1 Chapter 1
Cissi Akechi sat in the main room in her parents house as she listened to the chaos going on around her. The third oldest of the Akechi clan,she was the oldest still in the house. At nineteen,she was already ahead of her sisters Rin and Gabbie in college at the same age. Cissi was going to graduate three years early in the field of astrophysics. She was the only one who took advantage of the high schools program to get college credits while still enrolled in high school. She only had to do a few classes at the college to finalize her good fortune. She knew she would have to go to graduate school but wondered on the when of that.
“Mom,how the hell do you think with all this noise?” Cissi called out as she looked at her mother,Kit,in her office.
“I learned to block them all out because of you four.” Kit laughed as she turned back to her computer. Kit was the county
pathologist reviewer,and she still held her position on base working with Mitsuhide,Her husband,and the father of all ten kids they had. Though the first four were adopted by both. They never treated any of them any different from their six biological children.
Cissi remembered with a smile when they all had met Mitsuhide. Though that time was rarely talked of anymore,it was the beginning to the addition of the wider family. Rin had been abducted by her boyfriend at the time,along with his father. She had been left for dead in one of the local state parks. Mitsuhide and his friends,along with her mother,had been the ones to find her. Though everything turned out well for Rin and she had no long-lasting scars from the event,it did bring three more people into their family fold in the long run. Mitsuhide and Kit got married within a few months and started adding to the clan itself. Rin and Yukimura had remained friends until Rin was twenty,and then everything happened quickly between them. They got married a year ago after living together for the last
four years. Gabbie and Masamune had married much sooner. They decided that finishing culinary school had been a priority,but being together was also. They got married three years ago and now have a baby boy named Mike.
Boogs walked into the house with their dad after they had just played a few rounds of basketball in the backyard. Mitsuhide always made sure to carve out some time for the older kids as well as the younger ones. Kit did as well as she was working full time but was often at home most of the time now that the younger kids were still little but more grown. It had been seven years since Mitsuhide had adopted the older kids and six years since they started adding to the family. Kit had six more children with two sets of twins,and the rest of them being singles,she was finally happy to be done with having them and could enjoy raising them. They were both hands-on parents with all ten of their kids.
“What are you doing,Princess?” Mitsuhide said as he looked at his oldest daughter in the house.
“Working on my paper or at least trying to.” She said with a smile. “it isn't easy doing much of anything in here.”
“I know,kiddo.” Mitsuhide smiled.
“Why don't you go over to Sasuke's?” Boogs asked. “His house is the nearest,and it is always silent there.”
“Are you kicking me out?” Cissi asked.
“No,but you want to get your paper done,and you aren't going to be able too here. Matthew is mad and going to throw a fit.” Boogs said.
“Why is Matt upset?” Cissi asked.
“He didn't get to play,” Boogs said. Boogs was now seventeen and taller than everyone in the house. Though he did favor Kit in looks,it was funny to see the looks they got as a family now that it was three generations long. Mitsuhide and Kit's children favored him more than her and the four she adopted when they were young,and so was she did favor her as they were her brothers biologically.
“Why did you not let him play?” Cissi asked.
“He was throwing rocks at us,” Mitsuhide said. “I told him he needed to stop so he could play,but then he decided to throw them harder.”
“He learned that from Yukimura,” Cissi said.
“I knew it,” Mitsuhide said with a laugh. “He is destined to piss me off at work and at home.”
“Dad,” Boogs said.
“It is slightly weird having two of my teammates as my sons-in-law,and one of them is the father to my grandchild. I am forty-something. It is weird.” Mitsuhide said.
“Did you forget how old you really are?” Kit asked as she laughed and came up behind them.
“I know that I just don't want to say,” Mitsuhide said with a chuckle. “I do have eleven reasons to want to be a little younger.”
“You do just fine,Mitsu.” She said with a laugh. “Now,since you got the little terror started,you deal with him.”
“thanks a lot,” Mitsuhide said as he went back to the door and looked at his daughter and knew something was different about her. She had not jumped at the chance to go to Sasuke's house,which she normally would have. He got the same feeling in the pit of his stomach he did a few years ago as he helped push the two other daughters towards the two people he thought would be their perfect matches. He smiled as he went out the door to go get his son. He began to plot for much more than he thought he would ever had. It was time for another addition to the family. It was time to push Cissi out of the nest and into the arms of one of his friends. Soon the whole unit would be related,he thought.
“Hey,Sasuke,can I come over for a bit to write a paper? The house has got even more loud since dinner happened.” Cissi said into the phone while plugging her ear so she could hear.
“It sounds like a war zone.” Sasuke said as he laughed. “of course you can come over. You know I have an open-door policy to another other scientist.”
