DISCLAIMER: I do not own Cardfight! Vanguard.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for your continuous support by some of my new followers. GOMENASAI to all of you, my updates been REALLY LATE... I'm busy doing other stuffs... You know... Just reading mangas, doujins and stuff, can't deny I kept falling for other anime ships too (sweats* I know I am a lousy author (lol) but thanks for reading, love you guys and the sweet reviews!

STORY START!

Chapter 4: The Promise

Birds chirping, signaling it's a new day. Shizuka got up and went into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. After that, she went downstairs and saw Nozomi preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

"Oh... Nozomi-san, you got up early, although it's a Sunday morning..." "Same for you, Shizuka-san."

"Ne... I was wondering, what will happen to our sons when they grow up?" Shizuka asked.

"Hmm... Well, I have no idea, maybe their relationship will move forward to the next level?" Nozomi blindly said.

"I see... I hope they will stay this way even after they grow up too... This way, I can rest assured knowing there will be no problems leaving Aichi to Toshiki-kun" Shizuka said.

Meanwhile,

"Aichi~ Aichi~ Wake up already... It's 8am, time for breakfast!" "Mmh..." "Aichi~~~" Kai shaked Aichi's shoulder while trying to wake Aichi up. "... What is it, Emi?" Aichi slowly opened his eyes, upon seeing Kai's face in front of him first thing in the morning, made him feel shocked and embarrassed. "W-Whoa! K-Kai-kun! You scared me! I didn't know it was you..." Aichi screamed while his face turning red.

"Did you sleep well?" Kai gently smiled. "Y-Yes" Aichi replied, face was still red due to the embarrassing mistake he did just now.

"What did you dream of?" Kai curiously asked. "N-Nothing!" Aichi said while still blushing. "I just thought you were my younger sister that's all..."

"Oh, I see... I thought you were dreaming about some girl... My bad." Kai said, sheepishly grinning because of his misunderstanding towards Aichi.

"M-Mou... How could I dream about girls when everyone treats me like that..." Aichi muttered while getting up from the bed into a sitting position.

"I'm sorry, Aichi. Please don't feel down and sad..." Kai apologized while pulling Aichi into an embrace. "I'm not..." Aichi said quietly. "What?"

"I said I'm not sad or down." Aichi repeated. "Why? Didn't you feel horrible when everyone's treating you badly?" Kai asked, pulling away from Aichi and looking directly at his eyes.

"Yes, I did feel horrible but now that Kai-kun is with me, I don't feel horrible at all..." Aichi smiled.

"Toshiki-chan! Aichi-chan! Come down and have breakfast before it gets cold!" Nozomi shouted from downstairs.

"Hai~ We'll be there in a bit!" Kai shouted back to reply his mum.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up before going down for breakfast!" Kai said, grabbing Aichi's hand and took him to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth.

After that they both went down for breakfast.

"Ne, Shizuka-san and Aichi-chan, are the rice cakes okay?" Nozomi asked.

"It's great! Nozomi-san, did you make these?" Shizuka asked. "Yeah..." "Could you teach me?" "Sure, why not? After all... (whispers into Shizuka's ears) We're future family isn't it?" Shizuka chuckled. "Yes, we are... Maybe in the future." They both smiled to each other.

"What are you guys smiling about?" Kai asked.

"It's nothing~"

"Really?" "Really."

"Okay then..."

During this time, Shizuka finished her breakfast then took her finished plate into the kitchen to wash. After that, what happened was...

"Wait... Aichi-chan why are your face so red?" Nozomi realized Aichi's pink blushing face.

"Did you hear us?" Nozomi asked. Aichi shook his head then says "the rice cakes are delicious, I haven't had rice cakes that are better than Kai okaa-san's..." Aichi blushes again after saying that. 'Uwaa I lied! I heard them but what I said was true though...' Aichi thought, tensing up a bit while thinking that he lied. Feeling a bit of guilty from his actions.

"Ne, Aichi-chan..." Nozomi smirked. "Actually... You heard us right?" "W-What?" "The future family thingy..." Nozomi whispers to Aichi.

