Chapter 2 In Sickness and in Health…
It was a cold Saturday morning. The Asahina family was formally dressed complete with suite and tie. It would only be appropriate since they were going to Hinata, Rintarou's will reading. The mood should've been somber but for some of the boys you could sense their hidden excitement. It was not like they were close to the deceased. No they were not wolves out to get their fair share of the departed's possession but they were interested in one of his custody.
Ukyo being the lawyer will be the one in charge of reading the man's last will and testament. The gathering should've started fifteen minutes ago but the main contender the deceased only heir was late. The room was silent as they waited for the missing person. They knew that this would be the best chance to see her again. As the doors swung open their imotou-chan entered. She was just casually dressed wearing only a white t-shirt and jeans even still, it captivated their sight.
She sat in the far corner of the room. Ukyo pretended to cough as if signifying the start of the meeting. "I Hinata Rintarou of legal age married to Asahina-Rintarou, Miwa, being of sound and disposing mind and memory and not acting under influence or intimidation from anyone do hereby proclaim to my beloved wife Asahina-Rintarou. I give and bequeath the following property such as my house, my estate and any form of monetary asset to you. In inclusive to this I also make you the legal guardian of my daughter Hinata, Ema until the legal age of twenty.
"So in other words he left everything to her and me nothing." Ema stated. Ukyo only looked at her in response. "The will was made a year ago." she added. "You can always contest the will but…" Ukyo responded. "There's no need. You can have it. You can have the house, his properties, and your father's asset." Miwa immediately interjected. "You mean the asset you froze. The assets we needed to pay for my father's medical fee while he was still alive." Ema coldly answered. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I thought… I thought…." Miwa stated but was cut off mid sentence by Ema. "You thought he was stealing from you that's why he was liquidating his other assets quickly, or worse you thought he was cheating on you. Ema stated as she started leaving the room. "He didn't want you to know he was sick. He didn't want you to go through what you went thru before that's why he decided to hide it. No amount of money would've kept someone with liver cancer in stage four alive for long but the asset you decided to withhold from him would've help ease his pain. No… you can keep that. you worked hard to take that . It's rightfully yours." Ema sarcastically said. "What was it that Fuuto once said to me? Oh, right… baka ono (stupid woman). "Imouto chan." Kaname called out. "If there's one thing I know it's that I'm not your imouto-chan" she said as she slammed the door as she left.
In the sea of people Natsume was able to distinguish the brown haired girl from the rest. "WAIT!" he yelled out. She stopped and looked back but then proceeded to continue on her way. He ran after her and grabbed her hand. "I said wait." Natsume stated as he panted. "Let go." Ema responded. "The will stated you're now in Miwa's care." Natsume replied. "Let me go." Ema coldly replied. "You're eighteen and still a minor." Natsume stated in a lecturing tone. "I need to go…" she replied "NO!" he said. "You don't understand. She said in a somewhat scared manner. "Run… just run." she commanded.
Natsume didn't understand what was going on but he did chase after her. To his surprise he didn't think Ema was the athletic type they ran for a good twenty minutes until he finally stopped. "Why are you stopping?" ema asked. "Why are we running?" Natsume retorted. Ema just stood beside him in response. "This place seems dangerous. I think we're in the slums." Natsume cautiously said. "This is where I live." Ema answered in an annoyed tone as she raised one of her eyebrows. If there was ever a moment Natsume literally wanted to put his foot in his mouth this was the moment. They walked in front of an old apartment which looked like it was scheduled to be demolished. As they entered a rat walked passed them that was a size of a small kitten Natsume looked at Ema and to his astonishment she didn't even flinch at the sight. As they entered he saw that the door was locked but the hinges on the other side of the door weren't even attached to anything. "Why bother putting a lock it's not like there was anything worth stealing? She said as if reading his mind.
As he looked in the far corner of the room he saw what seemed to be Rintarou's urn. He went to it and gave him a short prayer and returned back to Ema's side. "You can't stay here. He said to her. "I've been paying the rent for the past four months. I can stay here as long as I pay the rent. She replied in a smart-alecy tone. "You are legally under Miwa's care." Natsume answered back. "If you're not going to be a polite guess I'm not gonna be a hospitable host for long." Ema responded as she showed him the door. Before he left he hugged her as tightly as he could "Stay at my place. I'll take care of you." Natsume softly said. As he slowly leaned in for a kiss she simply replied "do you know how many of my customers have offered me the same thing. She looked at him frostily which stopped him in his tracks from what he was about to do.
Natsume just stood outside of Ema's apartment for a while. He just couldn't accept the current living conditions of the closest person to his heart. He knew he'll find a way to get her home and he did what any grown man would do. He told his mother….
Author's Note in Japan the legal age is twenty… In case you were curious. That is the same reason why they celebrated Suburu's birthday and for Ukyo's comment that they don't usually celebrate birthdays.
