Natasha took off running toward the house the second he was out of sight, sticking to the back streets and relying on memory alone to guide her. While it was probably one of her most idiotic choices ever, she managed to get there in under forty minutes. She was wheezing as she stood in the doorway of the entrance, hands on her knees as she coughed, one arm supporting her against the wall of mailboxes as she felt tears trailing down her face. How far did she run..?

She heard shouting further within the house, but was too winded to call out her entrance, "Ta.. Tadai.." she fell into another fit of coughs, before she completely fell into the wall, her heart hammering in her ears as the yelling got louder, and closer..

(In the other room :P)

"She's been gone all day-!" Tsubaki argued, currently being forbidden from taking the car to search for his sister. The blonde sighed, repeated the same sentence he'd said for ten minutes, now, "Tsubaki, she said she was going to be out after school." "She's not answering her phone.." Azuza voiced his input after a tense second of silence, and both blue and violet eyes turned to him in anxiety. "She said she was shopping," Yusuke was at the nook, not really wanting Tsubaki to keep screaming about how their sister wasn't home. School ended about three hours ago, but it was nearing dinner time, and she had yet to call.. Not that she was obligated to do so, he'd internally chastised himself.

"Ukyo," Tsubaki groaned, his tone turning frantic, "What if she got kidnapped? Or mugged? Or-or- I CAN'T EVEN THINK OF THAT ONE-!" The taller blonde fixed the glasses on his nose with a slow, heavy sigh. "Try calling her once more, if she doesn't answer, we will all go looking.."

Everyone else had pulled out their phones in unison, but Ukyo merely rolled his eyes, flicking out his own red phone and clicking around to find her number, pressing call a moment later. He wouldn't admit it, but Tsubaki was getting to his anxiety about it. He heard the click to signify that her phone was off, an automated message giving him useless advice before he snapped it shut, the hardened eyes of his brother fueling his willingness for the task as he swiped a set of keys from the hooks, pulling his jacket off of the chair he'd placed it on not twenty minutes ago.

The others were already scrambling into their coats and shoes, some even hopping as they slipped them on. They hurried out to get to the garage, but a sudden stop from Ukyo, who had been in the front of the line, had them all flailing for balance, as they looked at the black figure crouched in the corner by the mailboxes, their breathing erratic and uneven, several shopping bags strewn out at their sides.

Tsubaki was the first to break free from his surprise, bolting until he slid on his knees the rest of the way, lifting her shoulders so he could turn her over, seeing her face flushed, and sweat dripped down her neck. He felt her erratic pulse beneath his fingers as he held her in his arms, adjusting her weight so her head lied in his lap while the others finally boot-kicked into action, Ukyo ordering Yusuke to get water, and for Azuza to inform Masaomi. While he wasn't a trained physician, Ukyo did know simple first aid. He got onto his knees beside the duo, his hand moving from her cheeks to her forehead gently, then he touched her neck, measuring her pulse as it thumped sharply in exertion. "She's just winded," he finally sighed, leaning back on his haunches while Tsubaki pulled the hood off of her head, exposing her white strands, now silver in their sweat-soaked state. He strained his eyes a bit, trying to find her roots, wanting to know what her natural hair color was, however, either the dye was extremely well done, or she was a natural silver haired female.. On the plus side, she was beginning to calm, her breath only coming in short stutters rather than her heavy panting.

"Can you bring her inside?" Ukyo asked calmly, nodding when the silver haired male merely scooped the female into his arms without comment, a brief look of surprise on his face as he held her bridal style in his arms. "She needs to eat more," he muttered, almost annoyed at how light she was, but too preoccupied with her condition to think more on it. Ukyo gathered the bags quickly, following behind him as he hurried to the elevator, Yusuke greeting them outside Natasha's door once they'd made it with a tall glass of water, as well as a small box of chocolates. Ukyo had started to excuse himself to find her spare key is Masaomi's room, but Tsubaki shook the set in his hands, the jangle of several smaller keys, a house key, tiny ornaments and an apartment key tinkling from his hand behind her knees. "Just use hers.."

