Haru’s Love (A Stepbrothers BL Harem) - Chapter 36

We were waiting outside the train station of a little resort town called Aoi in Hokkaido, and since it was snowing and freakin’ freezing, I found myself huddling against Aiden to steal some of his warmth.

After four days of fun, sightseeing, and eating our way around both Tokyo and Kyoto, now here we were, ready to meet up with Uncle Jin, whom Reo and I hadn’t seen for over ten years.

Uncle Jin used to live in Osaka, where he and Mom had been born and raised, but then he moved here to Hokkaido to open his own little ryokan a few years after Mom, Reo, and I moved to America when I had been eight years old.

I wondered if he still remembered us. I mean we’ve grown a lot, after all. Then again, Reo did say he had sent the old man photos of us via email, since they had always kept in contact. It was hard for me since I wasn’t good at writing. I especially sucked at kanji. Every time I tried, the meaning would come out weird, and when translated to English, it became incomprehensible.

Isaac asked Reo, “You sure Uncle Jin hadn’t forgotten about us coming today?”

Isaac sounded worried, even though we had only been waiting for five minutes.

Reo checked his smartphone and then nodded. “He hasn’t forgotten. He texted to confirm one of his staff is picking us up.”

“Then I hope we won’t have to wait much longer because it’s freezing out here,” Isaac said.

“You can always wait inside,” Mason suggested. “We’ll call you when the ride is here.”

Isaac was about to turn on his heel and do just that when Connor pulled him close and wrapped his arms around him. “I’ll give you some of my heat.”

Isaac pulled a face. “Still not warm enough.”

“What about you, are you warm?” Aiden asked me.

I shifted my gaze to him and then nodded. “I’m warm enough, thanks.”

“Good,” he said, tightening his arms around me.

A few moments later we saw a white van heading our way, and then it came to a stop right in front of us. A Japanese man who looked to be in his thirties got out of the driver’s seat and came to greet Reo.

“Good afternoon,” he said in English. “Are you Ono-san? Ono Reo-san?”

Reo nodded. “Yes.”

The man chuckled and then bowed. “My name is Higa Tsubaki. I’m here to pick you up.”

“Yay!” Isaac cheered. “We haven’t been forgotten.”

Even though Reo did say Uncle Jin had confirmed someone was coming to pick us up. That Isaac.

We gathered our luggage, put it into the back of the van, and then climbed into the vehicle. I took my place next to Aiden on the row behind the front seat while Mason and Isaac took the ones behind us, and Noah and Connor sat in the back. Reo hopped into the front seat, since he’d be the one who’d be doing most of the communication with Higa-san.

Then we were off, Higa-san driving us out of the station and then onto the road, traveling through the resort town that had a reminiscence of old-time charm, with the traditional Japanese buildings and houses along with Sakura trees that would bloom come spring. There was even a nice Shinto shrine to the north end of the main street for townsfolk, and tourists alike, to visit.

Once we passed the town, we were greeted by farmland on one side and Lake Aoi on the other. I must admit the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, with the land and mountains in the distance covered in pure white snow and the lake a deep blue color, fitting for its name, Aoi, which means blue in Japanese.

Twenty minutes later Higa-san said, “We’re here.”

Isaac and I sprang up to catch the first glimpse of Lake Aoi Resort and Onsen, Uncle Jin’s little ryokan.

“Where?” Isaac asked, because all we could see was this massive nine-story building, shiny and sleek, among the thick forest of the trees.

I wondered if Uncle Jin’s ryokan was too small, and hidden among the grove of trees, that we couldn’t even spot it from here.

“That building looks new,” Mason said.

Higa-san said, “It was finished five years ago. It’s a beautiful building, if I say so myself. The townsfolk are very proud of it. It brings jobs to the town and tourists from around Japan and the world to this place. The town was unknown and quite poor before, but now it’s thriving because of the hotel.”

“Good business does that,” Aiden said. “Glad to hear the town is thriving because of it.”

“You know business, Mister Davis?”

Aiden nodded. “I have a degree in international business but am currently working as a real estate agent in New York.”

Higa-san whistled. “No wonder the air around you is very… How should I say it? Confident? Strong charisma?”

I flicked my gaze to Aiden.

Confident. Charismatic. Yep, those words fit Aiden, all right.

I didn’t know why but I felt this spark within me, like I was proud of Aiden when someone said good things about him.

Isaac said, “Still can’t see Uncle Jin’s little ryokan.”

He was right. None of us could see any sign of it—a Japanese-style building similar to the ones back in town, with maple and Sakura trees and a Japanese stone garden with hot springs.

Noah said, “We’ll see it soon enough.”

Higa-san said, “But it’s right there.”

Isaac said, “Nope. Can’t see it. I give up.”

A few minutes later the van maneuvered into the driveway of that massive nine-story building. Naturally, we all stared in shocked surprise at the sign displayed in big letters, in both Japanese and English: Lake Aoi Resort and Onsen.

What the hell? This was Uncle Jin’s little ryokan? There was nothing little about this place. I, and everyone else, thought it was a tiny traditional type ryokan, not this fancy, modern resort-style hotel.

I flicked my gaze to Higa-san, who looked pleased at our reaction. “Welcome to Lake Aoi Resort and Onsen,” he said, as if to tease us.

“Holy shit! This is Uncle Jin’s ryokan? No way! This is so awesome,” Isaac said, obviously in awe and super hyped.

“Even I didn’t know this,” Reo said. “Uncle Jin has only ever sent me photos of a traditional type house with hot springs, telling me that’s where we’re staying.”

Higa-san said, “Oh, that one. It’s one of our presidential suites.”

