As The Wind Blows Your Scent To Me

"Uncle Taichi~ Long time no see ah!"

"Uncle Shuichi, you're here too."

Chiharu rushed to the man beside Shuichi while Izumi greeted both of them. Kazuya and Himari glanced at each other, the former gave her a helpless smile under Himari's perplexed look.

At the door, Taichi swiftly picked up the little dumpling, heaving her high up.

"Haha! My little princess! Did you miss me? Give me a kiss ah!"

Chiharu laughed happily.

"Mua~"

A kiss was planted on Taichi's right cheek, exuding the faint smell of milk.

Aggrieved, Shuichi complained, "Chiharu, you're not that happy whenever you see me."

Even though he often could hold the little dumpling every time he went to pick the siblings up at the school, Shuichi was still dissatisfied.

"Chiharu always meets Uncle Shuichi ah," answered the dumpling cleverly. She hooked her short and chubby arms around Taichi's neck as the man carried her, "Uncle Shuichi and Uncle Taichi have same face oh but still different person!"

Her answers incited laughter in the private room. 

"What did you know? Chiharu likes me more than you!" Taichi smiled triumphantly.

Shuichi widened his eyes, looking at his twin brother in clear disdain yet he was ignored.

"Get used to it, Uncle Shuichi," Izumi patted Shuichi's hand, feeling sorry at the man, "It's not like this is the first time it happened."

Shuichi clicked his tongue. Although he was dissatisfied, he could do nothing.

While they were bickering, Kazuya brought Himari to the brothers.

"You've just entered this room yet you've already made noises?"

With one hand on his hip, Kazuya threw a discontent look at the twins.

"Aye, I'm so happy to meet my little princess ah. Right, Chiharu?"

"Yes, yes~"

Standing beside Kazuya, Himari's nerves loosened. She quietly looked at how the brothers interacted with the siblings, especially the adorable Chiharu.

"Hehe, how could I forget our sister-in-law here! Hello, I'm Taichi!"

Baffled, Himari's smile stiffened when Taichi suddenly greeted her.

"Ah, hello, I'm Kato Himari."

Himari bowed down, formally greeting the man then straightened up her posture again.

Taichi looked exactly like Shuichi except that he was slightly shorter than his twin brother. Both of them were dressed in casual smart style while the former chose vibrant colors, unlike Shuichi who preferred a monochrome color scheme.

While Himari was still assessing the two brothers, Taichi walked forward with a mischievous smile. He was still carrying Chiharu in one hand.

Without anyone anticipating it, Taichi reached out for Himari's right hand, bent down and swiftly dropped a kiss on her knuckles.

Surprised, Himari's eyes widened.

"...?!"

"Taichi!"

Kazuya grabbed his friend's wrist and shook it away from Himari's hand. The man took a step back, waving his free hand with a wide smile, looking so unapologetic.

"What are you doing?" Frowning, Kazuya opened up one hand, shielding Himari from his friend.

"Don't be so serious ah. I'm just greeting my prospective sister-in-law," answered Taichi with a nonchalant shrug, "There's no another meaning."

"Uncle Taichi is just like the prince in the film! Kissing the princess' hand!" Chiharu butted in.

Kazuya heaved a sigh, resisting the urge to scratch his head. He turned his upper body slightly, glancing at Himari who stood one step behind him.

Sensing his uneasy gaze, Himari smiled, "Well... That's just a greeting. Let's sit down now. Chiharu and Izumi must have been hungry."

Although Himari was shocked by Taichi's brazen action, there was no need to make a fuss. It would just make things awkward during their first formal meeting.

Thus, all six of them gathered at the dining table.

Himari sat next to Kazuya with Izumi beside the latter. Chiharu rejected Taichi's suggestion to sit next to him as she wanted to sit close to her potential aunt. Laughing at his brother's fall from grace, Shuichi dragged Taichi to sit together. 

Kazuya pressed on a switch on the table, calling for the waiters. In five minutes, two waiters brought in the menu set that had been ordered by Kazuya beforehand. Their actions were quick and nimble as they served all the plates before promptly left.

The delicious smell of food swirled in the air. The restaurant chefs heartily prepared each dish, even putting more thought into the appearance. 

Just by one look, a person could easily be enticed to savor them.

"Can I just call you Himari? Let's forgo this awkward phase of formalities, okay? Call me Taichi in return."

Taichi asked the question when all of them had just wanted to take their first bite.

Himari raised up her head, staring at the outgoing man in a daze. In a second, she responded, "If you want, feel free to do so."

She really didn't expect that.

Himari had known Shuichi first but, the man had always called her either Teacher Kato or Miss Kato. But, now...

