When the weekend came to an end everyone in the Asahina family had heard what happened. Subaru had leaped out of his chair when Tsubaki had mentioned it at breakfast yelling in shock just as I walked down from a restful sleep. Someone had carried me back to bed and tucked me in. I smiled, they had even placed one of my plushies in with me to cuddle, it was cute of them. "H-Hey! Are you okay? I just heard, are you sure you're alright to be up and about?" Subaru questioned me with deeply concerned eyes as I rubbed my face, still waking up and I blinked at him sleepily before smiling at him in reassurance.

"I'm fine, everyone took such great care of me that there's really no need to worry. I'm very grateful to you all." I said whilst giving a bow.

"Now don't be like that, of course we'd look after you. You're our adorable little sister." Tsubaki reminded me and I smiled, happy to hear him say such a thing. I'm glad they've accepted me so fast, I'll admit it was a huge worry when I first came here but they're all so nice, there really was no reason for me to worry at all.

"Still, don't push yourself too hard, okay?" Subaru continued to fuss as he collected his bag and walked towards me, blushing slightly as he glanced away but then he took a deep breath and looked me directly in the eyes. To my understanding, this was the first time he'd ever properly looked at me and spoken to me. I'm so glad, I guess he's another shy one just like Yusuke. They're all so cute. "And if anything ever happens or you need to talk, I'll be around. Or…whatever…" He trailed off, quickly turning his head as he shifted awkwardly.

"Thank you Subaru, that really means a lot." I told him, lifting my hands up to my chest as I dipped my head to him. "Please, don't be so nervous around me anymore, I don't bite." I teased him a little, making him look to me in surprise as I held his gaze. "I'm still a little nervous and shy myself, but I'm confident we'll all get along, so let's do our best, okay?"

"Yeah…okay." He agreed, managing to give me a small smile before he passed to go to his gym session for basketball. Everyone in the family were all so talented and professional, I feel a little lame not having anything of a career set in place. I'm almost twenty and I still haven't figured out what I want to do with my life. Turning around I greeted everyone with a good morning, Wataru beaming and asking that I sit next to him so I agreed, going to fix myself some breakfast but Masaomi insisted I allowed him to do it, telling me to relax for today.

They didn't exactly pamper me like a destitute princess, but they continued to try and do everything that I would usually do for myself, even if it was making a drink. I guess this was their way of showing me that they worried for me and wanted to make sure that I was well taken care of. At least my dad doesn't have to worry about me being lonely or isolated here, it must be a huge weight off his mind. Will I have to tell him what happened? I don't want to alarm him so close to the wedding and his business overseas is very important to him. If I told him about the incident, he might insist on coming home like the last time I had an accident and broke my arm. He flew right home to be by my side. True, he wasn't always there, but he was there when I needed him most and that's all that matters.

Being a Sunday most of the family were home, however I was hugely surprised when Futo himself came striding in, glancing around the room before he saw me sitting down on one of the dining chairs by the window, writing a poem about taking new turns in life. "So I heard you got beat up by some thug yesterday. Well, let's have a look at you." Futo announced as he approached, making everyone in the room lift their heads.

"Oh hey Futo's back." Wataru noted as his older brother stopped before me and I lifted my head, blinking in surprise as he gripped my face in a firm grip to tilt it to the side, exposing the area that was still darkened by bruises.

"Jeez, some guys just don't have any class." He exhaled, frowning slightly.

"Futo, be gentle with her." Ukyo warned as I continued to stare at Futo blankly. Why had he come home? I thought he was preparing for a gig across town soon. Had he come all the way back just because he'd heard I'd been hurt?

"She's not a doll so she won't break that easy." Futo answered simply before he then noticed my hand wrapped securely in a bandage. "You probably did that yourself, you're clumsy aren't you?"

"Don't be a jerk Futo. Can't you just say get better soon like normal people?" Azusa questioned in disapproval though Futo waved his hand dismissively, trying to play it cool but I could read his face. I may have only met him once before but I have a fairly decent sense for the kind of person he was. He had been worried, I could see the creases near his eyes and the slight strain his voice as he spoke. Maybe me giving him a scolding had left an impression on him, all the same, I was touched that he had come all this way for me. Perhaps he wasn't such a spoiled kid at all, more so he was just largely lonely and put up a front in order to keep his distance from people so that he wouldn't inevitably get hurt. As the brothers all began to argue I couldn't help but begin to chuckle until slowly, I started to laugh. I don't know what came over me but I couldn't help myself so I covered my mouth with my hand in an attempt to hide it, however Futo noticed and turned around, frowning at me.

