“Wh-what’s going on here!?” Kouji was in utter disbelief at the sight. Why was this boy here? Who was he and why did she know him? There were a million more questions running through his head during this split second of silence between him and her.

“I was not expecting any of you today…” She gingerly responded. “You see, it appears that my family decided to drop by and surprise me.” Anastasia opened up the door more to show that it wasn’t just this boy with her. There was also an older couple that she was referring to as her parents.

They seemed… A lot nicer looking than he was expecting. Her father wasn’t some huge man that would beat you up. Perhaps it was because he was Japanese which meant he wouldn’t tower over Kouji, but he had a real nice smile on him. Though it was nothing compared to his wife’s, who’s warm presence had this calming aura. Even though they were all here to demonize her family, it was her that brought them all back down to Earth.

“Ah, you must be Kouji.” Quickly, her father rushed up to him. Right as he got close, the man clasped his around the boy and gave a strong handshake. “I hear you’ve been helping my daughter so much in school. Thank you so much.” He gave a lot of glowing praise towards him. This wasn’t what he wanted. This guy was being so nice and all he wanted to do was hate him. Yet his body wouldn’t will him to have any strong negative feelings.

“And the rest of you are her friends, correct?” Her mom spoke up. Just like her daughter, the words spoken clearly gave away that this wasn’t her first language. Not a surprise considering her being the Russian half of Anastasia’s heritage. “She has spoken about all of you so highly.”

“That’s… Good to hear.” Himawari replied, unsure of how to feel around these people. “May we come in?”

“Of course.” Anastasia let them in. While she didn’t necessarily want them meeting her family like this. There was no way she was about to turn them away either. “Please, just sit down and enjoy some of the drinks we have to offer.” Unlike her normal attitude, she was a lot more uptight and tense. The girl’s posture was more straight, and her speaking became more formal.

“Right.” All the energy they had before getting amped up here had disappeared. Their courage went right out the window now that they were confronted with her family and this other boy. “And what are all your names?” Kouji asked the trio.

“Ah, where are our manners?” The father apologized. “My name is Akon Shiba, and this lovely lady is my wife.”

“Ksenia Shiba.” She gave a respectful bow.

“And my name is Alexander.” The boy that Kouji was more worried about came up and shook his hand. These people were being very respectful to the gang. The way they talked seemed carefree, as if nothing wrong was happening. “I am not sure if you have heard the news, but I am her fiancee.”

“Yeah…” He replied. “I learned of that news recently.”

“But you two are going to get married soon?” Teru asked the million yen question. “Aren’t the two of you a bit young?”

“Well, with consent of the parents they can be wed under the legal age.” Akon explained. He also informed them as to why this setup occurred in the first place. The two Russian teens had grown up together, as the two families were very close to one another. As they grew up, the more it seemed that they were destined to be together.

“So Alexander’s parents and us talked with them when they officially became teenagers that we believed the two should be wedded. It ended up being agreed upon that the two would marry when they became of age.” Though in this case, they simply waited until they were 16 and the parents believed it to be a good time. After spending years engaged, it seemed that waiting any longer was pointless.

So she had been engaged all this time? He couldn’t believe the girl hadn’t told them of that. Not to mention, have they really been wrong all this time as well? They assumed they knew who she really was, yet this twist hit them like a truck. Was this girl really who she said she was?

“And I am glad that we will be finally married after all this time.” Alexander got up from his seat and went straight for his fiancee. He grasped her hands romantically, which was in full view for Kouji. His heart tightened, that boy’s face neared hers. “It makes me want to steal one kiss from you.”

“Huh?” Kouji’s eyes widened upon hearing that declaration. Quickly he averted his eyes, feeling a bit of anger boiling under him. This wasn’t a sight he wanted to be forced to watch. For a moment, Anastasia glanced over to him with this other boy up in her face.

“But I cannot.” Just as suddenly as he made his move, Alexander stepped back from her. “Not until the two of us are married.” Himawari took major note of Anastasia’s demeanor here. Surely a girl who didn’t like a boy would be taken aback by this. Yet she seemed rather positive towards him. Her smile didn’t appear to be fake at all. Either she had some really amazing acting skills, or these feelings of hers were genuine.

However, she also seemed to care about how Kouji felt about looking at this. There had to be some type of knowledge she was aware of that they couldn’t tell from her usual behavior.

“Right.” Anastasia responded. “I am looking forward to our day coming soon.” She looked over to the rest of them. While she appeared to be concerned about her appearance to them, there was no apprehension in her actions. As if this was entirely natural for her. “And I am sorry that none of you will be able to make it to the wedding.”

“You could say that again.” Waa quipped. Absolutely none of them wanted this wedding to occur in the first place. Just how could that girl act so nonchalant about this whole business? Didn’t she know just how serious this situation was?

“A shame too, we would’ve loved for you to watch had we met before. But unfortunately our venue has been filled by our invitations.” Not to mention that tickets to another country were not easy to be obtained on such short notice. “Anyway we must be going.” Her parents got up from the couch. “We must find a proper hotel before it gets too late.”

“Yes, and the rest of us have to return home before our parents worry.” Said Himawari, while the group bid farewell to Anastasia’s family and fiancee. “...But, Kouji does have something he’d like to talk with you about.” Shortly after they were alone, she brought up the subject they were all here for.

“I figured that you all came here for a reason.” Anastasia replied, a lot more relaxed than before. “I am quite a bright girl after all.” They all weakly laughed in response to her statement. It wasn’t something any of them believed in. “So what is it that you wished to talk about?”

“I mean…” Now that he was put in this position, Kouji wasn’t certain on how to start off this conversation. “It’s really personal.”

“Well, if you need us. We’ll just be waiting down in the lobby.” Already, Waa was more than ready to leave.

“You want… Some privacy… Correct?” Yuma put into words something that revealed her true intentions. It was clear that he was nervous with all the girls around him. Especially since he had never confessed to anyone before.

“What is so important that you wanted to talk to me alone about?” Anastasia asked once they had their privacy. “Did I do something bad?”

“No…” Even not having to worry about people watching him, Kouji was still hesitant to ask. While there was the obvious anxiety associated with what he was about to say. He was also being held back by the circumstances surrounding them and her marriage. “I wanted to… Confess to you.” He finally was able to get the words out of his mouth. “I really like you Anastasia, and I want to ask you to call off this wedding. So that we could perhaps go out together.”

“…” There was silence between them as time felt as if it was paused. He always imagined that him telling her that he loved her would make this girl ecstatic. She should already be in his arms by now cheering in excitement. However, what he got instead was, “I am sorry, but I cannot accept your feelings.”