Sunday is a day spent with family – at least, that was how it was supposed to be with the Asahina household – if the tradition hasn't changed yet. But with everyone having demanding schedules, busy work and school lives, Ayako figured that they are bound to have something up on that day too.

It was actually a nice surprise when the girl had seen everyone in the manor on a Sunday morning. They were either sitting on the couch watching TV, doing nothing or actually doing their assigned chores in the house.

Ayako rubbed her eyes, still feeling groggy due to waking from her deep slumber. She had already taken a bath and prepared for the rest of the day, just to slack off. But it seems like it was not possible with everyone present today. So, she decided to join a bunch of her siblings on the couch instead.

"Oh, good morning Aya-chan." Masaomi greeted her as he sipped on his cup of what she figured as coffee because of the aromatic, relaxing smell. She plopped down beside him with Wataru on his other side, watching TV intently. It was switched on some random cartoon show that he had been engrossed with for the past few days.

"Morning Masa-nii and Wataru~" Ayako cooed, leaning back and closing her eyes. She was still feeling sleepy because she was tired putting up with Yuusuke's antics yesterday. Heck, his room had been a lot of trouble to clean up. It was as if it had not been touched by a broom and a dustpan for years. Her throat was a bit sore because of her nonstop jab at his carelessness and irresponsibleness.

"What happened to you, Aya?" She heard Ukyo ask her. One of her eyes opened to see what the second eldest was doing. It seems like he had just set down a cup of tea for her. She smiled gratefully at her brother's considerate attitude. If only Yuusuke acts more like Ukyo.

She groaned loudly after remembering what actually happened yesterday. Almost everyone looked at her with concerned expressions on their faces. They were curious as to what had caused their sister to become so frustrated with something.

"Ask Yuu-chan," were the only words which left her lips before the door to the loft opened, revealing the person in question. Everyone's head swiveled to his direction, their eyes glinting in curiosity which baffled and at the same time, intimidated Yuusuke.

"Yuusuke," the said boy flinched at being singled out by their second eldest. Ukyo had a strict expression on his face as he motioned for him to come closer. Now, Yuusuke was sweating bullets as he descended down the stairs. Somehow, he was feeling more nervous with every step he takes.

"What did you do to Aya yesterday?" His eyes widened like the size of saucers when he heard Ukyo asking him that. His mind floated back to the scene where he and the said girl were arguing about his attitude until it totally went off topic that it ended up becoming a pointless and unnecessary bickering between siblings.

"A-Aya only helped me clean up my room. I was trying to find my boxers yesterday because Kyo-nii is the one who always washes the laundry..."

His voice eventually grew softer and his brothers' expressions dropped at the same time it did. They looked at him disappointedly which made him feel immediately ashamed of his actions. However, he grew defensive when he saw Ayako smirking smugly in between Masaomi and Ukyo.

"Aya!" He called out in a loud voice, which made the girl bust out in loud, hearty laughter. Ayako held onto her stomach as she doubled over the pain. Tears were slightly leaking out of her eyes continuously, as she wiped away those that tainted her pale, rosy cheeks. She finally calmed down after a minute or two.

"Sorry, Yuu-chan. I was planning to tell them the truth but it seemed like they assumed you did something wrong." She broke out in a fit of giggles, waving her hand apologetically at her miffed, red-haired brother. She stood up from her seat and went to where Yuusuke was standing, ruffling his spiky, red hair.

As if on cue, everyone – namely, Ukyo, Masaomi, Wataru, Iori, Hikaru, Azusa, Louis and Subaru – looked relieved at what they heard. Luckily, the annoying ones composed of Tsubaki and Fuuto were still sleeping in their respective rooms. If not, there would probably be hell to pay.

"So, I'll be starting school this week..." Ayako slung a casual arm over Yuusuke's shoulder. The said male along with Iori, actually looked surprised at what she said, looking at her with questioning gazes. She glanced at the both of them, giving them a lopsided smirk.

"I won't tell you what school I'm attending."

"But–"

"Shut it, Yuu-chan."

"Ah, right. I'll be going along with you then." Masaomi spoke up, smiling gently at her. However, she shook her head as she smiled back at the eldest who was slightly taken aback at her rejection of his offer.

"I already asked Kyo-nii the other day about it. He said he doesn't have anything scheduled so he will be going with me instead, Masa-nii." Ayako looked at the brunette doctor apologetically.

"And? What did you want to say, Aya?" Hikaru entered the conversation, a nicely-painted, fingernail tapping on his chin. His glossy lips were formed in a smile – almost a smirk, actually.

"I was wondering if everyone would be free the next weekend," she grinned, tightening her grip around Yuusuke's neck which made the male lightly slap her arm for nearly choking him. She just glared at him, shutting him up immediately and making him sulk quietly.

"Why? Did you want to go somewhere, A-chan?" Azusa asked, a smile plastered on his face. He pushed up his glasses, straightening out so it was sitting comfortably on his nose-bridge. Ayako only nodded excitedly in response.

"I'm guessing... Aya wanted to go to the beach?" Louis quietly piped in, making heads turn towards his direction. For a moment, Ayako was startled but her expression changed drastically.

