The Blue Fish!

Let's catch up on the story, shall we?

Soichiro was now at the Aoi Residence to be taught how to cook. It was all for the upcoming bake sale, which will be held in February. So not too far from now. Soichiro was instructed to create one of the Aoi's family recipes: The Blue Fish. Kinda goes with Arisa's name, doesn't it? "The blue fish? Your great grandmother's made it?", Soichiro asked with curiosity filled in his eyes. He looked as if he would love to hear how they thought of it. Arisa stared at him for a few seconds before continuing with her story, "Well... the idea of baking such an delicious pastry came to one of our grandmother's in her dream. Something about it sparked a huge fire in her and she consulted her sisters, Helena and Elizabeth. The oldest, the one who dreamt of the pastry, forged a plan to bring many ingredients from across the world to create the Blue Fish." Arisa said as Soichiro had helped her clean a few plates. It made the dirty work go by faster when telling a story. Or just simply talking makes the process easier. It felt good to tell such a wonderful tale to a friend, same as her mother and father did for many other people. "What happened next, Arisa-chan?", Soichiro asked with a grunt at the end. He was trying to open a jar filled of small white packets of sugar, and this made the girl laugh. He looked so cute struggling but she ended up helping him open the jar. "What happened next you say? Well, the three women traversed the world and headed to many different places. The New World, which had been formed into America, Spain, what was soon to be New Hampshire, almost all over the face of the earth! Helena and Elizabeth had gotten into an argument on whether or not the oldest dream was able to become a reality." Arisa stopped speaking for a brief moment, since she was preoccupied with a task that required her full attention. Kaname entered the kitchen and rested his back against a wall, looking at the bakers with a soft smile. "I can tell you the story as you guys work, cool?", Kaname said to Soichiro, who nodded and began to search for the ice cream.

"As Arisa had been saying, the two sisters had an argument that could have split the family into two. Elizabeth questioned Helena if she had absolute faith in their older sister's dream, of course she said 'yes'. From my perspective, I would have agreed with Elizabeth. How could a dream possibly entail that a pastry would be so delicious? It was so illogical and unreal." Kaname stated with a strand of his hair laying flat on his forehead. He put on a hair net and continued. "After three, long and boring years, the eldest sister had finally completed her desired pastry. Many fiends attempted to steal what was rightfully hers, but she kept it locked and safe within the family. You see, the Blue Fish is the heart of our family. No–more like a symbol. The hardships the three sisters had endured to complete it were not strong enough to destroy their dream; Creating a pastry that the next generation would love." Kaname's words were so heartwarming that Soichiro felt as if he had been inside a dream. Kaname couldn't have been this sane?! Is this the same Kaname that he fought in that 'tournament'? Impossible. "Thank you, Kaname. Would you and Soichiro step out of the kitchen for a few minutes? Arisa and I are gonna have a little chat of our own. Think of it as a break!", the mother of Arisa said before the boys were kicked out of the kitchen. Soichiro let out a relieved sigh, "Man... baking is so hard! I never thought I'd have to move my arms so much in my life." He said aloud. Kaname glanced at him, "Should you really be relaxing so soon? A few minutes from now, you'll be doing TWICE as much from before." Kaname stated before revealing his brass knuckles. A sadistic smirk formed on his lips and Soichiro backed up immediately, afraid for his life. Couldn't blame him though. This IS the strongest guy in his school, second to none. In fact, Kaname has not lost any fight up until a few days ago. Tough luck for Soichiro, huh?

"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you, not now. But...", Kaname threw a punch at Soichiro's face but stopped inches from his nose. "You ought to grow stronger. You can't stay weak forever. Stay weak and one punch will be enough to kill you." Kaname said before removing his brass knuckles. "Do not take this as if we are friends. I just want to fight an even tougher you." Kaname coldly said before walking off, most likely headed for his room. Soichiro fell down on his butt and cupped his face into his hands. He was freaking out... like seriously, WHY HIM? "Kaname wants to fight me again. Oh THATS FUCKING GREAT!! I CAN'T HANDLE HIM, HE'S A FUCKING GOD." Soichiro was screaming inside his head. While he was doing that, Arisa and her mother had been talking about her middle school life. "So that boy is Lucia's kid? My, he has her eyes. Shame he doesn't have her hair, he'd have look so cute!", The older woman said to a bright red Arisa. Arisa shook her head and disagreed, "Mama! Don't talk like that!" Arisa half-shouted at her mother. The woman laughed at her embarrassment and went to bring Soichiro back into the kitchen. Arisa stood there in silence, baffled by her mother's antics and prayed that she didn't do anything to further embarass her. Soichiro walked into the kitchen, this time without Kaname, and placed a hand in his pocket. "Well, shall we get started?" He asked as he put on plastic gloves to prevent germs from getting into the dish. The two females nodded and began to gather all cooking utensils for Soichiro. May God help him.

Kaname, on his bed, sat up and stared at the sky through his window. The sun seemed to be setting... almost time for bed, huh? Kaname looked at the sunset with a smile forming on his face. It actually seemed genuine. "They say there is a town. A town that has a sun that never sleeps, nor does the moon ever arise. Its always sunset. A never ending battle between light and darkness. One cannot exist without the other." Kaname said and laid his back against his bed. He closed his eyes and kept that smile on his face; Something that we will probably never see again in the near future. "Yeah... maybe they'll be my light."

Soichiro stepped out of the Aoi Residence and smiled. It was fun learning how to bake a family pastry, and spending time with Arisa. Minus the rivalry that Kaname initiated, the entire thing was smooth sailing. Foot steps could be heard from behind him and he turned around to see Arisa charging at him. He raised a eyebrow in confusion and she stood in front of him, catching her breath. "Do you mind... if I walk you home?", she asked of our protagonist. "No, you should head home. Thugs might come out and try to rob you." He urged her to go back home but she wouldn't budge. Finally, he gave in to her demands and walked home with her next to his side. Surprisingly, Arisa was always in the mood to talk about anything other than S-C-H-O-O-L. "Hey, Soichiro-san. Would you mind if I started calling you Soichiro-kun?", he shook his head. He'd LOVE to be called "kun" by a lady such as herself! Imagine his bragging rights against the other school losers. "Great! Soichiro-kun, you usually go to the rooftop of Namimori Middle for lunch? Mind if I tag along, just once?", ugh! She was making it harder to say no. She was something different! "Well, I don't mind. Just be prepared to deal with a hyperactive guy!", he joked with her. Yoruichi, somewhere in Namimori, sneezed and looked around. Renovatio, who was with him, asked if he was okay and he shook his head. "I feel like Boss was joking about me." Renovatio laughed at that and continued to read the newspaper.

"Well, I'm here. Are you sure you can get home by yourself? I wouldn't mind walking back and forth." He said but she dismissed it. "I can handle a little danger! Kaname gave me one of his brass knuckles. I'll be fine, Soichiro-kun. Please come to my home for further instruction, tomorrow!", Arisa said before waving goodbye and running off to her home. Soichiro walked into his place and saw his mother with a belt in her hand. "So you was saying something about a 'she-devil'?"

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And that is it for the 10th chapter of 12th family. Oh man.

Soichiro: Not gonna lie, Zenin, I'm getting tired of being treated like a 5-year old. Kaname keeps clowning me.

Yoruichi: Just knock him dead, boss!

Hoshika: You should beef up, Chi-Chi. Stuff is going down.

Soichiro: What.

Well, see you guys later. :)