"Where were they?" Yusuke asked, suspicion leaking in his tone when Ukyo had immediately moved to open the door, the squirrel the first to greet them with a barrage of panicked and enraged hissing. Tsubaki moved to set her on the bed, Yusuke setting the water on the nightstand, before pulling the covers back so Tsubaki could lay her on the sheets. "She'll get sick if she sleeps like this," Ukyo sighed, closing the curtains with a snap and turning to Yusuke with a confused, but stern expression, "What are those?"

"Chocolates," Yusuke sighed, ripping the tinfoil off as he thought back to a joking comment about how sweets revived her from dead sleep. Her ear twitched slightly at the sound of crinkling foil, and she unconsciously sniffed the air, tentatively, though no one noticed. Yusuke held out a single chocolate truffle to her nose with a sigh, "It's worth a shot, I guess.."

Her nose twitched at the scent, and Yusuke watched in silence as her hand came up, tired golden eyes fluttering before they opened, and a pale face streaked with sweat scrunched in concentration, and she groaned, her free hand coming up to grasp her head as she whimpered, "Aah.. Too many.. Too many stairwells.." "Imouto-!" Tsubaki gasped, wrapping her lower torso in his arms his face pressed against her stomach, only to hear her shout in pain. He sat up quickly, and she hissed, a hand flying down as she touched at her stomach, hidden with her rumpled tank top and blouse, both wet with perspiration.

At their sharp, expectant looks, she groaned, throwing her head back as she grit her teeth, "Let me start out by saying that this was a complete accident.."

"What happened?" Ukyo demanded calmly. Instead of explaining, she sent him a weak smile, "Do we have burn cream on hand..?" "I'll get some," Tsubaki was on his feet and out the door, as Azuza reappeared in the doorway, his phone at his ear before he dismissed the call and clicked it off, slipping it into his pocket and moving deeper into the room to see what was accomplished. Natasha sat up, with some difficulty, releasing Yusuke's wrist after an awkward moment of realizing she was still holding it captive. He offered her the chocolate, however, and the tension faded, her eyes lighting up as a child-like glee covered her face, and she popped the sweet into her mouth with a pleased hum.

"You have a bit of explaining to do," Ukyo settled into her desk chair, tugging it out enough so he could comfortably face her with his arms across his chest. Natasha flinched at the look, before flinching in pain, straightening her back so as not to disrupt the burn on her stomach, "Like I said, it was an accident.." "You seem to get in a lot of those.." Azuza mused casually, and a guilty smile was her only response. "What precisely happened?" Ukyo demanded, watching as Natasha sat up from to bed, just a few short inches from Yusuke who claimed the foot of her bed, watching her with strained expectation. With a sigh, she began to explain what happened, in much less detail, leaving out the fact that they knew the guy, he was their brother, they were on an apology-coffee-thing, and that they'd exchanged numbers.. So, she basically only said some guy hit her in the aisle and burned her with his coffee and covered her in her own smoothie. Tsubaki was back by that time, bandages and a case of what looked to be medical supplies as he started ranting about the indecency of people and how unfortunate it was that his little Imouto-chan kept getting hurt, and that she should be monitored more, and.. Blah, blah, blah..

She had lifted her shirts to expose the burn to Azuza, who had prepared he bandage, only to hear a sharp gasp from both twins, Tsubaki flinching, while Azuza closed his eyes briefly, before leaning forward with renewed purpose, Tsubaki grasping her hand without question and giving it a reassuring squeeze, while Yusuke just backed off a bit to observe at a reasonable distance. "I don't know why you're getting all bent out of shape, it's just a-" she felt a stinging sensation on her skin, and her face paled as a loud, unrestrained yelp left her lips, her fingers tensed as she kept her hand from squeezing Tsubaki's.. Surely, if she lost control, he'd be out of a hand for a while.. "Yak-?!"

