Upside Down

Looking in the refrigerator as I think about what to make for lunch, I spot another 3 kilograms of prawns that Mama ordered the other day. Taking it out, along with some diakon, as I decide to make some Tempura with white steamed rice.

As I"m taking down a mixing bowl to make the dipping sauce, Chiaki walks into the kitchen. "Hi Sora. Would you like me to make some tea and help with lunch?"

"Barley tea would be great, and while I can do all this myself, some help would be awesome."

She nods and fills the pot with water to make the tea. "So, what can I do to help?"

"Would you mind making some steamed white rice and then julienne some diakon? I"m making Tempura for lunch."

"Sounds good to me. What type?"

"Oh, prawns."

I like this Chiaki a h.e.l.l of a lot more than the one that Daddy first brought home. She never smiled and would only speak when someone asked her something. Now, she smiles most of the time and talks to all of us a lot.

I did ask her if she wanted to join us all in bathing, but she stopped me dead in my tracks with her reply of, "I wouldn"t feel comfortable doing that." I felt as if there was more she could have said to explain, but I didn"t pry. Everyone is allowed to have their little secrets and I didn"t believe it was worth trying to force out of her since she finally seems to be opening up to us.

We finish making lunch, and then Chiaki goes to wake up Mama and Dad while I head upstairs to wake everyone else up for lunch. I lead the pack as we troop back downstairs to eat.

As we eat I ask Honoka, "Nee-chan, are you inviting Mitty?"

She glances at Dad, and says,"Uh no. I don"t really think that"s such a good idea. I"ll explain it to you later."

Mama looks at her and says, "Actually, I"d like to know why myself. I thought the two of you had become quite close and Mitty"s a good man."

Honoka looks down and mumbles, "I know he is and that"s part of the problem. There are a couple reasons. The primary one being that his children can"t stand me. Anyway, Sora asked me a while back to always stay with her and if this treatment works to take her nanites so I can do that. I want to do that for all of my family. Plus, I don"t want to watch him grow old and die while we barely change.

Mama shakes her head. "Do you think that I want to see your father grow old and die? Sora loves Ryu, so do you think she wants to see that either? Chinatsu hasn"t said one way or the other concerning Ryo, but I doubt she wants to see that happen either." She sighs. "Honoka, you know how fragile life is, any one of us could die tomorrow. You don"t skip out on a chance of being with someone you care about simply because you"re afraid something might happen… " Mama stares at Honoka for a few moments. "Honoka, when those men tried to kidnap Sora the other day…"

"WHAT?!" Honoka cries out and snaps her head around to look at me.

Oh s.h.i.t! I forgot to tell Honoka about that. I really meant to do so, but there"s been too much going on and it slipped my mind.

"I"m sorry Nee-chan. I planned on telling you, but you were sick and I didn"t want to add anymore stress at that time. Honestly, a lot has been happening, so it slipped my mind. I wasn"t trying to hide it from you."

She sighs and says, "Okay, I believe you." She turns back to Mama. "Mom, trust me, I understand what you"re saying."

Mama stares at her for a little while before she finally says, "Honoka, you have to know what Sora says she"s going to do with her life." Honoka nods. "So, then are you saying you don"t think your sister will be able to solve this before any of that can happen?"

"No, I don"t think that"s it since I know how smart Sora is. I also know when she decides to do something she does it. Mom, think about it this way, I"m supposed to be fourteen, so how can I date a man that is over thirty?"

"Well, there is that aspect, but then again, there are still many arranged marriages with age gaps of around twenty years."

Honoka looks at Mama incredulously. "Mom, are you saying you would be alright with Sora or Chinatsu being paired up with someone who"s thirty-three then?"

Mama shakes her head. "No, but they are actually thirteen."

"Then what about Sofi and I? I know we are adults, but you and Dad adopted us, so would you be fine with us being matched up with someone over forty?"

Mama sighs. "Alright, you"re right, I wouldn"t be happy about it. I"d probably have a long discussion about it with you if you even thought of doing something like that. I don"t really know what to do here. I know you two are listed in the family register as fourteen and thirteen, but I also know you both are adults at the same time. I"m trying to allow you a little more lat.i.tude in who you date."

