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Chapter Four

I quietly slipped into my room. I saw that Juli had left, so I went over to the desk and picked up the picture once more. My father… didn't Iori say I was visiting my birth mother? But I could tell by the pain in my heart that this man meant everything to me. Yet I couldn't remember anything about him except for his smile and the warmness I felt when I thought of him.

"You don't look very enthusiastic."

I turned around and faced the redhead Yusuke. He was laying on my bed, holding the picture of all of the boys. I glanced back to the desk and saw that it was indeed missing. We both waited in silence, until I walked over and sat beside him. Somehow, I always found Yusuke less flirtatious as the others. I tried to fill in the emptiness with words.

"So, Yusuke," I turned to look at him. He cheeks turned a bit red, but quickly returned to their normal color.

"How old am I?"

Confused, he propped himself on his elbow, until we were at eye level.

"You really don't know, do you?" He sighed, then said, "We're 18."

18, huh? I gasped, then suddenly exclaimed, "Aren't we supposed to be in school?!"

Yusuke chuckled, then ruffled my hair. He smiled, "You're always worried about things like that, aren't you?"

He laid back down. Staring at the ceiling, he quietly said, "We're going to the same university this year. But I don't know if you can go."

His brown eyes searched mine. Finally, he said, "I only wanted to go because you were."

My eyes widened, and he turned his face away. He wasn't flirtatious. He didn't toy with my feelings. He said it all in a way that I could understand and grasp. He wanted to genuinely be with me. I blushed, and saw that he was, too. Yusuke rested there, but I didn't mind. I soon found myself laying down next to me.

"Wha-?!" He exclaimed.

"Huh?"

"Y-You're-!" He sat up, almost throwing me off the bed. His face was bright red, yet I saw a slight smile that he tried to hide. I felt somewhat protected by him. Him, Iori, Masaomi, Louis, Azusa… they were the few I felt truly safe with. Kaname and Tsubaki had begun to make me feel uncomfortable around. I felt Yusuke's arms wrap around me, but I didn't mind. I began to fall asleep, and smiled as I did so.

I woke up late that night, Yusuke's face right next to mine. I had completely forgotten about it! He, too, had drifted off. I didn't want to wake him, and felt him pull me closer. My ear was on his chest, and I could hear his heartbeat slowly beating with his breathing. Soon, our hearts were in sync. I don't know why, but I felt so calm and collected. He made me feel so safe and happy. I wanted to fall asleep, but found listening to his heart was much more entertaining. He smelled nice, too. Wait, why was I thinking about this?! I heard him grumble as he woke up, and he soon realized what he was holding. A smiling Ema. Instead of tensing up, he kissed the top of my head. I looked up, and he was smiling as well. We both sat up and laughed.

"You should fix your hair," he suddenly blurted out.

"What's wrong with my hair?" I inquired, looking at a strand of my curly, brown hair. He waved his hand and squeaked, "Nothing! I mean, your hairstyle is just different!"

He looked around, and saw that on my bedpost there were some heart shaped hair ties. He picked them up, and pulled my hair so I had a side ponytail. He put the ties in gently, so as to not pull my hair. It felt strange, but I liked it. I smiled and said, "Thanks, Yusuke!"

He blushed and patted my head. I heard my stomach grumble, and quickly got up. I stammered, "I-I think I'm going to go eat now…"

Yusuke followed, and slipped his hand in mine. I didn't pull away. We walked to the elevator and made our way downstairs.

"You two have gotten especially close."

Hikaru's voice drifted to our ears, and we quickly released hands. Smirking, a beautiful woman came into view. But… wasn't that Hikaru just a moment ago?

"We weren't doing anything!" Yusuke protested. The woman spoke, and I gasped in realization.

"Well, I see that Ema here doesn't have a clue." The man/ woman drifted out of sight and Yusuke nervously looked at me, wondering if Hikaru's words had hurt me. I shrugged it off as if nothing had happened, but to be honest, I really WAS clueless. Who the heck did Hikaru think he was?

I went to the kitchen, and mindlessly bumped into a figure.

"Oof!" I groaned and landed on my butt. Before I could even look up to see who it was, a pair of strong hands lifted me up.

"Sorry," a voice mumbled and I looked up and saw Subaru staring apologetically down at me. His arms held mine, and I felt his grip was strong. I wiggled away and felt almost like I didn't belong here.

"Ema…?"

Everyone's attention turned to me. I felt like holding in the pain didn't help anymore. I fell to my knees and felt the tears spring out and pour down my cheeks. All I could wonder was why it had to be me to be suddenly snatched away from my life that seemed to be wonderful and then thrown into a world that was so confusing that I just didn't care who was in it anymore. Hands reached out, but I felt my feet and hands move, my common sense drifting away from me. All I thought was no more, no more!

"Ema!" Iori's voice brought me back to my senses, even if it was just for a moment, but I felt my feet moving farther away again until I was lost in my sea of tears.

Before I knew it, I was somewhere completely different. Was this place a park? There were pink leaves floating down and tangling in my hair. Next to me, there were children in a park all enjoying themselves. I smiled, and tried to remember if I had a childhood as nice as this. I walked over to the splintered railing and leaned against it, careful so my flowy yellow dress didn't snag on it. I looked up and smiled melancholically. All these brothers seemed fantastic, I just needed a break from their romantic approaches.

"Ema?"

That voice sent a chill spiraling down my spine. I snapped my head around to see who it was. Orange hair? It was yet another triplet. One acted out of lust and jealousy, the other acted out to be helpful. How would this one reach out to me?

"Nice night, huh?" He asked quietly, overlooking the pond and the buzz of children blurred in the background, slowly getting quieter as the evening advanced. He looked over, and spotted me hugging my arms. He pulled off his jacket and felt it resting on my shoulders. It was like a non-direct hug, and I found those to be nicer than the actual ones. I hugged it tighter around my shoulders.

"You've done this before," Natsume finally said. "You ran away."

He paused, looking over at my reaction. I searched his eyes, and they were bright and concerned. I hung my head. I ran away?

"Let's go back," he offered his arm out, and I linked mine in his. We then began to walk away from the tranquil scene of memories I wished for but would never have again.