Ema got ready and went down stairs for breakfast. "Good morning!" Said Ukyo. "Good morning..." Ema muttered. She was still lost in thought about her dream. " What's wrong?" Asked Ukyo " It's your first day of college but you don't seem that excited." Ema shook her head "Oh, It's nothing." She decided it was best to forget what happened.
" Onee-chan, is it your first day today? Good luck!" Said Wataru. " Thank you Wataru! You should tell that to Yusuke too, okay?" "Speaking of which, why hasn't Yusuke come down yet?" Asked Ukyo.
" Well... Leave it to Yusuke to be late on the very first day." It was Tsubaki. The twins had come to eat breakfast.
" Hey! It's not like I mess up all the time!" It was Yusuke. "ACHOO!" "Are you okay Yusuke?" Asked Ema. "You don't look so good."
" I'm fine! It's just a little cold today, that's all." Answered Yusuke wiping his nose with a tissue.
Azusa sighed " Anyway, If you see Subaru, ask him how he's been, okay?" Yusuke and Ema stood silently, It hadn't been long since Subaru decided to leave the Asahina residence.
Wataru broke the awkward silence, " You know what? This is a message from Fu-tan!" He showed her a text message from Fuuto. " Good luck on your first day. You know...I'm gonna be pretty lonely at school without you. But let's play together in your room sometime,okay? ;) and send my regards to the idiot next to you too."
"ACHOO!" Yusuke sneezed.
Ema was standing in front of gate. She took took a deep breath. Her college life was about to start. Ema couldn't help but smile. Yusuke cleared his throat, "Umm... So.. should we get a move on?"
After the investiture ceremony was over, Yusuke and Ema made it to their classrooms and took their seats. The teacher,a middle aged man named Rei Okada came up to the front and introduced himself. He was tall and looked a bit rough with dark blue hair and a serious expression on his face.
Just when he was about to finish reading out the general instructions, the door slid open. " Sorry I'm late.." The boy answered in a flat tone "
I couldn't attend the investiture ceremony for certain reasons." He didn't sound that apologetic at all. Okada-sensei felt a little annoyed, but when he saw him he looked surprised. He quickly changed his tone, " Ah..Yes the principal had already informed me about you Mr.? "Arai , Naoki Arai " the guy answered casually .
It seemed like they were having this formal conversation but Ema felt that the teacher and student knew each other.
The moment the guy said his second name out loud, all the other students began to whisper to themselves. Ema felt confused, "Arai... Where have I heard that name before."
The guy stood in front of the whole class. " I have this strange feeling like I've seen this guy before.." Yusuke thought aloud. " What about you-" He turned to Ema, but stopped himself when he saw her expression. Ema looked completely shocked, almost as if she was seeing a ghost from her past.
Yusuke quickly glanced at the guy again. He was as tall as him and had the same build as Fuuto. He had messy brown short hair and brown eyes . He wore rimmed glasses and had a ' bored ' look in his eyes. He didn't seem to have a cold personality, but something about him was just 'unsettling'.
Those brown eyes and hair... why did he seem so familiar?
He looked around and realised that everyone was staring. He then realised that the guy had a very pretty face, like that of a model's. The bored expression and his bed head couldn't change that fact. Yusuke also felt a sort of 'Presence' from him. The sort of presence that an idol life Fuuto or a sports star like Subaru would have.
Yusuke sighed. The new guy reminded him way too much of his 'talented' brothers. The guy took his seat in front of them. He didn't seem to mind all the whispering but didn't make direct eye contact with anyone but the sensei.
" What's going on? What's with this guy?!" Yusuke whispered a lttle too loud. The guy instantly looked back at him, this time with a cold look in his eyes. Yusuke felt a shiver run down his spine. The guy quickly changed back. Yusuke felt spooked. He looked at Ema.
Ema felt spooked too, but for a different reason.
After the first class was over and all the students had scattered, Ema saw the new boy speaking with the teacher. The Okada-Sensei had a smug expression on his face, " Looks like the little master's gonna be home alone for a while." He said. " Are you sure you're gonna be okay?".
" What do you mean?! Of course I'm gonna be okay!" He answered with a cheery tone that surprised Ema. But then she realised that his reply sounded way too familiar. She had a strange uncomfortable feeling from the moment she saw him. She wanted to ask him about it herself. But she decided to shake the feeling off.
" Your father told me look out for you" said the . Ema snapped out of it and saw that they were still talking. " But you bet I was surprised to see that you actually made it!"
" Yeah... It's 'cause I made a promise."
"Are you really gonna be okay?" This time Okada-Sensei asked with more concern in his voice, " You're father's gonna be away for long time. You know what I mean, the last time you-"
"I'll be fine!" He cut him off. The boy smiled, trying to keep the situation light, "Besides, it's not like I'm gonna be alone! I'll be staying over at my dad's friend's house." He said.
Sensei signed and then he noticed Ema. " Can I help you with something? Miss... Aasahina right?" He asked. " No.. It's umm... I-" she stammered. Just then, the boy looked back at her, this time with the same old expression. He looked right through her like he didn't even know her. Ema felt a sharp pain in her chest, "It's nothing." She said and quickly walked away.
Without even realising, she felt tears fill her eyes. " It's not him." She thought to herself, " He would've recognised me if he saw me... Even if my name changed."
It was lunch break and Yusuke was still thinking about the the events that happened that day. "Naoki Arai... Naoki...Arai... Argh.. Where have I heard that name before!" He was racking his brain but still couldn't get anything.
"Hey you know what?!" It was a group of girl chatting at a lunch table. Yusuke wasn't the one to eavesdrop so he slowly moved away. " I heard that the Director Arai's son is studying here!" Yusuke stopped in his tracks. The name 'Arai' just rang in his mind. " I didn't know he had a son." One of the girls said. " I didn't even know he was married!"
