20 Love is in the Air (1/2)

Standing there grinning like the Cheshire cat, shooting them a wave, was none other than Akihito, dressed in stylish clothes that were suited for the cold weather. ”Ohayo, Maria-chan and Maria-chan friends~!” cheerfully greeted Akihito. He ignored the dumbfounded looks the group was shooting him, especially those who did not know of him.

”Maria, do you know this strange boy?” Micheal bent over to whisper in his little sister's ear, feeling uncertain of this strange boy who suddenly appeared out of thin air.

”You can relax, Micheal, he's a friend of Richard-sama,” Maria reassured her brother, though once the red-haired Scarlet heir's name was mentioned, an irritable scowl appeared on his face.

'Something about that Scarlet heir just doesn't sit right with me,' thought the overprotective older brother, whose frown deepened when the Scarlet heir suddenly appeared beside his strange mysterious friend.

”Richard-sama, you're here as well?!” Maria smiled towards the young Scarlet heir, who smiled charmingly at the cute brunette.

”Akihito was the one who wanted to come here, and without my permission, dragged me along.” Behind that charming smile, Maria could sense a slight amount of irritation that was aimed towards Akihito, though the other was oblivious to it.

”And isn't it a good thing that I did as we got to see Maria-chan and her friends... and also two other people that I don't know...” Akihito pointed his gaze to the two older siblings that came along to watch over their respective younger sibling.

”Hello there, I'm Isis, Mai's older sister.” Isis gracefully introduced herself, only to be blocked by Micheal, who appeared before her, glaring at the two boys.

”I'm Maira's older brother, and if you ever think of harming her or making her cry, I will end you,” threatened Micheal, feeling an urge of distrust towards these two boys, a feeling which he would only understand sometime in the far future. Where he would later blame himself for not disposing of the sister-stealing pest when he had the chance.

”Please ignore the siscon. How about we enjoy some rides first, before getting any food into our stomachs? That way we eliminate the chances of anyone getting sick,” kindly suggested Isis, pushing Micheal out of the way as the children agreed to her suggestion.

Seeing his best friend not taking his side, Micheal couldn't help but mope. ”Isis, you're supposed to be on my side.”

”As if, siscon,” she sassily retorted, leading the children to a cute and fun tea-cup ride. Maria found herself sitting in a pink heart-themed teacup, sitting right across from Richard. Mai, Julian, and Akihito were seated together in a white and red cup, while her brother and Isis were paired together in another, Micheal shooting a glare over at Richard.

Maria felt a little nervous sitting across from Richard when she heard him begin to speak. ”It's really good to see you again, after everything that happened. I had wanted to see you right after it happened, but certain things kept me away. So please allow me to say sorry; never once did I believe those rumors. I know you are a good person who would never recklessly attack another classmate without justified reason,” Richard sincerely told Maria. The brunette honestly felt touched to hear such words for him, beaming a bright smile at him.

”Thank you for believing in me, Richard-sama. You truly are a good friend~!”

Richard didn't know why, but seeing that smile that lit up her face, and how she was able to hear how he never doubted her, brought forth a warm fuzzy feeling that enveloped his heart. A sudden spark of desire was suddenly ignited from within and that was to always have Maria trust him and to always see her smiling.

After taking a break from rides, the group went over to a stand that was selling these Valentine-themed waffle ice-cream cones. When Maria caught sight of this, she immediately felt her sweet tooth acting up and asked her brother to buy her one. Once in her hands, Maria's big emerald eyes ogled the tasty, eye-catching treat in her hand.

The cone was dipped in chocolate and pink sprinkles. Maria picked vanilla swirl ice cream as her flavor, topping it off with pink and chocolate fudge, pink edible pearls, a bark of peppermint chocolate, and a huge pink icing sugar cookie shaped like a heart.