womanizers."

"I really can't think of any woman that would like that their son is a manwhore" Roomi snickered.

Hoshiko smiled faintly at that…in a sense, talking about them, she wondered if they'd…changed. She wondered if maybe things were a lot different than she remembered and that they would accept her. She knew she could deal with Kyo and Jyun's past transgressions against her but…would they want to do that as well? Maybe Jyun wanted her to come to dinner but maybe he was just saying that as duty to their mother who always seemed dejected that they all seemed so busy.

The idea intrigued her and she shrugged, "I guess…I'll try to put in a visit. It has been a while."

She was startled as Roomi grabbed the bend of her arm, dragging her toward Macys, commenting, "Great! Let's get a new outfit for you so your daddy can see you all pretty!"

Hoshiko flustered. Why would she want THAT?

Admittedly, out of her immediate family, her father was probably her favorite. She'd rather not think of herself as a daddy's girl but Yagami Nelly never told her she couldn't do anything because 'she was a girl' and often reprimanded, when he was present, Kyo and Jyun for making fun of her, demanding they grant her the same kind of respect that they gave each other. That made her smile for a moment. Bless her dad's heart for saying that but unfortunately it wasn't the best comparison, considering how the brother's relationship could be from time to time…

She watched Roomi go across the racks like an avid, attentive artist, staring at colors and prints with a serious eye. Hoshiko just couldn't do it. Some people took shopping as an art, maybe that's why they loved it so…her, she just wanted to get it done and over with.

Glancing at a shirt that was rainbow cheetah print, her eyes widened. Well, maybe she just didn't quite have the eye…

"Jyun doesn't talk about his dad much. Do they get along?"

Noting next the zigzag purple, yellow, and blue, she blanked, "Dad, Kyo, and Jyun are like best friends. Dad takes them drinking and everything."

True enough, those were his boys…or maybe her dad was just strange.

"Wow…"

Hoshiko looked to her and gaped, startled, to find her holding a silk tunic style shirt with no arms and a turtleneck. It had red and yellow and white wild prints… and it looked hella complicated. Hoshiko refused complicated too!

She blurted, "Y-you can't be serious. That's…that's the weirdest shirt ever, I wouldn't even know how to put it on."

Roomi glanced at the shirt she was holding before shrugging, "It'll compliment you perfectly, don't worry. And you're a smart girl, you'll figure it out."

Hoshiko took the item from her as she held it out and stared it over…well, it did feel nice…still there were a lot of holes going on. Where did her head go through…?

After deliberating over this for a second, she questioned dryly, "Didn't Jyun ever tell you I was an idiot?"

Roomi didn't seem to buy. "I think Jyun thinks more highly of you than you realize. Besides, he's in no place to call anyone an idiot."

Hoshiko chuckled at that, noticing a nearby mirror and pressing the article of clothing in front of her…ugh, would she have the body for this?

"Honestly, I don't know why he acts like that. I'll give him that he's a very humble guy" she remarked, wondering what pants would even go with this…

"What do you mean?" Roomi questioned, apparently on that mission already.

"Mm, Jyun was a valedictorian of his class in high school and Magna Cum Laude in college" Hoshiko shook her head, still in disbelief about that to this day. Smartest dumb ass ever.

This seemed to surprise Roomi a lot though, "That idiot told me he wasn't!"

Hoshiko scowled a little as she was handed about a dozen articles of clothing, knowing where this was going. She'd be forced to try them on. She hated trying stuff on, it killed her already low self-esteem. Commenting as she looked through the stack, she shook her head.

"Jyun never really gloats about that type of thing. It just…well, doesn't fit him, I guess? I still remember at his graduation party, he was making all sort of idiot comments and our dad even teased him, asking how he graduated…"

But then, that was just how Jyun rolled, she guessed…she'd kind of gloat a little if she had accomplished all he had. Oh well…

Roomi had pursed her lips, as if she'd learned something completely astonishing before smiling, shoving her towards where else but the dressing room. Ugh, this would suck…

Stepping inside, she pouted as Roomi instructed her, "See those pants on top? Put those on, I think they'll work with all the shirts."

Swallowing, she found the…pants and put them on…they were shorts and flared at the bottom…and honestly extremely comfortable for how not slackerish they looked.

