I Would Offer It Happy With a Smile On My Face (Chapter 26)
Chapter 26: But Now I Know What is Pure Happiness
Asahi talks about her family. Meanwhile, Katsumi, Isami, and Zero are finding that more and more monsters have been appearing in Ayaka.
As of the time of posting this, I'm working on the final chapter! So hopefully I'll have that done by tomorrow since school starts in two days for me and I'll have less time. Hopefully I'll remember to continue posting consistently, though.
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24860734/chapters/64713946
It was lunch time, though for Asahi, it was a bit abnormal. She didn’t normally have her lunch at KPaRS’ cafeteria, but today was an exception. Chikako insisted that she come and join everyone at lunch. Asahi agreed because she did enjoy hanging out with everyone, they were really some of her only friends in Kurokita.
Thankfully, the tables weren’t all that small, so having six people sitting around a single table wasn’t even close to being uncomfortable. It was a circular table, with Chikako next to Asahi, then Katsuhito, Fuyuko, Jun, and Rin was the next closest to Asahi. They were all eating, talking about various topics.
Asahi wasn’t sure how the topic got brought up, but it didn’t take long for Jun to say something to Katsuhito, “The thing about having even just one sibling, is there’s always at least one who’s the responsible one and one who’s not.”
Katsuhito frowned, “See, I don’t know enough about having siblings to dispute this.” He shoves some rice in his mouth, chews, then continues, “But it sounds a bit fake.”
Jun sighs, seemingly in defeat. Then she seems to realize something, turning to look at Asahi, “Hey, Asahi, you said you have two brothers, right?”
Asahi hadn’t been paying all that much attention to the conversation – she had been talking with Rin about something – so she wasn’t actually sure why Jun was asking. She looks over, tilting her head, “Huh? Yeah…”
“Ooh!” Chikako grinned, standing up slightly as she planted her hands on the table, causing Asahi to lean back bit, “You’ve only talked about them a bit. You should tell us more about your brothers!”
Rin smiled, “Yeah, what are they like?”
What were her brothers like? It wasn’t like Asahi didn’t like talking about her brothers – she loved talking about her family in general, they were all amazing – but she was surprised that they were all taking an interest in them. She supposed that her brothers could be considered a bit more interesting than most, given they were both Ultras, but still. Then again, her brothers were what most would consider a bit unusual, or maybe that was just her whole family – herself included.
But she liked to talk about her brothers, so she wasn’t going to turn down a chance to talk about them. She smiles as she begins to think of the best way to describe them. “Well, Katsumi is the oldest, he’s – generally speaking – usually the most responsible.” Katsumi was always the one who made sure Isami and her were okay. He usually tempered, or at least tried to, Isami’s occasional recklessness. “He works with Dad at our clothing shop, Quatro M. They both come up with clothing designs, though I honestly think a lot of Katsumi’s are better than Dad’s.”
Fuyuko laughed at that, “Oh, come on,” She said, “Your dad’s shirts can’t be that bad.”
“Several of his shirts are really, really, poor jokes,” Asahi responded, her tone flat, “And one of the shirts he designed was just. Sweat stains.”
There’s a moment of silence, then Katsuhito blinks, “Who would even buy that?”
She laughed, “Here’s the thing! Mr. Aizen did!” She explained between laughs, having to pause to catch her breath, “And he bought a whole bunch of them!”
“Why!” Jun bursts, “Why would anyone do that?”
Asahi shook her head, having finally calmed down from her laughing fit, “Apparently, he wanted an excuse to see Katsumi and Isami. He was using a Gyro and a Crystal to become” She takes a deep breath before continuing, knowing she’d need it for the name Mr. Aizen took, “Ultraman Orb Dark Noir Black Swartz.”
There was silence once more. This time, it was Chikako who broke the silence, repeating, “Ultraman Orb Dark Noir Black Swartz?” She pauses, as though she was still trying to take in the name. Maybe she was, it was, after all, a pretty ridiculous name. “What kinda name is that?”
“Did he seriously use the word black twice, but in different languages?” Rin sounded incredulous.
Asahi nods, “It’s crazy, I know.” She sighed, “Mr. Aizen was, in hindsight, pretty weird.”
Fuyuko drums her fingers against the table, her eyes closed for a moment. She opens them, “What about your other brother?” She inquired, “Isami?”
Humming, Asahi thought about the best way to describe her other brother. “Well, Isami’s the middle child, of the three of us.” She began, closing her eyes to focus. “He’s a lot like Mom, he likes to make gadgets and science-y things. He can be a bit… hotheaded sometimes, and stubborn. Sometimes he wants to try to do everything himself, but he means well. Usually he works with Mom.”
