Mr. Yamanobe's trawler was taking a bit longer to reach the dock, struggling against the rough waters, and even as it managed to position itself alongside the wharf it was seesawing like a carousel so Arisa had to jump to get off the boat.

Nanaka held out her arms for a hug. "What a delight to see you!" she said gathering Arisa in her arms. She held on to her for a good five minutes, and then looked her over as though she'd never seen her in five years. "Sorry if you had to take the trouble going all the way out here. Your little Ai was here this morning, and they left just now."

"It is fine. I haven't been out to sea in a while."

"You should have just headed straight to the cove. The water's calmer there."

"No, I don't want to blemish your cove with an ugly fishing boat. He's leaving now."

As if on cue, the boat turned and quickly sailed away, bobbing up and down in the water as Nanaka watched on. "Why not just let him wait it out here? We have a spare bed at the shop."

"He better get home before the sea gets more vicious." She turned away from her and looked towards the island road. "I hope you don't mind; I think we might take quite a while talking, so I thought it best to come here."

Nanaka toned down. "What about your Council duties? Won't you be late for school tomorrow?'

"My peace officers will take over for me for the time being. Please don't bother going over the top to receive me. I barged in, after all."

"What are you saying? The others come here regularly, I should actually be wondering why you aren't with them. Come, I'll spread a whole feast for you!"

#3. Restoration

Arisa looked over a section of the longhouse's interior where such implements as harpoons, anchors, and a steering wheel hung on the wall along with a replica trophy marlin, all in all a typical, even stereotypical, vintage sailor's place—as well as a row of terraria by the windows in which a number of species of frogs were kept.

Nanaka came in with a bowl of mealworms to feed them. "Glad you aren't as jittery as Ai-chan with these."

She closed her eyes in disdain. "My sister is rather jumpy about the littlest of things. I should only wonder how she'll fare in the world alone."

"But she does seem alright," said Nanaka dropping the mealworms in. "She may be with Yoshiyuki-kun and Kana-chan now, but eventually she'll have to make new friends on her own."

"Will she be able to do that at university?"

"…"

"They're mostly the only people she knows. Will they see each other after they finish high school? You know for a fact there's no higher institute than Nankaisei around here."

"Aiai is cute and personable. I don't see why she shouldn't be able to have someone." She threw Arisa a playful glance. "Are you worried she will get a boyfriend someday and leave you alone?"

Arisa couldn't hide her annoyance at this. "You know very well what my real worries are about her."

"But that's part of it."

"Alright. But you know the rest of it, also."

Nanaka could only smile weakly at herself. "Sometimes I do wonder how I end up being deposited with all sorts of secrets. I was just quietly living my own life out here." She also knew of Anju's and Shuka's family lives. And now…

"I am actually wearing myself out trying to think of a place for her after she graduates."

"Everybody seems to be planning to be in Tokyo at least once in their lives."

"Not too big, not too distant. Something she can handle. But I can't think of any place like that anywhere in Shizuoka."

"I'm pretty sure she already has somewhere in mind."

Arisa could not hide her irritation again. "Do you really get me, Nanaka? Or you simply refuse to? I'm here to—"

"Impose what you want on me?" she said with a meaningful look. For a moment they stared down each other. Nanaka broke it up with a warm chuckle. "But that is so you."

Arisa sighed in resignation. "I guess that's just how it is when you're in a position where you need to get things done."

"You're just putting that situation on yourself. For Ai. If only you left her alone a bit more..."

"It changes nothing. She will need to go somewhere, and I must make sure it's somewhere she'll be alright."

"You still actually think that, on her own, she will move back to Uchiura?"

Arisa opened her mouth to speak, but was suddenly unsure of herself for a moment. "Well… she was missing our parents."

"I thought your parents wanted the both of you to be away."

"It's not really like that I…" Huff. "We've been talking too long, can I get down to what I'm actually here for?" She tapped her forehead with her fingertips. Where to start? "I can see that Ai is quite comfortable with you. I was hoping you could convince her to return to the dorm." Sigh. "That's… That's all I want. Please…"

"Arisa," she said tenderly, approaching her. "Do you need to be so worked up? Just think on how it all began. Maybe it was something you did, whether you meant to or not. Why don't you just try reversing that, and see what happens? And yes, I will help you." Laugh. "My, such a simple thing. You should have just called me." Warm hug. "Not that I'm complaining. Now that you're here, it's our turn to enjoy ourselves." She went behind her and whispered in her ear. "Let's go up to Anna's place, shall we?"

