Adopt Me, Kenta!

Stay Out Of Our Way

The sun rises, signifying another morning has appeared. By now, Amara is not surprised to see a ceiling with grand carvings greeting her as soon as she wakes up. She gets out of bed and slips into fluffy slippers. It's been peaceful so far. All she ever bumped into were, Mizuki, Nurse, Driver, Butler, Maid and Miyuki. Oh and, the host for her soul.

*Yawn

"It's still so new to me, even though it's been a month since I've been here..."

*Creak~

"Young lady, your bath is ready. I shall prepare your clothes in the meantime."

"Jeez, you don't have to call me 'Young lady' when we're alone, Mrs. Kuroyuki."

"I shall do that when we're a lot more familiar with each other, young lady."

Amara gave a nod and went to the bathroom. She's thankful enough that the maid won't follow her to the bathroom to help her bathe like in the middle-aged generations.

The bath was prepared with care. The heat and scent were amazing. She tries to gather her thoughts while dipping herself in the tub.

"Hahh.. It's been a whole month since I've been here and everything's been OK, I guess?"

"The weird thing is that, I never met anyone else this whole time, like I should at least meet up with Sei. She's still 12, so she should be home, right?"

*Knock knock

"Young lady, it's been long enough for you to be in the tub, please come down for breakfast."

(Sheesh, just when will she and I be 'familiar' with each other?)

"I will come out, you don't have to wait for me."

*Mrs. Kuroyuki leaves

Amara leaves the bathroom and got dressed. The materials for the clothes are definitely exquisite and expensive. The designs were obviously made by a renowned designer. Just how much does one piece costs Amara wonders if she happened to ruin it.

Amara went downstairs for breakfast as Mrs. Kuroyuki informed her minutes ago. But what awaited her at the dining table was a surprise.. A surprise indeed.

"Mom, why are you telling me to go to meet my friends earlier than usu-"

"No reason-"

(Oh no)

"What is the matter here?"

The conversation ended as soon as Amara reached the stair rails. All eyes were on her. Tension rose up in the air, pressuring Amara to the brink of death.

"Who are you?!"

(I'm so dead! What am I supposed to do right now?! Wait! Remember what Mom taught you.)

"No answer, huh?! You must be an intruder! I'll get you!"

"Hayato! Stop this behaviour, she's older than you are!"

"Don't worry Mom, I got this. Nice to meet you, Hayato, I'm your new sister, Amara Kenta. I hope we can get along."

"Mom? Tell me she's lying..."

"Sweetie, I- I adopted her for a reason. I'm sorry for not telling you in advance.."

"You... How long have you been here?"

"It's been a month today. I apologize for not making an appearance to you until today."

"Does anyone else know the fact that you're here?"

"I don't know, I assumed that everyone in this household already knew about me through Mom."

"Well I didn't."

*Leaves

"Hayato..."

"I'm sorry, Mom. I.. didn't mean for this to happen. I.. should have waited upstairs.."

*Tears welling up

"Shh shh.. It's not your fault, no one predicted that Hayato was going to be here."

"Mom? Didn't you tell anyone that I am adopted and staying here?.."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone because I was worried that everyone will judge your every move when you're barely settled in."

"I understand. Thank you for doing that, I would really have no idea what to do if I was in that situation."

Amara hugs Mizuki thanking her. The only thing on her mind right now is, how is she going to handle everyone when Hayato tells them?

"Don't worry Big Sis Amara, me and Mom are on your side!"

The sudden appearance of Miyuki frightened them a little. But with that encouragement from her, Amara isn't worried anymore now that two Kentas are on her side.

"Can I join? Please~?"

"All right, come here."

"Yeepee!!!! I love hugs!"

*Miyuki joins in on the hug

"Do you know that we Kentas are the masters of hugs?"

"Really?!"

*Miyuki & Amara

"Yep! We give the best comforting hugs! So you girls should be proud of being Kentas!"

"Hey Mom? Should I really be allowed to use Kenta as my surname? It feels weird."

