A/N: Yeah... I'm back already lol. I couldn't wait to get this one out, anyway. And it was raining for a whole week when I wrote this, so it was easier.
To MadCup, that's nice to hear. And even if I dont really mind the concept of soulmates, yeah. Probably. The internet phrase u mentioned may or may not be the concept here, and it hopefully wont go that way, either :3 And actually the Xyz counterparts r also my 2nd faves, guess we're same there! And don't worry, I still have plans for them as actually, they have their own mini-story here (it'll be said in the future, and I hopefully can make it fit). Might be small, but yeah. Tho I still make sure to balance YutoRuri with the other two pairs. And ur English is fine, and English isn't my native language either kek. U also just cudve commented in AO3 if u dont/didnt mind lol.
Anyway, hopefully y'all gon' enjoy this chapter; I had a whole lotta fun writing it! （；^ω^）
"A memory is a star,
Or a stain."
-David Jones
The sky was pretty dark right now, and the streets were cold. Seemed like rain's gonna pour later. It's been a few days since Yuri saved–uhh, help, as Serena insisted–Serena. The latter helped Dennis while she could while she was there.
"Yuri told me you guys talked about our past?" Dennis mentioned as he gave a customer a cup of coffee. "Here you go, sir." The guy happily thanked him before leaving.
She turned to him before answering, "Hm? Oh, that. Yeah." She was sweeping the floor.
Dennis frowned. "That's good…" he glanced at her. "I have a question for ya. Do you… like Yuri?"
She furrowed her brows and put the broom and dustpan at the wall. "The fuck of a question is that!?"
"I'm just asking!"
"Tch, fine. Sigh… I…"
"Take it easy,"
"Yeah. Well, I kinda like him. I dunno. I now know more about him, but I don't feel scared. And I know other people would gladly leave him knowing all this–except his bros, of course." She shrugged.
Dennis gave her a heavy sigh. "Okay. Now, why do you think he'd help you?"
"Cause I'm in pain? Dude, isn't it obvious…?"
"I'm just gonna warn you. Though not really a warning, watch out for him. And his actions. I'm not saying for you to look after him, but for yourself. He had some relationships in the past – mind you, we've known each other since highschool – and they didn't really end well."
"I still don't get what you mean."
Dennis sighed. "Just… don't trust him too much. Know when he's "using" you."
"I feel like this is related to me liking him… So, then, should I stop liking him…?" Serena asked.
"It is. Though, I'm not saying you should stop liking him, just a heads up to some parts of himself. And please, please, don't leave him… yet. He won't shut up about 'mates' before you came—"
"E-Excuse me!?"
"Shit, what he meant was, someone he'd love. Romantically." Dennis clarified. "Anyway, other than that, you're… different."
"How so?" This really piqued her interest; I mean, she never thought someone would like her like this.
Dennis grinned at her. "I don't think you're easy to manipulate, the psychological kind. You'd probably notice it right away and threaten him (and that's why I didn't drive you away from him when I had the chance)," he laughed, "you're also like one of his brothers. Both idiots, both headstrong, both short-tempered. Both easy to tease. You're probably only more serious than him."
"So, you're saying I'm an idiot," she started, counting with her fingers. "headstrong–okay, that's actually both a compliment and an insult–short-tempered, easy to tease, and am serious?"
"The way you said it, you probably thought it was an insult. But yes. And I agree with him." A customer then headed to the counter. "I'll be back."
"Yeah… And I'm gonna go somewhere, by the way." She went near the door.
"Wait." He gestured for one of his employees to go to the counter before approaching Serena. "Where, exactly?"
"To my dad's grave…?"
"And how do I know you're not lying?" Dennis sighed. "Yuri's gonna kill me if he figures out I lost you… again."
"Speaking of Yuri, can you tell him that I'm going? If you're wondering, I do have a phone, but I don't really use it and left it at home. Plus, better leave it there than have it stolen, especially considering the places I go." She told him.
"Eh, why didn't you tell him earlier?"
Serena thought about it. "I dunno. Guess it's because I didn't think of doing this yet back then…?"
"..." Dennis didn't know if he could trust her. The last few times she snuck out she did things he didn't exactly expect. Some were also pretty unforgivable, and… dangerous.
"Tch, okay. I promise to get back here. Unharmed, not a single new bruise and/or wound." Serena said. Though, in all honesty, she really wasn't gonna get herself hurt or anything related to such (hopefully), anyway. She's simply gonna visit her dad's grave.
