(Y/n) was happy to see her schoolwork, to say the least. Even if she had an issue with attendance, she always studied the material. She didn't really know why she liked studying, but it came naturally to her. Maybe it had something to do with how inherently curious she was or maybe it was something from her past. Either way, the moment Ryota put the backpack in her arms, she felt a kind of energy welling up in her. She was excited.

The girl opened the bag, quick to take out a textbook and a notebook. She then began to flip through the pages to where she had left off last time, her eyes skimming the page. It was like Ryota didn't exist, really. She completely ignored him as she learned all about journalism. At the moment, they were going over the history of it; how, even in ancient history, people still brought the truth to the public despite the risks. It was very romanticized, she knew, but she could definitely understand the passion incorporated in the textbook. If she had an occupation like that, she would probably use all kinds of glamorized explanations. She chuckled.

"Tch."

Looking up for just a second, the (h/c) haired girl located the source of the sound. To her surprise, Ayori was peeking in the door with a disgruntled look on his face. She couldn't tell, however, if it was directed to her or his older brother. Either way, he held his puffy white cat - with quite the unfortunate name - and pet it as though he were an old-school villain. She snickered, giving him a little wave. The boy returned the wave, and though it wasn't with a lot of enthusiasm, he did give a bright smile. So, the glare wasn't at her. She shrugged, wondering what issue he had with Ryota at that time.

"It's rude to stare," the boy's older brother commented, the smaller boy just making the sound again, "Well? You can join us if you want."

"You're pathetic."

Ryota paused before giving a very exaggerated sigh and burying his face in his hands. Of course, he didn't expect his younger brother to be a gentleman or anything, but directly insulting him like that was a bit unexpected. Oddly enough, he was so much better behaved when he was just around his brothers. Or, rather, he behaved if there weren't any girls around. The second they got involved, however, it was like he thought it was everyone for themselves. He far preferred the company of girls over guys, his tiny friend group at school making that clear.

"Did you even try?" the younger boy huffed, tugging on his brother's hair painfully, "Your hair's growing out, so you need to brush it constantly. And this stupid outfit. Plus, you're just sitting here while she's completely ignoring you. It's not your fault, Miss. My brother's just got a personality like a brick. I'll fix him for you!"

"No, I like him the way he is," (Y/n) chuckled, kicking her legs in the air playfully, "Though, I think if you kept growing your hair out, it would be pretty."

"Really?" Ryota questioned, rolling one of the longer strands of his hair between his fingers, "I used to keep it that way, but it was just such a pain taking care of it."

Ayori watched with a disgusted expression as the two talked about the male's hair. He went on and on about how burdensome it would be, presumably trying to get some kind of desired reaction out of her. That being said, to the younger boy, it was undeniably ridiculous. His brother was an idiot. That was the conclusion he came to time and time again. He had no business trying to be a boyfriend when he was that bad at being a human being. Huffing, the boy let his cat jump to the floor.

"You know, Miss, I've got some friends and they have older brothers, too. If you'd like, I can introduce you to them."

"What's wrong with you?!" Ryota hissed, shooing the boy away aggressively, "I finally - Just go do homework or something!"

"I thought you liked me, 'Yori," the (h/c) haired girl teased, earning a bright smile from him, "But I've only been here for a day and now you're trying to chase me out?"

"I really like you, Miss. That's why I'm telling you not to date my pencil dick brother."

At once, the boy's brother flared up in shame, embarrassment, shock, and all other kinds of latent emotions. And even as he tried to refute the statement, he couldn't say a word when he looked over to see the other miscreant smirking at him. She opened her mouth to say something, but he immediately shoved his hand over it. Luckily, he remembered the last time he had done something like that, taking it back quickly before she licked it. That just left him right back where he had started, however.

"Where did you learn those words?" (Y/n) snickered, very amused with the way the older male bashed his head against a wall, "I would have thought you grew up as sheltered as humanly possible."

"The hell's the point of that? I was gonna know all these words sooner or later. So it doesn't really matter if I know them now. Besides, cursing is fun. Well, not really. What I really like is seeing all the reactions the adults give me when I do that."

"And that's why you named your cat 'Metric Fuck-ton'."

"Yeah. It's real funny. One time, I put on my sweetest act for a guest that came over to meet Dad. I slurred my words and acted all dumb, and then I talked all about my cat and how I named him. When he saw her nametag, his toupee fell off! And then I buried it in the backyard. Want me to show you where it is?"

It was a bit obvious that Ryota and Ayori weren't related by blood, but that was why it was so funny. Despite the two being from two completely different parents, they loved each other all the same. It was really sweet. (Y/n) was jealous. After all, even if she did have one, she didn't remember the warmth of a sibling. Then again, it felt like, if she were to have one, they would have the same atmosphere as the two in front of her. No doubt all the bickering would make a lively house.

