WARNING! GRAMMATICAL ERRORS AHEAD!

Inside the lab, Ayame was staring out in space as she waited for the 3D printer to finish. The events from last night were still livid.

She was brought back to reality when someone entered the lab. Expecting to hear the older woman but instead a young boy's voice called out.

"Ayame-nee!" She turned to see a boy around the age of 14 with tousled, jet-black hair, almond-shaped brown eyes, somewhat thick eyelashes, and eyebrows, light skin and a slight gap in his teeth. He wore a blue hoodie, cargo pants, and converse sneakers.

"Oh, Hiro. What's up?" The said boy was carrying a medium-sized box and enter her lab, placing it on the table.

"They have delivered the package in the wrong door. I was about to open it but I noticed your name was written on it." Hiro explained.

"I see, sorry about that Hiro. Thank you by the way." Ayame gently smiles at him. He looks so similar to his older brother that the resemblance is uncanny.

Hiro then grinned. "From an admirer of yours?" He teased. After his brothers death, he was in a state of depression. His Aunt tried her best to make him go out of his room or cheer him up but remained depressed.

With the help of his friends and Ayame, he managed to overcome depression. He could still recall her agonizing screams as she struggle to break free from the fireman's hold as she try to run back inside the building. It was horrible, she was like a living doll disconnected from reality after that. He managed to knock some sense into her along with her little sister, Ema. She managed to move on and kept living for him.

Ayame playfully glared at the boy. "Ruffling his hair, she gave him a huge hug.

"I almost forgot, Ayame-nee..." He cleared his throat. "Have you somehow received a suspicious anonymous message in your email?" The female raised an eyebrow at him, confused.

"I haven't checked my mail yet... Is it important?"

"Yeah. Apparently, there has been attacks lately which you probably already know?" The teenage boy shot her a knowing look.

"You mean those murder cases reported this morning at the news?"

"It's related to that. Honey Lemon warned me about it and said I should warn you also."

Strange, from what she could recall from the news, they are just attacked out of nowhere. Though sometimes you can't believe the news

"Ayame-nee! Those victims were new inventors that were around your age!"

"It's alright, Hiro. You do know how powerful and difficult it is to hack into my security system." She said as she ruffle his hair and Hiro's face became more worried.

"Don't worry. I have my inventions and Penguin with me. He might not look like it, but I also designed him for protection and is also dangerous." She held both of his shoulder, staring at the boy's eyes that was hauntingly so similar to Tadashi, since he is his brother.

"If I were in trouble, I'll alert you with chibird." The little yellow bird that has been sitting atop Ayame's head flew towards Hiro's hand.

"But you shouldn't be worried about me, you should also worry about your safety as well." She smiled at the boy who reluctantly returned it and hugged her.

"I better go now. See you, Ayame-nee!" He ran to the door and went outside.

"He's growing up so fast..."

Her eyes landed on the calendar hanging on the wall beside her desk. An uneasy expression invading her features.

"I almost forgot..." She muttered as her finger linger at the mark for a second before slumping at her chair, heaving a sigh. Last night's events could still not leave her mind. Normally being the weirdo she was, she would just shrug it off since it's their business but seeing she is involved in it just, well...

There was no way, right? Ukyo and Hikaru thinking of her not as a sister, but as a woman.

Leaning her forehead to her "Just what in the world have I got into." She spoke under her breath. Raising her head to the ceiling, the "When I wished for an adventurous and interesting whatnot life, this is not what I meant..."

Penguin, who finally appeared in this chapter once more, raised its head up to check Ayame before going back to whatever he was doing. The female noticed it and crouched down.

"What are you doing over there?" She fondly asked. The penguin let out a squeak and ran away - which Ayame always found cute - not letting her take a peek on what it was doing.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she thought back of the previous encounters way back the first day they arrived. Lots of things had happened and she came to realize she became close (in terms of friendship) to some their stepbrothers but totally had no idea about them.

"Better not be distracted while working..." She went towards her working station. Despite her words, her mind was still in a jumbled mess. In the process, she, unfortunately, didn't notice the open drawer and accidentally knocked it with her knee.

"AGHHH!" She fell to the ground and held her pained knee as she cursed silently. The ring from her phone came ignored as the female cradle her poor knee. The phone continues to ring which annoyed the female further.

"Just who the hell is calling now?" She mumbled angrily as she gave the gadget a stink eye, before swiping to answer the call and put the phone to ear.

"Hmm... What would Ayame like?" Inside of Happy Bug(1), Sachi was taking too long on choosing her order. She already had made up her mind on what she will eat but she cannot choose for Ayame, who is a picky eater at times.

Contemplating which is better, Chicken or Beef. The customers behind her were running out of patience. The others moved to another counter. The employee in front of the woman nervously glanced at the impatient customers before speaking to the woman.

