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With her heart racing in her chest, Akane Aoi begins up the cobblestone path to the Minamoto household.
As she walks, she tries her best to think of anything but the impending doom awaiting for her, tightly secure behind the fancy wooden door mere feet away.
So, she decides to focus on the exterior of the house.
How it's almost two times bigger than her own, how elegant it looks, how unapproachable it really seems.
It reminds her too much of her own facade, and so she directs her eyes elsewhere.
She casts her gaze to the floor, to the lush greens of the Minamoto's lawn, the shrubs and feeble trees growing all around.
Although it's winter, the plants and flowers don't look the slightest bit withered -be it by a miracle or an exceptionally gifted hand.
She wonders if they hire a gardener -or if Nene has gone over to their house enough times to properly tend to the garden herself.
Green stops just before a wall, and Aoi knows she's right outside the Minamoto household's door.
She wants to run, to hurry back over to her house, to go and hide underneath the covers and cancel this visit altogether.
And how easy would that be?
Despite herself, her hand raises, and she knocks three times on the door.
She can hear a shuffling behind the frame, the sound of voices and laughter, and her blood runs cold.
There was still time to flee, to turn the thirty minute walk from her house to here into a ten minute run. If she just turns around right now, then-
The door opens, and she can both see and smell the love of the house.
Love that wasn't ever present in hers.
Through the open creak, she can see it: clothes strewn about, plates and cups settled on furniture -as if left there in a hurry, dropped by only to be picked up later-, and glimpses of gold and blues too quick for her to focus on.
A delicious aroma wafts over to her, warm and soothing in the cold winter outside the home.
She grips her coat tighter around herself and, for a moment, wonders if the door had been opened by a particularly harsh wind.
"Down here, Miss!"
She glances down.
A head of blond, spiky and long hair. Two familiar electric blue eyes looking up at her. The toothiest and most charming smile known to man, no doubt a skill learned from her two elder brothers.
Minamoto Tiara, in the flesh.
"Hi- hello-"
How did you speak to children, again?
Aoi's voice wavers, full of doubt and uncertainty, as she feels the youngest Minamoto square her up.
Should she have brought a peace offering? Candy, perhaps? What would a spoiled five year old even want-
"You're very pretty,"
Aoi perks up at that and, just for a singular second, her nerves spike down; The familiarity of such a comment is enough to get her the teeniest bit off edge.
She prepares to compliment back, to be humble and respectfully negate the words, until she registers the younger girl's tone.
Not honey-sweet, like the second Minamoto's often was, nor calm and alluring, but it was simply... Cold.
Aoi tries to push back whatever negative feelings that arise from within herself, reminding and repeating in a mantra that the other was only a child.
And so, with charisma to rival the child's own, she gracefully redirects, "Thank you, Minamoto-chan! I tried to look my best for the princess I've heard so much about,"
At that, she sees the beginnings of a smile begin to form on the girl's face, before quickly disappearing and steeling into firm resolve.
Aoi's calm exterior cracks.
"Who's at the door, Tiara-chan?"
She hears someone call from inside, and the small person in front of her quickly turns around, ducking her head back in, and answers hurriedly.
"Nobody!"
Aoi blinks multiple times, trying to see if she'll wake up in her bed by the next time she opens her eyes. Because with the way things are going, this has got to be a dream, right?
Minamoto Tiara steps out of the house completely, out onto the cold ground barefoot.
"Tiara's gonna have to ask you some questions,"
Aoi could've sworn the weather had turn the slightest bit more frigid.
She fidgets with her hair, gloved hands running through silky violet locks.
"Whatever the princess asks of me, I'll concede!" She attempts to maintain a cheery expression, though she fears the Minamoto before her can see right through it, too.
"But first,"
The girl lifts up her hand, striking a pose Aoi could swear she's seen on a game or anime before, and proudly announces, "Minamoto Tiara! Eldest daughter of the Minamoto clan, age six!"
She adds, "Tiara turned six last summer,"
Aoi feels the need to clap at her display.
She does, albeit a bit slowly and unsurely.
"Wow! Minamoto-chan is so big!"
The young blonde breaks out of her pose, only to stare Aoi right in the eye and say, "Flattery will get you nowhere, though I still appreciate the enthusiasm."
Aoi feels like a fly with its guts splattered on the wall.
It wasn't something that should've come as a surprise to her -she's always known she wasn't the best with kids.
Whereas adults and teenagers her age concealed their true emotions behind cold and stiff politeness, children were blatantly obvious about each thought and feeling that passed through their mind.
