A/N: Hello. Sorry for the long waiting. I know I said I would update by half June, after the end of my exams, but I finished the last exam Monday June 21. I forgot about that one when I wrote the Author's Note. And after that, I had difficulty to get back into the story because it had been so long. I couldn't write anything. That's why I didn't update anything.
I'm still fixing the REAL next chapter (one more consistent), which will be chapter 78. Until then, please enjoy this omake!
Seiyou Academy. Omake
"Hmm…" Ryoma sighed, feeling bored. "Who would have guessed that I would miss that annoying aniki…" she mumbled, dropping her head onto the table.
But Ryoma couldn't lie to herself. She missed Ryoga, her annoying and boring big brother.
"Ha…" Ryoma sighed again.
Almost a year had passed since Ryoga and Miyabi had gone to France. Because they were busy, they weren't able to exchange a lot of phone calls or mail. When they separated at the airport, Ryoma told him:
Flashback
"Finally, I can be free from your hideously loud, big mouth annoying me every day."
"Awww… Chibisuke, how can you say something like that?" Ryoga whined, choking her in his dead-grip hug.
"Argh! Let me go, aniki!" Ryoma yelled.
"Chibisuke, woeeeeeeeeee!" Ryoga just wailed louder, tightening his arms around her so that the already tight hug had become a death trap.
"Urggggggh! Nee-chan, heeeeeeeeeeelp! Un-glue him from me!" Ryoma pleaded, begging Miyabi to rescue her.
"Huhuhu!" Miyabi chuckled, but proceeded to detach Ryoga from Ryoma. "There there, Ryoga. Let go of Ryo-chan."
"Arigatou, nee-chan," Ryoma said, relieved to get some air in her lungs.
"Miyabi, how could you do that? Taking her side over mine!" Ryoga protested. Miyabi stood on the tips of her toe to whisper in his ear.
"Ryoga, you don't want to have her angry at you today. It's her first day of you-know-what," Miyabi said.
"Heeeeeh! What?" Ryoga immediately jumped three meters away from Ryoma, much to his parents' and Miyabi's amusement. He mentally pictured his calendar in his head and realized that his wife was right. Caught up in the preparations for leaving for France, he had forgot about Ryoma's coming time of the month.
'But she hasn't bitten oyajii's head or mine since this morning...' Ryoga thought to himself.
'Then again, you're leaving for a whole year today and she knows she won't be seeing you for a long time,' his inner mind told him.
'Ah!' Blinking, Ryoga watched Miyabi talk to Ryoma. Ryoma's face was normal except for the little tug at the corner of her mouth. Ryoga knew that little tug. Ryoma always had it when there was something she didn't want to say, something like 'I'll miss you but I won't never admit it'. Ryoga smirked. 'So that's why…' He smiled fondly. 'Stubborn as always, but still cute!'
"Well then, otou-san, ooka-san, Ryo-chan and Nanako-san, we will be leaving now," Miyabi said.
"Be careful on the way, Miyabi," Nanjirou recommended.
"See you again next year," Rinko said, hugging her daughter-in-law.
"Here, I made a snack for you. It's your favorite kuri manju (1)," Nanako explained, giving Miyabi the gift she was holding.
"Woa! Thank you, Nanako-san!" Miyabi exclaimed in delight, taking the gift.
"Bye bye, nee-chan. Have a save trip," Ryoma said.
"Take good care of you, Ryoma-chan," Miyabi replied. Ryoga walked to stand next to Miyabi.
"We're off now, kaa-san, oyajii," he said. Nanjirou and Rinko nodded.
Moving to stand in front of Ryoma, Ryoga encircled his arms around her, pulling her in a hug. Ryoma fidgeted, but didn't pull away.
"Take good care of yourself, Ryoma," Ryoga whispered, using her first name. He kissed her forehead. Ryoma's face turned a bright scarlet, but immediately relaxed. After all, she wouldn't be seeing him for a while. Why not just enjoy it for once?