"…What are these?" Hoshiko asked, surprised. They didn't draw any undo attention to any place and yet they were so…feminine.

"Gauchos. They're kind of out at the moment, honestly, but I think it'll be perfect for you and that you can rock them. Try on a top so I can see."

Biting her lip, Hoshiko grabbed the white button up blouse shirt with a built in black bodice…putting it on, she grimaced. Ugh, lack of boobage equaled fail.

Opening the door, she pouted sadly, "I…don't have breasts."

And noticing that the petite woman before her had a rack that anyone could envy, she sighed. But Roomi waved a hand.

"Honey, for all the back pain they're worth, if I could, I'd deal out a chest size to all that wanted it."

Hoshiko blinked at this and Roomi scowled, "And what is with that bra anyway? You're not a grandma! Ugh, this is going to take some time."

Hoshiko groaned at that and Roomi stroked her chin, shaking her head, "Now see? The guy clothes made me think you were bigger than you are. You're thin! Let me go get a small…"

After all the sizes were changed…well, everything did look a lot better. Roomi found her more womanly pants that were similar to the suit pants she wore, just better fitting. Hoshiko scowled when she reached the bottom of the pile and found, of all things, a dress.

"Hey, I said no skirts" she sulked.

"It's a long dress! I'm not dilly there, you, I know you're trying to hide your legs and believe me, as a short person, I can slightly understand though I have to work the opposite."

Hoshiko blushed and frowned, "W-well, still…"

"Just try it. And wear the vest over it too…"

Disgruntled, she put on the long maroon dress and swallowed, confused…the dress, button up, hugged her curves…way too attractively. It was puzzling because she'd pretty much convinced herself no such thing was possible.

Pulling the vest on, she stared at herself in the mirror and rubbed her arms. It felt wrong, almost sickening actually.

But she liked it…

Roomi demanded she buy it when she showed it to her and Hoshiko shyly complied. Thinking the excursion was over, Roomi then proceeded to drag her to make-up where she got her lipgloss, saying a tiny amount would make her lips look pretty and wouldn't take an hour to apply. Okay…next, they went to jewelry. Hoshiko had wanted to deny this but Roomi told her standard sized diamond studs could make any outfit. They were pretty simple. After that, they went, embarrassingly, to the bras. 'You're not a billion years old, damn it' was Roomi's complaint, giving her sexy less wired bras, showing her the action of pushing her chest in to give her more cleavage…awkward, but insightful. She refused thongs, so help her, but Roomi did convince her to at least try a bikini cut. Shoes…shoes were just weird, it took a majority of the trip, only beat out by the clothes part.

…Needless to say, she was pretty exhausted when they put everything in Roomi's car. It took up the trunk and the back seat. Roomi clapped, starting the car, "This is exciting!"

"Yea…" Hoshiko blushed.

"Well, there's just one more thing."

Oh God. Hoshiko glanced at her fearfully, "What's left…?"

She was apprehensive as they pulled up in front of a hair salon. She'd never went into any place like that. She always went to…well, barbers. But Roomi said there was no way she was butchering her hair anymore.

"I know, sometimes I want to wake up and say 'to hell with you' to my hair too. Unfortunately, I'm high maintenance. You, on the other hand, can have a style that is just comb and wear, not mousse, spray, brush, condition, and flat iron."

"Comb and wear?" Hoshiko echoed.

"Uh huh! Just wake up, run a comb through, and boom."

"…Wouldn't washing it ruin a style though?"

"Nope, not with what I'm thinking."

…Well, if that hair style existed, then sure. She just doubted it.

"Hi, Roomi dear!" called a worker at the salon.

"Hi, Shomi!"

Wow, first name basis. Crazy.

"And who do we have here?" asked the woman, her red hair stylishly cut short and spiky.

"This is my 'boss'' little sister, Hoshiko" Roomi introduced, "She needs a very low-maintenance but stylish do. She doesn't have time to do a lot of prep in the morning and if I hadn't brought her here, she'd chop it all off to a crew cut."

"Oh no, no, honey, that's not good at all. You have a good texture!" Shomi gasped.