"Why're you laughing? Is something funny to you or something?" He demanded to know so I lifted my gaze, looking at him with newfound affection as I placed my poetry book in my lap and leaned my head to the side slightly, resting it against the back of the chair as Futo stood over me in a lax stance.

"I'm sorry, it's just you look so cute when you're worried." This made him stumble, stuttering for words however Tsubaki started laughing, amused by how Futo was left speechless and several smirks were shared around between the brothers as I cleared my throat, sweeping away my laughter as not to irritate him. "But thank you Futo, you're very thoughtful. I'm happy you're here." I told him honestly and for the first time, I saw his façade drop slightly as his hand jumped to his mouth as if to keep himself from coughing, a slight tinge of pink touching his cheeks as he tried to brush it off.

"Well, I was in the neighbourhood anyway and I left some things here that I needed." He tried to excuse but I knew better and as he looked down at my still smiling face, he knew that he wasn't fooling me. "Just…get better soon otherwise you'll just put a damper on everyone's mood." I nodded my head, promising him that I would do so however as he turned to leave, he noticed that I was holding a notebook in my hands. "Hey, are you writing song lyrics or something?" Instantly interested, he moved closer but I turned the book away from him, reluctant to let anyone read them.

"No they're poems. I don't think these would be any good for songs, they're mostly speculations and things like that. You wouldn't find it interesting." I tried to brush it off but Futo seemed determined as he reached out so I hid the book a little further, not wanting him to read them.

"Come on, I came all this way and you're not going to let me see just a few words scribbled on a page? Pretty selfish if you ask me." He tried guilt tripping me into letting him see them but I could be stubborn when I wanted to be so I shook my head, giving him a firm look. Or at least I tried to, eventually I couldn't maintain his gaze and I looked away.

"These poems are very private to me. It would be like you trying to read my diary. Something so personal is not a thing you should share lightly, a lot of time and effort has been put into the meaning of each word and each thought has been carefully articulated. I can't just let anyone read them, only my dad has ever read one of my poems and that was just a handful of times." I tried to explain, gripping my book tightly against me as I stood to face Futo, taking a deep breath before lifting my head to look at him.

He was regarding me thoughtfully, a slight smirk on his lips as he then gave a solitary laugh. "Alright then, if that's the case then there's a simple solution." He reasoned, making me frown slightly however before I could react, he'd leaned forwards and kissed my bruised cheek delicately, like the brush of a petal against my skin before drawing back slightly to speak in a hushed voice. "I'll just have to make you like me enough to read them." I was surprised by his actions and I stood there in shock, unsure of how to react or respond as Yusuke yelled from where he was lying on the sofa, sitting bolt upright despite his temperature.

"I saw that Futo you jerk! Don't be such a creep!" He said before falling back with a groan, rubbing his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about. My big sister and I were just having a nice conversation. Right sis?" He said, giving me a sly wink as he began to walk away. "I have to get going, I'll see you losers some other time." Futo sure was something else. I didn't expect that from him, or for him to even be interested in my poems. For all her knew they could be terrible or just not to his taste. Poetry isn't for everyone, it was just something I enjoyed doing from time to time.

"Hey big sis, will you come play a videogame with me?" Wataru asked, tugging at my sleeve and I blinked myself awake before looking down at Wataru and nodding my head.

"Sure Wataru, of course I can." Yusuke insisted on watching us play so he came to my room to sit back and observe as Wataru picked out which game we played. I think Yusuke was still worried about me, I noticed he'd been keeping a close eye on how I was dealing with things but honestly, I was more worried about him because he was beginning to get worse. He was pale and clammy and he kept on touching his head as if it hurt or he was dizzy, so when he crumpled on my bed I was immediately standing up and checking his temperature. "Wataru, I need you to go get Ukyo and tell him Yusuke's gotten worse." I instructed and Wataru leaped up, nodding his head.

"Leave it to me! Hey Ukyo! Ukyo!" Wataru yelled as he dashed off, leaving me with Yusuke as he groaned, tossing and turning.

"This sucks…why does everything hurt?" He complained so I dimmed the light in the room by closing the curtains and turning off the game console so that there wasn't so much of a glare. Slowly I managed to sit him upright and took off his jacket and shirt, shifting him so that he was laying comfortably on my bed. I pulled my covers over him to keep him warm before I hurriedly fetched my face cloth, making it cold and damp before I began to wipe away the sweat from his face, neck and shoulders, hushing him gently.

