Mendol: Ikemen Idol!
Chapter 20
author's note: We get more family love! Papa Wakamatsu arrives! Will Hinata wear a business suit? Is Nami really pregnant? FIND OUT on this installation of the re-imagining of Mendol, IMMO-STYLE!
Kouhei looked at Asahi slyly as they worked in the kitchen to help their mother. Asahi knew her younger brother was looking at her, but was ignoring it as she stirred the soup stock.
"Nee-san, you've been holding out on me." Kouhei finally spoke up. "Acting all shy and saying Yuko's a weirdo. You could've just told me you had a relationship with her-"
"DROP. IT." Asahi hissed through her teeth. She could see her mother, diligently chopping vegetables and trying not to laugh as her children argued. Asahi had explained about the whole Yuko mess in Okinawa-to which her family had laughed at her for a full TEN MINUTES!-and now, to save her daughter from dying of embarassment, Mama Wakamatsu had ordered her children to help her in the kitchen and not talk about 'work'.
Kouhei, of course, hadn't been able to keep quiet for long.
"So you don't remember ANYTHING from that night?" Kouhei leered at his sister. "You just woke up, in bed together-"
"SHUT UP!" Asahi screeched, sure that she was red from head to toe. Asahi was glad she had left out the part about her being half-naked and given REALLY vague information on what had happened between her and Yuko... but it was still enough ammunition for her brother to shoot her with.
"Well, now I know not to use too much cooking wine in the food." Mrs. Wakamatsu hummed to herself. Kouhei started cracking up which sent Mama Wakamatsu into a fit of giggles, all at the expense of Asahi.
"You're like, a lot more successful with girls, aren't you?" Kouhei sneaked some cucumber into his mouth. His mother caught him this time and smacked his arm. They weren't going to have any ingredients left! "I mean, all the girls at my school think you're pretty good looking. They LOVE you. Well, the ones that don't love Kai or Kuu, that is."
"I'm successful with guys too!" Asahi protested.
"Oh yeah?" Kouhei snorted. "Name one person."
Asahi was struck speechless as she tried to think of guys that had had an interest in her... and came up blank. Thankfully, Asahi was saved by the doorbell.
"Oh, that might be your father now! Go get the door!" Mama Wakamatsu puttered around, trying to do everything at once while Kouhei helped her. They all wanted Papa Wakamatsu to be pleased with the preparations! Asahi trudged over to the door, grumbling about the lack of sympathy from her family on being sexually harassed.
"Papa-Jiro?" Asahi gaped at the young man at her door. He had looked nervous but brightened up at the sight of Asahi.
"Asahi!" He danced nervously from foot to foot. "I heard you were back! I thought I'd see you after the Okinawa trip but you were really busy and TV Tohto wouldn't let me on the premises-"
"Come in!" Asahi pulled the boy in.
"Honey-" Mama Wakamatsu stopped herself as she saw that it was the neighbourhood boy who always hung around making googly eyes at Asahi. She was disappointed it was not her husband, but happy to see one of Asahi's friends. "Oh, hello Jiro."
"Konnichiwa." Jiro greeted stiffly, immediately nervous. Asahi pulled Jiro all the way into the kitchen and presented him in front of her brother.
"Jiro! You're back!" Asahi's brother grinned at the blonde man. Jiro used to come over a lot to play video games with Kouhei when they were younger. Of course, Jiro also used that as an excuse to see Asahi.
"There. One person!"
Kouhei let out a little laugh. "Okay. Fine. Name one more!"
Asahi wracked her brain and could only come up with one other name.
"Katsuyuki-san!"
"What about him?" Jiro frowned, confused. What the hell was going on?
"We're trying to name guys that are interested in Asahi." Kouhei explained matter-of-factly. Everyone knew that Jiro was madly in love with Asahi. "Katsuyuki? The producer guy? Are you sure? And he doesn't even know you're a girl! So there, Riku attracts BOTH sexes!"
"Wait, they know?" Jiro gaped at Asahi.
Asahi scowled at him. "They're my family. OF COURSE they know."
"Yeah, she's not like someone else who hasn't told their parents they work as a paparazzo." Mama Wakamatsu sing-songed as she ladled soup into a saucepan as a base for her chicken.
"Oooooohhhh!" Kouhei grinned at Jiro. "BURN, man."
"It's just until I get a pulitzer!" Jiro protested then drew himself up seriously. "Then I'll formally ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."
"I'll be waiting." Mama Wakamatsu smiled blithely. Jiro, since he was a child, had announced to anyone who cared to listen that he was going to marry Asahi. Asahi and her family had learned to ignore him.
"And is Katsuyuki-san really interested in you?" Jiro crossed his arms, muttering. "I think he's getting too close to you. Who does that guy think he is..."
"See, if Jiro's jealous, it MUST be true." Asahi was pretty wrapped up in her argument. Everyone was talking so loudly that they hadn't heard the front door open and it wasn't until Papa Wakamatsu cleared his throat that everyone realized he was back.
"Honey!" Mama threw her ladle in the air carelessly and ran into her husband's open arms. Asahi's parents were pretty affectionate with each other, never having left the honeymoon stages of their marriage.
"I love you! I love you!" The couple danced around in glee, happy to see each other.
"And what have we here?" Mr. Wakamatsu focused his bespeckled gaze on Asahi. Papa Wakamatsu looked like any other Japanese salaryman, indistinguishable from all the other salarymen with his dark-rimmed glasses and conservative haircut. But to Asahi, she could pick her papa out of any rush-hour crowd, his face like a beacon to her in the sea of suits. "Has my baby girl come home?"
"Papa!" Asahi hugged her dad who hugged her back furiously, crying a little bit. "Papa, don't cry."