"You too, aniki," Ryoma murmured quietly, returning his hug.
Nanjirou's jaw dropped while Miyabi, Rinko and Nanako giggled.
"No fair…" Nanjirou felt depressed. It would be the very first time that Ryoma didn't kill a guy for getting too close to her when she was PMS-ing. And the lucky bloke was her annoying brother!
End flashback
Ryoma sighed again at the memory.
"Curse you aniki…" Ryoma mumbled. "How dare you make me miss you…"
Behind Ryoma's back, Rinko was watching her, smiling fondly. Picking up the little female kitten which had been rubbing itself against her leg, Rinko brought it up to the table, putting it down just in front of her daughter. The kitten slowly walked to Ryoma, patting at Ryoma's head with a paw.
"Meow?"
Ryoma jerked her head up to see the pure white snow ball with amber eyes looking curiously at her. Ryoma picked it up in her hand.
"Mii, what is it?" Ryoma asked, bringing the kitten closer to her.
"Meow," Mii answered and lauched on a licking-attack over Ryoma's face with her tiny pink tongue.
"Hahaha!" Ryoma laughed. "Stop it! Hahaha! It tickles!"
"Meow!" Mii happily meow-ed, proud at sucessfully making his mistress laugh.
Smiling at the small fur ball resting in her palms, Ryoma hugged the kitten against her left cheek.
"Arigatou, Mii," Ryoma thanked.
"Meow!"
SNAP!
Ryoma startled at the flashlight. She blinked several times before seeing Nanako standing behind Rinko with a camera in her hands.
"Waaaaa! I have a nice shot again!" Nanako proclaimed.
"Oh! Nanako-san, kaa-san!"
"Huhuhu!" Rinko chuckled at Ryoma's disbelieving face. Then, she asked Ryoma with a fond smile, "Are you feeling better now?"
Ryoma blinked, then smiled back.
"Arigatou, kaa-san," she said. Her mother just made her realized that she wasn't the only who was missing someone. Mii too. The kitten must missed her mother, Miyabi's Persian cat, but she still loved being here with Ryoma.
Flashback
Shortly after the fiançailles, Miyabi came to visit with a friend.
"Ryoma, Karupin, this is Duchess, my friend," Miyabi presented her Persian cat. Duchesse was a pretty white with blond-golden hints fur female cat with amber eyes. Examining the cat for a moment, Ryoma spoke.
"Hmmn, Duchesse is pretty, but Karupin in prettier," Ryoma commented.
"Maeow…" Duchesse turned half slitted eyes toward Ryoma. Ryoma earned herself an offended glare from the pretty white cat while Karupin puffed his chest, swinging his tail proudly.
"Hahahaha!" Miyabi laughed, petting Duchesse to comfort the cat. Miyabi knew very well that in Ryoma's eyes no other cat could surpass Karupin in any way. For Ryoma, even a pure breed cat with many trophies from cat beauty competitions was nothing compared to Karupin. Nonetheless, Karupin and Duchesse became friends.
Ryoma wasn't aware of what cats in France ate, but it seemed to her that Duchesse loved Japanese cat food. Karupin didn't mind sharing his food, but Duchesse ate much more than Karupin did. A couple of months later, Duchesse became very fat. Miyabi didn't mind that Duchesse became a furry walking balloon. In fact, to Ryoma's confusion, Miyabi was quite happy of what became of Duchesse! However, Ryoma was scared that Karupin would become a furry balloon too.
"Karupin, if you become fat like Duchesse, I'll put you on diet!" she threatened Karupin. Karupin glared at her with round blue eyes.
"Meow maow maow? Meow maow," Karupin told her. (What are you talking about? She is not fat.).
But some weeks later, Duchesse immediately lost her fat belly.
"Nee-chan, how did Duchesse gain and loose weight so fast?" Ryoma asked.
"Oh! You didn't know, Ryoma?" Miyabi asked, surprised.