"You better use it. You're one of us."

They hugged each other till they couldn't breathe. When they finally let go of each other, they went back to their day. Amara hadn't been registered for any sort of college or university, so she always stayed home accompanying Miyuki. Mizuki, on the other hand, had to go to work.

Miyuki always has the best time of her life when Amara is by her side. They would goof around, share each other's gossip and whatnot.

"Did you hear the argument from next door yesterday?"

"Yeah. What was all that about?"

"Turns out the kids next door were having an argument over a toy."

"What? But all the screaming and everything?"

"I know, it's so stupid that I literally burst out laughing as soon as the news reached my ear."

"That's so ridiculous. Where did you hear this from anyway?"

"Well FYI, in this residence I'm the hidden gossip queen. Considering that I always stay home, I got to know every household's maids, butlers, drivers, gardeners, cooks, you name em."

"Then I shall be your loyal subject, Your Majesty."

"Meh. I tried not to brag."

They laughed. Miyuki's not the only one who is relieved that she has a gossip buddy, Amara too. She's always been the one looking for juicy gossips, even before she became Amara.

It was nighttime, dinner was finished. Amara was getting ready for bed. But something got in her way.

"Well, lucky me. It didn't have to take a long time for me to learn my way around the house. Right now I can leave from my room to anywhere in this house! And nothing's stopping me now! Hahaha!"

*Unfamiliar noise

"Wh- Who's there?.."

(What if there's a killer or a robber in this house?! I only know my way around the house! Not my way around dangerous trespassers!)

"Guess who?"

"Oh. It's just you, Hayato."

"Let's make this quick."

"Huh?"

"I just want you to know that I really don't like a 'guest' like you here."

"OK, but I don't really care."

"Tch. Anyway, I'm not the only one. I'm warning you to be careful of Iromi."

"What's with everyone telling me to be careful of Iromi?"

"You don't understand, sure Dad's going to be a tough one to win over, but Iromi won't only be tough. She could also be a real threat to you if you make one wrong move."

"What's her problem anyway?"

"Shhhh!!! Don't say that! Especially AT her! I'm not telling you this because I care, it's just an advice if you wanna continue living your life in peace."

"I'll take your word for it then. Thank you."

Hayato leaves for his bedroom. Amara had a lot more to ask, but considering their first and second encounter, she decided to keep her queries to herself.

She went to her bedroom, and couldn't sleep even after 10 minutes of lying on the cozy bed. Usually, it would only take her 2 minutes.

[Toss and turns]

"Did that guy have to tell me that right before bedtime?!"

"This is so annoying, and everything was fine, up until Hayato showed up."

(Just sleep, sleep, sleep! Worry about Iromi in the morning. Besides, you need to have a good rest if you're going to face a threat, no? Yeah, yeah! Sleep, sleep, sleep...)

Her eyes finally shut. The room is quiet. The whole house is quiet. No one was awake except for the security guards. But Amara's dream sure isn't as quiet as the whole world around her.

"Amalia."

"Oh you got to be kidding me!"

"No, I am not."

"What do you want?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to tell you that in your world, your body has fully recovered from the surgery. You're just in a coma."

"Well, thank you for telling me. Now, let me outta here."

"Hold on, I didn't finish, time is of the essence here. You have to finish your task ASAP."

"Why do I have to rush it? I mean, I'm barely settled in here."

"Cause if you don't get back quickly, your brain will stop functioning."

"Wh- How would it stop?! You assured me that the operation was successful!"

"Yes, but when a subject is in a coma, their brain won't 'excercise'. In turn, it will slowly lose function. The longer they're in the coma, the more their brain loses function, until..."

"... they die."

"Exactly.

Amalia stayed quiet for a while. No words were needed, Amara could feel the aura around her. So much... Fright, surrounding Amalia's being. Amara gave her a bit of time before she continued to converse.

"H-hey, there's at least a while before that starts happening."

(Oh way to lose your cool, Amara. Great job on convincing her! Now how can she focus on her end of the deal with a clear head?!)

