Chapter 9

The way Iori held her in his arms… The warmth of his tough hand… It felt safe. It made her want to confess to him everything that had happened. She wanted to explain what had delayed her in getting to his flower shop. But…

There's so much conflict. All of these people- my "brothers"- they're all approaching me with these feelings. She knew she should feel loved by everyone, but as the days passed, the more she felt like she was being toyed with. They can't possibly all feel like this… This can't be real… If only.. If only I could remember… Remember who I was before my accident… Who they were before... The thought triggered her memory of that afternoon, and her eyes began to water as she fought the tears.

She gently pushed him away from her. "Please… Don't try to get close to me… My mind doesn't remember you…Doesn't remember me, either... I can't find where I belong." It's so... hopeless. This situation- Me- All of it- leads to endless questions, and no answers...

She began crying in his arms and had pushed him away. Iori felt his heart sink as he saw the hurt wash across her pure complexion.

She was surprised by his unwavering warm touch again on her skin. His rolling voice as smooth as velvet broke her sobs, "I want to be here for you… You can trust me. But I can only help you if I know what happened… It hurts me a lot- I mean, to see you like this." She stopped fighting his embrace, as he brushed her bangs out of her face and curled them around her ear. "Please... I'm on your side. I won't get mad- promise," he encouraged, trying to catch her gaze.

She kept dodging his eyes. She knew she should tell him. She owed him that much. Giving into his gaze, she met his butterscotch eyes. A sincere look of concern furrowed his eyebrows and a worried fall of his mouth flashed across his face.

It was only for a moment that she had caught the mysterious look on his face. It made her heart skip a beat. How strange that he made her feel like that. His disheveled hair, caring eyes, and warm soul… It was his boyish look that made him appear so… attractive.

He wore a face that she had a hard time saying 'no' to.

She took a deep breath.

"Okay… I'll tell you everything."

That morning…

First things first- I've got to apologize to Akio.

She found him in the courtyard, sitting alone on one of the weathered, wooden benches.

He could sense eyes watching him from behind. And he knew it was her. Without looking at her he spoke, "Listen, I'm sorry… I made you cry, and I'm sorry."

"No, I am!" She blurted without thinking. I really am sorry. There was no other way to say it- she knew she was wrong.

He turned his head over his shoulder to look at her, his grounded hazel eyes penetrating hers. "You have no need to be." His eyes smiled, but in a way that seemed to bury an underlying hurt. "You're right. You have a right to be angry with me. But… I'll tell you everything I can now, okay?... Everything I should have been honest with you about from the beginning." His broad shoulders arced forwards making the regret he held clear in his physical appearance.

She hesitantly took a seat beside him.

…

"When you were adopted by the Hinata family, I was eight years old. You had just turned three. Mother was still alive then- my biological mother- Rintarou's first wife- she was still here. Both Mother- her name was Mikoto- and Rintarou wanted a daughter." He sighed, correcting himself, "Not to say they didn't want me; they loved me of course, but they wanted me to grow up with a sibling. They wanted me to be a brother; to have someone to look after- to care for."

"So who am I? Why didn't Father and your mother have another child?"

"It was all very… coincidental… Rintarou and Mother had planned on having another child… But that was before the accident… You're the child of Mother's best friend, Mello… 'Aunt Mello,' is what I called her. Melanie Aizawa. She had survived a great tragedy while carrying her child- you. A car accident. Her husband was with her that night. She woke up the following morning in the hospital, and as a widow..." Akio hesitated internally grimacing at what he was to say next. This is so much harder to say than I ever imagined… What will she think? Will she believe me when I tell her that she's… loved?

"So it is true? She gave me up?! Gave me up because I looked too much like him? Reminded her of who she'd lost?"

She'd hit the nail on the head. He nodded, it was almost unbearably painful to say she was right. He forced words out, choking on the scratchy texture of his dry throat, "As you grew up, your eyes took on the same shade as his, your hair the same color as well. With each passing year, Aunt Mello became all the more unfit to take care of you… You have to know, Mother wanted the best life for you… And so did I. That's why I promised her..."

She sat at the edge of the bench, close to tears, but she knew she needed to know. Just who am I? Who am I to this family? To you? What could possibly be so important that you'd keep it hidden from me for so many years?

Akio shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. She has to now...That promise to Mother has been the only constant in my life… "It's the only promise I've been able to keep."

His eyes shimmered, reflecting the trees' shaded leaf pattern into his earthy colored irises. "I gave Mother my word... I would protect you… Care for you... Until the very end. For the eternity of my limited time…" He swallowed. The next words will change how she sees me forever… " I'll love you, and I'll let nothing come between us."

She looked startled. Panicked by his... confession? But was it even that? He paused combing a hand through his hair, and let out a scoff. "It turns out, that that promise is both a curse and a blessing." He mumbled under his breath.

What did he mean 'eternity of his limited time?' What kind of paradoxical phrase was that? But the way he laughed and shrugged it off… He thinks it's something I could never understand. But I want to… I want him to treat me like an adult, not some weak little girl he's bound to by the guilt of his past!

"Please Akio! I need to know! I want to underst-"

His face was suddenly so close. His eyes aglow beneath a feathery shadow of charcoal hair. So unfamiliar, so… princely?

A warmth on her face… On her lips. A gentle breath against her own. A tender hand beneath her chin, angling her face to meet his.

"I've always been here for you." His eyes were illuminated by a warmth so unfamiliar to his usually cold heart. "For as long as my being lasts, I'll be here beside you."