Dennis took another glance at her. "Sigh… fine… you promise?"
"Yeah, I promise! Also, I'm taking Misty with me."
"No, no, no. She's the only way Yuri can find you… somehow… but you'll take her too?"
"Please! You know I see her less as a pet and more like my one and only best friend… I beg you…!"
"Freakin' okay, then. Take her." Dennis finally caved in.
Dennis then gave her a free bagel before gesturing for her to leave.
"Thanks," she thanked before calling for Misty to come down (she was sleeping) from the room, to which the cat answered by lazily walking towards her. "Mreow?"
"Yeah, we're going somewhere. Now."
With that, she carried Misty (said cat didn't wanna leave so she didn't have much choice) and ran off.
The rained suddenly fucking poured. Hard.
"Frick!" Serena squealed, going over to a bus stop with a roof. She was wet, but not that wet yet, good thing. She sat on one of the seats in the stop.
She let Misty sit beside her. She was still dry, somehow.
The rain reminded her of some memories. The fact that she was gonna visit her dad's grave made her remember the day he was buried.
It was also raining that day…
And as if her day wasn't nostalgic and bad enough, a person went there and sat at the far right from her.
Which didn't matter if he didn't play a particularly loud song.
Of course, though, it just had to be "Wake Me Up When September Ends." She groaned.
Things started to fuck up even more when the guitar solo from the song started, eventually leading to—
Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
They somehow really don't, she realized as she moved forward and put her head on her hands and her elbows on her knees.
Wake me up when September ends
'Joke's on it, it already did.' She thought.
Like my father's come to pass
Ah, yes. This part. Best way to explain is that she loathed it.
Seven years has gone so fast
Seven years, huh. How old was she then? Probably around thirteen...
Wake me up when September ends
What is it with this song that makes her feel so miserable?
The sound of the guitar solo was going low, signifying–
Here comes the rain again
She stood up (Misty stayed on the seat) and slowly walked to the near edge of the bus stop,
Falling from the stars
Before letting her head out and looking up to where the rain came from and closed her eyes, letting the soft rain pour on her face.
This wasn't all that bad.
Drenched in my pain again
Becoming who we are
She furrowed her brows.
Nevermind, it hurt.
And it did because it's true.
Because of what happened, she's the way she is today. A delinquent, a wrongdoer. Not exactly a criminal, but considerable enough.
As my memory rests
She tried to forget.
But never forgets what I lost
Her, father… damn… A lone tear fell as she looked down and closed her eyes.
Wake me up when September ends
She then started to sob quietly, but uncontrollably.
(Guitar solo)
She sat on the cold floor, hugging her knees as rain continued to softly fall on her head. She cried as quietly as possible, gritting her teeth and hugging her knees whilst clenching her fists.
(Followed up by drums)
Everything… It just, just hurts so much…
She reflected on the things she did; all of the unforgivable.
Somehow, it's just now that she feels bad for the things she's done, both the minor and major. She wiped away some tears.
Summer has come and passed
It did… Oh how time flies by, so fast as is uncontrollable, and, so… unnoticeable, somehow.
The innocent can never last
This could include her. She was once so innocent. Then, she took it all away herself.
Wake me up when September ends
More tears streamed her face as a stinging sensation enveloped her heart.
Ring out the bells again
Like we did when spring began
Anyway, this part belongs to her sisters.
For a second there, she heard a chime.
Bells. Except, it was with a Furin–a Japanese wind chime.
She reminisced, remembering listening to them with her siblings.
She once also had a big, genuine smile.
…It was… also spring. It was windy that day.
Wake me up when September ends
Focus at the left side of her face with an eye full of tears as she closed 'em.
She wanted to redo that once peaceful memory.
Here comes the rain again
She balled up her fists a bit too hard on this line, that they started to bleed.
Falling from the stars
Once again, she turned her head up and let the rain fall on her face as she started to calm herself down.
Drenched in my pain again
She looked down and opened her eyes.
Becoming who we are
Before looking at the palm of her hand.
Was this really what she'd become?
As my memory rests
She slowly shook her head and grit her teeth even more as she tried to push her memories to the back of her mind.
But never forgets what I lost
But because of the things and person/people she lost, it kept coming back.
Wake me up when September ends
She wants to be free… free from this mess that she made.
That she made.