"Errr, know what?" Ryoma asked back, confused.
"Hahaha! Oh Ryoma, you're so funny!" Miyabi laughed at Ryoma's weird face. "Come with me. I will show you."
Miyabi brought Ryoma into her room to Duchesse's cat bed. Inside the bed, there were six tennis size fur balls of various colors: white, caramel-hue, brown, white and brown spots. All the balls were laid against Duchesse, seeking Duchesse's warmth.
"This is why Duchesse gained and lost weight so fast," Miyabi explained, picking up a pure white fur ball in her hands. "Here, take it."
Miyabi place the furry tennis ball in Ryoma's hand.
"Huh? What?" Ryoma looked curiously at the fur ball. For a fur ball, it was quite warm. And it moved. "It moves? How…?" The little fur ball shifted in her palm. A tiny tail showed up. Followed the tail, there was one small paw, then three others sprouted from under the body of the ball. "What the-…?"
"Meow…" The tiny tennis morphed into a kitten and whimpered because it no longer feel its mother's warmth, frightening the devil out of Ryoma at the same time.
"Waaaaaa!" Ryoma yelped, almost dropping the kitten.
"Hahahaha!" Miyabi laughed and took the kitten from Ryoma to put it back in Duchesse's bed.
Ryoma's yell had woke up Duchesse, who looked annoyed at Ryoma. The little white kitten toddled to Duchesse, searching for a nipple. She was hungry. At the same, she disturbed his brothers' and sisters' sleep, waking them all. Since they woke up, they decided to take their meal too.
"Duchesse was pregnant. That's why she was fat recently. But she just delivered her kittens, that's why she has her normal weight back again," Miyabi explained.
"Oh…" Ryoma looked at the kittens having their meal, dumbfounded. "And who is their father?"
"Can't you tell, Ryoma?" Miyabi asked, smiling amusingly. Ryoma examined the kittens.
"Hmmn…" she chewed her lips. One of the six fur balls caught her attention. "Wait. This one looks like…" Ryoma bended down to watch more closely the kitten. It has white fur coat with the brown spots on the tip of his ears, tail and paws. It looked like a mini version of… "Karupin!" Ryoma exclaimed.
"Hahaha!" Miyabi laughed. "Yes. Karupin is their father. Don't you think that they are adorable?"
"Ha…" Ryoma sighed. It appeared that everybody knew about Duchesse and Karupin, except her. That was why no one minded that Duchesse got inflated so shortly after meeting Karupin.
End flashback
Before leaving, Miyabi gave Ryoma two kittens: the mini carbon-copy of Karupin, a boy, and the pure white one like Duchesse, a girl. Ryoma named them Karupin's son Kurin and the daughter Mii.
Karupin entered the room with Kurin next to him. Karupin just finished teaching Kurin how to bite Nanjirou's toe again. Seeing Mii snuggled against Ryoma's chest, the two cats made their way to Ryoma and jumped on her, not wanting to be left out when Ryoma distributed her ear-scratching sessions.
"It's almost time to go now, Ryoma," Rinko called out.
"Hai, kaa-san."
Ryoma put the three cats down, despite the protesting meows of the two kittens.
"I must go now, Mii, Kurin," Ryoma explained, caressing their back. "I will play with you again tonight, okay?"
"Meow…" Kurin and Mii whimpered, but stopped protesting.
"Bye, Karupin. See you again after school," Ryoma scratched the big cat's ears.
"Purrrr…"
Ryoma picked her bag and walked to the entrance.
"Here's your bento, Ryoma-chan," Nanako said, giving her the small package after Ryoma had finished putting on her shoes.
"Arigatou, Nanako-san."
"Be careful on the way," Rinko cautioned.
"Hai. Ittekimasu (2)."
1) kuri manju: steam bun filled with chesnut paste.
2) ittekimasu: I'm going.
Post on Monday June 28. Beta-ed on Saturday July 17.