AN: Hey guys! Did everyone enjoy the last chapter? I hope you guys did. If there are any questions you people have for me, please just PM or leave it in the reviews and I will try to answer as soon as possible. Anyways, I give everyone Chapter VI! Thanks to those who reviewed and will review, by the way. I appreciate them.

CHAPTER VI:

Blood Ties

"Ah, I see you're looking at the family tree. I…uh…I have no idea why my dad sent me that portrait of a tree with our names in it." Aki said as she walked in holding 5 bottles of beer. "Beer, anyone?" She offered as she opened her own bottle.

"How did you get beer? Aren't you only 18?" Satoshi asked her.

"Oh, you know, a little bribery, a little faking of the age here and there." She answered as she drank from her bottle. The other 4 refused the beer. Aki approached Ayumi by the portrait.

"You know, my parents had that made last year. Dad thought it would be a good idea to merge their family trees." She pointed out.

"Did you know your mother has a sister?" Ayumi asked her. Aki took a swig from her bottle before explaining.

"I…uh…I actually didn't. Natsu and I had no idea. I only found out when it was made. My parents never said anything. The only thing my mom told me was that they had a falling out when her sister got married. They didn't like the guy my Aunt was marrying, apparently. Actually, my dad didn't. Something about black magic juju in my Uncle's family or some shit like that. Never really believed that reason. They haven't spoken to one another since, though not for the lack of trying on my Aunt's part as she told me. She kept her updated. Their falling out was about 9 years before I was born. My Aunt and Uncle had a daughter and 10 years later, they had another daughter a year younger than me. Youngest kid should be about 17 by now and the oldest, 27. My mom was the oldest of them but it took my parents a while before Natsu was even conceived so, my cousin was the eldest of the new generation Fujimoto."

Yoshiki, Satoshi and Naomi approached them after hearing Aki's story.

"Asuka Fujimoto. Ayumi, wasn't your mom's name Asuka Fujimoto before she married your dad?" Satoshi asked her curiously.

"Really?" Aki asked her.

"Yeah. My mom told Hinoe and I that she had a sister but nothing more than that, not even a name or a picture." She answered. Aki took another swig.

"Hang on, before we jump to conclusions, let me call my mom." Aki said. The moment she said that her laptop started ringing.

"Who would call me via chat at this time of night?" Aki muttered as she opened her laptop. It was her mother, calling her via video chat. She answered the call and put her headset on.

"Hi, moms!" She greeted as the face of Reiko Kobayashi showed up. The black hair that Natsu and Aki inherited from her reached up to her shoulders and her blue eyes shined with happiness upon seeing her daughter. Aki noticed that she was on the family jet, heading somewhere.

"Hello, Aki." She greeted back with a smile.

"Why are you calling and why are you in the jet?" Aki asked.

"Sharp as always." Reiko said with a grin.

"Mom, I don't need to be sharp to know you're on a plane." Aki deadpanned. She really didn't like it when her mom showered her with way too much praise than she deserved. It reminded her that her mother's attention was now solely on her and that only reminded her more that Natsu was gone and she wasn't coming back.

"Noted, sweetheart. I called because your father and I are flying to Japan to see you." She reported with a huge smile.

"YOU'RE WHAT?" Aki yelled over the headset.

"Now, now, don't be so surprised, sweetie. You know your father and I get angsty when you're in another country alone so we decided to see you and how your schoolwork is going right now." Reiko said as if it was no big deal. Holy shit. Aki is extremely screwed. She hasn't showed her face in school for 4 days. Her dad is going to kill her. She's surprised at how her mother still hasn't noticed the gauze on her nose.

"What's that thing on your nose, by the way?"

She spoke too soon.

"I broke my nose. I'll tell you why when you guys get here. But moms, I'm glad you called. I have something to ask you." Aki said, glancing at Ayumi. Ayumi nodded, wanting to know if Aki was her cousin or not.

"What is it, sweetheart?" Reiko asked her.

"Your sister. Who did she marry? Why did you cut off all contact with her? What was so bad about my Uncle that Dad didn't like so much?" She asked as she rubbed her temples. Reiko's smile promptly fell off her face.

"Mom, answer me!" She yelled angrily. At that moment, Aki's father, Issei turned the laptop to him.

"Akira, what brought this on?" He asked sternly. His green eyes showed anger, as if he was offended by such a question.

"Answer me first and I will tell you. I'm not a kid, Dad. Even if you don't tell me, I will find out." Aki said defiantly. Issei closed his eyes and sighed before nodding.