“Presidential suite?” Isaac chuckled. “Nice. We get special treatment.”

My head was still buzzing with all this new information regarding our uncle Jin as we headed toward the hotel. I mean if he owned this massive resort place, didn’t that mean he was freakin’ rich?

I mean, we had a rich uncle?

The lobby was elegant, and warm, and the moment we entered, staff came over to greet us.

“Welcome to Lake Aoi Resort and Onsen,” they said in unison, bowing their heads at us.

I must admit this felt a little weird, since none of us had ever been treated like this before. Did they do this to every guest coming in, or was it just because we were related to Uncle Jin, the owner of this place?

A few guests entered behind us, and one of the staff rushed over to the reception area to serve them.

Well, that answered my question.

Higa-san told the rest of the staff to return to their duties and then led us into the elevator on the other side of the lobby.

“This place is awesome,” Isaac said. “The special treatment is awesome. Aren’t we glad Uncle Jin is related to us, Haru?”

“Yeah,” I said. Though I wasn’t sure I liked the special treatment much.

Noah ruffled my hair. “You sound tired. Are you all right?”

Though I nodded and said, “Yeah, I’m fine,” I did feel a little light-headed. I must still be tired from all the traveling, and yeah, the passionate nights I had with Aiden.

The man treated this vacation like a honeymoon, making love to me at least once a night, if not more. If it wasn’t wild and all-consuming, then it’d be slow and gentle, with him just caressing me and kissing me everywhere. I must admit it was crazy amazing, the passion between us strong, but it was damn tiring.

Despite that, though, I refused to tell Aiden to take it slow and leave me to rest and rejuvenate. This was simply because I wanted to spend as much time with Aiden as possible. I wanted to have him all to myself. I was that selfish, despite the risk to my own health.

When the door of the elevator dinged open on the top floor, Higa-san led us out to the corridor and then into a fancy sitting area.

“Please wait here. I’ll inform the president you’ve arrived,” Higa-san said.

Once he was gone again, I took a seat on the sofa, with Aiden claiming the spot beside me.

Aiden drew my attention to him when he touched the back of his hand to my forehead. He said, “You’re hot, Haru. Are you sure you’re not sick?”

“I’m fine,” I said. “I’m just a little overwhelmed, that’s all.”

Reo, sitting on the armchair opposite us, said, “You’re not the only one.” He had a dark frown on his face, which was rare.

I asked, “What? Are you suspicious of something?”

Reo chuckled. “He was very persistent, Uncle Jin. I mean I know he’s not well, but…” He lapsed into silence.

Mason said, “He’s probably working on bringing you two back to Japan. I mean if he’s not well, it’s likely he’d want you both around since you’re his only relatives. More importantly, this place, it’s massive. It’s big money. I don’t know how Japanese men operate their businesses, but I’m guessing this is private and Uncle Jin would want to keep it within the family if anything were to happen to him.”

I looked at Mason, surprised he could decipher that much already when we hadn’t even meet Uncle Jin yet.

Isaac said, “You mean Uncle Jin wants Reo and Haru back? No way!”

Mason shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t quote me on that. It’s just my gut instinct, that’s all.”

I didn’t know why, but the thought of me living apart from Aiden and the others made me feel sick to my stomach.

I instinctively moved closer and wrapped my arms around Aiden. He must have understood the meaning behind my action because he ran his fingers through my hair and said softly, “Don’t worry. I won’t let Uncle Jin take you away from me.”

I nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

The door opened then, and a female voice in an American accent said, “I’m sorry for keeping everyone waiting. I’m Patricia Steel, one of the managers of this resort, so please let me know if you need anything. I’ve brought refreshments.”

“Thank God,” Isaac said. “I’m damn thirsty.”

After putting the tray of refreshments on the coffee table, the woman stepped back and then raised her head to look first at Noah, as if she recognized him. Noah, of course, hinted that he, too, recognized her. The woman then shifted her gaze to Connor, Reo, and then finally settled on Aiden.

Suddenly, she chuckled. “Aiden! Oh my God! I can’t believe it. Long time no see.”

Aiden’s body stiffened, which drew my attention to him. Suddenly, something sickening rose in the pit of my stomach as I saw Aiden break into a wide grin, his eyes twinkling.

“Patricia,” he said. “Wow! Yeah, haven’t seen you for a long time.”

The woman laughed merrily. “Well, duh! Come here and give me a hug.”

My heart, of its own accord, raced like mad when Aiden easily moved away from me toward the woman. I suddenly felt cold and lost. I felt like…I was being abandoned.

Standing, Aiden and the woman hugged tightly.

I felt bile rising in my stomach, and I started feeling sick, for real.

When the two moved back, the woman asked, “So, you guys are the president’s VIPs? How very unexpected.” She laughed as she looked around. “Everyone is here, I see.”

She knew Aiden? She knew us? And from the looks of things, very well, too.

But I didn’t know her. Who was she?

Who the hell is she?

I reached my hand out and grabbed for Aiden’s, desperately almost. When he turned to look at me, I said, “Aiden, I don’t feel well.”

Then the door opened again, and an elderly man came in. I recognized him straightaway since I had seen photos of him numerous times.

I stood, my hands holding Aiden’s tightly, as if I didn’t want to let him go. I could feel the woman’s eyes on us, which were intense, and then her gaze shifted to our hands, where our fingers were intertwining with each other.

Shit! My head was beginning to spin, and my body was shivering. What the hell was wrong with me?

Before I could greet Uncle Jin, the world around me turned dark and my knees weakened.. I fell forward against Aiden, and then I blacked out.