They were too loud, too messy, and worst of all, too honest.
The shallow pond would always be just that -shallow. No longer were the waters a murky gray, untelling if they hid a calm lagoon or terrifying depths. The clear pond would always be shallow and surface-level, no unknown dangers hidden beneath.
And Aoi hated that.
It felt overwhelming, unfamiliar and unnatural.
You can't replant gardenias into alkaline soil and expect them to flourish; Aoi could no longer take sincerity and transparency at face value -no matter if she wanted to-, driven into a state of forever seeking lies even when the pot was empty.
And so, if Minamoto Tiara had been the little sister of anybody else, Akane Aoi would have walked away by now.
But she hasn't.
Instead, all she does is introduce herself.
"Duly noted. My name is Akane Aoi, it's a pleasure to properly meet you."
She can see how the corners of the blonde's mouth quirk up into a smile, content with having established her authority over Aoi.
"Are you nii-chan's-"
Before Tiara has the chance to finish her sentence, the door to the house opens, and Aoi lets out a sigh of relief at the sight.
Akane.
Dressed in a cozy brown button-up coat, though clearly distressed by having to go out in such frigid weather again.
"I thought I heard someone else. Tiara-chan, do you want me to tell Teru about this?"
The brown-haired man gave a stern look to the child, and Aoi could see how she became putty in front of the other.
"No, Akane-nii, please don't tell him!"
The little Minamoto's lips wobbled and her eyes turned glossy, and Aoi's heart softens at the expression.
She looked just like the oldest Minamoto.
"Hurry on inside, then, I'm sure Kou's making some treats for you,"
And with that, the youngest Minamoto scurried in, previous confrontation forgotten.
It seemed that being fiercely protective ran in the family.
"You came,"
Akane breathed out, and Aoi had almost forgotten he had made his way over to her.
He smelled of firewood and cedar, of freshly burnt wood and old books all at once. His hair looked orange under the sun's golden light -Aoi couldn't help but associate him with sunflowers, always the favorites of the sun itself.
Her heart skipped multiple beats.
"I said I would, didn't I?"
She tries for a light-hearted tone, serene smile placed perfectly across her face and feelings tucked securely underneath.
Akane simply says, "Don't worry about her, I'm sure you'll win her over in due time. How could anyone not love you?"
Aoi wants to tell him that, in fact, it is quite very easy for people not to love her. The girls at school hate her as if it were second-nature, the guys in the streets stare at her with lust and want, and her own mother looks at her with the despair and agony of knowing she gave birth to her husband's lookalike. He doesn't know what it feels like to be unlovable, to be stuck pretending to be someone he's not, but she bites her tongue.
She chooses to reach for his hand instead, clasp it with a firmness that grounds her.
He won't leave her.
Not even if he wanted to.
"The flowers here are beautiful, despite it being wintertime."
Her comment catches the man beside her off-guard, and he lets out an airy chuckle before responding, "Yea, right? He -Teru-," the name is spoken fondly and with an endearment Aoi has only heard reserved for herself. The first few times, it did make her jealous, to know that she was slowly not becoming the only one in her childhood best friend's heart.
Now, though? Just thinking of the blond man has her heart fluttering all the same, both in irritation and tenderness.
Like the flu, the duo had caught the Teru-lovesickness the whole school was plagued with, though Akane has resisted it every step of the way.
"Since the house has a protective shield over it -to ward off supernaturals-, it also extends over the garden, making the flowers," as if to illustrate his point, Akane makes a motion with his left hand -the one unheld by Aoi- that could only be described as bizarre.
He appears to have given up, for he resumes exasperatedly, "Not exactly frozen in time, moreso just stopped growing and being affected by the seasons. Stunted, stilted, whatever you prefer to call it, my dear,"
The small pet name at the end has Aoi blushing pink like a carnation.
She lets out a small oh, just to let Akane know that she had been listening.
The whole supernatural business that the Minamoto family was involved in still muddled her brain sometimes -having to learn that all the rumors and legends you heard in the school hallways are true does that to you, she supposed.
But still, a small, bitter part of her wished she'd have found all about it sooner.
The reason Nene kept evading her worried questions, why Akane was so secretive and closed off at times, why she always felt like she didn't belong...
All her wondering and pondering, her late night thoughts and the ache within her heart -it could've all been resolved if she had just known.
Without her realizing it, they had made their way to the threshold.
Before opening the door, Akane looks at her, sweetly and with clear devotion in his eyes.