(Musical part)
She wished someone, anyone other than Misty or any of her family members to help her, comfort her.
Be there when she needed them.
And she'll reciprocate those things in return.
Then, she remembered there was that person.
His grinning face appeared transulectly in her head.
He had his own flaws, some psychopathic traits, and a dark past, but…
He's there. She's not sure if it's for manipulative purposes (and of course, she won't like that and won't let it happen), but, for now, she'll stick to him.
(Peaceful musical part [AN: Speed it up if u must, or maybe slow ur reading])
The fact that she'll give him a chance of all people, she should give herself a chance, as well.
She breathed in and out to try and relax.
Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
And they don't, but she and everyone else had to accept that.
Wake me up when September ends
She won't need to wait for when that month ended, as in her opinion, September is a metaphorical aspect of the bad things.
And, she won't wait for 'em to end.
She'll just go with the flow.
Like my father's come to pass
That's a long time ago.
She… She'll try to move on. Even just a little bit, and have more fun in life.
Twenty years has gone so fast
She suddenly thought of her stupidity when she was just a year old at this line. Her eye twitched.
Huh. Twenty years ago, she was but a toddler.
Wake me up when September ends
Enough of all that cringe, she has to visit her father. He will most definitely not be proud of what she did/does, but she'll try to make up for it.
She stood up,
Wake me up when September ends
before wiping the tears off her face an deciding that, it's final,
Wake me up when September ends
She'll try to be better, starting now.
(Ending Tunes)
And who knows, maybe she can help Yuri as well. They'll help each other change for the better and the good of all.
She imagined him happy… smiling genuinely as she imagined of teasing, "playing", mind games… Damn. That'd be a good sight to see.
Her heart hurt less now as the song ended.
(Song ends)
She heard footsteps from behind her.
The guy who played the song approached her.
The guy put a hand on her shoulder. "Uhh, ma'am, are you okay–?"
Serena turned around and punched the guy on his nose, making him let her go and fall on the ground before groaning. Huh, it seemed like she punched the guy enough to make his nose bleed.
"Auughh…" The guy groaned. "What'd you have to do that for?"
"..." Serena stood up and took a glance on his face. Wait, it can't be. "Yuri…?"
The guy sat down and took a handkerchief to cover his nose as he too looked at her. "Ri-Rinrin? No, she looks different…"
'Wait, Rin?' Serena thought. "Uhm, do you mean Rin? As in, Rin Kurosaki?"
"Well, I know Rin, but I'm not sure if her last name is Kurosaki." The guy mentioned. "By the way, name's Yugo."
"You share your name so easily… Anyway, are you a relative of Yuri Sakaki?"
The guy, now revealed to be Yugo, nonchalantly answered, "Now that you say it like that, I should not tell you, but yeah. He's my annoying bro."
"Huh. You look like him," Serena mentioned.
"And you look like Rin." Yugo continued. "Wait-wait-wait, how do you know him–Yuri?"
'Eh, he really didn't tell them… bet that Yuto guy doesn't know either.' "Met the guy 'bout two weeks ago and had been hanging out the past few days." 'If you can call it that.'
"Whaaat…! He never told us, damn, that guy…"
"Uhh anyway, I need to go somewhere… see ya around." Serena said, shuffling her hands into her parka's pockets (AN: ik it doesn't have any in the drawing, but just imagine it) as she left. It was a bit too awkward.
"Bye, then! I also need to go to work, anyway." He said, boarding a bus that had just arrived.
Serena walked to a train station and rode a train to a nearby city as Misty followed suit.
As she sat there, she thought of the past few weeks, with Yuri, Dennis, Strong, Sora, her sister's guys…
"Over there, a seat!" She heard a familiar voice exclaim. She looked over to her left where the train's doors were located and… saw her sisters. Yuzu was the one who exclaimed, by the way.
"Eh–!?" Serena gasped, eyes widening. Seriously!?
She looked to the right side where another door was located, but as she was about to get off the train, it moved.
"No, no, no…!" She felt as if she was about to die. "P-Please!" She tried prying the door open, but, of course, it didn't.
She turned to them and saw that they were about to sit at the other side of the train.
Whew… maybe she can last here. She went back to her original seat and calmed herself down.
With the Girls
"Uhm, excuse me, can we have that seat, please?" A woman, probably in her late twenties, asked the girls. She had a son and a daughter.
Ruri, Rin, and Yuzu looked at each other and just nodded.
