The rest of the week had passed by normally and it was finally Friday night. The members of the Asahina are all busy to prepare their belongings for their family trip tomorrow morning. The whole mansion was in a bustle because there were still a handful of people who rummaged through their rooms for things that they could bring for the trip.
Dinner was long over, so some people immediately went to continue or start packing, while some are relaxing on the long couch, watching a random talk show on TV. Random shouts of someone finding something would sometimes echo in the room, along with the slamming of the door in the loft. A very annoying sight for Ayako, to be honest.
"And this is the result of them taking their own sweet time." Ayako quietly sipped on her tea as she leaned back on the couch, her eyes trained on the appliance in front of her. She could hear a snicker from beside her and she decided to ignore it.
"Talk about procrastinators." She snorted after finishing her cup of tea and setting it down on the coffee table before continuing, "Tsuba-nii, Yuu-chan and Fuuto just never learn, do they?" She finally sighed in frustration upon seeing Tsubaki pop out of nowhere, asking Ukyo and Azusa if they had seen his goggles somewhere.
"Idiots everywhere."
"What a mean thing to say, Aya~" She heard someone coo from beside her, followed by a plopping sound from the couch. The girl immediately knew by the way his voice seemed to ring in her ears.
"Don't bother me, Kana-nii." She felt an arm slung around her shoulder and she could only sigh in defeat, not bothering to remove his arm around her. Ayako figured that Kaname would find one way or another to put it around her again.
"Anyway, Ema-nee is all prepared for tomorrow right?" At the mention of her name, Ema perked up, smiling brightly at her direction which Ayako returned. The squirrel which was settled on her shoulder squeaked in what the blue-haired girl thought as agreement.
"You shouldn't wear something so revealing around these guys." Ayako motioned her hand to all the males in the room. Her eyes looked so serious that it somewhat unnerved Ema. She remembered packing a two-piece swimsuit earlier after she came back home from school.
"If you do, make sure you wear something to cover yourself." The younger girl added after a little while which made Ema feel relieved somehow. Ayako laughed after seeing Ema's amusing expression. She found out that the said girl was quite fun to tease, which was a bit worrisome because it seemed like she was getting infected by Tsubaki's and Fuuto's idiocy lately.
"Anyway, I'll be turning in early for the night. I want to make sure I have everything I need tomorrow morning before we leave." Ayako said before standing up and bidding her siblings goodnight. After that, she proceeded to go to her room to sleep.
It was actually a sight to behold, seeing thirteen males, two girls and a squirrel on a beach. The Asahina family, with the exception of Miwa and Rintarou, had traveled to Okinawa to have their vacation, where they have a family villa.
Ayako looked around their surroundings through her dark-colored sunglasses. The word spectacular and beautiful is an understatement to actually describe the place. She had actually missed the place so much. The last time that she had went here was when she was younger and that was years ago.
Turquoise water surrounded the pristine sand. There were barely any people around yet, since it was already the start of a new semester but it would surely be packed later on. Fortunately for them, they actually had a place to stay at which is exclusively for their use only. And they don't have to book and pay for expenses for a hotel.
"Waaah~" Wataru's voice filled Ayako's ears as she heard her youngest brother cooed in awe. The girl could only smile at the adorable sight. He was currently holding her hand as he looked around his surroundings.
"All right everyone! Let's move out. We have to go to the villa first before having fun." Masaomi, the oldest of them all, took charge of their schedule along with the second oldest, Ukyo.
"It's nice to be out huh, Aya-chan?" Hikaru suddenly appeared beside the younger girl, still wearing his set of women's clothes. A wide-brimmed sun hat slightly covered his features along with a large, sunglasses.
Ayako hummed in response before smiling at the fourth eldest son. But her expression suddenly darkened for a moment, which Hikaru noticed thanks to his sharp eyesight. Somehow, he felt sorry for his younger sister. It seemed like no matter what, everything that had happened in the past was still weighing on her mind.
"You don't need to look so sad, Aya-chan." Hikaru laid a gentle hand on her head, making her look up at him. He had a small, comforting smile on his lips which eased the stinging pain that the girl was feeling in her chest.
"Ah, I'll get to see how much Aya has grown so much throughout the years, won't I?" This time, Kaname suddenly popped up on the other side of Ayako, easily lifting the suitcase that she was trying so hard to drag across the powdery sand. His intervention was obviously on purpose, which Hikaru and Ayako was thankful for internally.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, perverted Kana-nii, but I don't plan to be near you when I'm wearing a swimsuit. Who knows if you'll actually feel me up?" Ayako rolled her eyes playfully, a smile lingering on her lips and her eyes glinting mischievously which can be seen now without the sunglasses hiding it.
