Chapter 3:
"Oba-san, are you sure you don't need any help in the kitchen?" Hinamori called out from the living to the elderly Hitsugaya cooking in the kitchen. Once the three of them had come home from their visit, Mrs. Hitsugaya immediately started getting things ready for supper that evening. In order for everything to be ready in time, she had to start cooking right away. Besides, they had an important guest to impress.
"Oh I'm fine, dear. You just relax and leave everything to me." Mrs. Hitsugaya happily replied from the kitchen.
Hinamori merely frowned in response. She hated doing nothing while someone else was hard at work.
Noticing his brooding friend, Toshiro sighed. "Just let her be, Hinamori." he said with his arms crossed over his chest. "You know how she gets on special occasions. So you might as well just save your breath and let her cook. You can always help with clean up later."
"I guess…" she muttered in response as her gaze shifted to the side. "I just hate not helping out is all…"
"I know, I know." Toshiro replied as he shook his head. "Look, if you really want to help out, give me a hand cleaning up the living room and dining room. We wouldn't want your uncle to think you've been raised in a pigsty."
"Okay!" Hinamori happily responded before beginning to tidy up the room.
Noticing his childhood friend cheerfully tidying the room, Toshiro sighed once again. Both rooms were already pretty clean, so he had only really said that so that she wouldn't feel so down about not helping his grandmother prepare dinner. I swear, you're just too easy to read sometimes he thought to himself before going to give her a hand tidying the already clean rooms.
After a few minutes had passed with the two of them silently tidying up, the doorbell suddenly wrung. Knowing who must have been at the door, Hinamori dropped what she was doing and excitedly went to answer the door.
"Come on in, Futari-san!" she exclaimed with a bright smile on her face as she led her uncle into the house.
"Oh please, call me Ryotaro. It just won't due for you to call me by such a formal title!" he replied as he made his way in the house and into the livingroom.
"Alright, Futa-, I mean, Ryotaro-san." Hinamori said she followed him into the livingroom.
"Won't drop the -san, will you? Very well, I suppose baby steps are better than simply standing still." he replied with the shake of his head.
Meanwhile, watching the exchange between the two, Toshiro frowned. Once again, he was getting that feeling in his gut that told him to be cautious of Hinamori's uncle. As he was trying to figure out why he had that feeling, a realization dawned on him. Oba-san never gave him our address he thought as his eyes began to narrow on Futari Ryotaro. Nor did he call earlier to get it from her. So how the hell did he know where we lived?
"Alright, everyone. Dinner is ready!" Mrs. Hitsugaya called out from the kitchen, causing Toshiro to be roused from his thoughts. "Now come grab a plate and dig in!"
"Great! Let's go grab some dinner, Ryotaro-san. Oba-san is the best cook, so you're in for a treat!" Hinamori exclaimed as she eagerly dragged her uncle into the kitchen.
After pausing a moment to watch his childhood friend happily drag her uncle into the kitchen, Toshiro decided to go and grab some food for himself. It won't do any good to say anything now he thought as he made his way into the dining room with his food. I'll just have to wait and see just what this guy does. One thing is certain though, I definitely can't let my guard down around him.
So the four of them ate the dinner that Mrs. Hitsugaya had spent the entire afternoon cooking. As they ate, Futari chatted away happily, easily charming those within his company. And, as much as Toshiro hated to admit it, he was starting to relax his guard around Hinamori's uncle too. Hearing the man happily chat away about everyday mundane things as though they were the most fascinating things in the world, Toshiro couldn't help but notice the similarities between Futari and his niece. It was because of this that the younger Hitsugaya unconsciously began to lower his guard around him.
And just as Toshiro was even about to participate in the conversation at hand, Futari suddenly decided to reveal his true motive for coming to see them this evening. "Say, Momo dear," the uncle abruptly spoke, causing the current conversation to die at once. "How do you feel about coming to live with me, your dear old uncle? I could officially adopt you into the Futari family and everything."
"Huh?" Mrs. Hitsugaya, Toshiro, and Hinamori exclaimed in unison as they tried not to choke on their food. Too surprised to say anything else, the three of them simply stared at Futari in shock as they tried to process what he had just said.
"Now, now, there's no need to act so surprised." Futari Ryotaro said as he looked upon the shocked faces before him. "After all, doesn't it just make sense for Momo-chan to come live with her uncle? I suppose it would be different if she were officially a member of your household, but you never actually adopted her, didn't you Hitsugaya-san? So there shouldn't be an issue for me, her uncle, to take custody of her."
Mrs. Hitsugaya merely continued to stare at Futari in shock, too stunned to even formulate a response. True, she had never actually adopted Hinamori for the specific reason she had told her grandson yesterday, but she never would have imagined that not officially adopting Hinamori could put them in such a vulnerable position.
"How do you know that Oba-san never adopted Hinamori, huh?! Why don't you answer me that!?" Toshiro exclaimed as he felt a sudden surge of anger rise in him. "And while you're at it, why don't you tell us how you just so happened to know where we lived?! It's not like we ever gave you our address!"
"Well, if you must know," Futari calmly replied as he returned the glare Toshiro was giving him. "I did some research this afternoon after having met the three of you this morning. After all, it just makes sense that an uncle be concerned about his niece's living arrangements. Anyway, as I was looking through the report one of my employees had made for me, I came across a few things, such as your home address."
Pausing for a moment to take a breath, Hinamori's uncle continued. "However, what really surprised me in that report, was the fact that Hinamori was never officially adopted into your family. As soon as I saw that, I figured that if you two didn't want her, I would gladly take her off of your hands."