She let go of her hold on Yuusuke and bounced towards where Louis is at, which was on the other end of the long couch. Ayako wrapped her arms around the said light-haired male, smiling appreciatively because he actually knew what she wanted to do.

Wataru's ears also perked up at the mention of the beach. His expression brightened and his attention was no longer on the cartoons he was currently watching. He clasped his hands together and started jumping on his seat.

"Are we going to the beach?! Are we? Are we?!" He excitedly chanted. Masaomi put a hand on his head in an attempt to calm down the overly excited, younger Asahina.

"Wataru," the eldest finally called out in a slightly strict manner.

'It would be difficult if he were to injure himself,' is what the pediatrician thought to himself as he finally saw how Wataru settled himself back on the couch beside him.

"So, are we really going to the beach this weekend?" Yuusuke asked after a moment of silence. It seemed that everyone in the room finally reached a silent agreement about going to the beach.

"Then, I'll tell Tsubaki when he wakes up. As for Natsume, I'll also call him later." Azusa said, standing up and stretching a bit. He was going to head upstairs to wake up his older twin because he figured that Tsubaki was sleeping far too much already.

"I'll let Fuuto know–" Ayako stopped midway, earning her a bunch of inquisitive looks from the group of males. Her eyes blinked continuously as she pondered over the fact that she seemed to be forgetting something for a while now.

"Ah!" Everybody in the room was a bit surprised at her sudden outburst. It was quite amusing to see Ayako act like this sometimes, where she will be talking to herself and not minding whether or not people will peg her as weird.

"What about Ema-nee?" She finally asked. They all froze in their seats, slightly stunned at the fact that they actually forgot to ask Ema for her opinion about their sudden outing on the next weekend. Fortunately, Ayako actually remembered.

Seeing the stupefied looks on her brothers' faces, Ayako figured that it actually left their minds that they also had to ask Ema about the beach. A giggle couldn't help but escape her lips. How typical of her brothers. It won't be a wonder if they were to forget one or two people from their household, seeing that they have a lot of people living together.

"I'll let the others know later. Just to make sure, let those who are rarely home know too, alright?" Everyone just nodded their heads in agreement before dispersing to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what.

"Iorin~" Ayako called out, before Iori goes down to the garden. The slate-color haired male looked back to see the blue-haired girl smiling widely at him. It was a rare chance for them to be able to talk alone.

Usually, he'd be busy with school works or tending to the garden to do so or Ayako would be with one of their brothers so he had a hard time finding a chance. He was lucky that they were finally able to talk to each other.

Iori patted her head gently, looking at her fondly. Ayako only kept silent and just continued to smile up at him. There was a small height gap between the two of them wherein the both of them could remember how they were almost the same height back when they were younger.

"You haven't changed at all, Ayako." The senior, high school student smiled a bit. His usual stoic expression gone before his favorite, younger sibling. The smile on Ayako's face dropped a bit at his comment and Iori slightly panicked, thinking that he might have offended her.

"I haven't? I think I have changed..." Ayako said in a small voice. It was rare for her to actually talk openly to her siblings regarding her feelings. Commonly, she would be hiding it in order to avoid conflict, to be interrogated and to be confronted by them.

And during those rare moments, it would either be Iori or Kaname – or even Hikaru – who she would actually talk to about it. Opening up and sharing what she currently feels are one of the hardest things for her to do.

"Believe me, you haven't changed at all..." He pulled her in a comforting embrace, stroking her back rhythmically. Iori leaned his head on top of hers, rocking on the balls of his feet back and forth.

"I think I've become more selfish than I used to be," Ayako further elaborated, finally wrapping her slender arms around Iori's torso. His hold only tightened around her. A sign that she was free to let all her emotions and feelings out on him.

A light-hearted laugh could only escape her lips as a response to that action. Even if Iori does not say anything that much, she was still comforted and grateful for him simply being there for her, when she needed a shoulder. Of course, she could say that the same goes for her.

"Iorin, I'm sorry..."

Iori was perplexed at Ayako's sudden need to apologize to him. He stroked her head gently as he cradled her in his arms. A quiet laugh escaped his lips when he felt her clutching onto his shirt tightly.

"Why are you sorry? There's no need for that." He simply responded, not really liking the fact that his younger sister is apologizing for no exact reason. Ayako pulled away from the embrace, looking up at him with searching eyes.

"I'm just sorry for worrying everyone for the past seven years..." She quietly said, and he too, immediately fell into tensed silence.

No matter how much they wanted to forget that traumatic incident of knowing that Ayako was suddenly gone, it will still come back to haunt every single one of them.

"I think you don't have to worry about that anymore. What's important is that you're back to us again." Iori smiled warmly at her, which settled Ayako's troubled and anxious heart. He planted a soft kiss on the top of her head before finally letting go of her.

"I think you should be more worried about tomorrow..." He continued and looked at the female before her with a small, knowing smile. Ayako was confused for a moment before Iori further added.

"There's school tomorrow, right?"

Silence.

"Oh, shit."


Author's Note:

Hey guys! It's TheWhimsicalNoirette. :)

Chapter 6 is up and I am hoping that you liked the recent update.

If you have any confusions regarding the story so far, let me know in the comments section. Anyway, kindly continue supporting and giving this story lots of love!

Thank you very much! v( ^ w ^ )v