Kaname laughed wholeheartedly. The action actually eliciting a soft and reminiscing expression on the young girl's beautiful face. It was rare to see Kaname laughing openly and genuinely like this.
"You know I won't do that. Aya's too precious to me. Her well-being always comes first." The blonde monk, who's wearing casual clothes rather than his usual monk robes, smiled sincerely at Ayako. Hikaru and the blue-haired girl exchanged looks and smiles, before Ayako turned to look at Kaname again, grinning widely and her eyes forming crescent moons.
"Aya knows. Kana-nii told her so in the past..." Ayako spoke in third person, like how they used to do so for fun in the past. Hikaru and Kaname were quite glad that the girl's spirits were easily lifted up. And they knew that she was grateful to them for doing so. The other siblings quietly listened in on their conversation and they were relieved too, on the inside.
They arrived in their family villa, which Ema and Ayako found extravagant, despite the latter being here a few years ago. Somehow, it didn't really change except for the color of the walls and the arrangement of the furniture and appliances.
"It didn't even change. The exterior's still the same, although I bet Mama asked for someone to repaint it." Ayako quietly said to no one in particular.
The family of sixteen, including Juli in the count, went inside. Masaomi handed the keys to the respective rooms' owners. All of them owned a room. And Ema, being the new addition to the family got her own too seeing that the villa has a few more spare rooms.
Ayako got the key from Masaomi and found Kaname heading to where her room was located. She followed the blonde monk, not even a bit wary if he's going to pull something on her.
Ema sent her a worried glance which the blue-haired girl caught. However, she only returned it with a reassuring smile and a playful wink. The female brunette finally smiled at that and left for her room, with the eldest sibling assisting her.
"Aya-nee!" A flurry of footsteps raged through the corridors along with a familiar voice of their youngest sibling, Wataru, who called her.
She and Kaname already arrived in front of her room, with Ayako unlocking the door and was about to go in with the third eldest before they were stopped by Wataru. She didn't know how their youngest sibling could be this upbeat when they were all quite tired from travelling earlier.
"What is it, Wataru-chan?" She bent down to his level before looking up at her waiting older brother. Ayako motioned for him to go inside already to place her luggage, while she accommodates their younger brother.
"You'll play with me too, later, okay?" At that plea of the youngest, Ayako cannot help but nod with a kind, sisterly smile. She kissed the tip of his nose before patting his head gently.
"Of course! You're my baby brother, so I'll be playing with you and with big brothers, alright?" Wataru nodded eagerly, flashing her a brilliant grin which made her chuckle.
"But first, you must return to Masa-nii to unpack your belongings before we go play outside, hm?" He obediently nodded at Ayako's suggestion and waved goodbye, telling her that 'Aya-nee should also go prepare before Masa-nii scolds her too'.
Ayako went inside her room after seeing Wataru disappear down the hallways of the villa, to his room where their eldest brother was probably waiting for him. The girl had forgotten that she actually has a visitor who had helped her put away her luggage while she talked to Wataru who was quite excited to play.
Kaname was standing in the middle of her room, with her suitcase at the foot of the queen-sized bed. He was looking at her with a small smirk playing across his lips and his eyes shining playfully.
"I'll see you later, imouto-chan!" At the nickname Kaname used, Ayako can't help but feel a bit peeved. Not because he addressed her as 'little sister' but because she had heard Kaname use the same nickname for Ema.
The blue-haired girl knows that it was childish of her to feel this way, but she can't help feeling like she was being replaced. She clenched a fist over where her heart is, as if it would help her alleviate the stinging pain she was currently feeling.
'Or has it already been that way even I have returned...?'
Her thoughts were cut off when the blonde monk ruffled her head affectionately as he passed by her, oblivious of the girl's feelings. Ayako's face contorted into a mix of disbelief and frustration. However, she quickly hid it with a forced yet convincing smile.
"See you later, Kaname-niisan." She called out to him as she followed the older male to the door of the room, shutting it close on his very face, which clearly surprised him.
The way she had called him obviously meant that there was something up. She rarely called him that way unless she's serious or he did something to annoy or anger Ayako. Kaname tried to recall if he did something to upset the girl and was about to knock on her door again, but decided otherwise. He'll make sure to talk it out with Ayako later if they have a chance to be alone.
Ayako sighed deeply, feeling remorseful at her disgraceful actions towards her older brother. But she blamed Kaname for calling her the same way he calls their step-sister, Ema. Also, he clearly knows that she's one of the sensitive and possessive type of person in the Asahina household and they all know it, because the oldest ones basically watched her grow up ever since she was a toddler.