"I'm not crying!" Papa Wakamatsu was a sensitive man and tears were streaming down his face as he squished Asahi's face between his hands. "Oh, my baby girl's all grown up!"
"Papaaaaaa..." Asahi was getting embarassed as Jiro and Kouhei looked on in amusement.
"Come on, Kouhei! Lets do the '3 Seconds' dance together! Come on, lets show her what you taught me!" Papa Wakamatsu pulled his son forward, who pulled back relunctantly.
"How about no?" Kouhei said gruffly. Seriously! He had a cool image to keep up!
"Oh, trying to be a cool guy, huh? I getchu!" Papa held his hand up for a high-five. Kouhei relented and slapped his father's hand relunctantly. "Alright! We're cool!"
"No. No we're not." Kouhei muttered under his breath. Honestly! His dad could be so embarassing some times!
"So are you staying over for dinner, Jiro?" Papa Wakamatsu laughed and slapped Jiro heartily on the back. The young man almost toppled over from the force of the slaps. "Heard you're a paparazzo now," Mr. Wakamatsu turned threatening. "I hope you're not taking bad pictures of Persona."
"N-n-n-no sir!" Jiro promised.
"Papa, stop scaring Jiro." Asahi sighed. It wasn't that she was standing up for her childhood friend. It was just... when they were five, Mr. Wakamatsu had scared Jiro and the poor boy had wet his pants. Asahi did NOT want a repeat. While everybody talked, nobody noticed that Asahi's phone that was resting on the counter, had a message. Nobody except Kouhei who sneakily grabbed it and slipped out of the room.
Nyan-nyaaaaaan. Are you still mad at me? *sad-face* I'm sorrrrrry. i have time off tonight, maybe we can do dinner? *smiley face* *kiss kiss kiss*
Kouhei smirked, mailing back.
I'm not mad! But I have dinner with my family tonight. do you wanna come to my house for dessert?
The reply Kouhei got back was scarily fast.
WHERE
Kouhei typed the address and then when Yuko confirmed that she was coming and would bring something, Kouhei sneaked back into the kitchen and put Asahi's phone back on the counter. Just in time, as he saw Asahi casting around for her cell.
"There it is." Asahi grabbed her cellphone, flipped it open to see if there were any messages and seeing no alerts, flipped it close and tucked it into her pocket. She turned to see Kouhei grinning at her, looking very much like the cat that had just eaten the canary.
"What are you grinning about?" Asahi asked suspiciously.
"Nothing." Kouhei gave his sister a tight, one-armed hug to hide his grinning. "Just glad to have you around, Nee-chan."
"Well, I'm glad to see you're not too cool to hug your sister." Asahi returned the hug, happy that her younger brother was trying to be nice.
"Okay, well, uh, I'm gonna head back home." Jiro was starting to feel awkward. Asahi's family was really tight-knit, so people always felt left out, unfortunately, though the family never meant for it to happen.
"Oh, Jiro, come by for dessert later." Mama Wakamatsu offered.
"Yes." Papa smiled and smacked Jiro on the back again. "Asahi's little fiance is always welcome here!"
"I'm not his fiancee." Asahi complained, but Jiro didn't hear Asahi's complaint and puffed up with pleasure. Asahi's father had called him Asahi's fiance! This was great!
"I'll come by! For sure!" Jiro promised, stumbling off to the front door. He had to eat dinner fast! He back-tracked though, suddenly remembering something.
"Please don't tell my family I'm a paparazzo." pleaded Jiro.
"You should tell them soon, ya know?" Kouhei shook his head. "Be brave, man!"
"That's easy for you to say." Jiro sighed and left. When it was just the Wakamatsu's now, Papa turned to Asahi, crossing his arms.
"Now, your mother mailed me while I was on the train and told me that Riku has a lady suitor! So when are you going to bring your girlfriend home?" Papa raised an eyebrow. "Is she from a respectable family?"
Kouhei and Mama Wakamatsu started laughing out loud, at the expense of Asahi who had turned completely red while screeching, "It's not like that at all!"
Dinner had been served pretty early and Hinata had tried her best to ignore that Abe-san as much as possible or act as pleasantly disinterested as possible. He hadn't gotten the hint; even during dessert he seemed intent on interviewing her for a job position and telling her what she should be doing and how she should dress. It wasn't until after dessert that Hinata could escape to her room. Keeping busy would excuse her from having to mingle with the guests, so she went to her closet to re-organize her dresses. Hinata hadn't been back in a while and some of her dresses looked POSITIVELY dusty from not being worn!
"Hina?" A knock and Lisa's voice floated through her bedroom door. "Can I come in?"
"Door's unlocked." Hinata was shaking out her dresses. She TOTALLY forgot she had this little emerald number in the back of her closet! She would have to break this out some time soon!
"I saw you sneak up." Lisa smiled at the dresses thrown down in layers on Hinata's bed. The pile sort of looked like a very beautiful, multi-layered cake. "You have so many of these!"
"I personally love 'Baby, the Stars Shine Bright!' dresses best." Hinata gushed, happy to have an audience. "And the petticoat I'm wearing now? It goes with everything! You would think a petticoat isn't important but it gives shape to your dresses."
Lisa sat on the bed next to the dresses, listening to Hinata happily talk about her lolita clothing collection.
"Are you happy?" Lisa suddenly interrupted Hinata's flow of words.
The lolita looked at Lisa, then smiled. "I am. I made friends!"
"Are they nice to you?" Lisa asked seriously.
"Asahi's really nice to me." Hinata said excitedly, forgetting all about her clothes. Talking about her friends was so much better! "She's always really responsible and she takes work really seriously-"
"You met your friends at work?"
"Yeah!" Hinata nodded, regretting that she couldn't tell Lisa about Persona. Lisa would understand... but the less people that knew, the better. "Asahi's really pretty, but she sort of doesn't know it. Oh, and recently, Asahi had some girl chasing after her!"