His all-knowing gaze, full of adoration, makes her undoubtedly nervous. Her stomach does flips and somersaults, butterflies flapping their wings ecstatically and incessantly.
It makes her nauseous, almost.
"Are you ready, Ao-chan?"
Was she?
She was about to properly meet the rest of her boyfriend's family, and gain their approval all at once.
This could either go horribly wrong, or the slightest bit right.
Based on her earlier interaction with the littlest Minamoto, Aoi did not have high hopes.
Still, she gives a small smile.
"Mhm."
Dinner will be prepared by the second Minamoto -Kou, if Aoi remembers correctly.
The boy looks like a younger version of his older brother, though his features are much more prominent -if Aoi had to guess, she'd say that he takes after his father.
Appearance-wise, she can't fault Nene for falling for the guy.
He has messy blond hair, wide and innocent ocean-blue eyes, and a sharp nose.
Exactly like her storybook princes.
Aoi stifles a giggle at the thought.
"What's the matter, Aoi-san?"
The smooth, honey-like voice belonging to none other than Minamoto Teru snaps her out of her thoughts.
Her boyfriend sits opposite of her and Akane at the table, uncoincidentally on the same side of his siblings.
An unsubtle blush starts to form on her face, and she battles the urge to cover her cheeks with her hands.
A reaction is all that he wants. Two can play at this game.
"Nothing, my sweet, I just find it wonderful how much you prepared for our visit."
Teru's hazy eyes widened, and Aoi couldn't help but snicker at the blush spreading from his neck to the tip of his ears -the color of cherry blossoms in spring.
After the shock had worn off, Teru crinkled his pretty blue eyes, the same shade as Chinese forget-me-nots, with an elusive smile, and Aoi would be lying if she said her heart rate didn't accelerate.
While her relationship with Akane was sweet and devoted, as calm, gentle, and reassuring as the promised rays of the rising sun every morning, her bond with Teru was the complete opposite.
Like the pulling of the tide, tugging at her feet and begging her to come with -the constant push and pull of playful banter, the need to never be in a state of vulnerability, yet tackled with the demonized realization of knowing you wouldn't go down alone. If her reputation were to ever be tarnished, she trusts Teru's would surely follow too -with the same certainty she has that the moon will come out in the depths of night.
"Dinner's ready!"
She looks up just in time to catch the blond coming in with two large plates, and she suddenly realizes how hungry she feels.
"It's onigiri with fried chicken, I hope it's to your tastes, Akane-san,"
The young Minamoto says the words with a smile, kind and respectful and warm.
Everything in the Minamoto household is warm with care and affection, and Aoi doesn't know how to feel about that.
The fact that a man is making dinner, how even the youngest girl in the family attempted to confront Aoi out of protection and care for her brothers, and, most of all, the overwhelming devotion overflowing from Teru in every look directed towards his siblings.
"Call me Aoi, please, I'm sure it'll be less confusing than having two Akanes in the house,"
She sees how the boy flusters at her comment, before gently setting the two trays down onto the center of the table.
She can't help but wish her broken family was even a fraction of this one.
Without further ado, everyone begins filling their plates to their hearts' content, with the exception of the youngest Minamoto, who had Kou prepare her dish.
For a few moments, the whole table is silent, busy enjoying the delicious food and basking in the warmth of each others' presence.
As for Aoi, with the very first bite, she was able to fully understand why her boyfriends always spoke so highly of her kouhai's cooking -the food was better than any exquisite restaurant's.
Each bite she took sent her further and further into food heaven, and if she were truly alone, the contents of her plate would've disappeared in seconds.
"Kou, I'm sure you've met Aoi-san before, yes?
And just like that, she was back on planet Earth again with Teru's peace-shattering questions.
"Yes, I've seen her around," The aforementioned boy answers, finger resting pensively against his cheek as he hums in thought. "Nene-chan also talks a lot about her, considering she's her best friend and all,"
The words are said casually -lazily if Aoi were to be particular- but it only serves as a stark reminder that their family dynamic is worlds apart from the solitary pair that are Aoi and her mother.
"Great! I hope you won't mind formally meeting her as my girlfriend, then. She's bound to become the newest addition to the table, so it'll be cooking for five,"
And just like that, the seeds are out of the pouch.
She sees how the second Minamoto's mouth drops in shock, pupils blown wide in an almost comical way.
Meanwhile, Minamoto Tiara, the very girl who hounded Aoi in front of the residence an hour ago, was too busy nibbling on her fried chicken to pay any mind.
"What- how- when did this all happen?"