Unwillingly, the girl decided to push those thoughts to the very back of her mind and told herself that she was supposed to enjoy this vacation rather than dwelling on useless matters any further.
Heading to the bathroom with a set of clothes, Ayako changed into her red bikini with black linings and strings, revealing her curvaceous body and ample bosom. She also wore a slightly see-through, black beach wrap which reaches until her mid-thighs on top of her swimsuit so as not to expose too much skin.
The color of what she wore contrasted greatly with her pale complexion. Her brothers would most probably go ballistic if ever they saw her wearing something too revealing. She'll probably get grounded even, knowing their overprotective natures.
Ayako got her sun hat tied with a red ribbon around it, her trusty sunglasses, a towel and wore her flip flops before going out of her room, heading to the living room of their villa.
There, she saw her brothers fawning openly or secretly over Ema who was wearing a large, off-shoulder shirt over her bikini which reached the same length as her beach wrap, as far as Ayako had observed. The brunette's hair was down, the same as Ayako's hairstyle.
She could clearly see how they some of them were shying away from her or blushing in a corner. Ayako raised an eyebrow, as she descended down the stairs, chuckling quietly. Fuuto was the first one to notice her since he was nearer to the staircase than the others do, because he was trying to avoid getting near Ema when the rest are all over her.
'Boys will be boys...'
"Aya-neesan," the twelfth sibling out of the thirteen males called out quietly, stupefied at how stunning Ayako looked like in her outfit. However, he quickly composed himself though there was a hint of pink spread across his cheeks.
"Oh, Fuuto," Ayako stood next to him, examining him from head to toe before her eyes settled down on his face. Fuuto was wearing a plain, white shirt, a knee-length, navy blue and white striped beach shorts and a pair of flip flops. He also wore his signature hairclips, with the help of Louis, obviously.
"Feeling bored?" The blue-haired girl asked him as she observed the scene unfolding before their very eyes. Currently, the shy and blushing Ema was surrounded by the-ever-so-loud Tsubaki with Azusa trying to tame him. Yusuke, on the other hand, was getting angry at the white-haired voice actor who was, according to him, harassing 'Hinata'.
"Nah, this entertainment is good enough. Besides, we'll be playing on the beach a little later when they take notice that you're already here." Fuuto rolled his eyes, which didn't escape the girl's sharp, dark blue eyes.
"So, I was the last one to arrive..." Ayako mumbled under her breath, somewhat feeling a bit off. Fortunately, Fuuto didn't hear what she had said and how it sounded. She'd probably be interrogated.
"Say, Fuuto, don't you think you shouldn't go out in the sun?" She suddenly asked the young idol who looked at her incredulously, possibly wondering why she abruptly asked something like that.
"I'm not a vampire, Aya-nee. Being exposed in the sun a little won't hurt me." This time, the older female was the one who rolled her eyes at her brother's stupidity. It seemed as if he didn't really get what she implied.
"I'm not talking about you being a supernatural creature. I was talking about you being an idol who should take better care of himself, you idiotic younger brother."
The girl sighed as if it was supposed to be the most obvious thing that Fuuto should notice. On the other hand, Fuuto narrowed his eyes and made her sister face him. She just stared at him questioningly, mouthing a question of 'What?' to him.
"Nothing."
He snorted out of annoyance and Ayako smirked victoriously at him, sticking out her tongue playfully. It earned her a painful pinch on the cheeks from Fuuto, making her yelp in pain. Unfortunately, this caught the attention of others who stared at the two of them, making a ruckus.
However, the Asahina brothers immediately took notice of what Ayako's wearing. A chorus of their nicknames for her were heard throughout the mansion, leaving Ema with Juli for Ayako who was now being lectured by her brothers. Fuuto, on the other hand, looked pissed because his moment with Ayako was disturbed.
Author's Note:
Hiya! TheWhimsicalNoirette is back!
I hope everyone liked the recent update. I'm on a writing spree these past few days, so I think I would be able to finish editing this story soon enough. Hopefully.
As for the chapter of Ayako's first day at school, I'll include that in the omake that I'll be doing, since we've already reached the tenth chapter. I was actually already planning to make an omake if I ever reached ten chapters in every story of mine.
That's actually a huge achievement for me, to be quite honest. I always had a hard time continuing to write stories because it's either I'd lose my interest or I'd end up having a writer's block which will lead to my laziness to continue further.
And it would be probably still quite a while before Ayako's whole past is revealed. I already have a vague outline. As for the details, I'm still adding and omitting here and there, so yeah.
Anyway, thank you for the continuous love and support for this story! See you next time!
