He turned his head and looked at Shermie, who was standing not far behind Aiden, resting her hand on her suitcase and chatting with King, and thought with some frustration, 'Why can't Mr. Aiden think straight? Why must he insist on taking this woman back with him? Wouldn't it be better to keep her in Europe? If the young lady sees this, there's no way she won't get jealous.'
Letting out a small sigh, Shinichiro cautiously glanced at Aiden, his eyes full of pity, and a trace of envy, because he knew that Aiden wasn't standing outside the airport to smoke, but to wait for the heiress of the Douglas Foundation.
However, it had already been so long, 'Why hadn't Miss Helena arrived yet?'
He raised his wrist and checked the time on his watch, then quietly reminded, "Mr. Aiden, the plane's about to take off."
Aiden only nodded without speaking. Then, he saw a motorcade appear in his line of sight.
"Mr. Aiden, that should be Miss Helena," Shinichiro also spotted it and quickly said.
Aiden grunted in acknowledgment, flicked away his cigarette, and took a few steps forward.
At that moment, the motorcade stopped not far from the airport entrance. The door of one luxury car opened, and a mature blonde girl jumped out and ran toward him.
Before she even reached Aiden, Helena threw herself into his arms, her fragrant kisses falling like raindrops all over his face.
Aiden returned a few of them, then his gaze fell on the middle-aged man who had gotten out of the car.
The man merely stood by the door, quietly watching him, without the slightest intention of coming closer.
"Alright, Helena, your father's watching," Aiden said, patting the girl's perky butt as a reminder.
But Helena said unhappily, "Ignore him! If he hadn't stopped me, I could've stayed with you a little longer!"
'Uh…'
'This little cotton-padded jacket sure has a lot of holes in it…'
Aiden couldn't help but laugh, but he could only let her do as she pleased and started seriously returning her affection.
Speaking of which, although in Europe, couples passionately kissing in public wasn't rare, doing so right in front of one's parents was quite unusual.
Aiden could clearly see the middle-aged man's expression growing darker and darker, the veins on his forehead bulging.
Aiden had no doubt that Helena's father probably already had thoughts of killing him.
Just then, the "invisible" Shinichiro spoke up again, reminding them, "Miss Helena, Mr. Aiden has to board the plane soon."
Only then did Helena finally let go of Aiden and started fixing his clothes for him.
"Remember to call me after you land."
That line sounded very familiar to Aiden, Kagura sisters and Mai Shiranui had both told him the same thing.
So he nodded smoothly, "I will."
"You have to come see me when you have time."
"Yeah, yeah." The standard scumbag-style nod.
Then, Helena stood on tiptoe and lightly kissed Aiden once more before turning and walking toward the cars.
As she reached her father's side, Helena glared at him, then turned back and waved at Aiden before finally getting into the car.
Just as the door closed, the middle-aged man gave Aiden a cold glance, but what he got in return was Aiden's smiling face. The man froze for a moment, then let out a cold snort and got into the car himself.
Watching the motorcade drive away, Aiden finally called Shermie and King over, heading into the airport together.
Only, his mood now felt a bit heavy.
Not because of parting with Helena, of course, but because when saying goodbye to Shinichiro, the man had told him that the Kagura sisters would be coming to the airport to pick him up.
After imagining what might happen when the Kagura sisters met Shermie, and how it could turn into a full-blown brawl, Aiden walked over to Shermie's side.
"Shermie, I need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
Aiden took a deep breath and said, "After we land, no matter who you see, please stay calm, okay?"
Shermie looked puzzled. "Afraid I'll start fighting your other lovers? You're underestimating me. I'm very broad-minded."
As she spoke, Shermie even puffed out her chest a little.
Aiden instinctively glanced at it and nodded. "It is broad." But that wasn't the point at all.
Seeing that he wanted to say more, Shermie gave him a reassuring look, looped her arm through his, and said, "Don't worry, I'll call your lover in Japan my 'sister.'"
Aiden, "…"
'The problem is, you're archenemies!'
———
When someone's worrying that something bad's about to happen, time always seems to pass quickly. In almost the blink of an eye, the plane landed at Tokyo Airport.
It was King's first time in Tokyo. Even after more than ten hours of jet lag, she couldn't hide her excitement, dragging her suitcase and looking around in every direction.
As for Shermie, she was quite familiar with Japan, though that had been many years ago. So unlike King, she wasn't excited, just had a faint look of nostalgia in her eyes.
