AN: I hope you all enjoy this second chapter!

Warning - Teenagers. Anime. The usual

Disclaimer - Nope.

In a somewhat distant part of the house, as the sky slowly began darkening into night, Uzume was calmly giving herself a tour, or so it seemed. In truth, she was furious, as she had been the entire way to Ueda. The whole trip, Uzume had been going over the fact that she wasn't going to be able to visit her family. Not the Koiso's, of course, they were not her real family and she only got to visit her real family on one day every year because it 'wasn't good for her.'

'I hate them all.'

"Uzume's eye twitched as she thought about the people who dared keep her away from her loved ones.

'Stupid Kenji, stupid Natsuki, stupid Ueda!'

"Well, don't you look mad?" A somewhat raspy, but strong, feminine voice chuckled. Uzume whirled around, ready to snap, only to come face to face with an old woman, the Matriarch, the real reason she was dragged all the way to Ueda. The woman had white hair and dark eyes, her squared glasses sitting on the bridge of her nose. She wore a yellow yukata and stood tall though her body was frail, she had a kind smile on her face.

"You must be Kenji's little sister, hm? I already met Kenji, and I heard about the little display you pulled when you arrived." She laughed, "The poor boy was limping pretty bad, that was some kick, good job." She laughed and, though still thoroughly upset, Uzume couldn't help but crack a grin as well.

"Why don't we take a short walk?" The woman asked as she began walking, not waiting for Uzume's response.

"Your name was… Uzuki?" Uzume gasped and nearly tripped over her own feet.

'...Uzuki...'

"No, no that's not my name, don't ever call me that again. Uzume. Don't ever say that name again." Uzume shook, fighting to keep her voice level. If the woman noticed Uzume's struggle she didn't show it.

"Ah, sorry dear. Now, Uzume, you seem upset, what's wrong?" She asked, looking over into Uzume's clouded eyes. Uzume's eyes darkened, near black, not even close to their usual light hazel shade and she clenched her teeth.

"Stupid Kenji just had to drag me all the way to Ueda, and now I can't visit my family." Uzume spat and looked away.

"What do you mean by that? Isn't Kenji part of your family?"

"No, I'm adopted." Was her response.

"I see, well I'm sure you can visit your family after you leave-"

"No, I can't. Kenji's parents only let me visit on that one specific day. They're horrible." Uzume sighed, her mood shifting from angry to straight up depressed. If it was as simple as visiting after she wouldn't be this upset, she wasn't some disagreeable child. At least not usually.

"...That's too bad, I'm sure they will miss you." She replied as they came to a stop in the dining room.

"Now, I'm sure you're hungry, let's eat!" The woman gave a kind smile and went to take her seat and the many members of the Jinnouchi Clan did the same.

-.-

"Okay, introduction time. First off, we have aunt Mariko and her children Rika and Richi. Next, Uncle Mansuke and his kids Tasuke and Naomi, Kyoumi and Tasuke's son Shouta. Then, we have Uncle Matsuku, he has three sons and each son has a family, there's Yorihiko and his wife Noriko, Kunihiko and his wife Nana, Katsuhiko and his wife Yumi and their two sons Yuhei and Kyohei. Oh, and this is Nana's daughter Kana and Noriko's kids Shingo and Mao, you get all that?" Kenji grinned, but it was more of a grimace.

'I did. But Kenji? Nope, not a chance.'

"Ah, yeah, more or less." Kenji blushed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, you get the idea," Naomi said.

"Pleased to meet you!" They all cheered and began digging in.

"Thank you… for, having me…" Kenji tried to say over all the noise.

"Wow, I'm surprised Granny gave Natsuki's boyfriend the okay." Uzume tried not to choke on her spit when she heard that one.

'So that's why she invited him… It's her fault then, the liar.'

It was then that Uzume made eye-contact with Kenji, his eyes pleading.

'Why shouldn't I?' Her own eyes said back. His eyes took on a desperate shine that seemed to beg her. Uzume's face twitched in a snarl.

'Fine. But don't go asking me for more favors.'

"No kidding, whenever I brought a boy home she was so mean, he'd run back to the bus stop."

"Tokyo U, studied abroad, old family, of course, she likes him!"

'Smells like bullshit.'

"Yeah, almost sounds too good to be true," Rika said with a wide grin.

'That's because it is, dear.'

"Hey, let me ask you, when's the due date?" Masuku asked.

"Huh?" Was Kenji's intelligent reply.

"You know, for the baby?" Uzume had to hold a laugh that threatened to escape her throat, these people were hilarious.

"He only came to say 'hello.'" Mariko informed him, her eyes speaking volumes of just how done with his shit she was.

"Huh? But I thought he came to say 'hello' because he got her in a family way. You've done it right? What am I saying, you're a college man, of course, you've done it!" He said somewhat triumphantly. During this whole conversation, Natsuki hasn't so much as glanced at him, she was completely unaffected.

"Just drink your beer," Mariko said as Kenji's face took on an unattractive shade of pink.

"Ah, let him ask, old Kenji's gonna be family soon enough! Whahaha!" Mansuke bellowed.

"Like hell is he gonna 'be family soon enough', I object!" Shouta yelled.

"Give it a rest, Shouta," Tatsuke said.

"You give it a damn rest!"

"How dare you talk to your dad like that!?"

"Hey, I've been watching out for Natsuki ever since she was this little." He said as he made a motion with his hand.

"One centimeter, huh?" Yumi sniped.

"And how come she didn't run this by her second cousin first?"

"How dare she? Oh, the nerve." Kyoumi added sarcastically as everyone shared a laugh.

"Laugh it up!"

"Mother's approval is all that she'll need." Mariko said, "You know how things work in this family."

"Come on Granny, you're really gonna let her do this?" Shouta questioned.

"Of course. Kenji will make a fine addition to the family. These eyes of mine have never deceived me." Granny said.

'Well, it's never too late to start…'

"The Jinnouchi Clan has no need of mediocre men, not while there's family in town to protect." She said with heart.

"You tell 'em, mom!" Mansuke said, "We Jinnouchi men all need to be tough as nails! This clan played an essential role in…" Uzume could tell this was some male ego boosting rant about something they had no part in, so she tuned him out.

'Well, at least these people are interesting…'

AN: And that concludes the second chapter. I hope you liked it! Please remember to Favorite and Review on your way out, I really appreciate it.

Updated - 11/5/2016

Lunie