His words made her heart dance. He was so sincere. So passionate. He wasn't her brother- had never been. This relationship- No, he's not a prince to me- he's a knight- a protector- our connection feels like that of master and familiar. It was enough to send a shiver up her spine, and send a flush of red to her cheeks. Who is he?

He drew away from her quickly, What have I done? I've said too much. All of that- it should have never been said aloud. The way I acted- how could I?...What disgustingly, illogical creature have I become? I swore to protect her- but I just sold my soul to the human emotions of spite, fear, lust and love that have held me captive all these years. She'll leave me behind, like the only person I ever treasured- Mother… I blew it…

"I'm going." Akio stood up abruptly, letting the cold wash in the space between them. She wanted to reach for his arm and pull him back towards her. But it was too late, his back was already faced away from her.

He grasped his face in the palm of his hand. He could sense an unusual heat in his cheeks and… that's the last thing she needs to see…

Juli. Is. Going. To. Kill. Me, he thought as his legs carried him back towards the mansion.

/\\/\\

Fuuto stood behind the large oak tree that stood in the courtyard. He held his breath as the broad shouldered skateboarder passed by, hoping he wouldn't notice him.

Their voices had woken him up from the nap he was taking in the comforting shade of the tree.

He had heard everything, and he'd even glimpsed it for a split second- the raven haired man's face pressed against hers- he had chanced a peek from around the trunk, and that was something he definitely wished he hadn't seen. What made it even worse was that when Akio distanced himself from her shortly after the kiss, he had caught the movement of her arm- reaching to pull him back… As if she had wanted that all along. But she hesitated, and lowered her hand as he strode away.

It was infuriating. That jerk. That arrogant jerk. She's mine. No one is allowed to take her from me.

\\/\\/\\

As soon as Akio left, a beige haired boy emerged seemingly out of nowhere. She quickly tried to brush the tears that dotted her eyelashes. He… He looks like that popstar from tv…

"It's me… Fuuto." He said, remembering that she had suffered from memory loss between the present and the last time he had seen her. The lean teenager took a seat beside her on the bench where Akio sat not too long ago..

Fuuto's brown eyes gleamed in the mid afternoon sunlight as he continued. "I saw everything~" he said teasingly. "Heard everything too~" he added. "You know, I knew Akio was hiding something… Pretending to be someone he wasn't. I could sense it." There's not much you can hide from someone that acts for a livelihood. I know a pretender when I see one.

She sniffled, "Y-You're wrong!"

He let out a airy laugh full of scorn, "You know I'm not. Who are you kidding?! The sooner you admit he isn't the goody goody he's been acting like this entire time, the closer you'll get to the truth."

"N-no! Akio h-he's not, he would nev-"

"He just did!" he blurted over her. "And that's why I came here."

A puzzled look blurred across her face, and a twitch spiraled through her left eyebrow. "You came here to tell me to not trust the one person I've spent all of my life around? To disregard him?" she said irritated. "You don't understand how hard that must've been for him… To tell me… What he'd been keeping to himself all this time- to protect me… He cares…"

The pink that blossomed on her cheeks. He wished he could wipe the rosy color away. "I'm telling you to question the way he acts, because I think that that closeness is what blinds you from seeing who he truly is!" he paused. "But you knew that already… I'm just reminding you… My sole reason for coming here was…"

In a flash he was hovering above her, pushing her wrists into the backrest of the bench. Her dark brown eyes widened, and he grinned, happy that he was making her nervous. "...I came to undo what he did."

Her lips tasted delicate, just as he had imagined. His tongue glossed past her teeth and he felt her go still, as the shock washed over her.

"Enough! Fuuto! Get away from her." Azusa pulled him off of her. The professionally dressed man fumed as he planted himself between Fuuto and his beloved.

Fuuto sneered, "Stay out of my business."

"She is my business." Azusa snapped.

Fuuto scoffed, I've never seen Azusa get mad over… Anything… He's serious. A grin crept across his face. It's over for now, he thought.

"Whatever." The arrogant popstar stalked off.

"Are you okay?" Azusa asked offering Ema a hand.

She tripped and stumbled over her words, and ended up saying nothing but, "I've… I-I've got to go… Thank you-for stopping him." And she was gone faster than he could try and stop her.

Back to the present…

"I-I just don't know." She sniffled trying to reign back her tears. "I don't want to believe Fuuto… Akio… He does his best… He wouldn't hurt me on purpose... He's... A good person."

Iori pulled her in closer to his chest so that he could feel her sorrowful tears as they soaked through his shirt. He wanted to comfort her. Wanted to say that everything would be alright- that he'd make sure everything would be alright… But a part of him couldn't help but be… Jealous. He could never say it aloud, but he was jealous of the time his brothers had around her. Jealous that they were able to lose themselves just long enough to act irrationally and steal her lips. And he was fighting it. Fighting the jealousy. Fighting the envy. Tooth and nail. I'm sensible. I respect her. I won't force anything on her… Because I love her. If only thinking that would cure him of the desire that afflicted him. I'll be patient. I'll wait for her to accept me. As. Long. As. It. Takes.

That's it for this chapter, hoped you enjoyed reading! I'm curious to know- who do you ship Ema with at this point? (I haven't featured all the brothers yet, still have Yusuke and the twins to write... Not all the ships have sailed (haha)) But so far, what's your favorite pairing? Please let me know! And just like always please leave any feedback, suggestions and reviews!

Also, my exams are pretty much over for now so future chapter postings will be back on schedule- once every weekend! Thanks for your patience -skw