"Ma'am, have you made up your mind on what to order?" The employee asked and the woman sighed as she crossed her arms.

"Two orders of 1pc. chili happiness chicken, one order of happiness spaghetti and one order of 2pcs. burger steak."

"Drinks, ma'am? For dine-in or take-out?" The employee asked as she began to touch on the monitor screen.

"Large Coke and Sprite. Take-out please." Sachi checked to see if any order was missing.

"That would be ¥(insert amount)." Fishing out her wallet, she took out the money and paid.

Behind her, people began to silently rejoice. Some raised their arms in joy, cried tears of joy while the others sigh in relief for they can finally order.

The woman sent the people behind her a dirty look.

"Seriously! Because of you, I took too long on the counter deciding what food you would like." Mihara whined as they arrive at the resting area. The area was built for the employees and trainees of RoboTech. Not only they valued knowledge and cleanliness, but they also care for the health being of those inside the workplace. There were long benches in the center to rest at and some tables to eat lunch.

"Why are blaming me for that?" Ayame asked she set the food she carried from her mentor. "You were in Happy Bug, you do know I am alright with any food there..."

Awhile ago, Ayame went to where Mihara was after she answered her call and helped her carrying the order.

The older woman merely huffed as she took out her food from the paper bag. The indigo haired female shrugged at the older woman's stubbornness.

"Putting that aside, how's your day?"

"It was normal, I guess..." She plainly answered as she dig in to her food. Mihara sweatdropped at her answer.

"Ayame, you better be careful these days. Cybercrimes are slowly rising along with murders and there are already two already fell victim to it. Those are even inventors around the same age as you!" The said person merely nodded as she continue to eat her food.

"I get that you are confident with your inventions, but what if you were in a disadvantage?"

"Well, I'm dead or kidnapped." She answered before taking a bite of the chicken. The instructor gave the lady before her a are-you-kidding-me look. Sighing in defeat and crossing her arms, she closed her eyes.

"Due to that, RoboTech have to close temporarily. Their top priority is always the employees, the trainees, the students and others part of our company."

"But what about my lab?"

"Don't worry! Nothing will happen to it!" Mihara reassured Ayamr who gaze at her with doubt.

"You have no trust in me, your teacher, Ayame..."

"I'm too lazy to go..." Laying down at her bed, rolling over the blanket and covering herself. She glanced the red circle mark at her calendar.

"Should I ask Ema to go...?" She mumbled to herself as she bites her thumb. Lying at her side, her eyes landed at the open closet. A few minutes has passed as she play at her phone. Awhile ago she contacted Ema 's number but was not available. Heaving a sigh, she remembered Ema has an event to attend along with her best friend.

"It has been awhile since I went to a basketball match..." She slowly rose from her bed and began to take some clothes to change into.

Timeskip

Nearing the stadium, she could already hear the cheers and shout from the inside.

"Welp, it is now or never..."

"Natsume-nii?" Ayame calls out and the said male turns his head to see her. He didn't expect

"Oh, Ayame. You're here to watch Subaru's match perhaps?"

"No, I'm here to wash the toilets." She sarcastically answered crossing her arms.

"Of course I'm here to watch basketball." Natsume scratched the back of his head as Ayame stare at him.

"I never thought of you as a basketball fan."

"I didn't say I was. I guess I like watching the matches back then because of my friend." It was back in her final year as a middle school student. Her friend Ichigo invited her to watch with her brother's team play in the Winter Cup. She didn't really care, so let herself be dragged by her friend. Turns out her brother was only a first-year, a year older than them who is known for his skill, Hawk-Eye. His partner was Midorima Shintaro, who is well-known for being part of the Generation of Miracles. Ayame was staring at her friend with doubt and she had many questions to the basketball community due to that. His long-range and accurate shoot was scary.

Why in the world are there skill names like that in basketball? Are they in a video game or something like that? Seeing the match with her own eyes, she finally understood. Midorima's long-range and accurate shoot was scary. She could recall how much astonished she was seeing him shoot so far away from the ring. Strangely, she could see the strong aura emitting from the shooting guard, most especially from the short redhead from the team Rakuzan (as she could recall the name) they faced with, which overwhelmed her.

"Subaru-nii invited me to watch." The male's eyes widened for a second before composing himself. Ayame noticed his strange behavior and shrugged it off as they walk inside the arena.

"Is that so..." He mumbled as his eyes observe the female beside him. He just noticed that she wore glasses today.

Dressed in a pink sweater with a sprakly unicorn at the center, denim shorts with black glossy leotard pants underneath and rubber shoes. Her hair was loosely tied into a high bun, a few baby hairs sticking out barely covering her nape. Natsume owlishly stared at her get-up. He noticed she is also wearing a glasses.

"You loves unicorns...?"

"Hell yes. Don't judge!"

"That's very surprising." The older male grin as his gaze linger at the unicorn.

