Akai Hana ga Seichō toki ni

[Deleted]

You are Yamaguchi Ai. At eighteen, you are the eldest daughter of the Yamaguchi family. Your grandfather, a rich and powerful man, recently passed away. However, his will is being prepared for a reading at his secluded mansion out in the countryside. It is far away from any towns or cities, even in the small nation of Japan. You are going to his mansion with your family for the will-reading.

At the moment, you are exiting the car with your family and helping to unpack. Your father anticipates that the family will be staying here for a few days in order to make sure things are sorted out entirely. As you pull your suitcase out of the trunk, you glance over at your family members. Next to you is your younger sister, Yamaguchi Shiro. She just turned ten last week. She was, improbably, scouted out to be a child model for gothic lolita fashion. Shiro is somewhat spoiled and can be something of a brat, in your opinion. However, she is capable of being sweet and nice, especially to her family members. This usually makes up for the bratty-ness. She dyes her hair as part of her modeling.

Next is your father. His name is Robert. His mother was a foreigner, Scottish(though you never met her). He was a nice enough man, and a good father, but sometimes you felt like he didn't act as much as he should. Like he was too passive, perhaps. But... maybe you shouldn't really be judging one of your parents in such a way.

Your mother stands beside your father as she gets her suitcase out. Her name is Mana. She's... kind of strange, you think. Obviously, she's your mother, and you love her, and she loves you, but... you've always felt her personality was more suited towards a student at your highschool then an adult. She's an avid gamer and highly competitive, as well, as... well... immature. She's also stricter then your father.

Once everything is unloaded, you take a look up at the mansion. It is a vast, imposing building. It's almost hard to believe that it belonged to your grandfather, in a way. It's simply so very big... maybe you'll inherit it?

Part of you feels bad for not really being saddened by your grandfather's death. But... you never really knew him. He was an old recluse, he never really met anyone. You didn't really know him. You set your luggage on the ground and began to make your way to the house. You're not really watching where you're going. Suddenly, your sister darts in front of you, wanting to see what it's like in the mansion.

You collide with her, and knock her down. With a yelp, she hits the ground. She looks up at you, looking angry. But she hasn't said anything yet.

How do you respond?

[ ]Apologize and help her up.
[ ]Chastise her and tell her it was her fault for rushing ahead.
[ ]Yell at her, and blame her for it.
[ ]Free(Please be somewhat sensible)

[Vinestar]

[ ]Apologize. XD

[Psyga315]

[X]Apologize and help her up.

[Roxas]

[ ]Apologize and help her up.

[Deleted]

Before your sister can respond, you reach down and carefully help her back to her feet. She's a bit surprised that you acted so quickly.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," you apologize. It was really pretty bad of you to just walk into her like that, you feel bad about it... "It's my fault. I could've really hurt you like that. Sorry..."

"Onee-chan, um... it's okay!" she says, presumably guessing that you must feel pretty bad about it.

"No, I ran right into you," you reply, "Though I'm kind of worried that you didn't seem to see me... what did you see before I ran into you?"

Her expression hardens, and she lets go of you. "I don't need glasses, onee-chan. You're so... unsubtle!"

You stand up straight and fold your arms a little, "Hey, can't I worry about my little sister?"

"Not when it comes to glasses! I don't need-"

She's interrupted by your father.

"Hey!" he calls, "Shiro-chan, Ai-chan, are you okay?"

"I'm alright," you reply.

"I'm fine!" replies Shiro. Her reply is a little bit snappish. Even though she was grateful for the apology, you feel like the glasses comment might've upset her.

You gather up your luggage and continue on towards the house. The rest of your family walks with you. When you get to the doorway, it opens before your father can ring the doorbell.

In the doorway, there stands what you assume is a surprisingly young butler.

"Hello," he greets your family, "I assume you are the other branch of the Yamaguchi family?"

"Hello," your father greets him, "Yes, I'm Yamaguchi Robert."

