The Aoyama house was noisier than any where that Ryuzi had ever entered.
As soon as Suki pushed the front door aside, there were more than two voices in the living room, one reprimanding, one laughing, one singing out of tune. The entrance was heaped with shoes. There was a smell of miso soup and fried something.
Ryuzi stood in the doorway still and gripped the strap of his bag. This... is mayhem.
"Welcome home!" Suki finished in a dramatic manner, pulling him in. "And welcome, guest!"
"Guest?" a woman's voice called. Footsteps came into view and then, within seconds, three figures came into view--the sisters of Suki.
The oldest one, Hana, crossed her arms with the authority of a general. So this is the notorious transfer student.
In the center, Emi, was leaning carelessly against the wall with a smirk. "The 'Ice Prince,' huh? Doesn't look that scary to me."
The youngest, Rika, smiled. Oh, Suki has at last brought a boy home!
Ryuzi stood still with his ears flushing all over. "W-what--"
Suki groaned, face red. "It's not like that!"
"Not yet," Emi murmured slyly.
"Emi!" Suki yelped.
Hana came forward, her eyes pinpointing, and she wound round Ryuzi like a hawk. "So. You have a thing on with our brother.
Ryuzi gulped, and felt awkward under her eyes. "...Yes."
"Are you treating him well?" Hana demanded.
Ryuzi blinked. "What--?"
"He's annoying," Emi chimed in. "We know. But he's ours. You answer to us, in case you make him cry.
Rika bent over, stage-whispering: Especially Hana. She has once chased a boy out of the neighborhood with a broom.
"Rika!" Hana snapped.
Ryuzi's eyes widened. "I... I would not--" His voice faltered, embarrassed. I have no idea of... crying over him.
Silence fell. The sisters looked at him, inexpressible. His pulse raced.
And then--
All three burst out laughing.
Pffft--oh my God, look at his face! Emi didn't breathe, holding her stomach.
"He actually looks terrified!" Rika squealed.
Even Hana cracked a smile. "Relax. We're just messing with you."
Ryuzi hesitated and knew that he had been fooled. His face flushed more as he muttered,... Tch.
Suki covered his face with his hands. "I told you not to scare him!"
Emi smirked. "We weren't scaring him. We were testing him."
And he passed," Hana said with a lowered voice. She smiled at Ryuzi with a little, sincere smile. "You seem like a good kid."
Ryuzi did not know what to do, so to speak. It was not his usual way of things--to be taunted, and then treated, in a few minutes.
Come on," Suki huffled, pulling Ryuzi to his room. "Ignore them."
When they were climbing the stairs, Rika called out after them, giggling: Don't do anything queer up there!
Suki nearly tripped. "RIKA!"
Ryuzi silently followed, yet, as he had never felt before in a long time, his chest was light.
In the evening, when Ryuzi was walking home, he could still feel the warmth of the Aoyama house. The jokes, the mocking, how Suki fitted so perfectly into it.
So that is what a family is like, he said to himself.
And though he himself would never have acknowledged it, a certain part of him already desired to return.