2. Party of Four

"You can't cancel your plans," Alyssa protested, "You've only been dating her for a year. You can't just suddenly blow off her birthday."

I sighed, "I'm not blowing off anything. I have it on good authority that John Smith is having this house watched. He's going to try and gather any evidence he can that I'm not fit to be your guardian. And that means that I can't leave you alone here."

"Miyu is here with me!" Alyssa said.

"And Smith successfully had her declared a non-entity in the court," I pointed out, "You said as much yourself. As much as I respect her abilities, if I leave here with just her, Smith will say that I've left a minor alone without supervision."

Alyssa sighed, "I concede your point. But this is exactly what I didn't want. Coming into your life. Disrupting it. I know our familial bonds are…practically nonexistent. So, I didn't want to be a burden to you."

I shook my head, "Look, I'm not one of those people who's going to pat you on the head, smile, and say, 'Oh, no, you're not burdening me at all'. But…I missed the idea of having a family. So, I want to do the things that make us family, rather than just point to some words on a piece of paper, okay?"

She nodded. But her face still held a dejected expression.

"Miss Alyssa," Miyu spoke, "Miss Kuga is making a genuine effort to accommodate you into her life. Her efforts are sincere, and to be applauded."

I looked at Miyu, who turned her scarlet gaze on me.

"Is something the matter, Miss Kuga?"

"I just never expected to hear praise from you," I noted.

"You are working for Miss Alyssa's sake, and all due to a tenuous connection by a few molecules of nucleic acid in common. That is undeniably generous, and worthy of praise."

"Ara, but Natsuki has always had a kind and generous heart," Shizuru said, "Even if she doesn't always admit it to herself. It's why I first fell in love with her.

"Pardon the intrusion. It was not my intention to eavesdrop. However, I must agree with Natsuki, Alyssa-chan, that right now, we must tend to your well-being in order to ensure we do not lose in court against John Smith."

"I understand that in principle, but I didn't intend to cause Natsuki to abandon her plans to celebrate your birthday."

And then Shizuru smiled that smile of hers, not the fake smile she wore as the Student Council President, but the genuine, kind smile I first saw that day in the garden, when she asked me not to crush the flowers. That smile that made me think "beautiful, but strange". The smile that is the genuine Shizuru, poking through the careful façade that she wears in public.

"But there are many ways to celebrate," Shizuru said, "And I have agreed to take Alyssa in as family, as well, have I not?"

"I suppose that's true," Alyssa looked contemplative.

I grinned, an idea coming into my head, "Shizuru, do you happen to have any of your old kimono or yukata from when you were about Alyssa's age?"

Shizuru's smile was now gleaming, "Ah, but I believe that I do!"

"It…it's way too cold outside to be wearing a kimono!" Alyssa protested.

"Nonsense," Shizuru was practically skipping (I didn't even know she knew how to skip) to her bedroom, "Why, I have a very warm kimono I wore for a New Years celebration when I was about your age. Just wait a moment…"

"Miss Fujino, I don't know that it would be appropriate to outfit Miss Alyssa with your old clothing."

"Ara, but doesn't Miyu want to see Alyssa dressed cutely in a traditional winter kimono?" Shizuru put her arms on the android's shoulders, nodding at Alyssa.

I am pleased to report that I am not the only person who blushes when Shizuru gets good and going. Also, I wasn't aware that androids could blush, but there's the firsthand evidence right there in front of me. It's nice when it's not happening to me.

"And then we can find something that would be adorable on Natsuki, as well," she looked over her shoulder with a sly grin reflected in those crimson eyes. Crap. It's happening to me.

"That's really not necessary, Shizuru!" I protested, "After all…"

Miyu turned over her shoulder to look at me, "We are celebrating Miss Fujino's birthday. Is it not the custom to accede to the wishes of the 'birthday girl'?"

"Whose side are you on?" I groused.

"My own," She smiled smugly. At least I assume it was smugly. It's hard to tell with her.

Well, I ended up in a dark blue kimono with Shizuru putting some decidedly ornate loops and braids in my hair. She put Alyssa in a mint-green number with a furry collar, but left her hair alone. And she ended up putting Miyu in a lilac colored kimono, though there wasn't much she could do with the android's hair aside from putting an ornate pin in it.

Shizuru called for a car from a company that her family owned. The driver, apparently, was someone known to her. As we were all climbing in, she pulled Miyu aside, and whispered something to the android. Miyu looked into the distance, nodding.

"I shall return momentarily."

Moving with a speed that was unbelievable to anyone who hadn't witnessed it firsthand, she was into the bushes across the road from the house. There was a shout of pain from the shadows, and Miyu returned, holding a camera.

"I convinced Mr. Smith's agent to part with this," She said.

I was only half-joking when I replied, "I hope that's all you parted him with."

She smiled, "He is undamaged. And the camera is not of the sort that can send images. The only pictures will be on the SD card inside, which I can dispatch fairly easily."