I interrupt them at this point to say, "Mama, I think what Nee-chan is saying is they would be much happier if you treat them as if they are the age they are listed as in most circ.u.mstances. They never had a Mother and I think they both want you to be theirs."

She looks at Honoka, who nods, then she look at Sofi, who nods as well. Mama smiles and nods. "Alright. After all, we did adopt you and I know you love Sora and Chinatsu."

Honoka and Sofi look at each other, smile and tell her, "Thank you, Mom."

The rest of lunch is uneventful, except Mama told us, "Girls, we have an appointment at the salon tomorrow at 11:30." Everyone nods and says, "Okay."

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

At 1:30, I"m leaning against Dad with Chinatsu cuddled up on my other side while we watch a movie when my phone rings. It"s Mr. Kano telling me the tuxedos are ready. I text Ryu to tell him to call me. A few minutes later my phone rings.

"Hi Ryu."

"Hey babe. What"s up?"

"Mr. Kano called, both of your tuxes are ready. We"ll be over to pick you up in less than an hour, so we can make sure they fit right."

"Okay. I"ll grab Ryo and tell him. See you soon."

"Alright. Oh, and remember to wear your dress shoes so we can make sure of the pant length."

"Okay. Love you."

"I love you too." I end the call, stand up, stretch, and announce, "Alright ladies, we need to get dressed."

Yes, we"ve all been lazing around in our nightgowns today. Of course, we"re wearing bras since Dad is here. Like I said this morning, today"s the first time in a long time we haven"t had to get up and basically start running. Mama was right, I d.a.m.n sure needed the down time. I suppose I need to do this more often.

I pull Chinatsu up off the couch, turn around to hug Dad, and say, "Sorry. We"ll be back before too long."

He hugs me back and says, "Be safe and have fun."

We follow everyone as they head upstairs to dress. We enter our room and I open the closet for my casual outfits. Come to think of it, most girls would probably consider what we girls wear as casual outfits, except for my hotpants, as going out outfits since they are of much higher quality and more stylish than most. Even though we do wear thigh socks and ankle socks with them, as well as stockings.

In this latest batch of dresses Mama bought all of us girls are several babydoll mini dresses. Personally, I love them since they are so cute. One of my favorites amongst them is a mint green bustier babydoll mini dress with short sleeves. It"s cut a little lower than I would normally wear, but it also has built in support for my b.o.o.bs and the A line skirt falls about a third of the way down my thigh. It"s also rather tight fitting around my b.o.o.bs, so it really emphasizes them. I add a pair of white ruffled ankle socks and my white Mary Jane pumps with 7.5 centimeter heels. I"m very sure Ryu will love seeing me in this outfit.

Chinatsu waited until I chose this and chose a golden yellow babydoll mini dress of a similar type. Some white ankle socks and her white slouch boots. Chinatsu complained at first, but Mama has been buying her a lot more outfits since I"ve been making her dress better.

Chinatsu has me sit down and does my fairly normal braided sidetail. We trade places and I do hers in a french braid. Yes, I"ve been practicing a lot, so I can do most basic hairstyles. Even so, my repertoire is nowhere near what Chinatsu or Mama are capable of doing. I can do my hair all by myself now, but it"s so much faster if someone else does it for me. We then put on our eyeliner, mascara and decide to skip our usual lip gloss and use the medium red lipstick Mama gave each of us.

As we stand to leave, I see the both of us in the mirror and two very beautiful girls look back at us, which makes us both smile. No, I"m not being vain, it"s just a simple fact. After all of the counseling and being told repeatedly by so many different people, I simply have to admit it, there are very few girls as beautiful as we are. I"m still not going to run around like some of the primdonna b.i.t.c.hes I"ve seen and act like I"m better than others because I am beautiful, nor will Chinatsu. Looks shouldn"t define who or what you are as far as we"re concerned.

I call our driver to meet us at the front gate and we head out to collect everyone. After we board our vehicle, we head to the boys" house. Once we arrive, I go press the door intercom. I have something to do here, remember?