"You're every bit like Natsu, Aki. I'm proud of you for that. Alright, I'll tell you. Your aunt, Asuka, your mother's sister married a man named Ayato Shinozaki. I didn't like him. I found out that the Shinozaki family dabbled in Black Magic since the Meiji era. The Kobayashi family is a White Magic family. Your mother loved her sister so much so I told her to stop her from marrying Ayato but your aunt wouldn't be swayed. We guess she loved him too much. After that, your mother cut off all contact with Asuka."

Aki sighed and facepalmed. That was the reason? Magic? Something that she doesn't even believe in?

"I don't believe in magic, Dad. Nice try. Well, you told me who Aunt Asuka married, I'll tell you the reason why I asked. Bring mom to the screen." She said as she drank her beer. Reiko sat beside Issei, her face showing her curiosity. Aki gestured for Ayumi to come closer. Nervously, Ayumi walked up to her.

"Mom, Dad, this is Aunt Asuka's youngest daughter, Ayumi. She's my Class Rep." Aki said. Ayumi gave them a shy wave. Reiko covered her mouth with her hands in shock. For the first time in her life, she was seeing her niece. Her baby sister's daughter.

"Oh my god…you look so much like Asuka." She said as tears rolled down her face.

"It's nice to meet Aunt Reiko, Uncle Issei." Ayumi greeted with a small smile as she tried to process the information.

"Nice to meet you, Ayumi." Issei said with a small smile. Then he turned his head.

"Sweetheart, we have to go. We'll talk more when we get there. We love you." Issei said as he broke the connection. Aki took her headset off and put it by the laptop.

"There you go. Looks like we're cousins." Aki said like it was no big deal as she drank her beer.

"Yeah." Ayumi said. Aki offered her the beer bottle, which she took and took a small sip of.

"Well, I should get you guys home." Aki said as she stood up. Artemis and Apollo followed her as she grabbed her keys while the others grabbed their things.

"No. Artemis, Apollo, stay." She ordered them. The 2 pugs sat on their asses with what could be described as a look of sadness on their faces. Yoshiki, Ayumi, Naomi and Satoshi patted their heads as they walked out the door.

"Hey, I'm walking home. See you guys tomorrow." Naomi said before giving Satoshi a kiss on the cheek. Her house was just 3 houses away from Aki's.

"Alright. Stay safe." Aki said as she got on her SUV. "Come on, get in." She told the others. The others got in the car and Aki started it. She slowly made the car move as Naomi walked to her house, kinda like a mobile escort. When Naomi got to her house, she turned to the car with a raised eyebrow, wondering why the hell was Aki driving so slow. Seeing that Naomi was home safe, Aki drove off. The first one she dropped off was Satoshi, who after thanking her for the ride and food left the car and got inside his house.

"Alright, where to next?" She asked them.

"Yoshiki's place is closer." Ayumi said as she looked out the window. And so, Aki drove off to Yoshiki's apartment as he gave directions. After a while, and managing to NOT get lost, they arrived at his place.

"Hey, thanks for the ride and food, Aki. See you guys tomorrow." He said before leaning over the passenger's seat and kissed Ayumi on the lips.

"Please don't make out in my car." Aki begged as she visibly cringed. She wasn't really a big fan of PDAs.

"Oh, sorry." He said as he separated from Ayumi. But not before whispering 'I love you' to her. After that, he got off the car with his things. That left Aki, Ayumi and a massive awkwardness in the car.

"So…you're my cousin." Aki said as she drove, feeling like they should address this matter more.

"Apparently." Ayumi answered.

"I cannot believe how my parents lived with a massive secret like this." She said as she made a turn that Ayumi pointed at to get to her house.

"I can't either. All my mom told me was that she had a sister, she never said anything about that sister having kids." The younger girl answered.

"Well, I'm just gonna come out and say it. Please don't tell your parents about me, my connection to you or the fact that my parents are coming to the country. You can tell your sister as long as she can keep a secret." Aki requested of her. Ayumi was conflicted; growing up, she saw how much her mother loved and adored her sister and how she missed her. Would she keep this truth that would make her mother happy? Or tell it?

"My mom will come to yours at her own time. I know it." Aki assured her as she patted Ayumi's hand. Ayumi gave her a small smile and nodded. After a few more minutes, they arrived at the Shinozaki homestead.

"Hey, I'm glad I found you. Somehow it's comforting to know that I have more family out there. Maybe the spirits wanted us to meet. Thanks." Ayumi said with a smile. After that, she got off the car. Before she headed inside her house, she watched Aki drive away. When she was about to go in, Ayumi noticed Hinoe by the window of her room.

And the look on her face says she sensed something about the girl that dropped her sister off.

AN: Whooo! That's Chapter VI guys. Gonna have to cut this short. Please leave a review, guys! I appreciate it. Thanks for reading this chapter. Til next time. Ciao!