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"Ah! Please pardon my reach."
Kazuha watched as she leaned over their makeshift picnic. Carefully, in order to not knock over anything, she held his face with one hand. Shivering at how cold her fingers were, blood rushed to his cheeks. He made a point to not stare anywhere that would be deemed impolite. Tempting as it was, he decided to close his eyes instead. Unconsciously, he leaned into her touch.
After plucking a sakura petal from his hair, she pulled back slightly. With her hand still gracing his cheek, she felt his warm cheeks. "Is the temperature not suitable for you?"
"I’m fine, you need not worry about me." Fluttering his eyes open, he gave her a reassuring smile.
"Freezing even with all of your layers, hm?" Tilting her head, she gazed at him. Slowly, as if she didn’t want to stop touching him, she retracted her fingers from his face. Back to her prim and proper posture, she sighed. "I do hope you won't get a cold… Shall I pour you some more tea?"
Before he knew it, the words slipped past his lips. "Lovely and generous as always.”
“O-oh, well–you are as humble as always!” Despite her stiffened form, she was quick to respond. Eyes wide and cheeks pink, she returned his compliment with such fervor that he couldn’t help but be affected.
Spurred on by her blush, a burst of confidence rushed through him. With his own face red, he attempted to remain calm. “Humble? Why be humble when I could write verses describing your very own poise and beauty?”
Although a silence fell upon them, neither of their blushes went away. Out of nerves, she fiddled with her skirt. Idly, he directed his gaze to the scenery around them, such as falling blossoms. Yet, his attention was always drawn back to her; poetically, he thought of how her blush matched the cascading petals.
"There you are, little sister! Here I thought you ran off…” Out of what seemed to be nowhere, The Yashiro Commissioner himself appeared. Smirking, he looked between the two of them. Then, he gave Kazuha a suspiciously knowing grin. Doing his best to keep a nonchalant face, Kazuha looked him in the eye. “Entertaining a guest, are you?"
Slightly irritated, Ayaka gave him a questioning look. "And where is Thoma? He knows my whereabouts."
“I had him run a little errand,” her brother claimed. Pretending to examine his gloved nails, he grinned a bit too much at her defensiveness.
"Your cruelty knows no bounds." Unamused, Ayaka huffed.
Turning to Kazuha, he stated, "I'm afraid my sister and I have important matters to discuss."
"Of course," Kazuha said, politely smiling. "I apologize for my sudden appearance. Shall I clean up in return?"
"You don't need to–" Ayaka frowned at him.
Before Ayaka could say anything more, Ayato cut in. "I'll inform Thoma later. Though if you could keep an eye on the tea set, that would be much appreciated. Ayaka chose a rather... expensive set."
She stood up. "Brother!"
"She has quite the keen eye," Kazuha complimented her, sincere in his words. With soft eyes and a warm smile directed towards her, he continued. "Good taste too, if I might add."
Affection as equal as his, she returned his smile.
Observing them with a quirked brow, Ayato shook his head, entertained but annoyed. "Now then…" He patted Ayaka on the back, directing her to leave. "We must be going. A pleasure seeing you, Kaedehara."
Respectful of his wishes, she followed him for a few steps. Suddenly stopping, she turned back to look at Kazuha. Shyly, she waved at him. "Farewell, be sure to take care of yourself."
Pleasantly surprised, he mimicked her actions. "You too."
As disappointed as she was to leave, Ayaka caught up with her brother, who watched her brief interaction like a hawk. A part of her wanted to turn back to see if Kazuha would still be watching them, but she decided against it. Her brother would be sure to say something about it… For a good portion of their walk home, they didn’t speak. She made no mention of the “important matters” until they were far from earshot.
"So brother-dearest, what made you come all the way out here instead of Thoma?"
"Intuition."
Confused, she parroted back, "Intuition."
He faced her with a stern but caring look. "Grown as you may be, you're still my little sister. It's my duty to protect you."
"Protect me? I can protect myself! Besides, Kazuha isn't a threat; he wouldn't do anything to hurt me."
Rolling his eyes, Ayato then deadpanned. "He's a guy."
Affronted, Ayaka scoffed, and manifesting her fan, she smacked him in the face.