"I'm Yamaguchi Mana," your mother introduces herself.

"Shiro," says your sister, without further elaboration.

What do you do?

[ ]"Hello, I'm Yamaguchi Ai."
[ ]"Hi, I'm Yamaguchi Ai! It's nice to meet you."
[ ]"My name is Ai."
[ ]"Ai."
[ ]Say nothing.
[ ]Free(Please be somewhat sensible)

[stratofarius]

[X]"Hi, I'm Yamaguchi Ai! It's nice to meet you."

[Psyga315]

[X]"Hi, I'm Yamaguchi Ai! It's nice to meet you."

[Rain]

[x] "Yamaguchi, Ai Yamaguchi."

>.>

[Roxas]

[ ]"Hello, I'm Yamaguchi Ai."

[dblade26]

[x ]"Hi, I'm Yamaguchi Ai! It's nice to meet you."

[Deleted]

"Hi, I'm Yamaguchi Ai!" you cheerfully introduce yourself, "It's nice to meet you."

The butler smiles. He seems to approve of the enthusiasm. He steps back, out of the doorway. "Right this way, please."

You head inside with the rest of your family. The inside of the mansion is vast, it feels almost like it's even bigger on the inside then it looks on the outside. You guess that's just because of how high the ceilings are and how spacious the entry hall is. It's a western-style mansion, to be sure. You've never actually been in a western-style mansion previously. It's kind of... amazing to be inside such a huge house. Your little sister tries to hurry and run up the stairs to explore, but your mother quickly catches up to her and pulls her back. She complains, but your mother quiets her with mumbled threat, most likely some kind of deprivation of privileges. Your father frowns, but says nothing.

The butler rubs the back of his head.

"Ah-hah, she'll have plenty of time to see the rest of the mansion, I'm sure... I'll even provide a tour if she wishes," he says. He seems kind of distracted, to you. Possibly still thinking about your grandfather's death... he was probably closer to him then you were, having worked for him for most of his life. You're not sure what to think about that... Maybe you could talk to him later, to learn more about your grandfather.

At the top of the stairs, there is a maid. She seems to be watching your family quietly, and you in particular. Strange... she's pretty, though. Maybe you could ask her about your grandfather, too. Later of course.

The butler introduces himself.

"My name is Saito Akihiko," he begins, "As you may have guessed, I worked as a butler for your father. I don't believe the will will be prepared for reading for a few days, but you may want to ask Kobayashi-sa-"

He is interrupted by the very loud, accented voice of someone you don't recall having met in ten years. But it's unmistakable.

"He has this one, too?!"

It's your cousin, from Scotland. Alice. She's holding up a thick, dusty book. She's somewhat of a goofy ditz in your opinion, and she's always believed in the occult, something you dismissed pretty much outright. However, she is your relative, even though you don't see her very often.

She realizes you and your family are there, and she smiles and waves. "Hi!"

Shiro merely looks confused. She doesn't remember this girl at all. Your father greets her calmly, while your mother greets her in a pretty energetic fashion. The maid looks startled, and the butler looks frantic to see her holding that book.

How do you respond?

[ ]"Hi, Arisu-san! It's been a long time!"
[ ]"Hello, Arisu-san. It was a bit rude to interrupt like that..."
[ ]"Please, continue, Saito-san."
[ ]Free(Please be somewhat sensible)

[Vinestar]

[ ]"Hi, Arisu-san! It's been a long time!"

[Roxas]

[ ]"Please, continue, Saito-san."

[Rain]

[ ] Free: GREET THE MAID.

[Mahou Moerin]

[ ]Wink seductively at the maid.

[Deleted]

After some discussion in the chat, Moe and Rain's choices have been pooled into a single "Greet the Maid". Therefore...

---

You decide that you want to talk to the Maid. The Butler seems busy frantically attempting to nab the dusty book from Alice,, after all, and Alice... well, she's kind of odd as you remember.