She was instantly flustered. "Hah…? Ah, uh, are you kidding me?!"

"Moh. Spoiling our childhood like that." She picked up one of the mealworms and brought it close to Arisa's alarmed face. "You can actually eat these things alive, right? Have a taste."

"You really like to toy with me," she said with a hilariously uneasy expression, "just because we're chums, huh?" To her consternation Nanaka popped the thing into her mouth. Loud sigh. "You're so unbelievable."

They spent the rest of the afternoon and well into evening talking with Grandfather and enjoying his tuna belly. Near the end of it, Nanaka phoned Yoshiyuki and told him not to be afraid of Arisa as she has already talked to her. She asked to talk to Grandma, and when she got through to the old woman, proposed a truly peculiar arrangement.

Grandfather had already retired to his room at about half-past eight. For a far-off island eight is midnight, and everything outside the shop was engulfed in pitch blackness, where only faint outlines of background can be made out, of mountain and sea. But Arisa has a flashlight, which cleared a rather cramped spot of visibility, barely penetrating the inky dark of night. She found her way to the deck, aided by the sound of waves rolling gently onto the shoreline below. She got to the railing and there switched off, letting herself drink in the vastness of the starry sky.

Her busy night habits were already too established for her to stay inside the Mori residence, whose inhabitants usually signed off at a radically different hour from her. She usually tucked in shortly before eleven and was up at around five, ate a quick breakfast, bathed and dressed hurriedly, and was already at school at half-past six, leaving Kanako and Ai behind as they woke up at about that very hour. She almost never saw them off; that's how Ai slipped past her the other day. The girl must have awakened at four and didn't bother to dress for school when she left; she never thought to check on the two if they were still in bed. To be sure, Ai actually gets up at unearthly hours of the night at times; if only imouto regularly woke up at five, like her, maybe they could go to school together, for once.

"You can't sleep, Arisa?"

She let out a soft gasp of surprise, and before she knew it, the soft skin of Nanaka's arm brushed against hers. It was refreshingly warm against the chill of the night air. "Please excuse me," she managed to say. "I didn't want to use any more of your lights."

Nanaka let her fingers pick up some of Arisa's hair. She admired how well-kept this hair was. "It would be alright with me if you ran the house for a year."

Arisa… smiled. "Where would that leave you? You're the poorest of us three."

Poorest, huh? Between the scion of the great Kubo clan and the heiress of Piazza Hotels, there was one proud woman of the sea. "I am much wealthier than you think. If Anna owns half this island, then the other half is mine."

Arisa only leaned back and savored this little reunion. "I must say you got a lovely little cove. Never changed one bit since I first came here."

"I would never trade my life now for any other."

"I know Anna would have given you the world, if only you asked for it… back then."

"She still does, actually."

They let the breeze chill them some more before they spoke again.

"You really are serious about Ai's friends," remarked Arisa.

"I want them to be thick as blood and fast as a rock with each other, without any reservations. Just as we are at this very moment."

We? "Don't get me wrong, Nanaka, I'm only in a pensive mood right now. And… I was asking you a favor, so I should be nicer than usual."

Oh, Arisa. Are you still holding back even now? "So there's no hope, huh?

Arisa opened her mouth, hesitated a bit, and then, "I think only Anna can clear the awkwardness between us three."

Perhaps. "Then we must get her to do it, don't you think? She won't be coming to us on her own." Or maybe… "Let's tell her we are both sponsoring a club."

"…"

"Aren't you trying to restore your ties to Ai and Kanako and Yoshiyuki? They have a club to return to, you know, the one you were telling them to join in the first place."

"It will take more than that," she said with a tone of finality. Nanaka let the matter drop for now. She would not want to spoil this rare and beautiful window in time when there was just the two of them in all of the world.

Friday morning, Yoshiyuki strode into campus with Ai and Kanako, turning some heads and drawing the confused attention of the peace officers. This delinquent was swaggering like a boss. Arisa has just texted them to leave him be with her sister, and even now they wanted to text back just to confirm her decision, at risk of being scolded for being stubborn. A number of them still weren't quite comfortable having a "pervert" around, and the rest were just plain weirded out. But none of them raised a finger at them, all the way up to the classroom of 2-C.

Yesterday had seen a pleasant turn of events. That afternoon, Grandma had said the Student President wasn't around for the day, when from out of the blue was this call from Nanaka. The lady had said something weird over the phone, but all that matters for now was their full restoration.