"It's alright Yusuke, just rest and get better. It's a mild fever but we don't want it getting any worse, right?" I said to him as Wataru returned with Ukyo, Tsubaki and Azusa in tow.

"How is he doing?" Ukyo questioned, coming over and checking his temperature as well as I sat beside him on the bed, Wataru also coming forwards with an anxious face.

"His temperature is worse than it was this morning but it doesn't appear to be anything more than a fever. I think it might be the flu or something, though we won't be able to tell unless a doctor examines him." I answered, placing the cloth over his head as Yusuke breathed deeply, face strained in sleep as if he were in pain.

"Well this just keeps on getting more and more interesting. To think he'd finally collapse and just so happen to be in your bed, Rikki." I blinked, realising that Tsubaki had called me by another nickname. Rikki, I liked that too, it sounded casual yet friendly.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to, but I don't think we should move him. We don't know exactly what's wrong with him yet." I reasoned quietly, not wanting to disturb Yusuke. "I don't mind him sleeping in my bed tonight, maybe he'll feel a lot better after some rest." Ukyo nodded his head in agreement though he looked a little tense, straightening up and pushing his glasses further up his nose as Azusa did the same. It made me smile inwardly, seeing their familiar habits that they had with each other.

"Rikona is right, if he's comfortable then there's no reason to move him. I'm sorry for inconveniencing you this way, I'm sure Yusuke wouldn't mind if you slept in his room for tonight. I can change the sheets if that would make you feel more comfortable?" He offered but I shook my head, my hand reaching out to sponge off Yusuke's face again.

"It's alright, I'll stay with him and make sure he doesn't get worse during the night. I can sleep on the floor, I have a spare futon which I can use and blankets, so it's no trouble at all. It's the least I can do after you all looking after me so wonderfully yesterday." I answered.

"You're an ocean of kindness, Rikona. We're very lucky to have such a sweet sister like you." Azusa said to me whilst smiling warmly, though I blushed slightly at his words. I didn't mean it in a way to seek compliments, what I said was true. I just want to be useful to them so that I could truly be a part of their family. "But you don't have to do that, you shouldn't make yourself ill on Yusuke's account."

"Though to be fair, having such a pretty girl nurse him back to health would be better than any form of medicine. I'm just a little jealous that little Yusuke will be getting all your attention, Rikki." Tsubaki said and I blushed without smiling, looking away. It wasn't fair when they said things like that, I'm not used to it and I'm not sure yet how to respond, however Azusa gave his brother a knock on the head on my behalf, telling him to knock it off.

"Hey big sis, do I have a temperature?" Wataru asked and I relaxed, chuckling as I checked his forehead against mine, making him smile at me happily.

"You seem to be in perfect health, Wataru, but don't worry. I can always tuck you in if that'll make you feel better." I offered and that instantly made Wataru brighter. Since I insisted, Yusuke was left for me to take care of, the others popping their head around the door every so often, however after I'd tucked Wataru in and kissed him goodnight, it wasn't long after I got back to my room when there was a soft knock on the door. "Come in." When the door opened I looked up to see Iori slipping inside quietly. "Iori, hey. Don't you have an early lecture tomorrow? You should really get some rest." I said to him but he just smiled warmly.

"I'm going to my room next, I just wanted to bring you something." He said before placing a small vase of flowers on my desk. "I meant to give them to you yesterday after I heard what happened, but I didn't want to disturb you." He said to me, pulling back his hands to reveal a small cluster of sunflowers which brightened the room despite it being a little dark. "I thought they might cheer you up a little."

"They're lovely Iori, thank you that's so sweet of you." I was touched by the gesture. "Do you like flowers then? They're so neatly arranged, did you do this yourself?" He nodded his head, coming a little closer to glance over Yusuke to see how he was doing. He'd settled down a bit and wasn't tossing so much for now.

"I take care of the flowerbeds outside, so gardening has become something of a hobby of mine." He said, his soft voice pleasant to listen to. I smiled up at him, thanking him once more for his consideration and he reassured me that it was no trouble. "You just looked so sad yesterday, we all feel better when we see you smile so I wanted to help in some way to bring that lovely smile back." He told me before leaning forwards, smoothing back my hair before placing a kiss to the top of my head, making me tense slightly. "Goodnight Rikona, make sure that you sleep as well." He murmured before leaving my room, my wonder filled gaze following after him. What was that all about? Was he simply being an affectionate brother? It'll take me a little more time to get used to having so many brothers, but I'm glad that we seem to be looking out for each other. It's far better than having to take care of yourself all on your own any day. I'm glad those lonely days are behind me.