Aichi blushed, really really red. Kai noticed then said. "Mum, please don't tease Aichi. He's shy and feels embarrassed easily..." Nozomi smirked again. "Ho~? My Toshiki-chan grew up eh~? Not bad... Keep up the good work. As for Aichi-chan, maa~ Your mum and I wanted to ask you some questions though... And it's VERY personal~" Nozomi smiled. "Toshiki-chan you'll be a good boy and leave us alone for the time being right?" "Fine then, if that's what mum said." Kai stood up and went back to his bedroom.

Meanwhile... Shizuka has done with washing the dishes as thanks for the Kai family that took care of them. She then walked back into the dining room.

"Oh, Shizuka-san! You washed the dishes? Thanks! You know you should have just only put them in the sink then after that I'll wash it though..." Nozomi felt bad for letting a guest do the chores.

"It's okay Nozomi-san... I kinda have the habit to do chores haha... It's a huge part of my routine." Shizuka laughed.

"Well then, since you're here, let's ask Aichi-chan some questions regarding Toshiki-chan, ne~?" Nozomi cheerfully asked. "Sure, why not, I myself is as curious as you are, Nozomi-san." Shizuka smiled.

"Q-Questions regarding Kai-kun...?" Aichi shyly asked.

"Yeah... So Aichi-chan, how do you feel about Toshiki-chan?" Nozomi asked.

"U-Um... This is hard for me to answer... I think Kai-kun is very kind and gentle to me... His smiles and laughs are great too... Whenever he smiles or laughs, all of my troubles just vanishes off my head. He also gives me a very warm feeling whenever we're together... S-Sometimes..." Aichi started to blush. "Sometimes what?" Nozomi and Shizuka asked.

"S-Sometimes I have this weird feeling in my chest, my face and whole body just heats up due to Kai-kun's touch. I would always hide my face whenever this happens... Because I don't want him to notice my blush, it's embarrassing..." 'Whoa this child is awfully honest...' They both thought.

"Aichi, this is love... What you feel for Toshiki-kun is love..." Shizuka gently tells Aichi. She gave her son a thoughtful smile then said. " So I guess he's your first love?" Shizuka smiled again.

Aichi, who couldn't believe what his mum said (for the time being) , stubbornly said. "No mum... I don't think it's love, maybe it's just because Kai-kun's been so nice to me that I find being with him is soothing and safe, just like what an elder brother would treat his younger brother... Those weird feelings in my chest was maybe because it's the first time that I felt so safe while being with him. The way my face and body heated up was most probably that I felt happy when I was touched and cared by him. Since no one would show me that much kindness and cared for me (except family of course) ."

Nozomi and Shizuka exchanged glances to each other. 'Aww I feel sad for him... Maybe time will tell him what he actually felt for Toshiki-chan.' 'Un, I agree, Nozomi-san, now what he need is time to realize his own true feelings.' (Hey now don't ask me how they can sense what each other said *sweats)

"Maa... Aichi-chan, I know Toshiki-chan treats you well, I know that since he's my son, but there's some things that you can't make a conclusion out of it too early. Like what you felt for Toshiki-chan, you can never know what might happen in the future, those will gradually affect you and Toshiki-chan's relationship. I'm an adult so I can tell, you like our Toshiki-chan very much, regarding what you see him as, I have no right to judge but I can give you some advice and opinions if you ever need them." Nozomi winks at Aichi.

"Wow, Nozomi-san I couldn't agree more!" Shizuka exclaimed. "Aichi, no matter who, you must use your heart to feel them, what they do to you or what they say to you, there's always a meaning behind something so you should always use your heart to understand them. This way, you can understand each other more and their feelings too. Just a bit of advice from your mum~" Shizuka hold Aichi into an embrace then let him go after finishing her sentence. "Okay, mum..." Aichi obediently listened.

"So... Now that it's 9.30am, why don't you spend some time with Toshiki-chan upstairs? I'm sure he felt lonely without your presence..." Nozomi giggled.

"Okay..." Aichi smiled, going up to Kai's bedroom.

"Ne, Shizuka-san, how many photos did you have in your camera?" Nozomi asked.

"Not much but there's some really cute photos of both Aichi and Toshiki-kun in there..." Shizuka answered.

"Well, if you don't mind... Mind if we take our cameras to the printing studio (I don't know how to call it) to have them printed? I would like to have all the photos of them printed in two copies, then we arrange them into two albums, one for me and one for you to keep as a collection, is that okay?"