Ryu answers and then comes to open the door. "Hey babe, we would have met you at the car if you would have told us you were here."

"I need to talk to your mother, remember?"

"Oh, yeah, right. Come on in then." His eyes are glued to my b.o.o.bs as he leads me deeper into the house. "You look very nice today, not that you don"t always dress well."

I giggle at his awkward compliment, not to mention the effect my dress has on him. "Thank you Ryu, but you didn"t need to qualify your comment. I know you like the way I dress."

He blushes slightly and nods. When we arrive in the living room, I say, "h.e.l.lo."

Mrs. Ueno turns around to look over the back of the couch and a smile lights up her face. "h.e.l.lo Sora. It"s so nice to see you again."

"Thank you Mrs. Ueno. It"s nice to see you as well." When Mr. Ueno glances at me, his frown causes me to sigh mentally. "Mr. Ueno." He grunts and looks back at the TV.

Mrs. Ueno leans over to him and whispers harshly, I say whispers, but it"s loud enough for everyone to easily hear. "You will be polite to Sora if you don"t want to be sleeping on the couch for the foreseeable future."

Now, I don"t think I"m a bad person, or a bad influence on either of his sons, so his statement of, "What"s so great about her?" shocks me.

"One, Ryu"s a lot happier, two, his grades have improved markedly, three, she"s very smart, polite, cultured, and gorgeous. We couldn"t ask for a better future daughter-in-law. You"re simply still mad because she called you out on your hypocrisy." She stands up and comes over to me. "Sora, I apologize for his rude behavior."

"It"s okay." I say quietly. "Regardless, I came in to talk to you."

"Oh? About?"

"Mrs. Ueno, I want to thank you for allowing you sons to go with us to Okinawa if they pa.s.s their finals."

"It"s nothing you need to thank me for, but I appreciate it and I told you before to call me Maki."

"Alright, Maki it is, but still thank you. The trip will be a lot more enjoyable with them along."

"You"re just trying to steal my sons." Mr. Ueno mutters loudly from the couch.

Maki"s eyes blaze as she turns to look at him. "Aki, you have five seconds to apologize to Sora before I make you regret saying that. You had best make me believe your apology too, if not today will be the last time you see me and your sons."

"You"re taking her side?!" He asks incredulously.

"No, I"m taking my sons" side. You have three seconds. I"m not playing around this time Aki. I"m sick of you acting this way all over her bruising your fragile little ego!"

He simply glares at her and a few seconds later, she sighs loudly and tells him, "I always knew your ego would be the reason I would end up leaving you. I"m done, as soon as I can arrange for a place for the three of us, we"re gone."

Tears are forming in my eyes as she turns back to look at me. "Sora, I"m so sorry you had to see this, but please, don"t think for a moment this is your fault, this has been a long time coming."

Now, I might be upset over all of this, but my mind is in overdrive trying to figure out a way to help Maki, Ryu, and Ryo when it hits me. I already have a house. I know you are probably thinking it"s a bad idea since it was Sornii"s house, but none of them know that. Ryu has never been there.

I grab Ryu and Maki hands and pull them toward the front door. Once there I let go and turn around to face them. Ryu reaches over, takes my hand, and squeezes it lightly. "Umm… Maki, I own a house that is empty at the moment. It"s furnished, so you wouldn"t have to spend money to do that. If you need a place, you can live there rent free."

It shouldn"t be a problem. The bas.e.m.e.nt has been cleared out and nothing dangerous remains there. Everything personal was removed and almost all of it was donated to charity, so the house is just sitting there empty collecting dust.

"Sora… You"re such a sweet girl, thank you."

"Uh, I mean, I"ll still have to ask my dad if it"s alright, but I"m almost certain he"ll agree with me." I smile at her. "Of course there"s also a benefit for Chinatsu and me in that too."

"What"s that?" She asks.

"The house is right next to ours and it"s only half a kilometer from school as well."

"Alright, ask your dad and let me know. I meant what I told him. I"m done."

Ryo comes up behind them. "Mom, Dad would like to apologize to you and Sora."

