I Need Your Love
Fourth Chapter: Special Bond
As winter turned into spring, the idol group finally became accustomed to living in the Sunrise Residence with Wataru. He still managed to hide himself from his brothers for three months, though Ema would often get frantic calls from Masaomi about Wataru's whereabouts. Though, deep inside, she didn't want to lie to the one who was kind to her during her ordeal, she didn't want to hurt Wataru either.
Right after work, the group entered the house to find Wataru sitting on the kitchen table, studying for his college classes. As she smiled at him, Wataru ran to her excitedly as if he was still ten years old.
"Onee-san, how was work?" Wataru asked as Ema hung her jacket on the coat rack. While she began walking towards the kitchen, her younger brother followed her.
"Busy, as usual. There's nothing we can do about it though..." Ema responded as she put on her apron to prepare dinner for the four. All of a sudden, Wataru decided to join in, seeing that he wanted to help his older sister out. After all, she was the one who allowed him to stay in the house.
Meanwhile, a car drove into the front of the house, while the people inside stepped out, closing the car door behind them. Masaomi and Aiko, the two people, were driving around Kichijouji to hand out the wedding invitations to all the brothers. As they walked towards the front door, Masaomi took out the invitations of Ema, Michiko and Ayako.
As soon as they heard the doorbell ring, Ema asked Ayako and Michiko to check who it was. Walking towards the front door, the opened it to see Masaomi and Aiko, whom they have met before.
"Asahina-san, Shiraishi-san, what brings you here?" Ayako said rather cheerfully, while Michiko stood behind her, keeping a cool façade. That was when the engaged couple gave them the invitations, enclosed in three, small, separate envelopes.
"We're inviting you to our wedding, which will take place soon!" Aiko smiled, along with Masaomi. It was clear that they were excited for the big day.
"Thanks, but where's Wataru's?" Ayako asked innocently, which prompted a warning from Michiko, who was aware that Ayako was on the way to unintentionally revealing a huge secret about said brother. At the same time, Masaomi's eyes widened, seeing that this could lead him closer to Wataru.
"Have you seen Wataru? Do you know where he lives?" Masaomi asked in a way that made him seem desperate to see his little brother again, while Michiko stood there, watching the scene unfold. She knew that this wasn't going to end well.
"Of course! He lives here, last time I checked... for the past few weeks, even!" Ayako mentioned as if she forgot that it was supposed to be a secret from Masaomi. As Masaomi slipped his shoes off his feet, he ran through the house to look for him, while Aiko trailed behind. As soon as they were around the corner, Michiko suddenly stomped on Ayako's foot as hard as she could, causing Ayako to wince in pain.
"What was that for?" Ayako cried, trying to sooth her throbbing foot, while Michiko only sighed.
"That was supposed to be a secret, you imbecile!" Michiko scolded, reminding Ayako that she told Masaomi something she wasn't supposed to reveal. Wanting to see what was going to happen to Wataru, they ran deeper into the house, where they could hear Masaomi calling Wataru's name.
"Wataru! Wataru! Where are you!" Masaomi screamed as he searched through the house in a desperate search for the little brother he missed so much. Ever since he disappeared, Masaomi felt as if part of him was missing. After all, Wataru and he were very close.
Meanwhile, as soon as Wataru heard the screams, he left Ema in the kitchen to find a hiding place. As he ran up the stairs, Masaomi zoomed into the area, prompting Wataru to run faster. However, that caused his footsteps to become more audible, thus giving Masaomi a hint.
"Wataru, get back here!" Masaomi yelled at Wataru, who was making a mad dash towards anywhere he could hide. Unfortunately for him, though, he suddenly got caught in a dead-end, forcing him to face the person he tried so hard to avoid. Turning around, he felt his heart beat faster out of nervousness as he looked at Masaomi's angry face.
"Masa-nii!" Wataru screamed at Masaomi, who ran towards him. "Get away from me!" Still angry about what Wataru did, Masaomi grabbed a hold of him, while Wataru tried to wrestle out of his grasp. He really didn't want to talk to his brother about it.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Aiko caught up with Ema, who had just finished cooking. Ema, hearing the commotion going on, was about to run upstairs to try to calm things down when she saw Aiko, who walked into the room.
"Ema," Aiko said after hearing the noise Masaomi and Wataru made. "What's going on with Wataru and Masaomi? Why did Wataru have to run away like that?" As she asked that question, Ema took a deep breath before explaining everything to her.
"Wataru-kun hates you..." Ema broke the news to her, while Aiko began to look down in a way that showed that she was quite affected by that.
"I know that, but why?" she asked. Ever since she was engaged to Masaomi, she noticed that Wataru seemed to dislike her, even calling her names like 'tramp' and 'witch'. Even though she tried to look unaffected by those, in reality, she really wanted Wataru to accept her. After all, ever since Fuyuki died, she wanted to see him as one of her own brothers so that he could fill the void Fuyuki left. However, if he hated her, then how could that work?
"Before, he used to be really close with Masaomi-san..." Ema mentioned as Aiko paid attention, wanting to make things right between her and her future brother-in-law. "However, ever since you two got engaged, he felt as if you stole his older brother away from him... In his eyes, he'd rather spend time with you over him..."
Before Aiko was able to react to that, they suddenly heard the words, "I hate her! She was the one who ruined this family!" which resonated throughout the entire house. As Ema knew that Wataru was the one who said that, she started to run upstairs. However, all of a sudden, they heard a loud thud, which greatly worried to two.