"Sure!"
And so, the girls went to find another place to sit. They saw about four open seats on the other side of the train.
"There!" Yuzu yelled, pointing to the aforementioned seats.
"Thank Ra," Rin said exasperatedly.
The three of them went there and finally got the pleasure of sitting again.
As they adjusted to their new seats, Rin examined the people across them.
At first, she somehow didn't notice a person with a nervous and regretful expression on their face before taking a look again.
Both her and the person's eyes widened.
The person ran.
"Serena!" Rin suddenly shouted, going after the person. "Girls, watch my seat!"
"Rin!" Ruri called. "Yuzu, watch my seat!" She ran after Rin.
"Why in the shadow realm do I always get the short end of the stick!?" Yuzu pouted as she just sat there.
With Serena
'Fuck, fuck, fuck, they had to sit in front of me! They all just had to have too much empathy! I hate my life…!' Serena thought as she ran through the train.
"Se, re, na!" She heard Rin exclaim angrily. Great, she's chasing her…
"Rin! What do you mean!?" Ruri asked, also running. "Is Serena here?"
"Yes! I'm sure I saw her! She also seemed to be running with a white cat…"
And, as Rin said, Misty ran with Serena even though she had zero idea why.
People were eyeing them surprisingly, wondering what three girls were running for/from. And why a cat was following one.
Serena reached the end of the train. 'Shoot…!'
"Meow?"
"Yeah, looks like they got us, Mist."
Rin didn't hesitate to lunge at her before grabbing her foot. "Oh, ho ho, you ain't going anywhere out of MY sight!"
Ruri just got there, panting. "*pant* *pant* Se-Serena!? It really is you." Ruri fell to her knees out of exhaustion.
Rin and Serena just looked at her.
"Really?" Rin said.
"Y-yeah…" Ruri answered. "I'm not as agile as neither of you, alright?"
Ruri and Rin brought Serena to their seats. "Lemme go."
"No."
"Ruri?"
"Nah."
"Oh, c'mon…"
Yuzu gaped at the sight. "Huh, you found her."
A little while later…
"...I promise I won't try to run away. Just stop gripping my hand so tightly, please." Serena, in a way, pleaded.
"No—"
"Maybe we should give her a chance." Ruri suggested. "Plus, this guy's cute." Ruri continued, patting Misty. Said cat purred contentedly.
"Misty is a girl…" Serena said exasperatedly. "What even makes her look like a male?"
Rin looked at Ruri. "But, Ruri…"
"Rin. We have to trust her sometimes."
"Freaking–just because of the cat?"
Ruri thought for a bit. "Maybe…" She continued to caress Misty's fur. "Why haven't ya told us you had a cat?"
"Thought you guys–well, girls–won't approve."
"Tch, you never asked." Yuzu rolled her eyes. "Ruri loves animals and you know that. She probably would've said yes without any hesitation."
"...yeah imma just let her go."Rin let Serena's hand go, but held it again.
"I... can't."
"Rin. Trust me." Ruri smiled.
And so, sighing, she let Serena go.
To Rin's surprise, she didn't go anywhere. Serena glared at them, then just leaned at the pole beside her.
Then, Rin's a-bit-motherly instincts kicked in. "Look at you, all wet…" She took Serena's beanie off and borrowed some hair bands from Ruri before tying Serena's hair into a ponytail.
"Don't… touch me…" Serena said, snatching her beanie and turning away.
Seeing that, Yuzu turned to her, face practically saying, "Let it pass".
"Sigh, fine. I'll leave this one…" Serena sighed. She faced away from Rin so that she could tie her hair.
"Ow." She growled. "Don't pull so hard…"
"There, much better." Rin smiled. She then noticed Serena's wet parka. "I have an extra coat, want it?"
"Nah, I'm fine."
"Fine, but you're changing when we get there."
"What is it with you being so… like this?"
Rin looked at her boredly. "Oh, you don't know. Yeah, I was with you all the time when we were younger and know just how much trouble you can put yourself in. Ruri and Yuzu were in separate schools than the both of us, so I had to take care of you, on my own—"
"Okay, ok, I get it, gee…"
"You asked!"
"Girls, stop." Ruri warned.
And cause she's the eldest, they had no choice but to stop. For now only, prolly.
Yuzu smiled at them before yawning. "Sleepy…"
"You can lean on me, if you want." Ruri told her. "And Serena, can I keep Misty for now?"
