Chapter 5

Asa sometimes wondered about her parents. Sometimes they were the loving, normal parents that anyone would expect a child to have, and yet other times she swore they were possessed by some sort of demon. I remember when they used to get all starry-eyed whenever I was simply talking to Fuji-kun on the phone. And thinking of Fuji-kun…

He had looked so shaken, although he had tried to appear calm. She felt terrible for leaving him like that. Fuji-kun… I'll explain everything to you, just as soon as I know all the details. It was terrible to leave a friend in the dark.

I promise. Wait for me, please…

"It's a… pleasure to meet you. I am Ijuuin Asa."

Nakamura's parents (or, uh... just parent, as only one was currently present) looked kind enough, she supposed. His mother had her black hair tied up into a bun and was wearing a pretty yukata. Her face had a kind and homely smile on it and she greeted her warmly as Nakamura pulled her into the sitting room. "Welcome to our home, Ijuuin-chan," she said sweetly as the girl bowed.

I feel awkward, standing in front of such a esteemed-looking lady in only my school uniform. I suddenly can't wait for the Tanabata Festival in which I get to where my new kimono. I hate it when I outgrow clothes… even if I haven't grown any taller…

"Ijuuin-chan? Is something wrong?"

"Eh? Oh, nothing, nothing! I just spaced out for a bit… gomen." For shame, Asa, for shame… now is not the time to act like an idiot.

Nakamura's mother chuckled quietly. "It's alright, Ijuuin-chan. Please, sit down; don't stand there. Some tea will be brought over shortly." True to her word, in a few moments a servant had brought a tray laden with fancy teacups and a fragrant tea. "It's only green tea, nothing special. Is that alright with you, Ijuuin-chan?" she asked as she accepted a cup from the servant.

"Ah… hai…" Maybe I shouldn't mention that the only high-quality tea that I've ever had was Ceylon tea at Atobe-kun's high tea that day before the school year began, she thought to herself, taking a cup and sipping it. Even this green tea is a higher quality than what we have at home. Guess this is how the rich live. Their simple can easily be my luxurious. She heaved a sigh of dejection.

Nakamura smiled cheerfully as he sipped his own tea. "Okaa-sama, you're making Ijuuin-chan nervous. She's a really shy girl."

What on earth is sempai saying? "Nakamura-san, I heard that my parents would be here to discuss this omiai business?" she asked, lowering her teacup so that she could look at the lady, in an attempt to bring the topic of conversation to a point where she could begin to shed some light on her current problem. "I had no prior knowledge of this event being held, so to say the least, I was rather surprised."

Here, she looked shocked. "Oh! I did not know! My most sincere apologies, Ijuuin-chan." She set down her teacup and dusted some non-existing dust from the sleeve of her yukata. "We will make a special note to fill you in on everything during dinner. Katsuo, won't you please show Ijuuin-chan around the garden until dinnertime?"

Nakamura stood, setting down his cup as well. "I would be honored, Okaa-sama."

And so Asa found herself being dragged off to see the gardens, being no more enlightened than she had been half an hour ago at the sweet shop. Nakamura's mother certainly was good at dodging questions.

I want to go home! she wailed to herself as she was ushered along.

***

Yumiko looked quizzically at her brother as she cooked dinner. He was sitting with his elbows on the table, staring off into space with an unreadable expression on his face. She sighed softly to herself; what was eating away at her adorable little brother? It had been so long since she had seen him like that, and it was beginning to worry her.

"Syusuke, why don't you help with dinner?" Yumiko asked cheerfully. "Today Yuuta is coming home for dinner and to stay for a few days. Kaa-san said that she would pick him up from St. Rudolph after work. Isn't that great?"

"Yeah. It's great that Yuuta can come home to eat. I suppose you're baking raspberry pie, then, Nee-san?"

"Of course, Syusuke. You know how he always smiles when he eats my raspberry pie!" Yumiko returned her attention to her pot while Fuji took out a knife to slice some tomatoes for a salad. "It's a pity I can't quite make Kaa-san's pumpkin curry, otherwise it would have been the perfect feast for Yuuta. Guess he'll have to make due with my stew." Fuji chuckled softly as he sliced the round vegetables.