"A girl?" Lisa raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah!" Hinata giggled. "It was so funny! And even though Asahi acts all annoyed, I really think that she liked hanging around Yuko and they're really good friends! We had a work trip and we had so much fun! It was really hard, but we had more down time so we got to meet new people too! Asahi worked really hard and you should see her when she's working! She makes a face like this-"
Hinata blathered on about Asahi for another few minutes before suddenly jumping on to the topic of Nami.
"And Nami... Nami's like, the protective older brother I never had." Hinata was sitting down next to Lisa now. Usually, Hinata didn't talk much but now, there was no stopping her. "Nami's a girl, but she's so manly! She told me she had like, two older brothers and almost all her friends are guys, so she's totally acting like a guy a lot! But she's so girly some times it's cute! But Nami gets so embarassed when she is, even though she IS a girl. On our work trip, it was SO funny because she had to keep these two girls from fighting all the time but everybody sorta blamed her for the fighting-"
"That's awful!" Lisa smiled.
"Right?" Hinata nodded her head. "It so wasn't her fault! But everyone blamed her anyways and she just sort of dealt with it anyways."
"Well, what about that person you were talking with on the phone before?" Lisa poked Hinata in the stomach. "Fossil?"
"MY ARCH-NEMESIS." Hinata's eyes narrowed. "The oldest, most evil of evils in this universe. She has curry-breath and steals jolly-ranchers from me!"
"So you two are really good friends, hm?" Lisa patted Hinata's head while the loli gaped at the New Zealander. Had Aunt Lisa not been listening? MARIKO WAS THE MOST EVIL BEING IN THE WORLD!
"She is NOT my friend! She is the reason why we have death in the world!" Hinata replied indignantly. "She is an ugly person, inside and out! People who say her face belongs on the cover of magazines need their eyes checked! Unless they mean she should be on the cover of National Geographic for oldest living fossil! I hate her!"
"I'm sure." Lisa drawled out. Some times this child could be so dramatic! "So you're really happy?"
Hinata nodded, smiling. Persona had been the best thing to ever happen to her. "Hinata has never been happier!"
"I'm happy to hear that." Lisa smiled softly, looking a bit sad. "So I want to tell you something. I was going to call you, since you were so busy... but now that I have you face to face, I guess-"
"What is it, auntie?" Hinata suddenly realized that her usual cool and collected aunt was acting very unlike herself.
"Hina..." Lisa stroked Hinata's head fondly, still looking sad. "Hina, I'm going home."
"Oh. Okay." Hinata smiled. That was it? That was the thing her aunt wanted to talk about? "Next time I get time off, I'll come visit-"
"No, Hina, listen." Lisa sighed. "I'm going home. Back to New Zealand."
"...what?" Hinata blinked, confused. "Wha... but... Auntie, your home is here-"
"It's not, Hina." Lisa sighed. "I've been in Japan for a really long time and I love it here... but my parents want me to come home. I don't have much here, Hinata. Except for you and your parents."
"What about other foreigners?" Hinata had met a couple of Lisa's friends. They were good people.
"All of them don't stay long." Lisa shrugged. It was then that Hinata came to the stunning realization that her auntie, her strong and independant auntie, could be lonely. "They come and go, Hina."
"So when will you be back?" Hinata asked anxiously. Some times Lisa left for a month or so back to New Zealand to visit with family. Didn't her aunt just come back from a trip like that? Would she go for longer?
"You remember I went back to New Zealand not that long ago, right?"
Hinata nodded cautiously.
"Well, last time I went back, I was offered a job. A pretty good one at a big company." Lisa tried to smile but failed miserably. "They want me to work at the head office in New Zealand. I... I don't think I'll be able to come back for a year or so. I'll be very busy."
"No." Hinata shook her head. She suddenly felt like a child again. "I don't want you to go."
"I have to go, Hina. I accepted their offer already." Lisa tried to hug Hinata but the lolita pushed her favourite auntie away, needing the space. "Hina..."
"Why are you leaving me?" Hinata asked accusingly, her voice high and tight.
"Oh, honey, I'll never ever leave you." Lisa replied in her lilting Japanese. "You're like a daughter to me and you were actually the main thing I worried about when I was considering their offer-"
"But you took it anyways!" Hinata sprung away from Lisa, glaring at the woman. Lisa just sat there, looking tired and unhappy. She had actually talked to the Otawas and they had urged her to take the job, assuring her that Hinata would be okay with it, that Hinata wouldn't need her around anymore. Didn't Hinata have a job now? Wasn't she barely home anyways? Hinata was a teenager, no longer a child. They had told her that and Lisa had just accepted what they said.
Lisa knew now, she should've asked Hinata herself, if she was okay with it. Hinata had always been very sensitive and why had Lisa thought Hinata would've been okay with her leaving? Lisa remembered seeing Hinata for the first time. She had been a precocious child, schooled to be a lady and cautious of strangers. Hinata had been barely eight at the time. The young Otawa had opened up to Lisa, however, because Lisa expected nothing of the child except for her to be just that: a child. Her parents, though they loved her to bits, were regrettably not always at home when Hinata needed an adult, but Lisa had always been there. At times when Lisa herself felt so visibly foreign in this strictly Asian country, Hinata was a joy and always made Lisa feel welcome.
While Hinata worked hard at the lessons her tutors gave her, with Lisa, she could relax and do what children did. For a long time, Lisa was Hinata's only friend and confidante. The lolita's parents loved her, she knew that... but Lisa had been there when Hinata was sick and they weren't there. Lisa had been there when Hinata was scared, or lonely, or sad. And now, Lisa was leaving.
"Don't you love me anymore?" Hinata's voice broke in a sob on the last word.