Isami was nice, certainly, but she’d seen what could happen when he chose to be rash. It wasn’t always bad, but a lot of times that sort of brashness had a tendency to not work out as well as anyone would have hoped. That’s why it was always good that Katsumi was so much more controlled, so he could balance out Isami.
“So each of your brothers take after one of your parents,” Jun noted, “What about you?”
“What about me?”
Rin nodded in agreement, “What do you do?” They clarified, “When you’re not here doing Ultra things.”
“Oh,” Asahi tried not to shift in her seat too much, “Well, I, uh, I guess I don’t do all that much.”
Her brothers were really simple, they both took after one of their parents. Katsumi after their dad, Isami after their mom. But Asahi wasn’t that simple, she didn’t share Katsumi and their dad’s skill or love of clothing design. She didn’t share Isami or their mom’s love of technology and science. She mostly just did her own thing. Sometimes she helped out around the shop, sometimes she would do a little to help Isami and their mom.
Katsumi and Isami had the things that the did, but Asahi… Asahi didn’t. Really, she barely left Ayaka and when she did it was so she could go and briefly help her brothers. Or something like when she met Zero. Maybe that’s why it was so odd being in Kurokita, because she just wasn’t used to being outside of Ayaka.
“Really?” Katsuhito frowned, “That’s… I’m surprised.”
She raises her hands, shaking them side to side, “Well, I mean, when Katsunii and Isanii are gone, I keep an eye on Ayaka – in case something happens.” She was quick to add, “And when they need some extra help, I make sure to get to them so we can become Gruebe.”
Fuyuko frowned, tilting her head, “Gruebe?” She echoed in confusion. Oh, had Asahi not mentioned Gruebe to them before? Well, since her brothers weren’t here, there really had never been a reason to. “What’s a Gruebe?”
Asahi scratches the back of her head, “Oh, well Rosso, Blu, and Grigio can… Can pretty much fuse into one Ultra, Gruebe.” She explained, “It’s our strongest form. Rosso and Blu can also become their own form, without me, called Ruebe.”
Chikako tilts her head, “Maybe that’s a part of why Kenshin brought you here,” She pondered, “After all, he wants revenge… And it would be a lot easier if the three of you couldn’t use your full power.”
With a hum, Asahi tugs at the end of her hair, ultimately twirling it around a finger, “I guess that would make sense,” She wondered. It was certainly a logical reason to bring her to Kurokita, to another world. Because she would be the easiest to separate, and most likely the weakest of the three of them. She’d put up less of a fight, in theory, so she would be the most obvious one to bring to another world.
Fuyuko nods, seemingly agreeing with Chikako’s theory, “It would make the most sense, really. The three of you would be too much of a danger to his plan to keep you together.”
“Still, if that’s his plan… then does that mean he’s been appearing to my brothers too, over in Ayaka?” Asahi couldn’t help but wonder, and worry somewhat. While she knew her brothers could take care of themselves, probably much better than she could, she didn’t know what Kenshin could be up to over there. Maybe they were fine, maybe Kenshin hadn’t tried anything. She just didn’t have a way of know and that… That just made her worry, just a bit.
---
“Hey, Katsumi, Isami,” Zero called out from in front of Quatro M. He was standing outside the shop, having walked out because he was hearing a commotion. He was unsurprised with what he saw, given how the past month or so had been going. It made him glad he was here, at least so he could help the two brothers. “There’s another monster.”
The two rushed out to meet up with him, nearly skidding to a halt beside him. Isami groaned, “Another one?” He took a moment to eye the monster, almost glaring at it in annoyance.
“That’s the seventh one this month,” Katsumi noted, frowning. He was right to be concerned, since, in Zero’s experience, this many monster attacks in a month was not natural. Usually, it meant that someone was bringing the monsters, that or they were doing something to cause the monsters to appear more frequently and violently. That went double given Ayaka never really had any monster naturally appear. Sure, it happened, but they very rarely came into the city.
Zero crossed his arms, “Whatever the reason,” He said, “We should probably do something about it, yeah?”
Katsumi and Isami nod, quickly transforming into Rosso and Blu. Zero followed suit, landing beside them. The monster was teal and yellow, with three heads, horns coming out a curling backwards in the center head, where the eyes would be. Zero didn’t recognize this monster, which meant he had little idea of what to expect. It roared when they appeared.
“Hey,” Isami said, “Haven’t we fought this one before?”
Katsumi tilted his head and took a good look at the monster, “Oh yeah, isn’t this the one that attacked Aizen Tech that one time?” The monster swung its tail at them, prompting Katsumi and Isami to move out of the way. “This is the one that can turn things to stone, right?”
Isami nods, “Yeah, I think you’re right.”
“Great,” Zero said, “That means you two know how to beat it.” He crossed his arms, gently leaning against a building, seemingly relaxed.