Natasha was, for lack of a better word, grounded to a brother's side at all times until the wedding, Ukyo already having chastised her that getting hurt before the wedding was one of the main reasons, the other being that they needed to make sure she didn't unintentionally do anything else. That was why, presently, she was sitting in the livingroom, sheets upon sheets of origami paper set out along the table, hundreds of little cranes, birds, animals, boxes, and boats swimming around the living room like a war zone, all in various colors, most of which were all brightly neon and sharp to the eyes. She'd been currently assigned to Kaname, who was also folding the wing of a crane just a few short feet away, delighted in spending time with his little Imouto-chan on a weekend off, taking the time every hour or so to remind her.

They'd been doing this since breakfast, and it was nearly dinner time. Since she'd been burned several days ago, and it was still a prominent place on her stomach, she was forbidden from 'strenuous' work.. Feh..

A chime met her ears, and she blinked, turning her head to find her phone among the soldiers of her paper army, Kaname looking over as a breeze of her arm sent several colorful birds flying across the rug. By the time she'd crawled over to it near the television and lifted it up to open it, she was braced on her elbow, having crawled on her knees, hair mussed from the search and falling out of her loose bun, her hood pulled down to her shoulders, for once. She blinked in surprise at the name, Natsu, having changed it to the lovable Fairy Tail character in the idea that if one of the others were to check her phone without her knowledge, they'd have to snoop to put two and two together.

Natsu: Is three days the common waiting period to text a female after receiving her number?

"Oh my god," she gasped, Kaname looking concerned as she stared at her phone, his eyebrow raising as she put a hand over her mouth, eyes pinching shut as shuddered in an effort not to laugh, "Dear god.." "Imouto-chan?" he pouted, tilting his head, "What's so funny?" "A boy I know is being funny," she grinned, shaking her head as she giggled, "He's.. he's just.. Too much.."

"Oh~?" he sounded disappointed, getting to his feet to join her on the couch as she plopped into the red cushions, bringing up her knees and looking over them to tap at her phone, giggling all the while. "And does Imouto-chan like this mystery boy?" "Hmm.." she furrowed her eyebrows at that, sending him a look that clearly meant 'seriously'? "I just met the guy.."

"Aah," he nodded, reaching an arm around to run his fingers through her revealed hair, admiring the softness of the strands, though she looked bit put-off and embarrassed, "But there is such a thing as love at first sight.." "Are you a victim, Kana-nii?" she teased playfully, slipping the phone shut and slipping it in her hoodie pocket. "I very well might be.." Kaname sniffed, smiling at her gently, "If I do recall, I found I loved you the moment our eyes met.." "Sibling love doesn't count," she rolled her eyes, lifting a hand to tug at a blonde curl in her face, putting it back over his shoulder with ease before she felt the buzz in her pocket. He texted back quickly for it being five o'clock on a weekend. "So it would seem," he murmured, his fingers gently combing down until he reached the back of her neck, letting the locks slip through his fingers before he brought a strand to his lips. "And If I were to say.." she looked up to meet his really close eyes, her fingers clenched in the pocket of her hoodie as she stilled against the couch, "..that it wasn't a love between siblings..?"

"I would be disconcerted," she sniffed, and at his surprise, added, "I would hope that I was pleasing you as a sister.. And if I wasn't enough of a sister to be seen as one, I would feel disconcerted.."

"Imouto-chan~" he groaned, pouting before she was scooped into his lap, being nearly smothered by his robes as he nuzzled her like a child to a stuffed toy, "When you say such cute things, it's hard to resist hugging you~!" "Air-!" she whimpered, reaching out toward the window with faux tears in her eyes, flexing her fingers, before she actually hissed in pain, "tut-tut-tut-tut- KANAME-!" He sat back a bit at her whine, flinching in surprise as she wound her arms around her stomach, face pressing into his shoulder. "Itai.." "Gomenasai, Imouto-chan," he furrowed his eyebrows as he pet her hair slowly, internally smacking himself for upsetting her burn. Speaking of which.. "When did Imouto-chan change the bandages last?"