"Hina-"
But Hinata had run out of her room and was rushing blindly down the stairs, only thinking of escaping. She could hear Lisa calling her, but Hinata ignored the woman, grabbing the carry-on she had brought home and running out the front door. Hinata ran, not knowing where she was going but wanting to get as far away as possible. She didn't run for long though, crying making her breathless and she ended up just trudging along, tears streaming down her face.
Lisa was leaving? Another sob escaped her. All of the loneliness she felt as a child rushed up to engulf her again. Before, Lisa had been there to help fight back the tides of depression, but now, it was so difficult. Her phone was ringing and she knew it must be Lisa, trying to find her. Lisa was probably really worried.
'But I don't want to talk to you right now.' Hinata pressed the hang-up button on her phone viciously, rejecting the calls. Then she made a call of her own. Within several seconds, a familiar voice picked up.
"Hinata?"
"Asahi..."
"Pa."
Nami's father was a typical stoic father-figure. He spoke very little and communicated in grunts and monosyllabic words. His children feared and respected him and he was the breadwinner of the family. Mr. Kawachi was a blue-collar working man and he had worked hard to provide for his children, his hair already almost all white though he still had quite a youthful face. From this normally withdrawn and silent father, Nami knew she had been missed when he clapped her a few times on the shoulder, smiled at her and said more words to her than he had to anyone all day.
"Good to have you back." He had said. There was no time for other words as the family was hurried out to a graveyard where the children's grandparents were buried and paid their respects. After that, they had all gone home, all of them starving. Nami and her sisters had been yanked into the kitchen to help their mother, which Nami had been loath to do.
"So how was work?" The question was innocent enough and shouldn't have raised Nami's hackles, but it did.
"Fine." Nami bit out. She was a lot like her father in some respects, namely the monosyllabic answers.
"So you don't have anything more to add than 'fine'?" Her mother continued asking. Nami gritted her teeth in annoyance. How was it that her mother could, with just a few words, irritate the hell out of her?
"No."
"So you're not pregnant."
The scathing look Nami gave her mother was enough of an answer.
"Well, I was also thinking who would want to get you pregnant anyways." The off-hand comment wasn't meant to hurt but it was still hurtful and it made Nami's blood boil. It had always been like this. She hated being at home.
"And I always thought you wouldn't make a good hostess." Her mother continued giggling a bit at the image in her head. Erena and Miho giggled a bit too, imagining their sister in a slinky dress and entertaining drunken men.
"And why wouldn't I?" Nami snapped. Her sisters, in tune to Nami's moods, fell quiet knowing that Nami was close to exploding.
"Well, you don't have the best personality." Nami's mother said teasingly.
"Nami." Erena was at her older sister's side, hanging on to her arm, trying to calm her down. It wasn't that Nami and her mother didn't love each other. It was just that Nami's personality and her mother's didn't match at all. Nami liked to keep to herself, she was tomboyish and she wasn't very affectionate. She didn't share much of her life with her mother and liked to keep it that way. Mrs. Kawachi was involved with all of her children; they were her life. Ichiro and Shouta were mama's boys and Erena and Miho also loved sharing with their mother. The only one who was different was Nami. She didn't like being teased, she didn't like these little put-downs. She didn't want to talk to her mother about feelings or boys and she just wanted her mother to stay out of her business. Nami had a thick skin but her mother knew exactly how to make Nami feel the worst.
"I don't want to help anymore." To keep the peace, Nami had to leave.
"Oh, the 'big star' can't help us in the kitchen?" Every word her mother said pissed her off. Nami knew her mother was trying to joke with her. But coming from her mother, these words only made her angry. Erena's grip on her arm steadied her, though, and she tried to ignore her mother, which worked quite well, actually.
The rest of the time in the kitchen was spent in silence, Erena keeping close to her sister. The second-youngest always had a way of soothing Nami which came in handy during these blow-outs. Of course, she was underfoot all the time and Nami would snap at her, but Erena knew her sister would not get too angry at her.
When the food was almost done, Nami went to set the table. While putting down chopsticks for everyone, she got one of her daily mails from Ray.
Kai! i miss you! *heart* Can u come visit me? I'm filming a commercial. I know you're not working today so come see me *sad face*
'How does she know that?' Nami shook her heard. Big stalker pervert. There was an address attached to the mail. It was actually quite close, maybe a ten minute ride on the trains. Nami knew the park they were filming at, she had gone there a few times with her guy friends.
with my family for obon. busy. talk to you later?
Nami sent back, not in the mood for Ray at the moment. But the Diva's message did perk Nami up. She was Kai. She was an idol. Nobody could take that away from her. In a better mood, she helped bring the food out and call her brothers and father to the table.
"Well, we're all back together." Mrs. Kawachi smiled around at her family. She had missed Ichiro and Nami, a lot. Even though Nami was an impossible child, she was still HER child and Ma Kawachi did love her. But some times, Mrs. Kawachi thought Nami didn't love her as much as her other children since she never wanted to spend time together.
"Hm." Pa Kawachi was equally pleased, seated in between Nami and Ichiro.
"Well, our university student and little idol-wannabe has come home, so we're a complete family again!" That comment didn't sit well with Nami at all and Erena help on to the sleeve of Nami's shirt. The fiery young woman glared at her sister but let it slide, grumbling a quick 'itadakimasu' as everyone started attacking the food. Since there were so many people in the family, meals were often a battlefield. If you wanted a certain kind of food, you better get it before someone else did. Since it was a full house tonight, it was noisy and crowded, people fighting for the food in the dishes in front of them. By the end of the meal, everybody had filled themselves up and there was no food left.
"Thanks for the meal." Shouta burped. Everybody mummbled their agreements. Their mother was a good cook.
"So, how's school, Ichiro?" Ma Kawachi was finishing the last of her miso soup.