Yusuke remembered that time during the investiture ceremony when a tall good looking man walked onstage for an introduction. " I am Hiroto Arai,director of education ."
"That's weird, he didn't look any older than Masa-nii... There's no way he could have a kid my age." He thought, " Well... Even if the new kid was his son, that doesn't explain why his face looked so familiar.." He remembered how Ema reacted when she saw him. " What's with that, though!" He went racking his brain. "ACHOO!" his cold wasn't doing him any good either.
"Oh, you're home early today Masa-nii?" Asked Wataru. "Yes.. There weren't many patients, so I decided to close and come home early today." Answered Masamune. "THAT'S GREAT!" shouted Wataru. " By the way-" it was Ukyo. " Rintaro-san called. He wanted to talk to you." "To me?" Asked Masamune. "About what?"
Ema walked out onto the corridor of the second floor. She decided it was best to forget everything that happened. She looked out through the window and saw Subaru practicing basketball on the outdoor court. He saw her and smiled. Before she could react, she heard a commotion going on downstairs. The students were pointing out to specific spot on the balcony. She ran along the corridor to the place and looked up onto a tree close to the building.
She saw a cat stuck high up on a branch of the tree. It obviously had no idea how to get down. "Is it gonna be okay?" She thought. Just then she saw Naoki climb up to the same branch. "That's dangerous!" She thought.
" It's gonna be okay." Naoki called to the cat. The cat recognised him and immediately jumped into his arms. " Let's get you down now." He carefully climbed down to the branch next to the second floor balcony. But the branch couldn't hold him.
"Be careful!" Yelled Ema. "SNAP" Just before the branch gave way, Naoki made a leap for the balcony where Ema was standing.
Though the distance was quite large, he made the jump seem effortless. He jumped into the balcony and sat down legs folded. He had lost his glasses during the jump. " It's alright!" He smiled, looking up at her. Ema was dazed, not just by his answer but by that familiar warmth that she felt when she caught that smile of his. Now, without his glasses she could clearly see his face - those hazelnut brown eyes and brown hair. But what intrigued her was his expression.
It was nothing like the one he had worn when he first got there. She just stood there, without saying a word.
" What's wrong?" He asked with concern. He looked so much different now. But what pained Ema was how clueless the boy was. She just stood there, looking at him.
"Ema!" It was Yusuke. Subaru was with him. " Are you okay?" Asked Yusuke, " I saw a crowd, so I thought something happened."
" It's fine, nothing happened." She said with a forced smile. " Em-a?" Asked Naoki. But before he could say anything the teacher came up and hit him on the head. "Ow.."
" You know, when I told you to keep a low profile, this wasn't what I meant." He said. " I'm sorry Okada-sensei, I was just trying to save Maron here. You know she's hopeless with heights." Just then the cat looked up reacting to its named, and meowed."
Okada-sensei sighed(again). " Okay people, show's over! Get a move on! " He yelled to the crowd to get the students to scatter.
"Well.. I think you guys should head home too." He told Ema. Subaru led his two siblings down, leaving behind a very confused looking Naoki with a cat behind. " Ema.." He repeated the name to himself.
After a small talk, Subaru told the two to return home. " It's getting late. I'll talk to you guys tomorrow if you have any questions." With that he left. Yusuke and Ema walked back home but along the way, Ema didn't say a word. Yusuke kept glancing at her looking worried.
" We're back!" Yusuke announced as they walked into the Aasahina residence. "Ah.. Onai-chan's back!" Wataru ran up and hugged her. " How was first day, you two?" Asked Azusa. Masamune, Kaname, and the twins were all in the living room.
" It was great." Ema answered immediately, which made Azusa wonder. " Chii-chan, You're here?" It was Louis with Julie on his shoulder. Ukyo was with him. " I wanted to tell you that Rintaro-San called."
"Papa did?" Answered Ema, finally with some form of emotion. She went to the front room and called Rintaro. " Papa did you want to tell me something?" She asked.
" Ah.. Ema, there's something I forgot to tell you. My friend's gonna be leaving the country for business so no there's no one to look after his son who can't live alone for... medical reasons. So I talked to Masamune to let him stay Aasahina residence for a few months."
" I see." Answered Ema " But that's not all I wanted to tell you. You see Ema, his son's actually someone you know." He said. Ema was confused, "Someone I know?"
"DING DONG!" The bell rang. " Just a minute, Papa." She opened the door, " This is the Asahina residence. How can I help- " she stopped herself. Outside stood Naoki Arai dragging a suitcase with one hand and clutching a piece of paper in the other.
" Hello, I'm Rintaro-san's-" he looked at Ema. This time his brown hair was less messy and he wasn't wearing glasses. Ema's heart beat fast. " Ema..." He said quietly. Ema flinched. It was the first time she heard him say her name.
But the moment she reacted, Naoki flashed a joyful smile, like that of a little boy. He looked like Wataru when he was happy. "Ema!" He dropped everything and hugged her. Ema felt flustered; and confused.
"Chii-chan, what's wrong?" It was Louis. Julie saw what happened. " Chii, who's that?! What's he doing to you?!" Hissed Julie, ready to attack. " it's just me Julie!" Said Naoki smiling. Julie couldn't believe his eyes. But quickly jumped Naoki's shoulder. "Whoa! Is it me or have you gotten bigger?" He smiled as Julie hugged his face. " Where have you been all these years?!" Cried Julie.
Ema finally put the pieces together, " Nao-kun?!" The boy grinned, just like how he he'd done those 10 years ago.