His twin brother straightforwardly asked her if they could just be on a first-name basis.

Really, these two personalities were quite different. 

"Taichi, you shouldn't ask a person you've just met that," Shuichi tried to educate his brother.

Taichi smirked, "Heh, just say that you're afraid of Kazuya to be angry at you so that's why you've just recently called her by name."

Shuichi clamped his mouth shut. He bitterly bit the marinated sliced beef.

Ignoring his brother's feelings, Taichi focused back on Himari.

"So, how's dating my bro here? Is he good to you?"

"Kazuya's good," replied Himari shyly, her cheeks reddened when someone asked that kind of question directly on her face.

"Oh, you two seem to get along well. Then, have you two kissed? What about other things? How far have you two went along?"

Himari shrank her neck.

What's wrong with this man? Asking those when the children were here?

Now, Chiharu and Izumi were staring at her and Kazuya with curiosity. 

"Enough, Taichi," Kazuya opened his mouth. He narrowed his eyes, staring down at the two brothers especially Taichi, "Why don't you eat first instead of spouting nonsense like that? Are you itching for a beat-up?"

"Ugh, my questions so far are normal, okay? Don't be that stingy," Taichi refuted Kazuya with a smug smile, "I'm just learning about your new love life ah."

Kazuya didn't back down easily. He gave the man a meaningful look, "I haven't exercised much these days. You're perfect as my punching bag."

"Yo, bro... Don't be so stuck-up ah."

"Shut up before I tear off your limbs."

Himari blinked.

To be honest, this was the first time for her to hear Kazuya speaking in such a crude manner. It wasn't weird for men to talk like that to their best buddies, Himari was still slightly startled.

The Kazuya she knew so far was one who would mind his manners and words although, in some instances, he would act shamelessly to her.

But...

Before she could stop herself, Himari asked quietly, "Is that the way you spoke in high school? Were you really a school tyrant?"

Kazuya choked. Wide-eyed in shock, his jaw almost dropped.

He had forgotten to restrain himself just because Taichi was here.

"Himari... How could you ask that?"

"...pfft!"

Taichi burst into laughter, followed by Shuichi.

The entire room was brimmed by the brother's hearty laughter.

Himari blushed because of the way Kazuya looked at her.

Since she had misspoken, shouldn't she seize the opportunity to ask more?

"Well, I haven't heard you talking like that before and... from what you've told me, I kind of think you might act like a school tyrant before. Did the school kids are afraid of you?"

Kazuya blinked his eyes a few times, his grip on the fork and spoon almost loosened.

On the other side, Taichi slammed the table while laughing out loud.

"Hahaha! Nice questions, Himari! This guy was really a school tyrant! With just one glance from him, many almost shit in their pants! You know, one time... umph!"

"Haha, ignore him, it's all in the past ah. Don't worry, our buddy here is a good man. You can rest assured."

Shuichi firmly put his hand over Taichi's mouth, forbidding him from speaking more nonsense.

Did this guy want to destroy his own friend's love life?

Shuichi shivered in fright, thinking of how mad Kazuya was when the latter confronted him about Sayuri.

Shuichi had to admit that he was weak under the pressure thrown by Sayuri when that woman insisted on knowing about Kazuya's personal life.

"Oh, I think I could imagine that," Himari deliberately poked fun at the man beside her. She looked at Taichi with interest, "I wanna see his photos during high school but he didn't want to show me. Do you have Kazuya's high school photos, Taichi? I don't mind the embarrassing ones."

"Of course, count on me!" Taichi pushed his brother aside, he brought out his phone from his jacket, "Let's exchange numbers. I can forward the photos to you tonight!"

"Hehe, okay~"

When Himari fiddled with her phone to save Taichi's number, a large palm cover her hands. With a slight lift of her chin, she smiled at the man's complicated face.

"What?" She feigned ignorance.

Kazuya drooped his lips, "You've really branded me as a school tyrant?"

"Can't your girlfriend guess it? Didn't you dye your hair in high school? You also said you rode a bike there. Weren't those against the regulations? Hey, did the discipline teacher always call you to his room? How many times have you been scolded?"

In recent years, the regulations were not as strict as before but, considering Kazuya was a few years older than her, his actions should enrage the school at that time.

Kazuya pursed his lips tight without answering Himari. He just watched his lady having fun teasing him. 

Her lips curled up, the twinkles in her eyes softened her features.

She looked so dazzling in his eyes, more than ever.

Kazuya gulped, trying to push back the haughty image that began to form in his mind.

Aye, if not for these four lightbulbs, two big and two small, he would really kiss her right now.