Red Strings ¦¦ Chishiya Shuntarou x OC

Twenty-Third String

Humming along to the music, despite the amount of work she had for just one dinner, Ayako was in high spirits. After meeting Toshiaki previously, tonight was Kurenai's turn to bring her boyfriend home. They met briefly once, but under the circumstances, they were unable to get to know each other.

Tonight, the siblings would be sitting down with their respective boyfriends and having dinner with her. Ayako could not be happier than she was right now.

She looked up, wiping her hands on her apron when she heard the distinctive beeping of someone entering the code. The door opened and both Aoi and Toshiaki walked in. Ayako was quick to give each of them a hug, already treating Toshiaki as part of the family.

"This is for you, Ayako-san," Toshiaki smiled, holding a fruit basket up. "Where would you like me to put this?"

"Oh my, how kind of you," Ayako gasped. "Just on the counter is fine. Sit down, treat this as your own home. Dinner will be ready soon."

"Is Kurenai home?" Aoi asked, looking over to the stairs with a frown. He was not hearing any odd noises. And there were no shoes by the door that he did not recognise.

"She went to pick her boyfriend up from work," Ayako said.

And speaking of the devil, the door beeped again and Kurenai walked in with Chishiya. Once again, Ayako greeted them. As Chishiya held his hand out for a shake, Ayako went in for a hug instead. It was an especially tight hug, and although he felt awkward, Chishiya gently patted her back.

"Oh, so sorry! I didn't even introduce myself," Ayako smiled. "It's so nice to meet you, I am Miss Kurenai's housekeeper. You can call me Ayako."

"You're more than just a housekeeper, Ayako-san. You're family," Kurenai corrected.

"Kurenai has told me about you, Ayako-san," Chishiya nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you too. I am Chishiya Shuntarou."

Feeling a little overwhelmed, tears were welling up in Ayako's eyes but she was quick to look away and wiped her eyes discreetly with her sleeves. She never thought the day would come when she would get to see the Chuya siblings so happy. Considering their background, it was more common for their father to arrange marriages for them. She only hoped that this happiness would last for both of them.

Ayako collected herself and went back into the kitchen, leaving the siblings and their partners alone. Tonight's meal had to be perfect.

"Hi, nice to meet you, I'm Akiyama Toshiaki," the tall man smiled, introducing himself to Chishiya. "I'm Aoi's boyfriend."

"And I'm Aoi, Kurenai's brother."

His tone was a little hostile, and Aoi was acting a little childish by refusing to offer a handshake. His only impression of Chishiya so far was that night when he accidentally walked in on them, and his sister was doing unspeakable things to him. That was not an ideal first impression in any books.

Still, Chishiya introduced himself and shook Toshiaki's hand.

Kurenai, on the other hand, was less than impressed with Aoi's behaviour. Then again, she was not exactly the most friendly person in the room when she first met Toshiaki. However, as the older sibling, there were privileges she was allowed to have and so, she smacked Aoi on the head for being rude.

Her interaction with her brother was amusing to Chishiya.

As an only child, Chishiya never had a sibling to bicker or play with. Not even a cousin. The relationship between siblings was always one that eluded him. He had seen plenty of siblings in school and in his line of work, and there was a huge range of relationships from extremely close like peas in a pod, or distant as if they were strangers. The one the Chuya sibling had seemed to fall right in the middle.

"So what do you do, Chishiya?" Toshiaki asked.

"I recently graduated from medical school."

"You're a doctor? That's cool! You must be really smart."

"You're smart too, Toshiaki." Aoi was quick to add, before looking at Chishiya. Or well, glared. "So what? You were leeching off my sister to pay your school fees?"

In all honesty, the way Aoi was trying to act tough and intimidating was laughable. But Chishiya managed to keep it to himself. He supposed Aoi's attitude toward him was just his way of trying to protect his sister, and some would say that it was cute.

"And if he did?" Kurenai asked, leaning back on the sofa with her arms crossed, looking at Aoi with eyes that could only be described as murderous. It sent chills down Toshiaki's spine even though it was not directed at him. "I could build him a hospital if I wanted to."

"Then he just likes you for your money, not you!"

"If Toshiaki had student debt, would you pay it off for him?"

"Well...maybe, yeah."

"What a hypocrite."

Watching the siblings slowly starting to fight, Chishiya could not help the smile on his face. This was a side of Kurenai he had never seen before. She always had a smile on her face in front of others, and in front of him too. The way she spoke was always so eloquent and polite, because there was an image she had to uphold.

Even when she was having fun torturing Honoka psychologically, she was always so well-mannered, threatening with a smile.

With Aoi, however, she was the complete opposite.

Her words were filled with spite, so was her tone. She did not have a smile on her face either, and would constantly roll her eyes at him. And if Aoi said something she did not like hearing, she would give him a smack to the head. Aoi would complain, yet he would continually provoke her.

It was as if the siblings knew they were the only ones who could behave this way with each other, because the other person would still love them at the end of the day and neither of them would hold a grudge.

"Dinner's ready!"

Ayako's call to dinner saved them from having a full blown argument. As soon as they sat down at the dining table, everyone was in harmony again. They were eating, and Ayako was asking Chishiya a lot of questions.

Once they were done, Aoi asked Kurenai for help with a proposal and the siblings went up to her study. Toshiaki was helping Ayako with the dishes while Chishiya was cleaning the dining table.

When they finished cleaning, the siblings were still busy working. Ayako took Toshiaki's hand and walked over to Chishiya, grabbing his hand too. She pulled both of them with her over to the sofa and sat them down. She sat down on the loveseat, facing them. It looked like she had something to say to both of them, and it looked like she was getting emotional even before speaking.

"I just want to say thank you to both of you," she said, taking one hand from each of them, petting the back of their hands gently. "Thank you for coming into Miss Kurenai's and Mr. Aoi's life. I've never seen them so happy before, and I hope that you will continue to make them happy."

"I will do my best to keep Aoi happy," Toshiaki said, holding her hand tightly.

"I'll do my best too."

She squeezed their hands tightly before looking at Chishiya. "You know, you're the first man Miss Kurenai brought home. All her ex-boyfriends, she never bothered bringing them home to meet me or Aoi. And I know she was a little promiscuous too, but she never brought them home for the night. You must be quite special to her."