"That's a great idea Nozomi-san! It'll be a great evidence for both our sons' relationship and all the wonderful memories of them and us will be kept in the album~ We can pass the album to them after a suitable time... Just make sure we have the same amount of photos in our album, if not it'll be kinda sad..."

"Sure, no problem! We just have to notify each other before we go print the photos then!"

"Yay~ I'm sure we would make good sisters since we get along so well..." Shizuka happily exclaimed. They both laughed.

"I'll go and inform Toshiki-chan that we'll be going out to print those photos... Wait me for a bit okay?"

"Sure, I'll go and get my stuff before we go out then."

They both went upstairs. Meanwhile, before the above conversation between Nozomi and Shizuka, here's what happened after Aichi went upstairs.

Knock knock. "Kai-kun, it's Aichi, can I come in?" "Yeah..." Aichi opened the door and went in to Kai's bedroom then closed the door.

"S-So... What was Kai-kun doing all this time?"

"Missing you..." Kai muttered.

"W-What?" Aichi didn't hear what Kai said.

"Nothing... Just a bit bored that I don't have anything to do... It's kinda boring to keep reading the same books I've got here..."

"What kind of books do you read?"

"Manga..."

"About...?"

"Anything. As long as it's interesting..."

"W-What about Vanguard? Didn't you play that game? Since you gave me that card last time, you have other cards too right? The Royal Paladins..."

"Yeah... My friend taught me how to play it. It was very fun... Just that I don't have anyone to play it with me just now..." Kai laughed awkwardly.

"T-That's true... Sorry I didn't realize..." Aichi apologized. He's starting to blush.

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault..." Kai stunned, looking worried.

"I-I'm sorry..."

"You're apologizing again... Stop it, it's making me feel guilty..." Kai said, feeling troubled.

"I'm so-" Without letting Aichi finish his sentence, Kai covered Aichi's mouth.

"I said no more apologizing to me."

Aichi's face turned beet red, his blood seems to be all rushing to his face. Kai haven't removed his hands away from Aichi's mouth yet.

After Kai removed his hands, Aichi tried to take another breath, but before he could do so, Kai already pulled him into an embrace.

Aichi blushed even more, causing him not able to talk much. "K-Kai-kun?"

"Ne, Aichi... You're the first person that I did this to..." Kai smiled, closing his eyes while hugging Aichi.

"E-Eh?" Aichi continues to blush.

"You've been a great partner and friend... I like you, Aichi. You're far more better than those noisy girls who go crazy about me. If you were a girl, I would consider marrying you... But since you're a guy too... I wonder how we'll get along in the future... Maybe I will change my mind on my preference too... (not liking girls but liking and wanting to marry Aichi even though he's a guy *smirks) " Kai smiled, pink blushes can be seen surfacing on his face.

A moment of silence... "Why aren't you saying anything, Aichi?" Kai asked, starting to feel awkward with the current atmosphere.

"Don't tell me you fell asleep again..." Kai laughed, slowly and gently pulling himself away from the hug to see Aichi's face.

Aichi face was all red this whole time, feeling unsatisfied, Aichi exclaimed. "Mou! Kai-kun, you're being so unfair... Saying all these embarrassing things to me, do you want me to blush until I pass out because of body overheating?" (lol I don't know what I'm writing about)

Kai laughed. "No, I don't. It'll be sad to lose you..." Kai cupped Aichi cheeks while saying that to him.

"Whoa, your face is so hot!" Kai exclaimed, seeing the Aichi in front of him starting to blush again.

"I-It's your fault..." Aichi blushed.

"Haha, sorry~" Kai patted Aichi's head and grinned.

Meanwhile...

'What am I going to do with this situation, it's kinda bad if I disturb them... Maa, I'll just wait outside here and maybe eavesdrop a bit hehe...' Nozomi thought while grinning. After she thinks it's okay to go in, she knocked. "Toshiki-chan~ It's mum..." "Oh, come in, mum" Kai said.

"Um, it's a bit sudden but Shizuka-san and I are going out to do something so would Toshiki-chan and Aichi-chan be good and stay at home to look after the house? I'll be bringing the keys with me so don't simply go out okay?" "Okay..." Said both Kai and Aichi.

"I'll be returning home at about 12pm okay? That's all, jya ne~ Itekimasu!" Nozomi left the room to meet up with Shizuka downstairs. "Hai, iterashai~"

When Nozomi and Shizuka are on their way to the printing studio...