"Uhh.." she slid her eyes up with slightly guilt, glancing away when his look turned chastising. "Imouto-chan.." he repeated expectantly. "Ysrnay nnt.." she mumbled, turning her face as it flushed. "Imouto," he frowned, sighing, before he shook his head, "It can't be helped.." She was in his arms as he stood a second later, catching the shout on her tongue as he took her into the dining room, having her sit on a chair before he gave her a pointed look, "Don't move from that spot.. You aren't supposed to be out of my sight, but I need to find the bandages."

"Yeah, yeah," she sighed, pouting, as she looked away, face flushed in mortification. He pat her head consolingly, before he turned to find his objectives. Seeing an opportunity, she pulled out her phone, she checked the messages,, smiling slightly as she did.

Natsu: Is three days the common waiting period to text a female after receiving her number?

Me: I believe we established three as an overused number, pumpkin.

Natsu: Did you just call me pumpkin? Like the vegetable?

Me: For your hair, it fits. And pumpkins have seeds.. They're fruits :P

She grinned as she sent it, slipping the phone out of sight as she heard a set of feet hurry into the livingroom. She fully expected it to be Kaname, weighted down by bandages and medicinal supplies. She only applied her herbal cures before bed, opting to try using the medical one so she didn't stink during the day. However, she was given a surprise when a shout cut through the air, followed by what sounded like a fall and scrambling feet. "What the hell happened here?!"

She raised both eyebrows as she watched the doorway, a softer voice, different from the first, cutting into the sudden quiet, "It seems Natasha was trying to occupy herself.."

"Tch.. did she have to make such a mess-?!"

She leaned forward on her elbow as she faced the livingroom, watching with a sweet smile as Iori and Futo rounded the corner, Iori sighing in annoyance as Futo pouted. "Futo.. you can't continue to complain about her being resigned to the house. We can't risk her getting-" She cleared her throat loudly, smiling brightly when both snapped their gazes to her in unison, Iori blushing slightly, having been discussing said woman, while Futo merely frowned, "You're no fun when you're cooped up," he rolled his eyes, moving to get the snack Iori had mentioned in the kitchen, only to pause in the doorway as he stared at the plates upon plates of baked goods.

Iori peeked in behind him curiously, before turning back to Natasha, a concerned look on his face, "Didn't Masaomi and Ukyo both say no strenuous activity until the wedding?"

"Kaname mixed for me," she waved him off, "I pretty much walked him through the entire thing.." Futo rolled his eyes as he grabbed a crepe from the plastic wrap covered plate, biting at it experimentally before he sighed, his tone whining, "Onee-chan makes it better on her own.."

"Were you the one that ate Subaru's rice krispie treats?!" She gasped in realization, her eyes widening in surprise, before she sent him a glare, his sneaky smirk answering for him, "Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep Wataru-chan out of those?! They were supposed to go to Suba-kun's teammates on the basketball team-!" He laughed at that, flashing his teeth as he tilted his head back. Natasha just looked annoyed, while Iori shook his head, moving to get a glass of water. Natasha felt a buzz in her pocket, pausing her glaring at the idol as she pulled out her phone, flipping it open to read the messages.

Natsu: Did you just call me pumpkin? Like the vegetable?

Me: For your hair, it fits. And pumpkins have seeds.. They're fruits :P

Natsu: That's a bit unfair, don't you think?

Natsu: I have no idea about the color of your hair. And at least make it a cuter nickname.. Pumpkin is so old fashioned..

She blinked down at the teasing messages, feeling heat creep up her neck, before she bit her lip, ignoring the surprised looks of Futo and Iori as they shared a glance, watching her tap at her phone. Me: Ask nicely, and maybe I'll think about it.. She clicked send swiftly before she pocketed the phone, looking back up to see the intense eyes of her brothers-to-be. "Uh.. can I help you..?"

"Who were you texting.." Futo demanded sternly, and she did a double take, eyebrow raised in question. "You're younger than me.. I'm not inclined to answer you.. Especially with that tone.."