"Ok."
Yuzu leaned on Ruri and was happy that all her sisters were here. All safe, sound, and complete.
It felt nice.
Serena saw that. And Rin noticed her noticing. "You tired as well?"
"...A bit…" She admitted.
"Well, you can lean on me as well, if you want." Rin said. And at first, Serena hesitated, but eventually just leaned.
Rin chuckled lightly before placing her left arm around Serena and pulled her closer to give her a small hug. It also made the latter feel warmer
Serena didn't fight it away and just let herself drift to sleep. She missed just being close to them… this felt nice for her. To be in the warm embrace of her… well, in the past, best friend and best sister.
There used to be moments like this when school or training was too hard and she'd have a breakdown. Rin was always present during such times. And if Rin was having a hard time, she'll be the one comforting her. They used to be so close, even before their dad died.
The rain continued to softly pour on the window of the train as it continued to move.
Later, in the city they went to…
"Alright all, come on!" Ruri called, opening an umbrella to protect herself and Yuzu who joined her.
Earlier, while they were still on the train, Ruri had texted someone to come pick them up. They also knew a person who stayed here, which also was the person Ruri had texted.
"Is anyone gonna pick us up?" Rin asked, pulling her bag and handing an umbrella to sleepy-looking Serena, which the latter unveiled before yawning. The three girls had also planned to stay here overnight.
Ruri smiled at her. "Yep. They should be here about now—"
Serena looked around as Rin also went under the umbrella. She might just know who the person will be.
And she saw Barrett. With Reiji. Both had their own umbrellas.
"Ah! There they are." Ruri gestured to the direction Serena was looking at. Serena's eyes widened, all her sleepiness from earlier gone. "Th-Them!?"
"Yes, Serena. Them. Did you really expect anyone else?"
"Reiji-nii!" Yuzu ran to said person and hugged him, not caring that she was getting wet.
Reiji spotted them when he heard that and saw Yuzu come to him and hugged him, he also almost let his umbrella go. He hugged her in return. "Slow down, sis. So, how was your trip?"
"Great!"
Reiji and Yuzu then let each other go as Reiji looked at the other three who were also approaching him. Ruri and Rin also hugged him. "Nice to see you again, little sisters." He patted them.
"How bout you?"
"Nah, I'm good." Serena hesitated, placing her free hand in her jacket.
Rin noticed Barrett. "Nice to see you as well, Barrett-san."
"You too. Alright, wrap it everyone. Save the greetings in the car and the hugs at home; we have to leave before we all get wet."
They then rode a 7-seater car on the way home (Reiji in the passenger, Barrett as the driver, Ruri, Yuzu, at the middle, and Rin with Serena at the very back).
Meanwhile, though, at a bench at the station…
"Meow…?" Said a particular white and orange-tinged cat, roaming the place worriedly. "M-Mreow!?" She meowed anxiously.
Her ears went down and looked at a bench in front of her. She climbed it and sat there.
'M-master will probably come here, right? It all would be fine if we were at the city 'cause I know where to go, but…
where am I, anyway?'
She then just stayed on that particular bench sadly.
In the Car
Not turning to look at them, Reiji said, "Okay. So, first we're going home to give Serena a change as Ruri told me she was wet earlier, then we're going to dad's grave."
"I thought you were back in Maiami." Serena stated bluntly. 'I also feel like I forgot something very important…'
"Well, you obviously weren't with the other three when they planned, cause after they did, they told me. So I came here yesterday in advance."
"Uhh, about her, we just found Sererna in the train somehow." Rin explained. "She tried to run away, prolly forgetting we were in a train. I caught her, and now she's here–with us."
"Of course that's what happened… Oh, and I have something to tell you all after the visit."
They were all quiet after, reminiscing everything as Barrett continued to drive.
Ext.-Barrett's House
As Serena closed her part of the car's door, she examined the place.
She remembered it got renovated after her dad died so that all six of them and Barrett could live there. They also only stayed here during the summer and breaks as the school she went to was just this child care thing that was supposed to help her, her brothers, and her sisters get better and move on from any traumatizing event.
After the girls left their stuff and her taking an average-long hot bath and changed, they left to their father's grave.
When they got there, Barrett dropped them off first as he went to park his car.
Even if the rain started pouring less than cats and dogs, they still unveiled their umbrellas and walked to the gravesite which had a traditional design.