Maki turns to look at him. "Ryo, I don"t want to talk to him. I told him what would happen if he didn"t apologize then. You know as well as I do that your father lets his ego control him all of the time and he almost always regrets it after the fact. I"m done dealing with it. Actually, I"ve been done with it for a long time."

Ryo nods and heads back to the living room. A few moments later, Mr. Ueno quickly comes down the hall and Ryu steps in front of me.

"What do you mean you don"t want to talk to me?!" He growls out.

She stares at him calmly and states matter of factly, "I told you what would happen. You made your choice, now you have to live with it."

"You were serious?"

"Did I not look serious?"

As they continue their back and forth, I"m texting Dad, "Dad, huge problem at Ryu"s. Mr. Ueno apparently still has a grudge against me and said some rude things and Mrs. Ueno told him to apologize or she would take the boys and leave him. He didn"t and she told him she"s done. Would it be possible for them to use my house?"

A few moments later my phone chimes, "You aren"t in danger are you?"

"No, I"m fine, I promise. Ryu will protect me no matter what."

"Alright. I appreciate you asking, but as I told you before, it"s your house. If you want to let them live there you can."

"Thank you Daddy. Love you."

"Love you too."

I return my attention to them just as he roars, "Fine, leave then and take those ungrateful brats with you!" and stomps back down the hallway.

"Umm… Maki?"

"Yes?" She says as she turns back to me.

"Dad says you can use the house as long as you want."

"Thank you Sora. We really appreciate your generosity." She looks over her shoulder and calls out, "Ryo, please come here."

A few moments later he arrives and asks, "Yes Mom?"

"You two go pick up your tuxedos." He nods and she turns back to me. "Sora, would you mind feeding these bottomless pits dinner?"

I nod. "Sure, I don"t mind at all, and I"m sure Mama and Dad will be happy to have them as well."

"Thank you. I"ll be packing some clothes for the three of us and I"ll meet you at your house a little later." She looks at Ryu and then Ryo. "We"ll come back when your father is at the dojo to get the rest of our things."

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇

The rest of the evening is anticlimactic after this. We go see Mr. Kano. Ryu and Ryo try on their tuxes, which fit perfectly. Both of them look extremely handsome in them and Mr. Kano tells me their suits will be ready by Wednesday.

We also drop by the jewelers that I ordered Mama"s present from and I ask them to add Sofi"s birthstone to it as well.

Once we get home, everyone goes to watch TV with Dad while Mama and I are making dinner. When the door intercom chimes Chiaki goes to answer it and comes back with Maki.

Mama goes over to Maki, gives her a hug, and they sit down at the dinner table to talk quietly as I"m working on dinner for everyone.

Of course, she joins us for dinner and after we clean up, Honoka, Sofi, Chinatsu and I walk them over to the house. I palm the door open and lead them in, turning on the lights in the hallway.

I head to the house computer we moved to the office across the hall from the living room. I log in, create a sub-account and have Maki create a pa.s.sword for it. After she does, she registers her handprint with the security system and then calls Ryo and Ryu in to register theirs as well.

I give them a walk through of the house. The layout is similar to our house. Kitchen, office, dining room, living room, master bedroom, another bedroom right beside it and across the hall from it is the main bathroom on the first floor. Upstairs are three more bedrooms and a bathroom with a toilet and sink. This might sound a bit strange, but I talked Ryu out of choosing my old room as his bedroom. It would have been simply too weird for us to have been together in there making out for me.

Once we finish, we head downstairs where I give Maki a hug and tell her goodnight. Chinatsu tells the boys, "You need to be dressed and ready by no later than 6:00 tomorrow for the party. I think you two will enjoy our dresses."

Both of them grin and say, "Okay."

They walk us to the front door and Ryu gives me a hug and kiss at the door. I chuckle softly when my lipstick is clear as day on his lips.

"What?"

I reach up, wipe away the lipstick with a tissue and show him. He looks around a little guiltily, which makes me chuckle again. Personally, I don"t care if Maki knows I kiss Ryu, not that I don"t already believe she knows.

"I love you Ryu. Good night."

"I love you too. I look forward to tomorrow," which makes me smile happily.

I hate the circ.u.mstances this happened under, but it"s so much better that they live next door to us now.