"It's fine." Ichiro shrugged. "It's school. Not much. I'm doing okay, I guess."
"How's your girlfriend?"
"Maaaaa..." Ichiro whined. "She's fine! I *said* I'll bring her home some day!"
"Some day." Ma Kawachi scoffed, but smiled at her oldest child. "Okay. And Nami, when are you coming home."
"I'm living with the people I work with right now." Nami said vaguely. Everybody was listening attentively to this conversation. Nami had just up and left one day, saying she had gotten signed and was going to be an idol. They had watched for her on TV but had never seen her, neither had she informed them of when she was debuting. It was strange.
"You should just stop pretending you're working and come home." Her mother said off-handedly. Funny enough, out of all the children, Nami looked the most like her mother but was most at odds with the woman.
"I *am* working!" Their voices were steadily rising and Nami shrugged off Erena's hand, her younger sister no longer able to keep her in check.
"As an idol?" Mrs. Kawachi scoffed. "How come we don't see you on TV, then?"
Nami made a noise of frustration as everybody nodded in agreement to their mother's statement. They MUST have seen her on TV but she couldn't tell them or else it'll open up ANOTHER conversation topic she didn't want to talk about! A message on her phone interrupted whatever she was going to say next and Nami, frowning, read it. Answering quickly, she flipped her phone shut and stormed away, grabbing her bag and climbing the stairs two at a time to grab her baseball cap she had left in the sisters' room.
"And where do you think you're going?" Mrs. Kawachi's voice was like nails on the chalkboard to Nami as she barreled back down to the main floor. She had to get away.
"Leaving!" Nami snapped. Before her mother could chase after her, her father finally spoke up.
"Leave her alone. Let her cool down." His voice cut through whatever his wife was going to say or do as the house shook from Nami slamming the door.
"That girl!" Mrs. Kawachi grumbled, heading back to the dining room table to clean up. Erena and Miho had followed Nami to the foyer, disappointed as their older sister disappeared out the front door. They had totally thought their sister would be having a sleepover with them tonight!
"Sanbyou mitsumeru dake de-"
"Nami's phone!" Miho spotted it near the front door. Nami must've dropped it! Picking it up, she sat down and started pulling on her shoes.
"Where are you going?" Erena asked, mimicking her younger sister's actions. When Miho got an idea into her head, there was no stopping her and Erena had learned to just follow along to make sure her youngest sibling didn't get into any trouble.
"Going after Nami to give her her phone!" The phone was still ringing.
"Give me that," Erena snatched the phone away from Miho and answered it. "Moshi-moshi."
"Um... is this Nami?" A somewhat familiar voice asked.
"No, she left her phone at home. Can I ask who's calling?" Erena asked politely. One of Nami's friends? The voice sounded so familiar... but Nami didn't have any girl friends...
"Oh, um, could you tell her Atsuko called?"
"Sure!" Erena said pleasantly. "Bye!"
"Thank you, bye."
"Who was that?" Miho asked. Erena shrugged, looking at the caller display.
"Maeda... Atsuko?" Erena scratched her head. Why did that name sound so familiar?
"And where do you think you two are going?" Mrs. Kawachi had come back to the foyer to look at her two daughters.
"NNamidroppedherphone, we're goingtogiveittoherloveyoumom, bye!" Miho explained in a rush before running out the door with Erena running behind her. When they were far enough away for their mother to not bother chasing them, Miho frowned at Erena.
"Maeda Atsuko? Like the actress on that Three Sisters' drama?"
The sisters exchanged looks, jaws dropping almost to their chest. Could it be? WAS IT SHE?
"Phone again!" Miho was jumping with excitement. "Is it really her? Or is it some other Maeda Atsuko?"
"It sounded like her!" Erena dialed Maeda Atsuko's number and the two sisters pressed their ears against the phone.
"Moshi-moshi-"
Erena hung up immediately while Miho squealed in excitement.
"It's her! It's really her!" Miho would recognize Atsuko's voice, anywhere! She watched Three Sisters religiously!
"Oh my god." Erena felt slightly guilty. She, of course, believed her older sister when she said she was going to be an idol. But she didn't really give Nami any back-up when their mother had been saying Nami was probably just fooling around somewhere. She quickly went through Nami's phone, going through her most recent messages.
"Come on, I know where she's going." Erena headed to the train station.
Nami, meanwhile, was already on the train. She had noticed her phone was missing but was pretty sure she had left it in the house. A house she was NOT going in to. She had done the family thing and now she could leave! She'll just go back to Kamonohatsu house-damnit. She couldn't! Their manager was gone and had locked up the house... Nami hadn't even grabbed her key to the shared house!
"God damn it..." Nami muttered to herself. Her train was coming to a stop at her station... exiting quickly, she ducked into a unisex washroom and quickly donned her wig inside her stall, pinning it on expertly. Kai made last minute adjustments to his hair before exiting, glad to not have to change since he was already in boyish clothes and his sweater was loose enough that it covered any hint of boobs.
'Not that I have much to hide.' Nami thought mournfully. 'Why the hell does Erena have bigger boobs than me?'
Kai started heading to the park that he knew Ray would be filming at... only to stop when he noticed a big hulking man in a nearby convenience store, looking through the candy.
"Dai." The blonde noticed the bodyguard trying to pick out sweets. Kai walked into the store and slapped the man on the back.
"Yo!"
"Kai!" Dai beamed at the small blonde. "You're here!"
"Yeah." Kai drawled. Hiro had sent him a message, almost begging Kai to come. Kai hadn't needed any more prompting to get out of the house. "You're buying candy?"
"For Ray." Dai looked around surreptiously, in case anybody heard him. Kai waited for the big man to finish buying candy and followed him to the park.
"What's wrong this time? Is she throwing a fit?" Kai sighed. The Diva's temper was so unpredictable.