The boy's tone goes from shaky to firm, accusatory and bewildered in a matter of seconds.
Aoi almost laughs. She covers her mouth behind a delicate hand to conceal her grin.
She's sure Teru saw it, regardless. He never seems to miss anything, for better or for worse.
She can't decide whether she hates or loves that about him.
"We've been going out for two months or so-"
"And you're barely telling me now, Teru-nii?"
The hurt in his tone is tangible.
Aoi stills.
The smile drops from her face as fast as it had appeared.
She glanced towards Akane, trying to gauge his reaction to the rising tension before them.
The chestnut-haired man at her right, however, holds a formidable poker face, as he calmly resumes eating his food like nothing out of the normal happened.
Aoi wonders if the same course of events transpired when he was the one being introduced at the dinner table.
Once again, she's overcome with the tangy-sour feeling that has surely carved a space inside her heart by now.
How much has she missed?
How many outings, how many dinners, how many special moments have happened without her?
Is she so forgettable?
She's gripping the ends of her skirt too tightly.
The turtleneck under her coat feels suffocating, her tights feel too uncomfortable, and her mascara must be smudged.
She stands up suddenly from the table, and she cringes at the way the chair grates against the floor.
All eyes turn to her, and Aoi feels their questioning stares tingle and squirm on her skin, wriggling underneath the surface of her body until they reach bone.
She feels like she's going to explode.
That, or she'll scratch her eyeballs out.
"I.."
The table is still silent.
Teru looks at her with concern, his frightening pale eyes rummaging through her, as if attempting to piece together what could've possibly detonated the bomb that Akane Aoi is.
Akane just stares with furrowed brows, and Aoi feels her heart wrench and twist at the sorry sight that he makes. His amber eyes are full of soft adoration, cradling her as if she were a fallen hatchling from its nest -in dire need of care and protection.
Kou's expression is harder to describe. His eyes hold a mixture of confusion and befuddlement, his mouth quirking and making silent noises as if he wanted to cut in and say something. His stiff movements speak of wanting and an itch to act, but lacking the abilities to do anything.
She doesn't even try with Tiara.
"I'm going to the bathroom."
She proudly announces.
And with that, she exits (flees) the scene.
She's hyperventilating the moment she locks the door behind her.
Her heart is going five digits per minute, the air in her lungs is escaping her, and her world feels like it's closing in all around.
She probably made things worse.
Her presence just makes everything worse.
She should've stayed at home.
She shouldn't have accepted Teru's request.
She should have never agreed to become his girlfriend.
It's just like her mother had said, she should have never been-
It's with a sinking feeling that she realizes that her heart had felt the tiniest smidge lighter when the Minamoto brothers were arguing.
How bad of a person was she?
Before she knows it, mascara is certainly running down her damp cheeks and she's slumped on the bathroom door crying, knees to her chest.
She gently rocks herself side to side, in a pathetic attempt at comfort -just like her father would do, when she was too small to go to bed without the lights on.
When she still believed that he loved her.
She clamps her hands over her mouth, in case any sound threatened to pour out of her dry and bitten lips.
Knock.
Knock knock.
She lifts her head.
The bathroom door opens, without her even needing to answer.
It's the person she last expects to see.
Minamoto Tiara.
Who is holding a key behind her back -in a poor effort at hiding in from Aoi's prying eyes.
She cannot hold back her scowl and the bite in her words as she mutters, "What do you want?"
Her innards are screaming at her to be nicer, kinder, all the things she's not.
She's never been good with kids.
The girl is visibly nervous, if the avoidance of eye contact is anything to go by.
"Tiara- I want to say sorry,"
Aoi is sure the surprise in her face is clear.
"For?"
Still, she replies curtly.
Tiara fidgets with her hair, before looking at Aoi with twinkling azure eyes, yet a brazen demeanor all the same.
Aoi gets an inkling of why she's known as the princess of the house.
"For being so mean- so horrible- to Aoi-san!"
And with that, the poor girl bursts into tears.
Aoi doesn't know what to do as Tiara runs into her arms for consolation.
Aoi hadn't even known she'd had them spread for her in the first place.
She awkwardly tries to pat the child's back, rubbing in smooth and small circles just as her father once did.
Tiara continues blubbering in the crook of her neck.
"It's fine,"
She says the words, hoping they alleviate the young Minamoto's emotional distress, but they only make the situation worse.
"D-don't go saying it's fine when it's clearly not!" She hiccups between the words, and Aoi can't help but wince at the thought of snot on her clothes.