He ceremoniously knocked at the classroom door, but went in without waiting for an answer. Inside, Anju, Shuka, and Rikako were comparing notes when to their amazement the missing club members appeared all at once like an idle fantasy unexpectedly come true. "Yoshiyuki?" they chorused. "And Ai-chan," continued Anju, "and Kan-chan!"

"Chigau," said Yoshiyuki. "I am Link, and this Ruto and Mipha. Seriously, you just have to recite us in front of the class?"

"Of course! You were back from the dead! Are you seriously alright with Arisa-senpai now?"

Yoshiyuki made his signature theatric flourish that impressed everybody. "I am the mighty Yohan, and I have risen from the abyss to reclaim the glory of my dark throne." He very dramatically handed the second-years an invitation. "Confer in my presence at the grand chambers of the Drama Club for luncheon, and my bounteous generosity will spread a banquet for all!"

"It will be fun!" affirmed Kanako. "Ai-chan prepared her bestest paella yet!"

Thus, at the appointed hour, everybody gathered round at the clubroom where they marveled at the special lunchboxes helped them make last night. "Minna," said Kanako excitedly, "I have just received a call. We will be joined by very special guests. Please wait for them. They said they are joining us shortly."

But they didn't have to wait very long. Soon, the door opened and in went Student President Arisa Kubo, and esteemed Nankaisei alumna Nanaka Mori. "Whoa," breathed Shuka. "You… You're the lady at the pool who taught us to dive last summer!" That was a supplementary class arranged for by their P.E. teacher.

Nanaka smiled warmly. "Well, I must give back to the school from time to time."

They sat down to eat, but nobody spoke another word, though they kept throwing each other anticipating glances. At length, Arisa spoke up. "Ahem. I think it should be clear now that everything has normalized. I really need not say anything further, save for only one announcement."

Everybody's eyes instantly turned to Nanaka. "Is Mori-senpai our club advisor now?" asked Rikako.

"Uhn!" agreed Nanaka. "And I am here to propose changes to our club, if it is alright with you."

The girls were all agog and all ears. "An-chan," she continued, "I know you're not really that inclined to act, am I right?"

"Ueh. Don't out me in front of everybody, Nanan-chan."

Smile. "The Director welcomed me back here so I could oversee a club, but she did ask me a favor. You know that Nankaisei is committed to promoting the beauty of our islands. So we must shift our focus to—"

"Water sports!" cut in Shuka. "I'd love to get back in the water again!"

"Precisely. So from now on, with our Student President here to witness, let us become the Aquasports Club."

The joyous commotion of the girls were quite enough of an approval. "Ehem," interrupted Arisa. "It is fine and well that we all agreed on that, but that is not all I have to say. Well…" She glanced at Yoshiyuki. "Maybe he could best explain himself."

Yoshiyuki reluctantly stood up and looked them over to address them. "As you see, I'm fully restored to the club on the approval of our Student President. But there are conditions. I'd request everyone to help me maintain a grade of B+ or up. And… the President will keep close tabs on the club and how I'm doing in it." He turned uneasily to Arisa. "Do I really have to say everything?" he muttered.

"Do exactly as tell you," she hissed.

He swallowed. When he turned back to them, there was this expression on his face that was pretty hard to sketch. "I-In fact… I… I will be living at the Kubo dormitory under the watchful supervision of Arisa-senpai, who is not really a minor anymore, and with the consent of my Grandmother."

"…"

Ai flushed red.

"…"

They were all stunned. "Ehhhh?!"

"Oof."

Yoshiyuki heaved the luggage into the dorm lobby, where he promptly sank to his knees. He didn't bring much of his own, and neither did Ai, most of the cargo was Kanako's including the huge suitcase. This was the disadvantage of being the sole guy in a threesome with two girls, especially a guy who must project himself as cool. The end result kind of cancelled it out.

"Are you alright, Yoshiyuki?" said Kanako, carrying only a smallish backpack like Ai's.

Huff. "I…" Puff. "This… This body is just a vessel. Yohan's shadow powers will sustain him."

"I must say you're just a wasted shadow of your former self," quipped Kanako.

He planted his face in his luggage. That's a nasty one, girl. Enough Yohan for today, I guess.

They settled on the long sofa awaiting Arisa, who was upstairs presumably busy with take-home Council work. Ai went to the kitchen and got themselves some peach and ice cream.