"Tadaima!" Yuuta and his mother were home, with Yuuta mentally bracing himself for the hug that he was sure to come. When it didn't happen, he blinked in surprise. No Aniki to pester him the moment he set foot into his home was certainly… strange. It was nice but… strange.

Very strange.

Yuuta wasn't quite sure he was extremely happy with this new predicament, now that he gave it some thought.

"Oi, Aniki, is something wrong?" he asked, throwing his overnight bag down onto the sofa in the living room and then plopping himself onto the chair his brother had previously had been sitting in. "You're not acting like your usual annoying self."

Normally, remarks like these didn't do so much as leave a scratch in his older brother's perfect complexion, but this time, he stiffened, stopping in mid-slice of his tomato. Puzzled, Yuuta sat up straighter, staring at him curiously with his dark gray eyes. "Ah… is that so, Yuuta?" Fuji asked absentmindedly, beginning to slice his tomatoes once again. "And isn't that good? Don't you hate my usual annoying self?"

Yuuta was silent, thoroughly puzzled. Yes, something was bothering his Aniki that evening. He wondered what it was. If it was some guy at Aniki's new school, Yuuta would have to make a personal trip over their and beat him up. Despite what everyone said, bullies could only be dealt with the old fashioned way: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

"She… probably hates it, too, despite whatever she says."

"Aniki, you're making no sense at all. Are you sure you're not sick?" The last time Fuji had been talking in a strange way was the last time he had had a fever.

It had not been pleasant on Yuuta's part, for the boy had had to stay home and take care of his older brother. It had especially not been pleasant when Fuji had decided to hold a conversation with him, while he was delirious, and while he was still half-asleep.

If Yuuta wasn't the kind brother he was, he would have tape-recorded the entire conversation and then sold it to his brother's fangirls for a hefty sum. That would have solved all his financial problems until the time he graduated from high school.

Fuji chuckled dryly as he dumped the sliced tomatoes onto the salad and brought the salad bowl to the table. "Nope… at least not that kind of sick." Yuuta blinked, and then deciding that he was going to get no sense out of his older brother, turned to the table and promptly stole a slice of tomato, popping it into his mouth and chewing grumpily.

Hey, he had tried.

"Saa, saa, let's eat," Yoshiko said, setting out bowls and silverware. "Syusuke will speak when he wants to, and not a moment before then. Now, come… Yuuta, stop frowning, dear, you'll get permanent wrinkles on your face. Yumiko, this stew looks delicious!" Cheered by their mother's happy talking, the three Fuji's dug happily into their meal.

"Syusuke, Yuuta, eat more salad! Vegetables are good for you!"

"They're yucky, Nee-san, Kaa-san…"

"Don't complain, Yuu-ta! Eating your veggies will allow you to grow big and tall and strong!"

"Aniki… I'm already taller than you, you do realize?"

"Oh, really? You need to come home more often so that I can know these things!"

"And I wonder why I never want to come home…"

"Mou… don't say that! Your dear Aniki is hurt!"

"Shut up."

***

Kurumi and Narumi had never seen such a formal dinner before. They sat in their chairs, watching everything with wide eyes and trying to appear totally at ease with it all.

Trying doesn't necessarily mean succeeding, one must remember.

The adults were maintaining a delightfully engaging conversation (How are your days going? Oh, lovely, how about yours?) and the children were left to munch away on their dinners in silence. Nakamura, as any polite host should do, make appropriate small-talk throughout the duration of the meal, and was likewise answered politely by each girl as long as she was the one addressed. After dinner, the Nakamura's were thanked, again very politely, for the meal and they all retreated to one of the drawing rooms in the spacious house.

"So, then, let us get down to business," Nakamura's father said presently, making himself comfortable on an overstuffed armchair. A servant appeared from seemingly nowhere and set down a tray of tea. "Omiai's are rare nowadays, but among the higher members of society it is still quite a common thing." The way he said 'common' and 'higher members of society' made Asa stiffen, and had she been Seika, she probably would have bristled and hissed. Clawing probably wouldn't have been out of the question, either, since it was her kitten being considered.