"No." Dai replied morosely. "She's sad."
"What? What's wrong?" Kai couldn't help being worried.
Dai shrugged. "Hiro told us Ray always gets like this on Obon."
Kai frowned, trying to think of why Ray would be sad while trying to keep up with Dai's strides. They finally made it to the location Ray was filming at, to discover that Ray was taking a break while everyone else was fixing up the set for another shot. Kai overheard good-natured grumbling about having to work and not being able to be with their families. Bypassing the staff working on the set, Kai headed towards the small bus with tinted windows parked on the edge of the filming area that he knew was probably set up for Ray to relax in when she had breaks. Hiro was the only one guarding the door and Kai could see Masa and Mako patrolling around the perimeter of the set. Ray's guards sure were diligent.
"My man." Hiro grinned at Kai, relieved to see him. The entire day had been unnerving, just like it had been last year. "Go on in. I can't even cheer her up with izakaya food."
The door was opened for Kai and the blonde stepped right into the currently irrate woman's dimly lit van.
"I said, don't call me until we start-Kai!" Her voice changed from annoyed to delighted as she jumped up to envelope Kai in a hug. "You actually came to see me! I thought you said you were busy!"
"Haha, yeah." Kai shrugged as the door shut behind him. He felt like he was in a coffin, all the curtains were drawn. At least this coffin was air-conditioned. "I was in the area. And Hiro said you were being a pain." Kai pushed Ray away gently and walked her backwards until the back of Ray's knees hit a seat and Ray had to sit down.
"He said what?" Ray narrowed her eyes.
"I'm just joking." Kai quickly covered for the bodyguard, letting out a sigh. Even with Ray being a pain, it was still better than being at home right now.
Ra tilted her head to the side. Kai's lovely face was marred by frown lines. "Are you okay?"
"That's my line." Kai smiled softly down at Ray. "You don't have to worry about me."
"I do worry." Ray was holding on to Kai's hand and now pressed it against her face, closing her eyes at the tingles she got from the contact. Kai shuddered, but tried to resist pulling away. It seemed like they were both not feeling well today and... Kai didn't want to admit it... they needed each other.
"I just had a fight with my mother." Kai blew out a breath in frustration, not knowing why she was talking to Ray about this. "She just gets under my skin ALL the time. I mean, she's my mother, right? She's supposed to know me enough to know that some of the things she says pisses me off! Everyone else in my family knows and sometimes, I feel like my sisters know me better than my mother!"
"What does she say?"
Kai grimaced. "That I'm not good enough. That I should just go home."
"Maybe she's just worried about you." Ray tried to console Kai. "I mean, at least your parents want to see you, right?"
"Yeah." Kai admitted grudgingly. Ma Kawachi had been really happy to see Nami. And Kai knew that Ma was just worried about Nami... but Kai was doing alright.
"Enough about me." Kai made a face, then tried to smile at Ray. "What about you? I'd think Sarukawa-shachou wouldn't dare not let you see your family today."
"He wouldn't." Ray laughed humourlessly. "I insisted I work today. My parents don't want to see me."
"What?" Kai exclaimed. "Why not?"
"Well, they're too busy." Ray lied, not wanting to really explain. "My parents and I aren't very close." That was a bit of an understatement, actually. Ray and her parents were positively strangers. Ray knew she had been a mistake since she was really young. Her parents were married to their work and Ray some times wondered why they even married each other. Since Ray could remember, her grandfather, Torao, had taken care of her. Her parents had basically forgotten she existed for most of her childhood. She had tried, of course. And they had tried too. But it had been... awkward.
"Well, I'm sure they're just really busy-"
"The one time I had taken initiative and gone to my parents' house, I had been locked out because both my parents were in another part of Japan for business." Ray confessed. It was the first time she had told ANYONE about her family situation. Not even Tomochin knew. "I had been mad at my grandfather because I thought he didn't want to invite them to my birthday. He had, I found out. He gave them a lot of warning in advance and they still didn't come."
Kai didn't know what to say to that. Now he just felt like an ass. Ray's situation was so much worse than his own and here he was getting so worked up about his mom annoying him.
"It was my 15th birthday. I went back home and my grandfather forgave me for running away. He took me to an izakaya." Ray smiled at the memory. "He ordered my first chu-hi and bibimbap for me."
"That's why you like izakayas." It all made sense to Kai now. "Well, why don't you go home to your grandfather?"
"He's dead." Ray said bluntly. Her grandfather had died just when Ray was starting to get popular. She had taken a day or two off for the funeral but had immediately gone back to work. The press didn't even get wind of this event in her life, she was already quite adept at hiding her comings and goings from them, early in her career.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"He died a while ago." Ray shrugged uncomfortably, not wanting to think about Torao more. It was on days like Obon or other family-centric days that she missed her grandfather the most. But Ray didn't cry. Ray had already gone to her grandfather's grave early in the morning to quickly clean up and offer some flowers, then she had immediately gone back to work. The Diva had promised her grandfather that she'd be strong and be successful. That she would be happy and she wouldn't need anyone and be okay by herself. Her whole career was a dedication to her grandfather who had, in his old age, tried to care for a talented and eccentric child, all by himself. Ray had been made strong by Torao's care.
But today, of all days, she had needed someone. She missed her grandfather. Ray felt the loneliness more and more.
She needed Kai and here he was.
"Lets talk about something else." Ray pulled Kai closer, so she was hugging her beloved who let her and didn't pull away for once. With her arms encircling Kai, the Diva let out a sigh of contentment. Kai made everything better. Parting a bit, she reached up and aggressively caught hold of the collar of his sweater, pulling him down. She NEEDED him now. Ray was shocked at how powerful that need was, how desperately she needed to have Kai in front of her, all around her, as close to her as possible-
"Ma'am?" Hiro's loud voice interrupted them, giving Kai the perfect chance to jump away from Ray.
