37

Three days later (Onari age:16 ~one year before canon)

"Onari!?" Suzaku Himejima exclaimed with obvious surprise and joy in her voice.

She had to physically stop herself from immediately running over to give her friend a hug. She glanced at her uncle, Suou. He gave her a nod of permission, and Suzaku hurried over to Onari and Yu Wu. Despite how excited she was to see her friends again, she somehow managed to keep her usual air of dignity.

Of course, Onari disregarded the dignified act entirely. When Suzaku reached him, he scooped her up in his arms and spun her around. Suzaku squeaked, putting up the impression of a struggle against the sudden embrace. It was clear that her heart wasn't in it though.

Even though they still kept in contact over the phone and internet, this was the first time Suzaku was seeing her first real friend in over a year. She had recently made more friends, in Tobio Ikuse and the rest of his crew, but it wasn't the same as her relationship with Onari. It always felt like there was some distance between her and them because of her role in the Himejima Clan.

Suou watched Onari and Suzaku's reunion with stern eyes that hid affection and relief. Over the years of Onari and Suzaku's friendship, Suou had come to realize that the environment of the clan was ill-suited for raising a young girl such as Suzaku.

The positive impact of her relationship with Onari could not be denied. It had made her more open, not just with Onari, but with Suou as well. Even if he was strict with his niece, he still loved her. And watching her find companionship with someone outside the clan that he actually approved of did wonders to soothe his worries.

Onari laughed as Suzaku beat lightly on his shoulders, "It's good to see you, Suzaku. Have you been doing your meme homework?"

Suzaku pouted until he let her down, "Your taste in memes is horrible. The only ones I look at anymore are the ones Yu Wu sends me."

Onari covered his heart and stumbled like he was struck by her words, "Gah!"

Yu Wu smirked smugly, "Another point for this young mistress! What's the score now, darling? Five to one?"

"Gah!"

"And you only got that one point cause you had just introduced me to Suzaku~"

"Gah! P-Please… my dignity…" Onari pleaded, crawling on the ground and faux begging at this point.

Suzaku snorted, giggling at the couple's antics. Onari's chuckles soon joined the giggles, and the smug grin never left Yu Wu's face. After a couple of seconds, their brief moment of laughter was interrupted by Suou.

"Onari," Suou greeted, handing over an inch thick folder that made Onari blanche. "This is my yearly report. You may browse it at your own convenience. Suzaku, I believe your lessons have been suddenly canceled for the day. You are free to spend your unexpected freetime at your own discretion."

Suzaku blinked at the assist that her uncle had seemingly just thrown her way, "... Thank you?"

Suou nodded and left the trio of friends. It was not his place to hound or mingle with the younger generation. He had done all he could to give Suzaku a chance to be a teenager, even if it was only for a day.

"What now?" Suzaku quietly asked herself. She was obviously not used to having freetime.

"Wanna come with us to visit the Grigori?" Onari offered.

"Oh! Yes, that sounds wonderful. I can introduce you to my other friends!"

An odd pang of jealousy struck Onari's heart when Suzaku mentioned having other friends. He knew it was good for her and that he couldn't be her only friend forever. Hell, he had been the one to introduce her to Yu Wu. But still, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous at the prospect.

Feeling Onari's slight dismay through the bond, Yu Wu responded to Suzaku for him, "We would love to meet your friends. This young mistress will awe them with her magnificence."

Seeing Suzaku's bright smile helped put Onari's jealousy to rest. She was so excited to introduce her to her friends. He realized that she just wanted to share them with her first friend. There was a time and place for being greedy, and Onari decided that this wasn't that time or place.

Onari returned Suzaku's smile, "We'll try and play nice with them. I'll do my best to keep Yu Wu from getting too out of line."

"What?! This young mistress is never out of line! She is the very definition of calm and collected!"

Onari gave Yu Wu a long deadpan look, making her shrink in on herself a bit, "This young mistress is sometimes calm and collected…"

Suzaku giggled as Onari rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, let's just get going. It's a long teleportation to Tokyo…"