It was then and there that Asa decided that she quite disliked Nakamura's father, despite all the lectures about how she was not supposed to judge someone before she got to know them.

Nakamura's mother must have sensed her rays of intense dislike, because she smiled softly. "Of course, even though we call this an arranged marriage, there is no point to a marriage nowadays if the two parties don't feel anything for each other. That is our main point today." Asa's parents nodded seriously while Kurumi and Narumi busied themselves with tea. "After a careful discussion, we've decided that if, by the end of the school year, that Katsuo means no more to you than a friend, then the omiai will be called off. However, if not, then the omiai will proceed when you graduate high school."

"Eh? Then what about college?" was the first thing that popped out of Asa's mouth. Mentally, she berated herself.

"Of course you can still go to college!" Nakamura's mother said. "But that'll be after the wedding."

Wedding… oh, Kami-sama… they're not joking… Some part of her had been holding on to the naïve hope that they were and this was a post April-Fool's joke. "A year is a long time," she said softly, staring down at her hands, which were clasped tightly in her lap.

"If you're going to be spending a lifetime with a man, you've got to spend some time to know them," Nakamura's father said gruffly. She twitched in annoyance at the very sound of his gruff voice. "That is all. If you have any questions as the year progresses, feel free to ask. Oh, and one more thing."

She looked up, raising an eyebrow.

"You will no longer be walking to school like a commoner. Our personal limousine will pick you up every morning and send you back home when school is over."

She could feel her jaw hit the floor. What was this?! Wasn't thrusting her into this whole situation bad enough? And now she couldn't even walk to school with her friends? She glanced helplessly at her parents, who simply shrugged apologetically. Oh, I see, she thought drily.

"I see. Thank you for feeling the need to fill me in on this," she said icily, standing up. "I'll leave now; I have a lot of homework that needs to be done. Please excuse me."

"Wait… aren't you going to go home with us?" her father asked, startled. Her answer was to simply walk out of the sitting room, down the hall, out the front door and out into the street, thanking the butler in the process when he produced her schoolbag for her.

It was cold outside, and dusk had already fallen. Sighing, she marched down the long drive and headed for the park. Forget home or homework. She wanted to think. Or cry. She wasn't quite sure which one came first.

"Ijuuin? Ore-sama demands to know why you happen to be in this part of the neighborhood at this time of day!"

She stopped, surprise etched out onto her face, and then pivoted to come face to face with none other than Atobe Keigo. "Oh… Atobe-kun…" she said lamely.

Atobe didn't need his Insight to know something was wrong. At any other time in his life, he would have asked himself why he began to worry at the sight of her affliction, but now he just reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Let's go," he said shortly, and then proceeded to drag her down the street. Perhaps it was because Oshitari, the person he trusted most on his tennis team, had once expressed an interest in teasing her (and Oshitari only teased those who were extraordinary in some way, shape, or form, so Atobe figured that she couldn't be that bad to spend some time with.). Or perhaps it was simply because Atobe wasn't as much as a rich jerk as everyone else thought he was. Whatever the reason was, he tightened his grip as he pulled the girl down the sidewalk and made his way to a coffee shop.

Pushing the door open with his free hand, he stepped inside, still holding onto her wrist. Finding a table, he dragged her over there and sat her down before sitting himself down directly opposite of her. "You need to talk," he said, very frankly, when she looked at him in puzzlement.

He smirked. "What? Did you think Ore-sama always cares about himself? Ore-sama is important, granted, but so are Ore-sama's friends."

No amount of upbringing or Insight or anything else could have prepared him for what happened next:

Sitting opposite of Atobe, in a coffee shop in Tokyo that she had never been to before, Ijuuin Asa burst into tears.

A/N: Muahaha... I'm cruel, aren't I? I did like the Yuuta-Fuji exchange though. Yuuta tries oh-so-very hard. =)

I've lately developed a severe liking for everyone from Hyotei, even Gakuto (he used to drive me insane), and not just Oshitari. So Sugar Sweet will have a lot of Hyotei in it. Did I mention that already? I can't remember... my memory is failing. *sighs*

Please, read and review! Thank you!