"Want one? I can customize one for you?" She immediately took out a small card and hand it to him.

"Uh, no thanks." He was quite at a loss of words on the design. It was too... striking?

"Oh well, it's your loss..." Ayame shrugged her shoulders as she hid the card inside her bag.

Loud cheering from inside the arena brought him back to reality. The female was now standing in front of the entrance door.

"Let's go Natsu-nii, it already has started an hour ago. We better find our seats fast!" She called out to him and the older male quickly followed.

Quick fact

Ayame wears contact lenses whenever she feels like it. She is far sighted.

The stadium was packed with people. Thankfully they managed to find vacant seats for them.

"Huh, Subaru's on the bench?" Ayame thought out loud. Natsume remained silent as he watched his brother.

Soon, the referee whistled and a woman's voice echoed throughout the sound system of the arena.

"Meiji University player substitution. Number 7, Yamada, being replaced by Number 14, Asahina." Subaru stood up from the bench and gave his teammate a high-five before joining his teammates in the court. His eyes wandered to the crowd only to see the person he was looking for. Meeting his eyes, she gave him a thumbs up. Being the good sister she was, she took a deep breath and shouted.

"Go kick their asses Subaru-nii!!" People near her turned their heads taken aback from her loud voice. Soon, the game resumed.

Ayame watched impressed seeing her stepbrother's skills. Despite the awe, she could tell they were not in the level of the high school basketball teams which are a bunch of monsters. Of course, they're not in the level of them! They're freaking Generation of Miracles!

"No wonder he's the ace huh... Though my favorite basketball team will always be Shutoku or Yosen." With a blank look, Natsume raised an eyebrow before returning his attention to the match.

The ball landed on the ring and Meiji gained another 2 points. "Nice, they are catching up once again." Ayame commented as she focused on the match. "At this rate, they can beat Sensyu."

"I heard that he lost his form, but he looks all right." He said as he relax a bit, still on the edge of the seat.

The buzzer rang throughout the stadium. Meiji won. The audience cheered, with female voices overpowering men. Ayame applaud as she watch Subaru and his teammates celebrate their victory.

"That was alright...But I didn't feel much excitement."

The sound of a phone ringing interrupted their discussion. Natsume fished out his phone and answered it.

"Ah." In the distance, the was running towards her.

"Subaru, nice game."

"I did it!" Subaru excitedly said. Before she could what happened, she found herself in his arms.

"Uhh...?" A somehow comforting scent invaded her nose. Usually male perfumes or colognes irritate her nose and sometimes makes it harder for her to breath.

The male hugged her tighter and they stayed like that for a few seconds.

"Thank you, I owe it all to you. Because you came."

I really have a bad feeling about this...

"You're wrong Subaru-nii. It's because of your efforts. I just came to watch, that's all." He broke their hug and held her shoulders.

"You... Do you have a guy you like?" He asked, his cheeks heating up. Ayame gulped and hesitantly shook her head.

"Then, I want you to stick by my side forever." He confessed gazing into her eyes. "I need you."

Her ears gone deaf at his confession. Her eyes widened in slight horror but the male didn't noticed it.

At the worst timing, Natsume returned after his call finished, catching Subaru holding Ayame and heard his confession.

"Subaru." The older male called out to his younger brother.

"Natsu-nii! What are you doing here?" Subaru asked in surprise while Natsume's scrutinizing gaze lingered on him.

Why... Why is this happening to me...

First, it was Ukyo and Hikaru on that night now it was these two. Ayame is almost at her wits end.

"That's what I'd like to know. Why are you here now? What about your teammates?" Natsume asked. "Your team manager? Your coach?"

"Natsu-nii..."

Ayame watched as Natsume began to reprimand Subaru who then grew irritated arguing back on Natsume being a half-ass who have up all the way on a game. The sky grew darker as they continue until it started to drizzle.

The two exchanged heated stares before Subaru turned to the shorter girl.

"Think about what I said earlier." He said before walking back to the building. Ayame and Natsume continued to stand there for awhile until the male spoke up.

"Are you going out with Subaru?" Natsume asked staring at her. Ayame gazed down the wet pavement and shook her head.

"I'm so lost... We're goddamn siblings..." She said under her breath. Her eyes reflecting the stress she is having at the moment. Ayame who is usual strong, sarcastic and confident looked like a confused teenager now.

Natsume took off his coat and lay it over her shoulder.

"I didn't mean to hurt you." Natsume started. "I'm sorry. Forgive me."

This day was too much for her...

I'm very sorry for not being able to update this story and my other books regularly. A lot has happened to me for the past months. It's almost a year that I haven't updated this. ;-;

I hope you like this chapter! Please do tell if I am straying off plot or something.

(1) The made-up parody name of my favorite fast food restaurant, Jollibee. (please don't kill me...)

Stay at home always and wash your hands everyone! Keep safe!