"And I trust that none of Smith's agents will be able to follow us, since we ourselves do not even know our destination."

"Well," I smiled, "I know where we're heading."

I'd been planning it for awhile, and since I wasn't paying Yamada to dig up dirt on District One anymore, I could afford to treat us all.

The restaurant was called Black Jade, and it was actually part of the Kuga Holdings, meaning it was owned by my old man. Not that he had much to do with it. He just collected the profits and dividends. He didn't actually oversee it. But it was the sort of place that would be perfect for Shizuru, specializing almost entirely in traditional Japanese fare.

"Oh," Shizuru smiled warmly, "And here I thought Natsuki would treat us to pizzas and burgers."

"You can do that for my birthday," I grinned.

"Ara, but is Alyssa comfortable with this type of food?" Shizuru looked at my half-sister, "I know that you've had some Japanese fare while at Fuuka, but this is a bit more authentic. And a foreign palette can be shocked by unfamiliar food. I remember the unfortunate incident where a stomach bug and unfamiliar cuisine caused a United States President to vomit on Uncle Kiichi. He was most apologetic about it, and it was certainly not a deliberate act, so Uncle was most forgiving, but…"

"I'll be fine," Alyssa smiled reassuringly, "I was actually raised on a diet of traditional Japanese foods in order to prepare me for blending in during my time at Fuuka Academy."

"Oh, but that was a most useless effort," Shizuru smiled sweetly at Alyssa, "Such a dulcet songstress such as yourself could only garner attention."

Bingo. Another blush. Is that what I look like when she does that to me? No wonder she enjoys provoking reactions like that from me.

We all had a very filling meal, and then we set out to head home.

"There is a man watching us through a telephoto lens," Miyu informed us quietly as we exited the restaurant.

"How could Smith's agents have found us so quickly?" I wondered, "You incapacitated the one at the house. If he had a tracker on one of us, would you be able to detect it, Miyu?"

"Yes. And I noted that you paid cash for our meal, so they did not track us through use of cards. Is it possible that they bribed Miss Fujino's driver?"

I shrugged, "It's possible. But not likely. From what I hear, the Fujinos are careful to vet their employees thoroughly."

"Miyu-han, would you investigate? Discreetly, of course."

Miyu nodded, then faded into the crowd. Not an easy feat, given her unusual hair and eye color, but somehow she managed. She returned a moment later, dragging a heavyset man by the arm. He was wearing horn-rimmed glasses, and had a spare tire around his trunk.

"Are you working for John Smith?" I asked him, pointedly.

"No, Natsuki," Shizuru looked at this man with naked disgust, an expression as alien to her features as pink dresses and bows were to me, "This man does not work for John Smith. His name is Sentaro Hoshino. He works for my family."

"What can I say, Fujino-dono. You are the next heiress of the Fujino Group, and as such, we have very strict expectations of you.

"And I'm fairly certain that you've fallen well short of our ideals."

"I have not gone through blood, death, and rebirth all to be subject to the whims of the family," Shizuru shot, "Tell whichever cretin sent you on my path, Hoshino, that they will not find me to be a very forgiving creature if they interfere in my personal life."

He shrugged, unmoved, "I'll pass the message along, ma'am, but you know that I don't work for you."

He moved to walk off, and I called out, "Hang on!"

"I definitely don't answer to you," He said. Attitude. Fine. You want attitude, buster, I've got it in spades.

I grip his shoulder, dodge the punch he throws when he turns to face me, and execute a sharp heel-kick to the back of his right knee, dropping him. I hold my hand up in a striking pose to gouge his eyes if he tries to fight.

"Honestly, I don't care what business you have with the rest of the Fujinos," I said, "But your watching over Shizuru stops right now. Miyu, his camera."

Miyu snapped the strap around the man's neck. She flipped through the images on the digital camera, showing them to me.

"You were interested in Shizuru's interactions with me," It isn't a question, "But I'm here to tell you now that it's none of your business. Also, you snap one more picture with me in it, I'll make you eat this camera. Got it? Miyu, delete this camera, too, please."

"You have no idea who you're messing with, young lady," He spat.

"Same to you," I replied, "You don't know who I am or what I'm capable of, but I can say without boasting or hyperbole that you're not even a light workout for me. So leave Shizuru alone, and leave me alone."

We sent him on his way, tail between his legs, when my phone rang. I sighed. We were supposed to be celebrating Shizuru's birthday. Could this night get any worse?

"Kuga," I answer the phone.

"Yes," a familiar, oily voice reaches my ears, "I know."

"Smith," I growl the name.

"I'd like to talk to you about your conservatorship of Alyssa at your earliest convenience. How does tomorrow morning at 8a.m. sound?"

"How does court on the 24th sound?" I counter.

"If you listen to what I have to say, we may not have to wait that long for a resolution. In fact, I have a proposal that might prove beneficial for all parties involved."

And with that, he hung up the phone. I had a feeling that our lives were about to get a whole lot more complicated.