"Hi, I'm Yamaguchi Ai," you introduce yourself. She seems a bit surprised, almost startled, that you've even spoken to her, and steps back a little before taking a deep breath.

"Ah, um, it is nice to meet you, Yamaguchi-sama," she replies, bowing very low almost immediately, "I am Kobayashi Masumi, I worked as a maid for your grandfather..."

She seems somewhat saddened on that last note. But she takes another deep breath and continues. "I'm happy to attend to any of your desires, after all, as a maid I'm meant to serve guests as well."

You attempt to ignore Alice and the Butler. Alice is currently fawning over a bewildered Shiro, while the Butler frantically attempts to retrieve the book.

Well, surely Alice wouldn't attempt anything extreme to get your attention, so you feel free to talk to the Maid.

How do you respond?

[ ]Ask her about your grandfather.
[ ]Ask her about your grandfather's books.
[ ]Ask her about herself.
[ ]Free(Please be somewhat sensible)

[Rain]

[ ]Ask her about herself and her panties.

[Mahou Moerin]

[ ]Important question: did we see any maid cleavage when she bowed?
[ ]"So... Seeing anyone? More importantly, are you doing anything tonight?" *mischievous grin*

[Roxas]

[ ]Ask her about your grandfather's books.

[dblade26]

[ ]Ask her about your grandfather's books.

[Deleted]

You consider what to ask the Maid. Well, you do want to learn more about your Grandfather... maybe asking about that book that Alice had been holding? It was either something of your Grandfather's, or something she had picked up... somewhere. The former was more likely.

"I noticed that my cousin had a book... was that one of my grandfather's? It looked like one of those weird old occult books." you say.

Masumi sighs. "Your grandfather was... fascinated with the occult. Absolutely fascinated with it. His private library is practically filled with books about all kinds of different 'magic' from all over the world. Onmyōdō, western magic, demonology... I only really know anything about it because of how much he talked about it..."

She frowns.

"Especially towards the end..." she looks away for a moment, "I never understood why he was so enthralled with it all."

Alice has begun to realize how you're ignoring her.

How to you respond?

[ ]Ask for more details on your grandfather's interest in the occult.
[ ]Ask about what else your grandfather did.
[ ]Ask the maid about herself.
[ ]Bid the maid farewell, and go to investigate something else.
[ ]Free(Please be somewhat sensible)

[Roxas]

[ ]Free - Tell the maid you'll talk later, and go greet Alice

[Mahou Moerin]

[ ]Ask the maid about herself.

[Rain]

[ ]Ask the maid about herself.

[Psyga315]

[X]Ask for more details on your grandfather's interest in the occult.

[Deleted]

You can't help yourself, you decide to ask the maid some questions about herself. After all, this is the first maid you have ever encountered, outside of the occasional manga or anime or various other media you had consumed. You had to wonder how accurate it all way. Well, the fact that maids were pretty certainly held true. "Well... since I've just met you, and all... I think I'd like to know more about you."

"E-eh?" the Maid is a bit surprised to hear this. She quickly looks away, cheeks flushing slightly. Apparently the attention embarrasses her. This makes you feel a little bit bad, like you're making her embarrassed, but you still want to get to know her. "I'm not that interesting... why would you want to know about me?"

"Well, I might as well learn about one of the people who cares for the home I'll be staying at, right?" you reply, "I guess it might be, a little, to get to know what the people who were around my grandfather are like..."

"I do really want to know more about you, though."

"L-like what?"

Alice is formulating her plan.

How do you respond?

[ ]"How did you come to work for my grandfather?"
[ ]"What's your family like?"
[ ]"What are your interests?"
[ ]"How do you feel about me?"
[ ]Free(Please be somewhat sensible)

[Roxas]

[ ]"How did you come to work for my grandfather?"

[Rain]

[ ] "What's your name?"

[Psyga315]

[X]"How do you feel about me?"

[Mahou Moerin]

[ ]"How did you come to work for my grandfather?"