They were on to some small talk expecting the president to take an hour or so when she suddenly appeared at the landing of the stairs above them and eyed the luggage disapprovingly. "Are you planning to put your wardrobe here?"

They hushed uneasily, but Yoshiyuki had something to mutter. "I could, seeing I'm so dead tired I'd make this my bedroom on the spot."

Arisa caught him and threw him a sharp glare. To all of them, "Clear this space immediately and show Minase his room. Gather at the dining room in thirty minutes for lunch."

They afterwards hurried to put away their things and show up downstairs as ordered. This time, it was Arisa waiting for them at the head of the table. "You're eight minutes late."

"We were showing Yoshiyuki-kun around in the guest room and looking for a place for his clothes."

"You can't do anything a bit faster? My days…"

They ate in silence for most of the period, subdued by Arisa's imposing presence. As they were finishing dessert, she spoke up. Let me make myself clear this early. Minase. Here in the dormitory we arrive before seven and sleep at eight. You must respect everybody's time in this house."

"Well, I tuck in before nine. There isn't much of a difference."

"In bed at eight, or in bed outside."

Ai stiffened. This was getting pretty rough from the get-go.

"Am I going to get an encyclopedia of regulations here? I don't even think Grandma would—"

"You're not in your Grandmother's house."

"Look, who even said I must live here? I wasn't even consulted properly on this. I think I got to call back Miss Mori."

"Your own behavior signed you up for this, so bear it at your expense."

Huff. "Well, you might as well tranquilize me if you mean to restrict my own breathing."

"Iya! Laziness will not be tolerated in this house. I expect you to keep your own room squeaky clean, as well as the bathroom and the kitchen sink twice a week. I have given you the honor to assume the heavier work."

He was about to speak up again, but thought way better of it and just decided to tune her out while she kept rolling off rule after rule after rule.

"You must wear only the designated slippers in the proper sector of the dormitory. It's blue for the lobby, orange for the second floor, pink for the third floor, maroon for the corridors…

"There will be no reheating of meals after six o' clock. I can't let my power and gas bills rack up unnecessarily."

And speaking of unnecessarily, "No making any unnecessary sound outside your room, or inside, after seven…

"You, being the only male here, shall use the bath at least one hour before or after else does. This is imperative!"

"Alright," he murmured, "I'm a perv. I get it."

"Anything left over from your weekly allowance is to be reimbursed immediately to my personal kitty.

"No usage of any phone after eight. If you insist on violating this particular rule, I will have to have your phones deposited at a specified box at the foot of the stairs every time you arrive home."

And about four or five more regulations. At the end of it, Arisa noticed his eyes glazing over. "Are you still listening, Minase?"

"Huh?"

She cradled her frustrated head in her gnarled hand. "And one last thing. You, being the new one here, must memorize all eleven of these basic house rules. I am sure you missed two or three back there. Shed your classroom inattention whenever you eat at this table."

She finished her serving of juice in a single draught, and then laid back in her chair in silence. Was she taking her time to let all that stuff slide into her stomach?

"And, oh yes," she said softly. "Minase. You're the gentleman. Please watch over these two in campus. I cannot be everywhere at once."

She drank a final glass of water, stood up, and wordlessly left the table.

"Don't worry," said Ai hanging his clothes with Kanako in his room. "Onee-chan's too busy to check on each one of those stupid rules. I'm sure she violates at least one of them everyday."

Like that time she went out to the lobby with only her towel on? Surely there was a rule somewhere that had been violated by that. "But I'm in your house now, so I'll do my rubesty to keep up. I don't want your sis barking up Granny's door and adding to her joint pains."

"Rubesty," giggled Kanako. "Your Granny's got the dearest taglines, zura."

"Oh, that," said Yoshiyuki. "Grandma likes those nightly variety shows. Looks like there was a young guest who caught her eye and…"

"I remember that! I've seen it!" She took Ai by the hand. "Come on, try it." With matching actions, "Ganbaruby!"

Ai pouted. "I can do better than that! Watch." She repeated the same motions, only… "Hop, Step, Ai!"

Kimeyou…

"You're not making the noble Yohan fall for your inane earthly rituals," frowned Yoshiyuki.

"Zura?" smirked Kanako. "Well, then, you be the one to feed Cat while we girls get busy practicing our cute poses."

"Cat?" Oh yes, the duck. "I haven't been seeing him lately."