When they got there, Yuzu took some incense and lit it.
"What's the purpose of this? Won't it just get wet? I also don't think it's a good time to visit now that it's raining… even if it's just light rain." And Serena was right, but they're already there.
"I don't wanna go back now either…" Yuzu muttered.
"It's fine, there's a place we can stay at here in case the rain'll pour hard again." Reiji reassured.
And so, one by one, they kneeled and said their prayers. (A/N: I'm not Japanese, & i don't know how this really works, so apologies if it's inaccurate. if u have an idea, please tell me)
After Barrett got there and did the ritual, they decided to just stay in the place Reiji mentioned earlier to talk about stuff.
It had a table and bench thing, the kinds usually in picnic places. Except the bench and table were made of metal.
Ruri, Yuzu, and Rin gathered up at the edge at the right side. Ruri was telling them about someone named Yuto.
When Reiji heard the name, he sat on the other bench across them. "May I ask who this… Yuto guy is?"
"I thought Shun was the protective one." Rin suddenly mentioned, obviously not wanting to share any girl secrets with him, even if it's from Ruri.
"And he is. I'd rather leave your love lives alone–except Serena's, we all know how not messed up hers is—" He said sarcastically before he got cut off
"Well, I think I'm better off with you not constantly finding me suitors behind my back." She interrupted angrily.
Not even turning to her, he said, "Since that incident in the past, I had to," Now he turned and glanced at her. "We don't want that to happen again, right?"
"Tsk, I guess… And why's Shun not here?"
"He's in charge of the company for now. It was hard to convince him, of course, especially after he figured out I was going here. With them." He pointed to the three girls. "He'll get more frustrated later when I tell him you're here as well, but that's later."
He turned to the other girls again and sat properly. "Anyway, his name, Ruri, you see, sounded familiar."
"Who? Yuto?"
"Yes."
"Wow. Surprised she hasn't told any of you yet." Serena interrupted once again.
Yuzu smiled. "Hmm, you too, Serena." This made everyone turn to her.
Serena clicked her tongue. "Oh yeah? What about Rin?" She stated, not faltering.
And now everyone turned to Rin.
"Face it," They heard Barrett, who was leaning onto a pole, "Y'all are hiding something."
"And that they are." Yuzu confirmed. She wasn't hiding anything from anyone as they all knew, anway. Except Barrett and Reiji. So, she told them. "By the way–the girls already know this–I… have a boyfriend."
"Well, at least you're actually honest and didn't hesitate to tell all of us." Barrett complimented. "And you should… uhh…" He looked at Reiji. "Wait." He approached him.
"It might be time to tell them. If who they met are them, anyway." Barrett whispered.
"I know. I'm gonna ask them later. Yuzu opened up, Ruri probably, Rin might hesitate for a while but eventually open up, but, Serena…" He looked in her direction. "Well, you know."
"Yeah… you know anyone who could get her to open up?"
Reiji nodded. "Either Rin, or… Shun. She's closer to him, Ruri more to Shun, but when it comes to either of us, it's Shun."
"You should try him, then."
"Highly doubt she wants to talk to him after what happened three years ago." Reiji sighed heavily. "Rin it is. But I'm going to save Serena for last. I'll talk to the other three first." He walked over to them.
"So, Ruri, as I said, please tell me more about this Yuto. I'm one of the eldest and is your brother. And since Shun isn't here, I have to act like the bossy eldest."
"O-Okay," they went back to sit on the bench as she told them the whole story of how she and Yuto met through a discussion of a sandwich.
Serena also just remembered that and even if she knew what happened and witnessed it firsthand, she just knew Ruri would keep some embarrassing secrets. Ruri then proceeded to tell them about their first date.
"Yuto and I walked through the park before he bought me some cup noodles. It was very sweet of him…" Ruri continued dreamily.
"–Until Ruri shoved a huge amount of it in her mouth, not even waiting for it to cool down, and screamed, 'HOT, HOT!' or something of the like."
Ruri gave her a death glare. "I think I can tell the story on my own, thank you very much–"
"–Then Yuto blew into her mouth as much as he could to try and cool it down. It worked, but it was a fun sight to see." Serena smiled slyly.
Rin and Yuzu chuckled. Reiji also smirked, coughed, then went back to keeping a poker face. "Ehm. Yes."
Barrett just smiled at them.
Eventually, it was Rin's turn.
"Okay, Rin, it's your turn." Ruri said as she finished her story.