“Sure,” Cissi said as she laughed. “I'll be over in a few.” She went to pack up her books and then her computer. She looked at Kit,who was also perplexed by all the noise in the house and trying to get it to a reasonable level of noise,but she was being overrun. “Mom,I am going to Sasukes's don't wait up.”
“Good luck Cissi!” Kit called as she looked to her daughter,who was halfway out of the house.
“Looks like you will need the luck,mom,” Cissi said softly.
“Kit turned her eyes to Mitsuhide when he walked in,and he looked around to the little ones who were running around and screaming. “That's enough.” He said,and the little tribe of monsters stopped and looked up at him. “Go to the kitchen,and Boogs will have your ice cream.”
“Mitsuhide Akechi,what are you up too?” Kit asked as she smiled and looked up at her husband as she walked into his arms.
“Just a push.” Mitsuhide said. ‘they both want this. Just like the other two,she will need just a push towards what she really wants.”
“Will you stop playing matchmaker with our kids?” Kit asked as she chuckled.
“You know she has a chance of leaving for school,” Mitsuhide said.
“I do. That is okay,Mitsuhide she can go off and see the world.” Kit said.
“Seeing the world is overrated,” Mitsuhide replied.
“Says the man who sees the world all the time.” Kit said,chuckling.
“Like I said,it is overrated.” He said with a huff. “She has always leaned towards him even when she was nothing more than a little girl.”
“You think Cissi likes Sasuke?” Kit asked.
“I know he likes her. The problem was the fact she was just a little kid. Why do you think he got all those experiments for the two of them to do. He was encouraging her in the way he could to like something he liked.” Mitsuhide said with a smile.
“Mitsuhide Akechi,you had an issue with the age difference between Gabbie and Masa,and now you are fine with the one between Sasuke and Cissi. There is what eleven years?”
“Twelve,” Mitsuhide said.
“What has got into you?” she asked.
“I don't want her to go,” Mitsuhide said. “We already have two out of the house. I don't want her to go too far.”
“You're getting soft in your old age.” Kit said as she smiled up to him.
“Take that back.” He said as he bent down to kiss her.
“Never.” Kit said as she hugged him,“I hope you are right; otherwise,it is a push away from us.”
“I know,” Mitsuhide said as he thought about this.
Cissi didn't need to take her car to his house. She stood outside for a few minutes,enjoying the fresh,crisp air that had a slight wetness to it. She was also enjoying the silence after being in the house with the little ones going crazy. Cissi wondered if it was a full moon or something.
She walked up tot eh door which opened as soon as she got to the last step. “I saw you coming up the walkway,” Sasuke said.
“Thank you for letting me come over,” Cissi said as she looked up into his brown eyes.
“Of course.” He said as he opened the door wider,“You know you are welcome here anytime.”
“I didn't want to interrupt something if you had company,” Cissi said.
“I don't have company,” Sasuke said as he laughed.
“I thought you might have a date or something,” Cissi responded.
“Why would I have one of those?” he asked.
“Well,you are thirty,” Cissi said as she placed her things on the table.
“Thirty-one,” Sasuke said as he looked at her.
“Isn't it time for you to think about dating and settling down,” Cissi said.
“I don't know if I am ready for that,” Sasuke said as he knew he was lying. Everything he wanted was there in front of him as she went to get the adapter for her computer and plug it in. He was trying not to stare,but everything about her fascinated him. He had helped mold her into the scientist she was now. One of the smartest women he had ever known with her mother being the other. She was set to move on and find new things. To find and shape new worlds and other things as well. She was all grown up now and not the weird teenager who came over to his house to help with his experiments.
She had turned into a beauty. She had blue eyes like her mother Kit,who was really her aunt. The fairest of skin it was almost like a china doll he had seen once before. Her hair long and the lightest of brown with some blond streaks from all the time she had spent outside during the past summer. It also had streaks of red that went through it. That seemed to match her temper and personality,just a little fire now and again.
“You should think about it,Sasuke. I mean,you aren't getting any younger. You should find someone who could make you happy.” Cissi said.
“Oh,really? What if I told you I knew the perfect woman already. I just didn't think she felt the same way. Instead,I will have to watch on the sidelines while she does wonderful things and leaves.” Sasuke said softly,which wasn't like him. he refused to meet her eyes as he spoke.
“Then maybe you should tell her,Sasuke,” Cissi said as she took a step closer to him. She was only trying to comfort him. She had no idea it was her he was referring too.
“Maybe I will show her instead.” He said as he moved closer and reached out and tipped her face up,and before Cissi could blink,his lips were on hers.