Was kinky curly a texture…? The woman stroked her chin and nodded, "Unfortunately, I can't see any style that wouldn't need a little maintenance with this texture…"

Hoshiko groaned. She knew it…Hitori's, here she comes.

"Well, I mean, unless you'll have time every few months to come back, that is."

Hoshiko looked up, blinking… "Every few…months?"

"Oh yes, I'd cut it a little short and layer it a bit to make it wavy. With the layers, all you have to do is comb it down and it's perfect."

…Every two to three months? That wasn't anywhere near as bad as she expected…she laughed slowly.

"W-well, that should be fine then."

The woman brightened, "Great! Let's get you under the wash."

Hoshiko closed her eyes, surprised by how relaxing having her hair washed was. The woman was gentling massaging a nice smelling shampoo into her scalp. After she rinsed it, she led Hoshiko to the hair for blow drying. She informed Hoshiko that this was the hardest part. Right…

Cropping her hair to a little below her neck, the woman used a flat iron to straighten, clipping her ends and curving her hair a bit. Hoshiko frowned and the dresser chuckled.

"I know, this seems like a lot of time to spend but this is just the main step. After, it should all be something you can get maintained in fifteen minutes."

Hoshiko nodded, understanding…staring at the cut, she bit her lip, "I-I don't know, I've never had my hair long…n-not since I was little, anyway."

Roomi, sitting in a nearby chair, reading a magazine, scoffed, standing, "It's a lot cuter than what you had going on before! Besides, you'll look amazing when you get into some of your new clothes…"

Hoshiko swallowed, unsure. Her whole life, she'd pretty much been the same…she may have been ten the last time she wore a dress…but Roomi, the strange secretary of her oldest brother, smiled happily.

"A little change never hurt anyone…give it a shot. I betcha' you'll like it."

Staring at herself, a different looking person but still the same otherwise, she sheepishly blushed and nodded slowly. She held it against her cousins that they changed, she'd pretty much refused to see if her brothers had changed almost…maybe she did have too much against change.

And hey, Julius couldn't really call her 'manly' like this right?

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Oh, this was so awkward. She kneaded her hands as she stepped off the ferry into Mineral. It was…weird, kind of, being back there. She lived in the city directly after leaving college. And yea, she did come back a couple times but it still had been a while…

Wandering, the clack of her flat bottomed leather lace-up boots against the stones humming with the activity on the streets. Doug's bar was packed with insane customers, the streets were crowded with mini shops, and Jeff's grocery store was bright as people paraded in and out with supplies. Hoshiko blinked as some children darted past her, walking with their parents to a restaurant. It was so…bustling.

Coming closer to where her uncle's house was, she took a deep breath, thinking she saw her cousin Carrie with some…guy and her son, Hayato, tucked under his arm.

…Woah, he totally had to be Hayato's father though, they were practically twins. When'd that happen…?

"…Who are you?"

Hoshiko stiffened, flustering, her brother's voice startling her. She spared a brief glance at Jyun who was staring at her in wide-eyed amazement as she crossed her arms and walked past him, "Shut up!"

She had decided to wear the maroon dress. Just because she liked it though, not to dress up 'pretty for her daddy' or whatever. Jyun's steps echoed behind her.

"Uh, just…kidding. You're…cute."

CUTE? Hoshiko wanted to wail on him…but realized she might hear that a lot more…assuming people did find her cute. Ugh, this is why she hated being a girl. She glowered back at him. "Your secretary took me shopping."

This gave Jyun pause as he reiterated slowly, "Roomi took you shopping…?"

She almost snickered. Indeed, after their first meeting…well, she could tell what the deal with Roomi was: she was blunt. Painfully so, almost, and the kind of interesting part was Roomi didn't care. So it might have been a little uncouth of her to call Hoshiko butch within seconds of meeting her but that…just seemed to be her.

"Yes…and she said there was no need to cut off all my hair, just get something wake and wear…and apparently this is 'wake and wear' as long as I get it done once every few months."

"I see…" Jyun commented though obviously it was still a bit lost on him.

She rubbed her arms, the air a tad nippy, mumbling, "And she convinced me to come…I…I don't know what to expect."

"I'm sure mom and dad will be thrilled" Jyun smiled.

Blushing at that, she mumbled, changing what felt like an awkward subject, "She's an interesting person, that…Roomi."