"Disgusting," Ryota gagged as his brother showed pictures of all the treasures he had, "You're not going to keep...hanging them up, are you?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Well, every time some business people come over, I always take a souvenir of their visit," the mint-haired boy nodded, showing the girl his pictures, "Most of the time, it's old guys, so I take a toupee from them. Sometimes it's hard to tell, so I need to get close and tug on their hair a bit. Oh, it's really hard to tell with women because when they wear wigs, you can't see them!"

"And you bury them all in the backyard? Are you part werewolf, kiddo?"

"I don't bury all of them. Some of them I hide in my toy chest. Oh, and I use some wigs on Met and we have a fashion show. And for Halloween - "

"Ugh, please," the boy's brother groaned, leaning over like he was going to throw up, "Can we not?"

"Maybe I should get them out early this year..."

"Please! I'll give you my entire month's salary if you knock it off! I'm really going to...I feel so sick."

Ayori smirked while his brother wasn't looking. It was clearly his intention to get that kind of reaction, looking as though he had conquered the world. Regardless, he didn't stop, explaining that he always hung the wigs and toupees up for the holiday like they were bats. Though not a long-lived tradition - because no one else's mind would have even come close to the idea - the boy seemed very adamant about adding more to his collection.

"Last time I even hooked one onto a fishing rod and threw it down the hallway. Then I waited for Ri-Ri to wake up and open the door. He screamed so loudly the dogs heard it outside."

"That, I would like to see," the (h/c) haired girl laughed, rolling around on the bed with great amusement.

"Stick around a little longer and I'll show you, Miss. But, really, my point is that anyone would be better than him. Oh, you know, Kinu is single. Would you - "

"Kinu is not single," Ryota snapped, "And stop trying to convince her to leave me so soon."

"What do you mean? Kinu, too, is single!"

"Of course, he would never tell you he got a girlfriend! The last time you knew about it, you went and tried to steal her! And you would always run into his room when they were hanging out! He had to bribe you with chocolate just to leave them alone, but you just kept coming back for more sweets! You little thief!"

"It's not my fault," Ayori huffed, crossing his arms over his chest with a pout, "I'm weak to pretty ladies."

"Then go hit on one of your friends!"

"...I said ladies, Ri-Ri. See, Miss? He's really bad at listening too, so - "

"For the love of - Get out!"

The green-haired male practically dragged the younger boy out by his ear, slamming the door shut in his face. And though his brother banged on the door, threatening to tell one of the adults, he was completely ignored. Dusting his hands off, Ryota gave a smug look. He then collapsed on the bed, groaning as though all of his pride dissipated into his surroundings. That being said, he got a bit of energy back when the (h/c) haired girl patted his head. It was like he was being charged as she fiddled with his hair.

"I think you should grow it out."

The male nodded, taking her suggestion to heart. It wouldn't be that hard to do, and if he did, she might give him a few compliments in the process. Regardless, his mind soon trailed back to Yasojiro. Of course, he didn't focus on the redhead but rather on a small part of their conversation. (Y/n) had never said that he was hers nor vice versa. They had just spent a passionate night - which she forgot along with her high-strung emotions - and then confessed. And, sure, she was a bit more touchy-feely, but that was just her. She was a pervert, after all.

"Don't look at me like I stabbed you," the girl spoke up, rolling her eyes, "What's on your mind?"

"What - I...got an invitation for a few more events."

"Alright. You should probably go, and I guess you'd want me to keep helping you when you're so bad at talking to people. Can I see the - Wow. This is just a few?"

As the green-haired male poured out the contents of a box, she watched as letters fell all over the place. He gave a dull look at the way one of them looked. His look became a bit more complex as the younger girl picked it up; a little more unreadable. Either way, she examined the letter which was written with the utmost of care, dried flowers attached to the wax seal. There was some kind of animal on the seal but she couldn't quite put her finger on its name. As such, she figured reading it was the best way to see who it was from.

The inside of the letter was pink and writing pretty much filled up the entire invitation. There were hearts doodled here or there which should have made it clear to the younger girl just what kind of letter it was. Unfortunately, she had to read it, becoming a bit sicker with every word that she processed. They went on and on about how mature the male was and how kind he was. Then there were declarations of love - however shy and vague they were - as well as an invitation to a party. She hummed, Ryota tilting his head to see her reaction more clearly.

"Your secret admirer doesn't seem to know you all that well. I'm sure whoever it is has some kind of romanticized view of you. So, what have you done about it? You wanted to get married to a noble lady, right? That's why you came to me in the first place."

