We Are Family

Blast From the Past

Yoko was waiting for her boys outside the kitchen studio, smiling broadly as her children approached her. She pulled them all into a group hug, hugging as tightly as only a mother could. "My babies! I'm so happy to have you all on the set with me tonight!"

"Hi, Mom!" her quadruplets chimed together, hugging their mother as tightly as they could. Zarc chuckled. "Well, as much as I'd love to stay, Ray needs my help fixing some issues with her project, so I gotta go."

"Alright, say hi to your friends for me!" Yoko said as Zarc left. She smiled at the quadruplets, very happy they were there with her. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to my fellow judges!"

She led the way inside, and the boys got their first look at the live set behind the cameras. It was actually quite interesting seeing the camera crew bustling around. The contestants of the show were in the kitchen area chatting, drinking water, and going over their recipes.

Yuya's eyes widened when he saw one of the contestants. "What? When did Mieru audition?!" he asked. Yuto glanced at him, then at the contestant he was looking at. "Mieru? She auditioned the night we invited our friends over. You passed out from exhaustion as soon as we got home, so you didn't see her."

"Why didn't you guys tell me?!" Yuya whined. Yoko blinked in surprise. "Do you know her, Yuya?"

"Yeah, we all do!" Yuya replied. "She's the girl that would chase me around the playground every day at recess and lunch in elementary school, trying to kiss me! The one that came to our house whenever she heard I was sick, and would come inside uninvited and try to take care of me."

"Oh! That Mieru!" Yoko chuckled. "I remember her now! I thought she looked familiar when she auditioned!"

"Ohh, that's hilarious!" Yuri grinned. "I wonder if she still has a crush on you?"

Yuya groaned, then yelped and hid behind Yuto as Mieru glanced over. He groaned again when he heard her call out his name. "Nooooo! She saw me!"

"Yuya!" Mieru squealed, running over and tackle-hugging him. She began nuzzling him affectionately. Clearly she still had a crush on him. "It's been so long! Too long! Ah, I should've known you would be here tonight! My crystal apple told me I should make a special recipe with extra servings! Now I know that the extra servings were meant for you!"

Yuri snickered, as Yuya pouted, trying to escape from Mieru's clutches. Yoko quickly came to his rescue. "Why don't you go over your recipe, just to make sure everything's right, and you can bring a plate of it to Yuya when the time comes!"

"I'll make sure it's absolutely perfect!" Mieru said excitedly, releasing Yuya. "I just know you're gonna love it, Yuya!"

She hurried off and Yuya pouted furiously. "Well, as long as she doesn't start chasing me around the set, or try to kiss me, I guess it's fine..."