Yuzu smiled. "I'm kinda curious as well." Serena then said a faint, "Same. And why that peppy-looking guy was listening to "Wake Me Up when September Ends". There are literally a whole other plethora of songs in the world."
"So it all started when I was looking for Serena. I always look for her every time I'm off work or have at least 10 free hours." Rin started. "Honestly, though; I can't believe Serena's disappearance was the key to finding him."
"He was rushing, so he wasn't really paying attention to what was in front of him. I was the same. I always tried to go to every corner of the city to find Serena, so we ended up bumping into each other." Rin explained. "I told him I was finding someone. And he actually offered to help, the dumb guy… heh… of course, I declined, so he just asked for descriptions. I told him that. Then, before we parted, he asked for my number, which I gladly gave."
"Wow, not even thinking that he's a stranger…" Serena commented.
"She's right, you know." Reiji agreed, adjusting his glasses. Serena smiled smugly at that. "See, nii-sama agrees."
Rin just pouted at the two. "Look, he seemed pretty trustworthy. Anyway, we've talked through texts since then. We once went out to search for Serena together before going to a cyber center where he taught me some extra things for code."
She then remembered getting kicked out about two hours later 'cause she and Yugo hacked into the manager of the place's computer and sneaked a file that played an unending video of a badly-edited pop cat (it's a kind of meme cat, look it up) dancing the floss dance vigorously, opening and closing its mouth in the process.
She tried to tell him they were just having some fun, but Yugo suddenly ran inside with some fries and soda (when the people traced the file to them, Yugo went out to buy them some food) and accidentally spilled the soda on the manager's shirt as he tripped over a wire.
Good times. Good times…
Of course, though, she won't tell any of them about that. "That's pretty much all we did so far. He told me that he had three siblings. By then, he probably thought he had the most number of siblings. He got quite a surprise when I told him I had five."
Reiji took note of everything they said. Maybe it really was time. Barrett told him and Shun about what might happen in the future, it was something about their sisters.
"If what your father said is true, if they'll find them – four boys – in the future, then there's this thing you or you both have to do." He remembered Barrett's words. "And either of you have to tell them how they were really made."
He knew who those boys were; three worked for him. And Serena might've already met the one she's supposed to as they were there in the company building last time.
For now, he needs a confirmation for himself so that he'll know if he should tell them.
"Uh, Rin, can I talk to you about something?" He asked.
"Hm, ain't it Serena's turn to tell her story?"
Serena cupped her mouth. "NOT happening!"
He excused himself and Rin for a bit and told Barrett to guard the other girls.
He took her to a tree. "See what happened earlier? That's why I called you here. I need you to talk to her and find out who the guy she's with is."
"Oh…"
Unbeknownst to them, Serena followed them. 'What…?'
"Well, I'm sorry, nii. Yuzu actually said that Serena didn't like being with me and Ruri as much… I highly doubt she'll want to talk to me right now…"
"And why do you need to know what I'm up to, anyway?" Serena asked, finally revealing herself. "I'd really rather keep this to myself." She was glaring at them with angrily pressed lips.
Reiji gave a deep and heavy sigh. "Serena…"
Said girl just walked back.
"Well, I can't do anything to help you now, really." Rin said as she followed Serena.
After that, they all just decided to call it a day and went home.
Int.-Barrett's House-Living Room-Around 7 PM
When they got home, Reiji just dropped himself on the couch.
Yuzu, noticing his exasperated expression, sat beside him. "Anything wrong, big bro?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing, imouto…"
"Rin told me what happened on the way home. And don't worry, I know who the guy she's with is." Yuzu smiled.
"It's okay, sis–wait, what?"
Yuzu just continued to smile at him. "I know who he is. He's Yuya's brother, Yuri Sakaki."
Reiji sat up and adjusted his glasses. "Hm. Thanks." He then stood up and went outside.
He took his phone and called Shun. "Shun, it's "time". I need ya to come here. Bring Reira with you, and leave Yuto in charge. Yes, if you can, now. Thanks."
A/N: As said earlier, I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and hopefully it'll have my desired effect on u guys.
I think im also gonna have a lot of fun next chap as I myself really want to know where this is going (hey, the writer can get exited too ^ᴥ^ ).
Also, I think I'm gonna change the summary again, by a lot (dont worry, the pairings r still main focus. I just have a huge idea). Who knows?
-01, out!