"Absolutely not!"
Ayumi's declaration echoed through the living room, loud enough to rattle the windows. "This is our house! This is Onii-chan's and my sacred home! We can't let some random, unknown girls invade our territory!"
"They're not random girls, they're my cousins," I sighed, rubbing my temples. The headache from this morning had blossomed into a full-blown migraine. "And it's not up for debate. They're coming."
We were supposed to be cleaning the two spare guest rooms, but the mission had quickly devolved into a strategic war council, with Ayumi leading the resistance.
"I don't care if they're the princesses of England!" she fumed, pacing back and forth. "No one else is allowed to live with Onii-chan! Especially not girls I've never met!"
Izuwa, ever the pragmatist, was trying to steer us toward a more productive path. "Arguing won't change anything, Ayumi. They'll be here tomorrow. We need to at least make the rooms presentable." She held up a dust rag and a bottle of cleaner, looking completely overwhelmed.
"Izuwa's right," Hina added, leaning against the doorframe and examining her nails. "Besides, I'm curious. What are they like, Takeshi? Are they cute? Do they have good fashion sense? Don't tell me they're the type to wear knock-off brands."
I tried to summon a clearer picture from my childhood memories. "The older one, Azuwa, had red hair. She was... aggressive. Always trying to prove she was better than me at everything. The younger one, Inoue, had orange hair and followed me everywhere. She had a perpetually sticky face from eating candy."
"Hmph. They sound like delinquents," Ayumi sniffed, crossing her arms. A devious glint appeared in her eyes. "Maybe... we shouldn't make the rooms too comfortable. If they hate it here, they might leave on their own!"
"Ayumi, no," I said sternly.
"We could hide a bucket of water over the door!" she suggested, her voice filled with evil glee. "A classic welcome!"
"No."
"Or replace the sugar with salt!"
"No."
"Or just 'accidentally' lose their mattresses?"
"They're my family, Ayumi. We're not going to torment them." I pointed towards the hallway. "You and Hina, take the room on the left. Izuwa and I will take the one on the right. Just... clean them. That's all."
With a dramatic huff, Ayumi stomped off, dragging a reluctant Hina with her. "Fine. But if I find a spider, I'm putting it on one of their pillows."
I let out a long-suffering sigh and turned to Izuwa. "Sorry about this."
She gave me a small, sympathetic smile. "It's okay, Takeshi-kun. It's just... a lot to take in so suddenly. Are you okay with it?"
I shrugged, picking up a vacuum cleaner. "Doesn't matter if I am or not. It's happening. I'm just worried about the chaos level in this house multiplying. I can barely handle the three of you."
Izuwa's cheeks turned a faint pink. "We're not that bad..."
"Ayumi tried to use your limited edition facial cream as butter this morning, and Hina ordered a life-sized alpaca statue that's currently blocking the garage."
"...Okay, so we have our moments," she conceded. "But we can make this work! We'll all just have to adjust."
I appreciated her optimism, I really did. But my memory, however faint, told me that 'adjustment' wasn't in Azuwa and Inoue's vocabulary. Theirs was a vocabulary of chaos, noise, and sibling rivalry.
An hour later, I was wrestling with a stubborn set of curtains in the right guest room when my phone buzzed. It was a text from a number I didn't recognize.
Hey! It's your Uncle Hajimate! Just wanted to send you their flight info. They land at Narita, 2 PM, Flight KE703. They'll be the two cutest girls getting off the plane! Ha ha! See you soon, nephew!
I stared at the message. 2 PM. Tomorrow. It was real.
Suddenly, a crash and a scream came from the other room.
"AYUMI! THIS WAS A VINTAGE JEAN-PAUL GAULTIER SHIRT! YOU CAN'T USE IT AS A DUST RAG!"
"IT LOOKED LIKE A RAG! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?!"
I closed my eyes, took a slow, deep breath, and counted to ten. The impact was imminent. All we could do now was brace ourselves.