The male paused, his face slowly heating up. Of course he had said that. It only made sense. If he had said he actually wanted to learn how to make friends, she would only have laughed at him. Granted, she did plenty of that when he made up the excuse, but still, it was his best hope at the time. Now, however, it just seemed like it was working against him. Where did all her interest in him go? He was hoping she would be...not so impassioned about finding him a wife, to say the least.

"I thought it was a joke," he shrugged, looking through a few of the other invitations from big names, "Whoever it is writes like they're a young lady. A proper one, I mean. No noble would take an interest in a nouveau riche."

"So you've...never written back?"

He shook his head, giving a negative response to the question posed. In response, she could only sigh. Though she never expected he would be very receptive to romance of any sort, she didn't expect him to be so dismissive. She couldn't say for sure whether the letter was a joke or not, but if it really was, the imitator was more than just talented. The words written were filled with such personal details, and though they never came out and said those three all-important words, they definitely implied it on countless occasions.

"When did you start getting them?"

"Why would I keep track of that? Let's just pick an event," the male grumbled before perking up and looking at the younger girl suspiciously, "I did notice that all of these came after our time in Vethela. They also mentioned Katsurou Otsu. What did you do?"

"Oh, well, you know the photo I asked you to buy? It wasn't signed or anything, but it was his. I mean, you asked me to get you in with the Otsu's, so I did. And after everything blew over, he came to deliver the photo to your father."

"You were with my father? When did this happen?!"

"Who cares? Point was, I introduced the two of them, got them talking a lot, and Katsurou must have talked about your family. Rumors spread like that, so...guess everyone's hoping for your family to connect them to the Otsu family."

Ryota found his head spinning. He would never have thought the younger girl planned out all of that in advance. Grinning a bit, he realized she was his best investment yet. Not only was she stirring up the nobility, but she was completely flipping over his family's reputation. Before she had come extending her hand to him, smaller families would only invite him as a joke, but now, they were all clamoring for their attention. If only he could chain her down so she could keep giving them such brilliant results.

"Would you like a promotion?" he inquired, smirking wider, "I'll put another two zeros on the end of your paycheck."

"Sorry, that's the least you could do, Ri-Ri. Your father already offered three zeros to join the PR team. He said he'd hire me some minions, too, so - "

"I can do better. Give me an exclusive contract with you for five years and I'll put four zeros on the end of your current paycheck, provide board and room, paid vacation, and sick days, and you can tease me whenever you want."

"Five years is a lot - "

"I won't budge on that."

Though he believed he was giving great terms for her expertise, Ryota didn't understand her hesitation. She gave a strange look when he remained firm on the time he wanted her to stay. He frowned, staring at her with dulled eyes. The male figured she would be overjoyed with the amount of security he was offering, but, instead, she seemed flaky. Why? He racked his brain for any other benefits he could entice her with. She really was worth it.

"How about - "

"I think our best bet for invitations is between these three," the younger girl interrupted, prompting the male to flinch in shock, "The Kitamura family is great at throwing parties. They're a long-established family, and they're new to Afrua. Meaning that you could offer them guidance to the political landscape here and, since they're best known for quality raw products, it'd be a great asset. You'd have the upper hand in negotiations, too."

"Wait, could we talk a little more about - "

"The Asai family isn't a bad choice either. They don't have their own company, but they thrive off of investments in others. I heard through the grapevine they're looking for a new product to sponsor. If we put our hat in the ring, we should be a great choice."

"(Y/n), it's important to me we discuss - "

"And even though you said it might be a joke, this love letter is offering an invitation to the Nakazaka family. I personally know a lady from their family, so we'll have an in with the hosts. I think that, because they deal with pharmaceuticals, it would be useful for us to invest in them. It would definitely pay off in the future. Now that I say it, I think this one is the best choice. I'll give a call to their house to let them know we'll be coming."

Though Ryota called out to her to wait for just a moment, the younger girl acted as though she wasn't listening. Instead, she made her way out of the room within mere moments and closed the door behind her. The male was left wondering what he had said wrong but came up with nothing at all. Really, she was a mystery to him. Though he thought he knew her a decent amount, when it came to the really important things, she was like a mythical creature. How was he supposed to know what she was thinking?

Biting down on his lip, he grimaced. He already promised to take responsibility for her, but she acted like she was debating between him and someone else. But when Yasojiro had been completely shut out by her and she had warned Hotaka not to pursue her, there shouldn't have been anyone else. Really, if she had just told him what she wanted, he would have done anything to make it a reality, but...maybe he wasn't as special to her as he had thought.