Running upstairs to see what was going on, they were shocked to see Wataru on the floor while Masaomi stood over him. Earlier, when Wataru said those words, Masaomi pushed him down, since he felt insulted after he said those words. Shocked by what he did to Wataru, Ema ran past him and took Wataru into her arms.
"Masaomi-san, can't you try to control your emotions?" Ema screamed at her older brother, who could only listen to her words. "Why can't you see that when you're angry, you bring up a scary side of you! Please stop this!" As Wataru looked angrily at his older brother, when Aiko suddenly ran in and tried to hold her fiancé back, that angry face was replaced with a surprised one instead.
"Please, Masaomi, stop this! Can't you try to be considerate of Wataru's own feelings?" Aiko begged as she tried to hold Masaomi back. At this point, Masaomi saw how far he went when it came to his emotions.
Even though he really loved Aiko, he loved Wataru just as much. There was a special bond between the two that could never be broken, one that existed only among two siblings that loved each other. Finally seeing the fault of his actions, he quickly turned around and ran out of the house.
Then, Aiko walked towards Ema and Wataru, hoping that he would forgive her. As soon as she reached them, she knelt down and faced Wataru, who only looked at her.
"Wataru-kun, please forgive me if it seems that I'm stealing Masaomi away from you..." Aiko apologized, her smooth, soft voice resonating in his ears. "I now know that you two have a special bond, something that I can't even break. Even so, I hope that someday, you will be able to think of me as your older sister..." After patting his head, she stood up and waved goodbye.
As soon as she left, Ema hugged Wataru and said, "Please remember what Aiko-san said... She's really a nice person and she's only looking out for you..." As Wataru looked away, Ema stood up and left, leaving Wataru to think about what had happened.
Before, he had the assumption that Aiko was nothing but a bitch and a tramp who ruined the family and stole Masaomi away by being a complete seductress. However, after hearing what she said and did, he no longer knew if that was what she really was. Confused by all of this, he stood up and walked to his room, reflecting on what had happened.
A few days later, Ema walked into her room. It had been a long day, which consisted mainly of a music video shoot. It had been really tiring for her, especially since an important event would happen soon. Falling straight onto her bed, she let herself drift off into sleep.
As the clouds raced by, the sun was shining brightly. She was back in the park by the river, the place where Fuyuki confessed to her. While Ema walked around, she saw a silhouette in the distance. Stepping closer to the figure, she began to cry tears of joy once she realized that it was Fuyuki. Excited, she ran towards him and put her arms around her.
"Fuyuki! It's been so long since I've seen you!" she cried into his shirt, while he just stood there, unresponsive. "Please stay with me! I love you and I always will!" Then, Fuyuki scoffed and pushed her onto the ground.
"Liar!" he screamed, before disappearing. Ema was aware that she was starting to fall in love with one of her step-brothers, but she knew that she would be betraying Fuyuki by doing that. Now that he expressed his anger at her, Ema began to sob uncontrollably, shouting his name as loud as she could.
"What a traitor! I can't believe you would betray Fuyuki like that..." Aiko told Ema sharply as she crossed her arms in disapproval, while Ema turned around to face her. She had an angry look plastered onto her face as she looked down upon her.
All of a sudden, she felt a little tiny creature run up her arm. Looking down, she found Juli, who refused to look at her. "Why did you have to run away like that? I actually thought you were dead!" was all he said before disappearing into thin air.
"Ema... Why are you trying to avoid us?" her father said across the river as he held Miwa's hand. They were both crying from the pain they had went through. Ema was aware that they died because she tried to run away from them. As she sobbed more and more, she suddenly felt someone's arms wrap around her as he planted a kiss on her neck, causing her to flinch.
"You look cute when you're crying..." Fuuto seductively whispered into her ear, while Ema pushed him away with all her might. She had been bothered by him so much that she believed that he was taken over by a monster who scrambled his conscience.
"What a loser!" Michiko scoffed as she and Aiko stood in front of her. Ema couldn't believe what was happening. First, everyone started leaving her and now, her best friends were showing their disgust towards her.
"I know, right?" Ayako joined in, crossing her arms as she stared at her in contempt. "I don't see what Fuuto-kun sees in her! I mean, she's just a little slut, if you ask me..." Spitting at Ema, she walked away, while Ema tried to chase after them.
"Goodbye, Imouto-chan..." someone whispered from behind her. Turning around, she could see Tsubaki's figure as he walked away from her. She had missed him ever since he told her that he would be away indefinitely. Reaching her breaking point, she suddenly felt someone tap her shoulder. Turning around, she saw the brother she loved.
"Why are you still going after Fuyuki?" he asked, while Ema looked down sadly. She didn't realize that everything that had happened had affected him greatly. As she tried to tell him that she loves him, he suddenly pushed her away, knowing that she still has feelings for Fuyuki.
"Can't you just give up on him? He's dead!" he screamed before disappearing. Remembering everything that had happened to her thus far, she collapsed onto the ground and sobbed as loud as she could as she buried her face into her hands. She no longer had anyone to turn to.
That was when she woke up. It was still the middle of the night. Sitting up, she pinched herself to make sure that she was in the real world. As she wiped her eyes, she realized that what she had experienced a while ago was just a nightmare.
Falling back onto the soft mattress, she reminded herself that Aiko and Masaomi's wedding would take place the next day. Deciding that she should get some rest, she closed her eyes and let herself drift off into sleep again, hoping that she wouldn't get yet another nightmare.