Jyun agreed rather amiably, "Yea, she's one in a million."

Hoshiko cocked a brow at this. Her brother usually didn't say…strange things like that. She got the idea that he and Roomi were a lot more intimate than they'd admit. Which ultimately wouldn't be too surprising. Giving her brother a secretary was just an all around bad idea…but she had noted that Roomi asked a lot of questions about Jyun, ones he'd gnaw his own arm off before telling anyone not related about. "She seems curious about you. Especially after I told her about your rankings in school."

Jyun paused and glared at her a bit, "WHAT? What did you tell her?"

Sometimes humble did get a bit annoying…"I told her you were top-ranked and I didn't know why you acted like a moron" she shrugged, feeling as if it were of no consequence.

"Hoshiko!" he exclaimed.

"Hoshiko?"

They both jumped a mile as Yagami Elli's voice pervaded the moment, the woman pushing between them and grasping her wrists, "Oh my goodness! Look at you! You're so pretty!"

She hadn't been pretty before? "Thanks…"

"Oh, you've always been beautiful but you never used your potential!"

Hoshiko flustered, "W-well, uh…"

"Ah! This is so exciting, you haven't been in years!" the woman practically bubbled.

Hoshiko just smiled anxiously and Elli grabbed both her and Jyun's arm, dragging them towards the house. Oh God, here goes.

"What the hell?"

She sulked at her other brother, Yagami Kyo, who stared at her, gawking. Hoshiko 'hmph'd' and their mother scolded him, "Stop looking at her like that, you!"

"Well, well, well, it's been a while."

Hoshiko blushed and looked at her Uncle Koji sheepishly, "Hi…"

"You didn't look like this last time I saw you" Kyo scowled.

"What's your problem?" she demanded.

Koji laughed, waving them out of the doorway, "Don't mind Kyo, Hoshiko, brothers tend to be a little wary of changes in siblings…especially with sisters."

She blinked, confused at that, and Jyun snickered, "I'm cool with it…"

"I'm not! It's a guy, isn't it?" Kyo grunted.

"Is it?" Elli gasped, excited.

"No!" exclaimed Hoshiko, "I-I just thought I could use some change!"

Jyun smirked widely as Elli was called off to do something in the kitchen and Koji took a phone call before cocking a brow at Kyo, "Roomi caught her in her trap and took her shopping, punk. Don't get so up in arms."

Kyo seemed vaguely placated…vaguely. The two pulled her into the den with all the cousins and their kids and…everything.

She was met with that usually cheerful mood her cousins always had. Her grandmother, the great Yagami Dana of the world-famous fashion company, Yagada, was delighted, saying she wanted to give her outfits too. Oh God.

Hoshiko felt rather mortified and embarrassed when she was given five years' worth of Christmas and birthday presents that had apparently been sitting in her Uncle's basement for…FIVE years.

…Was it really acceptable to go that long without seeing…anyone? Why had it seemed like it was? But as she was staring at over two hundred presents, it definitely put things into perspective. The amount of presents could have been the amount of events and memories she missed, the amount of pain and anguish a family member went through.

…And she missed it because she found all this 'happiness' lame? Not to mention they still actually took the time to bother to buy her presents when she couldn't even bother to show up...

"Uh" she laughed nervously, "I'll um, open these in a second. I might need a few days off too."

Carrie smirked, "Don't worry. If you don't mind, we have enough kids here that are experts at opening presents."

The kids did seem eager and she chuckled some, "Go ahead…"

Looking around squeamishly, she questioned, "Um, where's dad?"

"Napping like an old man on the deck" yawned Jyun.

Hoshiko smirked and stood, "I'll be right back then."

Wandering towards the back of the house, she blinked, her dad indeed stretched out on the heated covered deck in a chair, snoring faintly. She blushed and started to walk back in. She could talk to him later, he seemed tired.

"Mm, Elli…?"

She paused, glancing over her shoulder. He'd turned over on his stomach and was gazing sleepily around in the dark.

"Uh…no…"

Yagami Nelly rose to sit up, rubbing the back of his head, dazed, "Hoshiko?"

"Uh, hi…" she blushed.

Why was she so nervous…? The man rubbed his eyes, waving her over, "Oi, what are you doing? Come here."