"What?" Ray couldn't keep the sharpness out of her voice. She had been THIS close to Kai kisses! THIS. CLOSE.
"Excuse me." Hiro opened the door and bowed. "But there are, um, two small girls looking for Kai. They said they have something of his that he dropped and they're refusing to leave until I pass the message on."
"WHO YOU CALLING SMALL?" Miho's voice floated into the car.
"Oh crap." Kai cursed and was out the door like a shot. There were his sisters, standing there with stars in their eyes, grinning at him.
"OH MY GOD!" As soon as Kai got close, they attacked him with their hugs. "ICAN'TBELIEVEYOU'REKAIOHMYGODTHISISSOCOOL-"
"Hey. No man-handling Kai, fangirls." Masa had gotten to the scene rather quickly when he had spotted the two girls attacking Kai. Now they hung suspended in the air, Masa having grabbing a hold of them around their waists.
"Hey, leggo you big idiot!" Miho snarled. "Fangirls? That's my-"
"Brother." Kai quickly spoke up loudly above Miho's voice. "I'm their brother! Let them down!"
Masa quickly deposited the girls into Kai's arms. Erena held on, afraid that the big man would pick her up again while Kai had to hold Miho back who was ready to lay the smack-down on someone three times her size.
"I'ma kick your ass-"
"Miho, Miho, STOP!" Kai growled. Kai was so wrapped up in holding his youngest sister back that she didn't hear Ray approaching.
"And who are these girls, KAI?" Ray glowered at Kai.
"It's not what you think!" Kai protested immediately. "These are my sisters!"
"Oh." Ray blinked. They looked nothing like Kai! One still had the chubby cheeks of a grade-schooler, while the other girl on Kai's arm was... significantly more grown up.
'Calm down.' Ray had to talk herself down as she watched the one sister's ample boobs squishing against Kai as she hugged him. 'Calm down. They're siblings. There's nothing going on...'
"Ray! It's Ray, it's actually the charismatic Diva!" Miho squealed, finally managing to free herself from Kai's grasp. Now she was just standing there, shaking in excitement. Ray! The most popular idol in ALL OF JAPAN! Right here in front of her! She was so pretty!
"Wow!" Erena finally let go of Kai to stare at Ray, hands clasped in front of her and stars in her eyes. "Ray! THE Ray! The most popular idol in all of Japan!"
"Hi." Ray smiled her most charming and gracious smile for Kai's sisters. If there was anybody in the world she wanted to impress, it would be Kai's family. Erena and Miho swooned a little bit.
"Um..." Kai cleared his throat. He had to talk to his sisters but it would be rude to not introduce them; plus they would make a fuss if he didn't. "Ray, my sisters. This is Miho and that's Erena."
"Yoroshiku!" The two girls chirped. If they had tails, they would be wagging them.
"Oh, Kai." Ray giggled, reaching out to stroke his sisters' heads. "Your sisters are so cute!"
Miho turned to look at Kai, barely able to speak as she squeaked out gibberish that Kai didn't understand at all. Erena was next, looking at Kai and purring in bliss as Ray continued to stroke her head.
"Alright. Now that we all know each other, give us a second." Kai grabbed his sisters and dragged them away. When they were out of ear-shot, he spun them around to look at him.
"How do you know-"
Erena held up Nami's cellphone, her little ice-cream cellphone accessory swinging back and forth, mocking Kai.
"We read your messages!" Erena and Miho said together, grinning.
"Don't tell mom and dad! Or Ichiro or Shouta! OR ANYONE!" Kai half-ordered, half-pleaded.
"We won't say anything." Erena smiled shyly at Kai. "I think you're so cool, Nami!"
"Yeah! Wicked cool! Like cooler than Kamen Rider!" Miho punched the air, hyper with excitement. This was so awesome! It seemed impossible, but her older sister was even COOLER now!
"And it's Kai when I'm like this." Kai smiled in exasperation at his sisters, hugging Erena in relief. They weren't going to say anything. They accepted him. "So you guys are okay with me like this?"
"We're okay with you when you're anything. Even when you're not cool." Erena rolled her eyes and hugged her 'brother' extra tight, briefly. "You should know that, stupid."
"Three older brothers! Wow!" Miho was still dancing from foot to foot. She suddenly stopped and giggled. "It's like, nothing has changed."
"Why you-" Nami growled good-naturedly.
"This is so cool, you're like Miho's idol of the moment!" Erena grinned at her older brother, distracting him from kicking Miho. "We had been saying how much Kai reminded us of you!"
"Not just me! Erena likes you too!" Miho quickly pointed out. When the two sisters had caught a Persona interview on TV, they had immediately felt an instant connection to the blonde member of Persona. Shouta, who had been watching with them, had also felt like this person on television had seemed really familiar but he hadn't wanted to stand around discussing boy idols with his much-younger sisters.
Miho had thought Kai was so cool when the interviewer had brought up Kai's fiery nature and how he was supposed to be a good fighter. She liked how out-spoken he was and how he seemed kind of protective of Kuu and Riku. Erena, though she didn't want to admit it, liked Kai for exactly the same qualities too.
"Kai?" Ray had approached again, wondering what they were talking about. Were they talking about her? Did Kai's sisters like her? ...Why was Erena hugging Kai again? "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah." Kai smiled. "I'm just yelling at them for following me."
"Are you friends with our brother?" Erena asked, eyes shining.
"Well," Ray giggled. "We're actually-"
"JUST FRIENDS!" Kai hollered, blushing.