Turning slightly to look at him, Katsumi asked, “What are you doing?”
Zero effectively grinned, “I’ll leave this to you two.” He said, “You should be able to handle it.”
In response, Isami pretty much rolled his eyes, “Let’s just deal with this monster, yeah?” Katsumi nodded as his brother continued, “If I remember right, R/B Sluggers worked pretty well against her.”
The two summoned their respective R/B Slugger and took their fighting stance. The two slashed at the monster, alternating their attacks as well as dodging the heads of the monster. When she fired her beam, the one they recalled could petrify whatever it hit, they dodged out of the way. They were lucky, this time, the beam didn’t hit a window to bounce off of.
The two didn’t have too much trouble, at least not at first. The Kaiju revealed her eye, the one that was hidden in her mouth. So, the two ran to attack, only for the mouth to close and the other heads to attack. While distracted by the heads, the two Ultras were soon sent flying thanks to the two tails.
It was about then that Zero gently pushed himself off the building he was leaning against. “Are you two alright?” He inquired, leaning down a bit to look at the Katsumi and Isami. The two were on their backs on the ground, trying to get back up as fast as they could. “I thought you said you fought this monster before.”
“We have,” Isami gritted, the two of them managing to bring themselves up to a standing position.
“Just for some reason,” Katsumi added, “It seems she’s stronger.”
Zero takes a moment to examine the monster, then looks back to Katsumi and Isami. “Alright then, don’t you have something stronger to throw at it?”
Katsumi glanced over to Zero, “We could become Ruebe,” He said, “You could also, I don’t know, help.”
With a sigh, Zero shrugged, “Yeah, why not?”
Between the three Ultras, they end up making quick work of the monster. With Zero’s help, it wasn’t even necessary for Rosso and Blu to become Ruebe. With one final attack, the monster disappeared like all the others had. In a curious storm of feathers.
“See,” Zero said, “That wasn’t too bad.”
In response, Isami just grumbled, “Easy for you to say…”
“Did you say something?”
“No,”
Katsumi sighed, “Let’s just go and-“
“Oh, look,” With a bored tone and slow clapping, the three turned to face the voice. There stood that person from before, Kenshin. “You three dealt with another one of my monsters.”
“You!” Isami yelled, his ire clear in his voice. He rushed at Kenshin, swinging his R/B Slugger. Kenshin stepped out of the way.
“My, oh my,” Kenshin sounded rather smug, “You three are certainly shaping up to be quite the pain. Like your sister.”
Katsumi, though clearly angry and worried, spoke with an even tone, “Where is she?”
In response, Kenshin tutted, “That would be too easy, and no fun for me. I’ll relish in my revenge, regardless of what you think.” He spins around and kicks Isami, sending him flying towards Katsumi and Zero, “Now, it’s best you three better prepare. The finale is far sooner than you might think.”
There was little time to do much else, as Kenshin disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared. Katsumi helped Isami back up while Zero placed a hand on his hip. He turned to the two, a degree of concern in his voice when he finally spoke, “If that guy is serious,” He said, “I think you’re going to need to be prepared.”
---
That evening, the Minatos went about their dinner as they almost always did. The only difference now, was that instead of Asahi at the table, they had Zero. It had taken some time and convincing to get him to join them, but once they got him once, he hadn’t stopped. Mio and Ushio were pretty sure he actually enjoyed having dinner with them, at least to some extent.
Zero didn’t know about it, but when the Minatos found out about Zero’s limited experience with family – via some off-hand comment – they’d all met up and decided. So long as Zero was in Ayaka, they were going to do their best to show him what it was like to be apart of a family. Actively apart of a family.
The Minatos had a tendency to do that sort of thing. They did it with Asahi, but in a more similar manner, they did it with Riku. And Riku had only been in Ayaka for two days, Zero had been there much longer. So they thought their efforts were going rather well. Admittedly, Zero didn’t actually do all the much with the family, they often had to convince him to, but he also didn’t really share a lot of interest with them.
Still, they were ever thankful he was helping them look for Asahi, even if that search wasn’t having much luck. They’d find her, or she’d find her way back to them. They knew it.
Though it also seemed like they had something else to worry about now. Kenshin. And it seemed Kenshin also had something to do with Asahi’s disappearance. It was entirely possible that he could be doing something to her, or forcing her to fight all sorts of monsters. But without knowing where she was, all they could do was hope for the best and trust Asahi to manage.
Even if Katsumi and Isami were worried sick. Even if her whole family was. Even Zero seemed to be concerned. Asahi was… She was strong enough and she was an Ultra. She’d be fine. She had to be.
As it turned out, no one in the Minato household had any idea how true that was.
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