"It's what Teru-nii always says,"
At that, her heart skips several beats.
Holding her breath, she waits for the girl to go on.
"He comes back hurt from defeating the bad guys, he says it's all okay but I know he's lying."
As she says the words, she pulls back from Aoi's embrace, and it takes the purple-haired girl a second to realize that the blonde's eyes weren't even wet to begin with.
Oh.
"I can see it in his eyes,"
Aoi touches her own wet cheek, feels the snot dribbling down her nose, and knows she is utterly pathetic. Her lower lip trembles.
She feels a small, warm hand cup her cheek, and she feels so childish, so foolish, so stupid to be comforted by a girl almost three times younger than her.
"Just how I can see it in yours."
Aoi allows a small smile to creep up her face, and she's sure she looks like a wreck with her tear-stricken cheeks and red, sniffling nose.
Why did the Minamotos have to be so damn perceptive?
"Akane-nii is a good boyfriend to Teru-nii," Tiara starts again, and the sudden mention of the brunet is enough to make Aoi snap back to attention.
"He puts up with nii-chan, it's not something a lot of people can do," She continues, a sheepish look forming on her face. "But he doesn't really get it, he doesn't know what it's like."
Tiara doesn't explain what it refers to, but Aoi feels like she can get an idea of what the young blonde is referring to.
"But you do,"
The girl has a fierce look in her eyes, and Aoi stills.
"So please, take care of him, Aoi-nee!"
With that, Tiara drops her hand from the purple-haired's cheek and, instead, uses it to grip the latter's two hands tightly.
Aoi feels herself squeezing the other girl's hands back, just as tight.
Maybe she has never been the best with kids.
But she can learn to be, if it means being close with the princess of the exorcist household -Minamoto Tiara.
When the two girls finally leave the bathroom, Aoi finds her boyfriends washing the dishes together, whispering and murmuring secretively whilst doing so.
Aoi intends to make her appearance soon, to apologize profusely and tearfully, but she finds herself unable to fully enter the kitchen, feet planted in place under the dim hallway light.
She's stuck between flight and freeze, not daring to move a single step despite her heart screaming at her to do so.
Fortunately, Tiara makes the decision for her.
"Akane-nii, Teru-nii!"
She yells the names as she leaves Aoi's side, running towards the two men and being immediately showered in adoration.
This time, Aoi smiles.
"Princess! Where were you?"
Teru asks, though Aoi is sure the blond already knew. Nothing escapes him, after all.
Which is why she shouldn't have been surprised when his calculating ice-blue eyes settled on her, partially and awfully hidden.
The ice breaks, and warmth fills his gaze. The smile reaches his eyes.
Akane doesn't spot her right away, too preoccupied with the young Minamoto begging for his attention, but Aoi can see the way his eyes widen in alarm when he finally does.
She knows he wants to approach her, to reassure her, do all the things that come natural to him -the wonderful boyfriend that he doubtlessly is.
Aoi simply raises a timid hand -a signal that she was okay.
"Where did Minamoto-kun go?"
She knows her voice sounds raspy, she knows her eyes are swollen and red, but she tries.
And trying's maybe the only thing she's good at.
Teru opens his mouth, but it's Akane who speaks.
"He said he had a date with Yashiro-san, so he left in a hurry,"
This late?
Aoi refrains from asking, as another thought comes to mind.
Nene said she was grounded this whole week for failing her math test.
Either she snuck out, or...
Aoi whisks away the thought -she shouldn't assume horrible things about her kouhai.
Unless...
He and his pink-haired classmate were always very close -would it be such a far-fetched idea to assume he had a similar arrangement to his older brother's?
Aoi saves the thought for later, now fully aware of her two boyfriends coming towards her, a sleepy Tiara hanging off of Akane's back.
"The night's not over, do you want to watch a movie?"
Teru questions, and Aoi lets out a pensive hum in lieu of a reply.
In reality, it's only to stop herself from answering right away.
"Sure!"
She doesn't miss the way Teru shares a conspirational look with Akane, nor the way his face breaks out into a radiant smile.
If Akane was a sunflower, then Teru was surely the sun.
Where would that place her?
Aoi lets herself be led by her boyfriends to the couch in the living room, feeling tired and winded and close to simply collapsing on the floor.
"You know we'll have to talk about this later, right, Ao-chan?"
Although the words may sound harsh and unforgiving to some, Aoi can taste the sweet, saccharine way of which Akane speaks, his unyielding devotion ever present.
"I know,"
Belatedly, Aoi thinks that maybe things went the slightest bit right.