As for Aiden, from the moment he'd boarded the plane, his brows had been furrowed. But now that they'd landed, he smiled a little in relief and pulled out his phone to call Helena.
After all, he'd have to face it sooner or later. Worst-case scenario, if they really started fighting, he'd just play the meat shield in the middle, they wouldn't actually hit him, right?
With that thought, Aiden dialed Helena's number while leading Shermie and King toward the exit, and there, in the crowd, he saw the Kagura sisters surrounded by bodyguards and maids in black.
"Aiden!"
The Kagura sisters had also spotted Aiden walking in front. They didn't even notice King and Shermie behind him; they just kept waving excitedly at him.
However, when Aiden approached with King and Shermie beside him, the Kagura sisters' expressions immediately changed.
At the same time, Shermie's expression also changed.
However, the reason Chizuru Kagura's face changed was because she saw Shermie's exaggerated chest, the two proud white rabbits practically crushed her on the spot.
"How can a person even grow that big?" Chizuru muttered to herself.
Meanwhile, her older sister, Maki, was staring seriously at Shermie, who was also staring seriously back at her.
"Yata family."
"Four Heavenly Kings of Orochi."
They'd met.
Sensing the strange atmosphere, Aiden instantly knew that both sides had recognized each other the moment they met, so he quickly stepped forward and stood between them.
He also had to pretend he didn't know their identities as he introduced them.
He pointed to the Kagura sisters first. "Let me introduce you. This is Kagura Maki, and this is her younger sister, Kagura Chizuru."
Maki didn't speak, still staring at Shermie, while Chizuru unwillingly bowed and said, "Nice to meet you."
Although she was a descendant of the Three Sacred Treasures, the Yata Mirror was always held by her sister, so she couldn't sense the Orochi power inside Shermie at all.
Her reluctance came purely from the hostility between women, it had nothing to do with family duty.
At the same time, she was a little confused. Her older sister was always polite, so why was she suddenly acting so rude? Even if she didn't like that big-breasted woman, she shouldn't behave like this, right?
While Chizuru was puzzled, Aiden pointed to King and Shermie. "This is King, the teammate Sayuri was looking for, she's a very skilled fighter. And this one… ahem, she's Shermie."
Since her sister didn't speak, the younger one had to. So Chizuru politely said, "Nice to meet you, Miss King, and you, Miss Sher..."
That's when Maki suddenly interrupted her sister. "Chizuru, stop talking."
'Why…?' Chizuru really wanted to ask that, but since her sister had spoken, she could only mutter an "oh" and close her mouth.
Then she blinked at Aiden, silently asking what was going on.
The two of them were rather in sync, Aiden understood the question in her eyes, but he obviously couldn't say, 'Shermie's your family's mortal enemy, one of Orochi's Four Heavenly Kings'
So he just shrugged, pretending to know nothing.
Of course, both Maki and Shermie noticed the silent exchange between him and Chizuru.
Maki frowned, thinking, 'Looks like Aiden really doesn't know that woman's identity. But how did he end up mixed up with one of Orochi's Four Heavenly Kings? Or maybe she seduced him first?'
'That must be it! Evil Orochi followers, just look at her, you can tell she's bad news. Especially that indecent chest… though seriously, what did she eat to grow that big?'
Meanwhile, Shermie was also thinking, 'I didn't expect Aiden's lover in Japan to be a descendant of the Yata family.'
'But judging from his attitude, he only seems worried that we might fight, he probably doesn't know my identity. Looks like he's not very familiar with the Yata family either… that's good. At least he won't feel too awkward.'
Both women paused for a moment, then continued their thoughts.
'Aiden probably doesn't know about the feud between our Kagura clan and the Hakkesshu. Otherwise, he'd never have brought her here to meet us. Though bringing any other woman would've been bad too, I can't act too cold now, or it'll make him uncomfortable.'
'Even though I've already decided to leave the Hakkesshu behind and live a normal life, seeing a Yata heir still makes me sick. But since Aiden's here, I can't just fight her on the spot… forget it, I'll just pretend I don't recognize her.'
With that thought, the two women, who, by all rights, should have started fighting the moment they met, actually shared a brief, knowing look, and almost instantly understood each other's intent.
Then both of them smiled at the same time.
Of course, anyone with eyes could see that those smiles were fake.
"Nice to meet you, Miss King, Miss Shermie."
"We're glad to meet you too, Miss Maki, Miss Chizuru."
As they spoke, the two women stepped around Aiden, reached out, and shook hands face to face.
They quickly let go, but Aiden had already broken out in a cold sweat.