"Who said we didn't want her!?" Toshiro yelled as his anger was beginning to get the better of him. "And where did you get that information from anyway!?"
"You really do have a lot of questions, boy" Futari stated in response with an annoyed look beginning to dominate his face. "Haven't you ever heard of the name Futari before? As the head of the Futari family, I'm in charge of the large financial assets our family owns as a result of all our business dealings. So, as someone who has millions upon millions of dollars at their disposal, do you honestly think that I couldn't manage to hire a private detective to gather all that information?"
Just as Toshiro was about to yell something else in response, he felt Hinamori place her hand on his shoulder. And, just as what happened at the grave site earlier that day, Toshiro felt his anger begin to evaporate at the sight of her. Settling for merely a loud sigh, he obediently sat himself back down.
Interesting Futari thought as he watched the younger Hitsugaya back down from their previous engage due to the interference of Hinamori. It seems as though my niece has managed to tame herself a wild dog.
"Um, Ryotaro-san" Hinamori shyly began as she turned her gaze away from Toshiro and towards her uncle. "I, uh, appreciate your offer, but… Well... This is just going too fast. I mean, I don't even really know you yet. So how can I just move in with someone I don't know?"
"Well, if you're issue is that you simply don't feel you know me well enough, that can easily be fixed" Futari stated as he looked deeply into Hinamori's eyes. "How about this: you come and live with me for the next three weeks. During that time, you'll have a chance to get to know me as well as get to know the lifestyle that I live. A lifestyle that could one day be yours if you so wish it. And, once those three weeks are over, you tell the three of us what decision you've come to. If you feel like you'd rather continue to live with the Hitsugaya family, then I'll happily send you on your way. And, if the situation were reversed and you decided to stay with me, I'm sure the Hitsugaya's would also do the same. So what do you say, Momo-chan? Will you allow me the chance to offer you the world?"
Hinamori sat in silence as she thought about her uncle's proposal. While she pondered his offer, Mrs. Hitsugaya, Futari, and Toshiro stared intently at her. All of the tension in the room was currently directed right at her. It was so quiet, you could certainly clearly hear a pin drop if one happened to fall on the floor.
After what felt like the longest minute of their lives, Hinamori came to a decision. "Alright," she said as she addressed her uncle. "I'll come live with you for the next three weeks."
"Oh that's so wonderful, Momo-chan! I'm so happy-" Futari cheerfully began, only to be interrupted by Hinamori signaling to him that she wasn't yet finished talking.
"But, I have two conditions. One, I'm still allowed to attend my classes at my university. I don't want to fall behind, after all." she stated as she held up one finger. Seeing her uncle nod to signal his agreement to her first condition, she continued. "Two, I'm allowed to see Oba-san and Hitsugaya-kun whenever I want during these three weeks." she finished as she held up a second finger.
"Why, that's perfectly okay with me!" Futari exclaimed as he stood up. "Oh, that's just wonderful! Tell you what, I'll stop by again tomorrow morning to pick you and your things up! Don't worry about packing anything other than a few pairs of clothes and some personal items. I'll make sure to ask one of the maids to prepare a room for you filled with all the essentials."
"A-Alright" Hinamori stuttered in response. Now that the realization of what she had agreed to was starting to hit her, she couldn't help but wonder if agreeing to her uncle's proposal really was a good idea. I guess it wouldn't hurt to give him a chance at least she thought as she tried to shake the doubt from her mind.
"Well, now that that's settled, I think it's time I took my leave. I'll be here by 11am tomorrow to pick you up, my dear Momo-chan!" Futari exclaimed as he began to head towards the front door. "See you tomorrow!" he added before exiting the house.
Once he left, a heavy silence filled the room. Hinamori looked to her left to see Mrs. Hitsugaya gently gathering everyone's plates before heading into the kitchen to clean them. Desperate to not be left alone in the room with Toshiro while this pregnant silence surrounded them, Hinamori called out to the elderly Hitsugaya. "Oh, I can take care of that, Oba-san. You cooked after all."
Unfortunately, Mrs. Hitsugaya didn't seem to register Hinamori's plea to not to be left alone with Toshiro. "Oh, it's fine dear. Don't you worry about a thing."
Great… Hinamori thought to herself as her small window of opportunity closed. Now, I wonder just how mad he is she continued as she slowly turned her gaze towards her childhood friend.
Toshiro's expression was neutral as he stared down the spot where his plate once was. However, the tiny gleam in his eyes managed to give away just how angry he felt at the moment. Hinamori internally winced. She had a feeling that he wouldn't be too happy about her choice to temporarily move in with her stranger of an uncle, and it seemed that she was correct. Deciding it was best to say something rather than remain in this uncomfortable silence, Hinamori spoke.
"Hey, so, um, it seems like you won't have to worry about me waking you up in the middle of the night for the next little while, huh?" she said as she desperately smiled at him in the hopes of relieving the tension in the room.
Toshiro said nothing in response. Then, just as Hinamori was about to try saying something else, he abruptly stood up and left the room.
There you have it, the end of chapter three!
Now that everything's been set up, it's time for the HitsuHina moments to shine!
Anyway, thanks for reading! And, if you have time, I'd like to hear what some of you think of the story so far. I know that I've yet to really get into it, but it would be nice to hear what you all think so far. While I do pretty much have the story all planned out, I am open to suggestions if any of you have any.
~ H-Mira