"H-how long exactly?"

"To be honest, maybe in a year or two. And it's only been a month! So isn't that great!? Take your time and find some connections to maybe somehow make the process go faster?'

"Huh. You're right. I should establish connections to help me finish this deal faster! That way, I get to continue my life, and you can continue yours sooner!"

"That's the spirit! Now go get em tiger!"

*Nods

"I'll get a little sleep and devise a plan in the morning."

They said their goodbyes and Amara let Amalia go back to resting her head. Amalia returned to see the extravagant room she's supposed to be in. This time, she finally went to sleep properly. No toss and turns were heard from her room afterwards that night. 5 hours went by, morning struck again. Despite not getting the standard 7 hour headrest, Amalia woke up as Amara Kenta more energetic than ever.

Mrs. Kuroyuki was about to knock on Amara's door. But Amara flung it open before the 50-ish handmaid could knock on it. Amara, beaming as bright as the sun shining outside, twirled around Mrs. Kuroyuki. Leaving her wondering about her abrupt carefree outburst. The reason for Amara's sudden bubbliness is none other than having completely devised the perfect plan.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

1. Do well in studies.

2. Make connections with powerful people/ Impress the Kenta household head, Yama Kenta (Dad).

3. Use the power & influence I'll have.

4. Catch the killer & lock him/her/them up myself. Let the real Amara deal with him/her/them.

5. We both go back to our worlds & lives.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Well, that was the unrefined idea. The details should be worked on later, Amara thought. She continued prancing after she put her phone back into her pocket. She kept going along the second floor corridor. She stopped for a bit to go down the stairs, then resumed to express her joyous "success". She pivoted to the entrance hall and twirled around until someone opened the main doors.

"What kind of blow-in is witty enough to clown in the Kenta hallway?"

(Darn it! I forgot to practice the countermeasures for Iromi!)

"With no due respect, Miss Iromi, I sincerely apologize for my utmost impudence."

"Heh. In this current situation, I deducted to two reasons why you're here, and who you are. One, you are trying to do harm to this house and you know how to stay calm because you're a master criminal. Or two, you are staying here instead of in the main Kenta house for your comfort and safety because you were adopted by Dad or Mom."

*Claps

"Wow. What a fastidious intuition you have. You're even more impressive upfront than your files say."

(OK, this much sneering should be enough, right? Let's wrap this up and go before it goes beyond my control!)

"How plucky you are. But hey, at least you're more clever than that Miko."

"Huh. So it is true that most of you really don't favor Mio."

Iromi walks closer and closer to Amara. Amara stood still on her spot and let Iromi get close. Iromi gave her a semi-death stare in an attempt to scare Amara. Amara was intimidated but she looked straight back into Iromi's eyes. Iromi told Amara off with a warning.

"Stay. Out. Of. Our. Way. For each affair of the Kenta household, you should only attend to any of it if needed. If not, you won't see the end of it, even when you leave this family."

"Don't get me wrong, but I also want something from this family's influence. Don't worry, I won't use it for anything illegal or inhumane. As soon as I get it, I'll make every attempt to leave."

"Good to know that we have someone who is ambitious and reasonable adopted into this family. What should I call you, Sis?"

"Amara. Just saying but I'm older than you. Figured you would want to know that."

Iromi bowed her head to Amara and leaves through the main door. Amara waved Iromi goodbye despite her not looking back. Outside, Iromi was contemplating Amara as her another adoptive elder sister.

" Heh. What an intriguing individual you are, Amara. But I'm not a fool to fall for your ruse. I know that there's more to your background than just some poor and relativeless girl."

*Leaves

Inside, Amara realized that something was off about Iromi.

(Wait, wasn't she just entering the house and surprised to see a stranger dancing in the hallway?)

*Realization

"Unless she knew I'd be here and pretended to be surprised to see me. Just to see how I'd react if I didn't know she was coming. Heh. Who is the actual blow-in here, Iromi?"

To be continued...