"Natasha-chan," Iori spoke next, his low tones much more soothing than Futo's as she met his eyes, "Who were you texting?" she twitched a little at the question, face turning bright crimson as she looked away, "A guy I met the other day…" Futo scoffed, leaning against the wall with his arms over his chest, "What, is he the boy you snuck off to go on a date with?"

"Excuse me?!" she gave him a sharp look, and from his expression, she could tell he wasn't fazed, "First off, I did not sneak off. I discussed my going out with both Ukyo and Masaomi- you were there-! Secondly, I did not go on a date- I've never even been on a date, before- why would I start now? Thirdly- My romantic intentions are none of your business.. You don't see me pestering you about all the girls throwing themselves at your feet, do you? No-!" She breathed out the last of her fire in a heavy sigh, slumping into the table as she glared at the wood, "Gomenasai, Iori-kun.. Futo struck a nerve.." While Futo was overall unfazed by her rant, his surprise only showed at her admission to never being on an actual date.

"It's fine," Iori smiled, moving to place something beside her hand gently on the table, "I shouldn't have encouraged him." "It's not your fault," she shook her head, lifting her eyes to see a flurry of ruffled white petals. She lifted her hand to take the bloom, bringing it closer to inhale the sweet fragrance. "This is a.. Carnation, right?" She looked up for approval, and his smile had her heart freezing up in shock. If she thought he looked like a prince before..

"You should smile more often.." she blinked her eyes, filter switching off completely as he looked down in surprise. Having realized what she said, she jerked in surprise, covering her mouth with her free hand as she held the flower delicately by the stem in the other, "Ohmygodimsosorrythatwasstupidtosay.."

He smiled at her gently, patting her head as met her eyes again, "Do you know what it means..?" "Aah.. I believe it was.. Good luck?" she glanced up again, though her face was flushed, and he nodded, his smile a little less heart-throbbing, though she gave the excuse to herself that she was getting used to seeing it. "...Right."

Futo clicked his tongue at the both of them, before taking a smaller plate of cookies, making to eat one, when his head was smacked with a rolled-up newspaper, and he called out in surprise, sending Ukyo a pout as the sweets were taken from him. "Kyo-nii.. I was going to eat that.." "Dinner will be in an hour and a half," he dismissed the teen sternly, looking over the assorted trays of sweets.. At least eight of them.. All different types.. He was scared to open the freezer.. Before stepping out to give Natasha a frown, though by this time, Kaname was hurrying down the steps, looking put-off. "Iori," the robe-clad blonde called, "I can't find the burn cream for Imouto-chan's wounds, do you know where it would be?"

"Did you check the bathroom sink?" Ukyo answered instead, pressing the scold for her rigorous behavior aside to address him, glaring at Futo until he'd put back the plate and stalked away, before turning his divided attentions to the girl that was now on her phone, texting, while Iori sat at her side, a handful of white flowers in his hand, tracing the petals absently as the males discussed medicine.

Natsu: I have no idea about the color of your hair. And at least make it a cuter nickname.. Pumpkin is so old fashioned..

Me: Ask nicely and maybe I'll think about it..

Natsu: Please give me a nickname other than pumpkin.

Me: How about Apricot.

Natsu: Do you like fruits that much?

Me: I'll take that as a no. How about Cinnamon?

Natsu: Mmm.. too long.

Me: Chianti?

Natsu: Like the wine?

Me: It's not a bad wine.,

Natsu: Is it a red wine? It is, isn't it..

Me: Maybe..

Natsu: Anything else up your sleeve?

Me: I could always call you ginger-snaps

Natsu: Would you really?

Me: Gingerbread?

Natsu: Natasha-san…

Me: OH OH How about Ginger Schnapps? Ah?! I like that one..

Natsu: ..Natasha-san..

Me: I could always call you Amber..

Natsu: Pumpkin just keeps sounding more and more appealing..

Me: You're laughing, though.

Natsu: And you knew that, how?

Natasha snapped the phone closed as she heard her name being called, looking up to see Kaname looking put-out, "Imouto-chan.. Ah, you finally listen.." "Did you find the burn cream?" she asked curiously, slyly putting her phone into her pocket as she furrowed her eyebrows, "I have some herbal paste in my room if you can't.."