Pouting some, she wandered back towards him and squeaked when he pulled her into a hug, "I haven't seen you in months, young lady. I could have died by now."

"That's not funny, papa" she pouted more.

He chuckled and he stared her over, "Well, don't we look all dressed up. Party?"

"Something like that" she snickered.

Nelly stood, releasing her and grunting a little as he stretched, "Mm, how long have I been asleep…?"

"I don't know. Jyun told me you were back here."

"Your knucklehead brothers are being nice to you, right?" he grumbled.

"Kyo's being kind of dumb…" she sighed airily.

"Well, that's just Kyo."

She chuckled as he walked back into the house with her, wandering into the living room where the others were still working on demolishing the mountain of presents. She saw she had gifts anywhere from ricemakers to video games. Laughing a little when she saw she'd received, of all things, a Tamagotchi, she slammed down and picked it up.

"So who got the time machine to go buy this?"

"That might have been me, I'm not sure…" mused Kaede, "I thought it'd be cute. I remember Kyo threw yours into the bathtub."

"Oi, that thing was being loud and obnoxious" Kyo snorted.

"We never threw you into a bathtub" Jyun said offhandedly.

Kyo glowered, "If only that were true…"

Jyun grinned and Hoshiko smirked, rolling her eyes, when Jyun's cell suddenly beeped. He took it out, clicking a button, and reading its contents. He smiled vaguely and typed something. Kyo crossed his arms and sent him a look, "That your girlfriend?"

"I don't have a girlfriend" Jyun said rather plainly.

Hoshiko stared at him as he responded to another…and got the strangest feeling he was talking to Roomi.

Kyo yawned, rubbing his eyes, "I am exhausted…"

"Yea, manual labor can do that to you" Jyun remarked, still texting.

Kyo snorted, "Like you'd know, Mr. I-Sit-In-Front-Of-A-Computer-All-Day."

"Correction: Mr. Sometimes- I-Sit-In-Front-Of-A-Computer-All-Day" Jyun amended.

Kyo smirked widely and Hoshiko glanced at him, "What exactly are you doing nowadays…?"

"A lot of construction right now" he answered, "Kind of quick projects."

She nodded slowly and questioned everyone what was up. They all answered particularly strangely, in any case, Carrie apparently back in acting school, Steiner the owner of now a lot of restaurants in his Tenshiya line…

…It struck her that she'd taken so long to change when everyone seemed to change so much so easily. And she felt awkward because she'd missed it because she'd refused to change herself.

Walking out after eating, starting to head home, Jyun and Kyo with her and carrying her things, she sighed, "That was…interesting."

"Mm" Jyun remarked, stretching.

"I, uh…guess I should come more" she laughed slowly, "Sucks being out of the loop."

"I can imagine" snorted Kyo.

Hoshiko scowled at him and Jyun chuckled, "Well, it's good you made a visit…"

"…I'll come more" she mumbled, "Just not…every week."

"Psh, I don't come every week" Jyun admitted, "I do have a job, after all. And sometimes it doesn't reasonably fit into my schedule."

"Yea" Kyo agreed.

She glanced at them as they all boarded the ferry. When she thought about it, she guessed everyone wasn't… 'lolly-gagging'. If Carrie was going to school again, she obviously couldn't make it to every dinner night. And if Steiner owned businesses, he probably couldn't either…

Maybe she'd missed the point. Of course they had stuff to do on a Monday night but everyone could use a time to relax out of a busy week...

Gazing out at the water, she swore to make another change. Judgmental had always been something she was. Even back when she was a teenager that did attend every dinner night.

…But no longer. She'd…try to keep a more open mind to things now. She'd…try to be less biting at work, to try to get to know people, to stop talking over people in business meetings to get her own ideas across. Maybe those people had wanted to express their thoughts as much as she did and…she just forced her view.

…And though it'd be hard, she'd try to be less crass and argumentative with Julius too. Just because he was mean to her didn't mean she had to return the insults. Of course, she wasn't going to tolerate everything and be meek but some of it really didn't warrant a reaction.

Clenching her knees, she smiled some. She'd worried that changing her outside appearance would be the easy way out or denying herself somehow.

…Maybe not necessarily.