"Are we really?" Ray pouted her lips at Kai. The blonde looked away, not wanting to be caught by those puppy dog eyes. "You mean you kiss other people randomly all the time and not just me-"
"NO, SHUT UPPPPPP!" Kai squealed, pouncing on Ray and trying to get her to be quiet. But his sisters had already heard, their mouths hanging open in utter shock. Their sister was dating the ultra-popular, super-charismatic Diva?
"YOU GUYS ARE DATING?" Erena was slightly excited and a little bit annoyed. Nami was dating someone? Even though it was Ray, NO-ONE was good enough for her sister!
"Woah!" Miho was literally just jumping with glee. Nami was just ULTRA cool! Kai chased Ray around, hollering at her to stop telling his sisters about their relationship while Miho chased after them, giggling like the little girl she was. Only Erena stood there solemnly, trying to be okay with the fact that Nami, who had always put her sisters first, now had someone else. Nami HAD left the house to go see Ray.
"Okay," Kai huffed, unable to to catch Ray who was hiding behind an amused Hiro. "I'm not playing this game any more. I'm leaving."
"No!" Ray whined, still staying safely behind Hiro. "Don't leave!"
Kai took a few steps away, prompting Ray to leave her hiding place behind Hiro to chase after him. Hearing footsteps coming up behind him, Kai stopped, spinning back around to grab Ray's hand. "Gotcha."
Ray slapped him playfully. "That was a mean trick!"
"Some people are just easy to trick and they blame other people." Kai grinned. It felt like they were back in Okinawa again, that same feeling of comfort he felt as he taught Ray how to swim.
"So are we going home?" Erena came forward, arms crossed. She didn't like this love-love atmosphere!
"I'm coming too!" Ray tightened her hold on Kai's hand. "As your girlfriend, I should meet your parents."
"Oh, hell no. You really don't wanna." Kai made a face. There was no way he was going to bring Ray back and explain, well, EVERYTHING to his family. But... they COULD go somewhere else. He didn't want to leave Ray alone today, remembering how sad Ray had looked inside the van. "Give me my hand back for a bit, I have to call someone."
Kai dialed a number and there was an immediate answer.
"Moshi-moshhhhh."
"Yo, Riku..."
"OH MY GOD! RIKU!" Miho was THIS close to hyperventilating. Erena, meanwhile stood there, watching Kai walk a bit away from them. She was also watching Ray watching Kai. That was HER sister.
"So have you two been dating for a while?" Erena asked conversationally.
"Not that long." Ray blushed. "We went to Okinawa together, though."
"Oh, I heard about that." Erena wracked her brains, remembering some of the gossip magazines and papers her friends had brought to school. Then she remembered who had called previously. "Did you see Maeda Atsuko there?"
Erena watched Ray's reaction carefully, seeing how the Diva shuttered and all the warmth left her eyes. Erena was extremely good at reading people and even someone like Ray, who was a professional at hiding her feelings, Erena knew.
"My brother's apparently really good friends with her!" Erena said cheerfully, taking a bit gossip and using her own imagination. "She called him recently and she said they would probably meet up soon!"
"Did she now?" Ray thought she had settled her differences with Atsuko. Apparently not as she felt jealousy rising up though she fought valiantly to keep it down. They were just friends. Maeda and Kai were just. good. FRIENDS. Kai was allowed to have friends. "Well. That's good for them. Excuse me."
Ray had to distance herself. It wasn't like Erena knew how much Ray disliked Atsuko so she couldn't blame the young girl for mentioning the quiet actress who had managed to monopolize a lot of Kai's time in Okinawa. But Ray just couldn't help being angry... she had thought maybe their friendship would end after Okinawa. Apparently, the two kept in touch.
"Alright!" Kai approached the group again and Ray tried to smile.
"Are you leaving?" The thought of Kai leaving somewhere made her feel horrible. Especially if he was leaving to see Maeda.
"Well, yeah." Kai shrugged. "Are you done here?"
Ray tilted her head to the side, confused. "What?"
"Well, I'm sure everybody wants to go back to their families for Obon. Why don't you come with me?" When Ray was still looking at him in confusion, Kai sighed and went up to her, flashing Ray a mischievous smile.
"Play hooky with me. It'll be a special 'Kai' assignment." Kai recited, remembering how Ray had tried to get him to skip out on a meeting in Okinawa.
"Really?" Ray was beside herself with happiness. "Really?"
"Really." Kai drawled. "We're going to Riku's house." His youngest sister, overhearing the news, was tugging at his arm excitedly and he gave a dramatic sigh. "Oh, alright. Erena and Miho can come, too.""WASSHOI!" Miho danced around, singing something she made up off the top of her head. "Hankyou jikkyou saikyou BROTHER wa KAI! KAI! KAI! WASSHOI!"
Kai shook his head at Miho's antics and watched Ray run off to announce that she was leaving. He caught sight of Erena, scuffing at the ground with the point of her shoe. Erena looked glum.
"Come here." Kai said gruffly and when she got close, he hugged his younger sister tightly. Erena buried her face in Kai's sweater, smelling the familiar scent of her sister's clothes, suddenly feeling very small again. "I'm sorry I haven't been around and I know I'm not the best communicator. But you know if things are bothering you or you need to talk to me, I'm a phone call or a mail away, right? I'll call my friends and have them talk with that asshole, Hario. And if those guys DARE bother you again, you call me and I'll drop everything and come back to beat them up PERSONALLY."
Erena nodded, clutching at her sister's shirt. Miho, seeing that her sisters were hugging, jumped in, too.
"GROUP HUG! I'M SO HAPPY!" squealed Miho.
endnote: If y'all don't know what Miho was singing... you dunno Team B and I suggest you GET ON THE BOAT. I love Miho. And all of you should, too. That is all. Oh, I love Erena too. But talking about her is... painful. The wound is still fresh and the huge decrease in average boob size in AKB48 makes me hang my head in sorrow.