"Oh, he wanders around outside now ever since you ran into Arisa-senpai because she got a bit stricter and didn't want animals in the house anymore. What a shame, zura. He's not really a pet, more like a housemate, zura."

"You mean I'll have to look for it out there?" Oh man…

"Kan-chan," chided Ai. "Cat's a bit unruly. Don't you think it should be the three of us dealing with him?"

Well…

"Over there!"

Yoshiyuki and Kanako charged at the feisty duck from both sides, but he ended up flat on the ground and she ended up on top of him as the bird dodged flying off to a safe distance on the other side of the yard. "Oh dear," said Ai holding the leftover vegetables, "he really won't take anything less than his favorite food."

Yoshiyuki got up and went on mindlessly chasing the bird all over the backyard. At length he simply crumpled from exhaustion. "I'm going to make pot roast of you as soon as I can lay hands on your tail…"

"It's no use," said Kanako. She picked up something from the ground and tossed it over to Ai, who screamed and threw it over to Yoshiyuki. He was disconcerted; it was a snail. Kanako sure digs all sorts of icky stuff from the ground. But he swallowed and held his cool. No point in screeching like a little girl in front of the two ladies.

"Yoshiyuki," called Kanako. "Hold it out in front of you! He will come to you!"

OK…? He picked the thing up and held it out hesitantly. The sinuous neck of the creature felt about itself in midair, like a cobra, almost. Yoshiyuki was struggling to keep his trembling down. "H-How long d-do I hold this?!"

"Here he is."

Sure enough, the duck flew in and landed a little way directly in front, and then waddled slowly towards him. "Yoshiyuki! Please don't throw it up this time."

Of course not. A menacingly hungry terror bird and a squeamish redhead girl were as different as a lollipop and a snail. "C-Can I just drop it now, or something?!"

Too late. The duck flew straight at him with a powerful battle quack.

"What is going on here?!"

The girls froze as they saw Arisa stride out into the yard. "W-We were j-just feeding Cat…" stammered Kanako.

Arisa saw the duck hop off a disheveled Yoshiyuki with a tasty treat in its bill. "Minase!" The hapless lad jumped up and stood in attention. "Minase, as punishment for this violation you will clean the entire roof tomorrow!"

The girls gasped, and Yoshiyuki himself trembled, but he had enough presence of mind to answer. "Excuse me, Ma'am, I don't believed you have mentioned any rules that covered the outside of the house, Ma'am."

"Yoshiyuki, don't…" whispered Kanako anxiously. However… to her surprise, Arisa did not reply to that. Huh? She only glared at him, but without another sound. She was quite aware of the girls present. Is she going through the same issue of punishing Yoshiyuki unfairly all over again? With gritted teeth, she ordered, "Into the house, right now!"

The dormitory misadventures notwithstanding, the atmosphere at Nankaisei was so much easier this time around. They now frequently ate in Ai's classroom, if not the clubroom, Ai was regaining some of her old cheer which had been previously disrupted by the issue over Yoshiyuki.

Meanwhile, a few of the boys, who had been making tentative moves on Kanako or Ai during Yoshiyuki's more frequent absences were disconcerted by the return of warm relations. A number met with the Peace Committee and volunteered to keep an eye on the three, waiting for Yoshiyuki to make another blunder.

"Zura…?"

The three stopped walking in the middle of the courtyard. But lunch was almost over and they had to make it in time for the afternoon roll call.

"Kan-chan?"

"Somebody's following us, zura."

Really now? So the warriors of peace were still haunting him, eh? But the courtyard looked empty. Elsewhere, though, he did notice some of the old faces pop up in the vicinity from time to time.

"Maybe Arisa-senpai just wants to make sure of her money on Yoshiyuki-kun."

"I hope," said Ai despondently. "But she didn't have to."

"Your sister doesn't trust me," he said offhandedly. "Deal with it."

She went in front of him. "But I do!" she replied with a passion. "I trust you!"

The two of them were dumbfounded.

"Huh?" Ai caught herself, flushed. "I-I mean… Come on, we'll be late!" And she rushed ahead while Kanako trailed her hurriedly. But he stayed behind long enough to see a boy classmate of his walk by nonchalantly past him, bag slung carelessly over shoulder. He had telltale leaves clinging to the back of his pants. Yoshiyuki only smiled to himself and went on his way. Wonder what that one has to say about Ai's declaration of trust.

Next Time. #4. Yellow First Love