"Ne, Shizuka-san, you won't believe what I heard just now outside Toshiki-chan's room!"

"Nani, nani~?" Shizuka said, feeling interested.

"They're so SWEET~ (fangirling) I heard Toshiki-chan said that he might come to like Aichi-chan THAT way in the future!" Nozomi exclaimed, enterwining both of her hands in the progress.

"AWW~ That's so cute!" Shizuka agreed.

"I know, right?! They really get along so well that I'm going to die out of happiness." "Yeah, me too."

After Shizuka and Nozomi had done printing the photos at the printing studio, they went to buy two photo albums that resemble each other, one in red and one in blue, they also went for some window-shopping before going back to the Kai residence.

"Tadaima! Aichi-chan, Toshiki-chan!" Nozomi exclaimed.

"Hai~ Okaeri!" Aichi and Kai replied.

"Are you guys hungry yet?" "Un!" They replied.

"Then I'll go prepare lunch. You two go do your stuff while I cook." "Okay..."

"Do you need help with preparing lunch, Nozomi-san?" Shizuka asked. "No, no. You don't need to help me with that. But could you help me with putting the photos that we printed just now into the photo albums? After that, you could keep the blue one to yourself. Make sure you don't let those two see it, remember those albums were meant to give to them after a suitable time..." Nozomi instructed. (By suitable time I mean after some incident or special event happened)

"Okay~" Shizuka answered.

Meanwhile, in Kai's bedroom...

"K-Kai-kun..."

"What?"

"What will you do if we ever part ways?"

"Why are you asking this kind of question?"

"J-Just answer me..."
"I won't answer you if you don't tell me." Kai insisted on knowing the answer.

"I-I just wanted Kai-kun to always stay by my side... I know I'm selfish to say this but if Kai-kun isn't here with me, I'll just get left alone again... (excluding family members) And I don't want that..." Aichi explained, hints of sadness in his voice and expression.

"Well... It depends on the situation but I will definitely miss you if we ever part ways, and I won't forget you even if we did part ways..." Kai smiled, grabbing Aichi's hand and cupping it in the process.

"I will always remember you so if we ever separate, make sure you'll come find me, okay?"

"O-Okay... But will Kai-kun come find me too?" Aichi asked anxiously.

"Of course!" Kai grinned, giving a thumbs-up.

"Aichi! Toshiki-kun! Nozomi-san said the lunch is ready, come down and have your lunch!" Shizuka shouted from downstairs. "Okay~" Hearing the replies from the two boys, Shizuka proceeded to help Nozomi lay out the plates and cutleries on the dining table.

After the boys came down, they all sat at the dining table, preparing to dine in.

"Uwaa, this smell~ It smells tasty!" Aichi exclaimed happily.

"It's omelette rice, Aichi-chan~ Wanna have a try?" Nozomi smiled while offering Aichi's share of rice on his plate.

"Un, itadakimasu!" Aichi quickly dine in, he can't seem to wait to try out Nozomi's omelette rice. He didn't notice Kai's glance at him, Kai was watching him all that time.

[1.30pm] After lunch, Shizuka and Aichi left because Shizuka needed to go pick up Emi at her kindergarden.

Meanwhile, back at the Kai residence, while Nozomi was nearly finished in washing the dishes and pans in the kitchen...

"Mum. Can you teach me how to make omelette rice?" Kai asked.

"Ara~ Toshiki-chan wants to learn how to make omelette rice for Aichi-chan?" Nozomi teased.

"I-It's not that I want to learn this is because of Aichi..." Kai said, hints of pink on his cheeks.

'Such a dishonest child' Nozomi smirked. "Fine then, I'll teach you. Let's make one for daddy okay? He's coming home at 2.30pm." Nozomi said, smiling.

"Okay!" Kai said happily, since it was weeks since he last saw his father.

TO BE CONTINUED…

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Updates will be REALLY LATE and I don't know when will I able to, since I'm busy with school and studies... Recently I got the top position in my grade(top 2) so I'm still fighting(working) hard to achieve better results, I hope you can understand my goals. I will try to plot more of the current story and type them out bit by bit on the weekends, and publish a new chapter once I've done, hope you guys can be patience with me, and enjoy this story! Thank you for your continuous support all the way. *bows

Please give a review below if you have any thoughts regarding this chapter! Thanks! Do check out my profile to see if I'm available at the moment.