Ryuto

"Welcome home, Sohma-san," the driver to us when he pulled the car up to the main entrance of the Sohma estate, a large mini-village that my family owned in Japan.

Next to me, Hikaru muttered "Home sweet home" in a sarcastic tone.

The door on my side was opened by the driver and Hikaru and I slid out of the car. Outside, several of our caretakers—men and women dressed in kimonos—greeted us when we got out.

"You must be very tired from your flight," a woman said to us. "Please go inside. We're preparing dinner for you so it should be ready soon."

"Thank you," I said. "Is Mother and Father home?"

"Your parents are both out of Tokyo at the moment. They decided to spend time together in Osaka at one of their vacation homes."

"Figures," Hikaru sighed. "Well, it's just going to be the two of us and the caretakers, Ryuto."

"What? Did you forget about us already?" asked a girl's voice.

Hikaru and I looked up to see a girl and a boy walking out of the house and heading toward us. The girl had long black hair and dark brown eyes. The boy looked like her except he was much taller and had short hair instead. Hikaru and I just stared at them.

"Oh my god, Ryuto," the girl said. "You forgot about me! But never mind. You're so cute I'll forgive you." The girl then threw her arms around me and I pushed her away awkwardly.

"Sorry, Rin," I said. "I was just surprised."

"Hi, Hikaru," the boy said to my twin, smiling at her.

Hikaru glanced at the boy. "Hello, Hiro," she said, smiling back at him.

"The Ashiyas have been waiting for you two," Auntie said, coming up right behind us. "Now, why don't we go inside so you four can catch up with each other?" Auntie pushed us inside the main house where we were served hot tea and dumplings filled with beef.

"So how's that school you're going to, Ryuto?" Hiro asked me as we sat down on the sofas.

"And are there hot foreign guys going that to school, too?" Rin asked suddenly.

Hikaru looked annoyed when Rin grabbed her by the shoulders. "Is that all you think about?" my sister mumbled.

"I'm a girl so duh. You must be hiding something, Hi-chan," Rin said, winking at Hikaru. "Am I right?"

"The school's okay," I said, answering Hiro's question. "It's just like any other academy though."

"Yeah, like any other academy," Hikaru said, getting up from her seat next to Rin and sitting next to Hiro. "With normal-looking guys."

"Aw, that sucks," Rin said, pouting. "I wish we were going to school together like we used to. But now I'm stuck at the boring all-girls school in the city."

"It must be completely horrifying," Hikaru muttered. My twin was being sarcastic with Rin, although I knew that Hikaru was secretly glad that Rin didn't go to school with us because Rin would flirt with every guy she saw and Gakuen Academy had a lot of guys.

"What about you, Hiro?" I asked Rin's brother. "Aren't you going to the all-boys school across from Rin's?"

"Yeah," said Hiro. "It's nothing special though. You guys are lucky. You get to go to school out of the country with foreigners and meet people from different countries."

"Oh! Have you met a German guy yet?" Rin asked, jumping from her spot to the sofa I was sitting on. Rin pushed her brother away, who sat by Hikaru. "I hear they're so robust and good-looking!"

"Uh, yeah," I said. "We have two German friends, actually. Both are brothers and Hikaru's da—"

"Hiro-san, Rin-san, your mother is here for you," Auntie said, interrupting me. On the other couch, I saw Hikaru sigh with relief and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Aw, darn it," Rin said. "Mother's very early. Well, I guess we'll just have to talk later. Oh my god. We have to go shopping this Saturday, Hikaru. Ryuto, you're coming, too, okay?"

"I guess so," I said, unsure of what she was talking about.

"Bye, Hikaru," Hiro said, giving my sister a hug. He waved at me. "Bye, Ryuto. I'll see you later."

"Bye," Hikaru and I called out at the same time. We watched them leave the estate and closed the door once they drove off.

Hikaru yawned and started heading to her room. "I'm going to take a nap," she said. "Wake me up when dinner's done."

"Okay," I said. I plopped myself on a couch and pulled out my Nintendo DS from my pocket and started playing Mario Kart online. Minutes later, I was so absorbed in my game that I started yelling at the screen whenever an idiotic player did something stupid.

"This is the main house where you'll be sleeping," I heard a caretaker's voice say as the front door opened. "If you need anything, please feel free to ask any of us. We are here to take care of the Sohma twins and their friends."

"Hiro's back already?" I called out without looking up from my screen.

"The Ashiyas left earlier. Were you expecting them again?"

"No?" I said, standing up as I still played on my DS. "Who were you talking to then?" I glanced behind me and saw the guys from Gakuen standing in the front entrance, staring at me. My game slipped from my hands and it fell with a loud sound effect that told me I lost.

"Surprise!" Alfred shouted. "We're here in Japan to visit you!"

"Dammit, Ryuto," Hikaru's voice yawned from behind me. "I'm trying to take a nap in my room and all I'm hearing is you yelling at something and a voice that sounds exactly like Al—" Hikaru stopped talking when she saw our friends. She glanced down at the floor after staring for a while and said as she turned around, "I'm going to sleep. Don't…don't wake me up or anything. Just...please…don't bother me…" Then, she walked back to her room without looking back. Was it just me or did she seem sad?

"Um, surprise?" Feliciano said again.

"Surprise," I repeated when I looked back at my friends. "Um, what are you doing here?"

"It's a surprise, ve!" Feliciano shouted.

"I know that but why…how…"

"Your father invited them. He thought you might like company over the break," said the caretaker.

So that's why he left, I thought. "Is dinner done yet?" I asked. "I'm getting hungry."

"Yes, please come into the dining room."

We sat around the table in the dining room and were severed rice with meat and noodles.

"When did you guys arrive in Japan?" I asked as we started eating.

"Just an hour or two ago," Arthur said. "It's really fascinating here."

"It feels good to be home," Kiku added. "I rarely get to visit so it's wonderful."

"I'm glad you like it here," I said, smiling at my friends. "We have to go sightseeing since you guys are tourists. Hikaru and I can be your guides and we'll take you around the city."

"Ryuto-san, where is your sister?" a caretaker asked me in Japanese.

"Oh, she's in her room," I replied, looking up at the caretaker. "She said not to bother her, though."

The caretaker pursed her lips. "I'll take her dinner to her room if she's not feeling well," she said. Then, she went into the kitchen and came back with a tray that had food on it.

"I can take it to her," Ludwig said suddenly, standing up.

The caretaker smiled at the German. "My, what a thoughtful young man. Hikaru-san's room is the last door of the left hallway," she said and Ludwig left with the food.

Everyone stared after Ludwig as he left.

"That was weird," Antonio said.

"Did anything happen between the two lovebirds?" Francis asked. "Le amour is not strong around them. We need to push Hikaru and Ludwig closer together!"

"Who died and made you Cupid?" I muttered.

Francis gasped. "I would rather not be a fat little cherub while I can be a sexy Frenchman, for your information."

"I think you'd be a better frog," Arthur said and the two started arguing while the others started talking loudly.

Meanwhile, I sat in my seat and wondered what really happened between my sister and Ludwig.

A Note from your Author:

I'm so sorry for not updating in a while! I've been trying to update but I kept forgetting to and whenever I'd go onto the website, I'd feel so guilty. But the good thing is that I've been writing a little more *laughs* I've actually had this chapter written for a few days, maybe more, but I kept forgetting to and I was also writing these little side-stories for Gakuen Academy. I don't know if I'll publish it soon but be on the lookout, okay! One story is called "Iggy in Love" and the other story is called "The Maid Café"… I just don't know about "The Maid Café" though. Do I want to publish it…hmm? Anyways, thank you and please enjoy!