"No, we found it," he sighed, raising an eyebrow as he settled into the chair beside her, an entire bundle of the white carnations tied with twine just at her hand. She lifted the bundle to smell them, listening intently as Kaname complained about her lack of attention. When she felt a tug at her shirt however, she yelped, falling backwards out of her chair, her face blazing fire.

Kaname looked surprised, but quickly got up to help her back into the seat, her face entirely red as she glared at a wall, "I can do it, Aniki.." she muttered, tucking her head in as she looked away. He hummed in thought, an elbow leaning on the table as he watched her thumbs fiddle with her shirt, "Is that so?"

She slid a brief look to him, their eyes caching as she saw the mirth and amusement in his own eyes. She looked too delicately cute to make a move on right now.

Natasha tugged the shirt up over her stomach, keeping it bunched over her chest, effectively hiding her bra. Ukyo, a quick glance, showed him diligently working in the kitchen, Futo had stalked off to read his script, and Iori had retired to his room to study for an upcoming exam.

Kaname chuckled at her innocence, reaching around her toned stomach to unwind the bandages already there. He felt her shudder as the cold air was exposed to her white peach skin, her teeth snagging into her lower lip as she held back from flinching as he carefully undid the wraps, his fingers gently brushing the exposed skin with every pass of this palm. She kept her eyes trained on the ceiling fan in silence, singing the words to a song in her head as she felt his palm cover hers over her shirt, and she glanced back down with a start.

"Relax," he squeezed her hand reassuringly, keeping his hand over the both of hers as he let the soiled bandages flutter into a plastic waste sack, and he pulled out a jar with a grey lid. He removed his hand briefly from hers to open the jar, before sticking two fingers into the mixture, and setting the jar aside. She knew how much it was going to hurt, so she took a deep breath, holding it as she felt his clean hand cover both of hers again, before she felt his two fingers with the burn cream slide across her stomach. She hissed at the sting over the burns, but otherwise remained quiet, listening as Kaname whispered little things to distract her.

"Imouto-chan's stomach is very tight," he chuckled, "Does Imouto-chan lift weights?" "Used to.." she murmured, gritting her teeth in embarrassment when she met his eyes, seeing the incredulous awe in them, though his fingers were unrelenting as he continued to cover her wounds, "Do you know what you bench?" "I last benched twenty one for a one hundred fifteen set." she huffed, forcing herself not to whimper as his fingers traveled from her middle abdomen up towards just below the line of her breasts, where most of the coffee had actually spilled, and seared into her flesh. He slid his fingers slowly in a line on the wounds, watching as she panted quietly, struggling not to cry, "That's very impressive, Imouto-chan," he murmured, though the double meaning was lost as she grit her teeth, and he continued, "What else does Imouto know how to do?" "I.. I sing, I guess..?" she mumbled, distracted, "Not.. Not in front of people, though.."

"Can you sing for Aniki one day?" he asked gently, finishing up by her chest, her relieved sigh not lost on him before he traced down near her lower stomach, were several smaller patches of burns were scattered near her hips and beltline. She hissed again at that, but it was a mixed reaction hiss, leaving him feeling both concerned for the level of pain and amused at the level of surprise. "Relax," he murmured, leaning forward to peck her forehead, her entire body freezing up at that, just as he finished. He'd grasped the new bandages from the table carefully, and started at the bottom of her stomach, working his way up until it was just underneath her breasts, tying it off into a soft little bow just under the center of her hands and leaning back with a smile, "All done.."

"That was torture," she grumbled, fixing her shirt and moving to stand up, he sighed, agreeing, "It really was, wasn't it..?" "Kana-nii," her blunt tone caught his eyes as she gave him a tired look, "Can I please clean the living room?" "What would Ukyo say?" he smiled innocently.

"Kyo-nii~!" Natasha called, her tone turning childlike as she cupped her hands around her mouth, "Can I please clean up the mess Kaname-nii and I made in the livingroom~?!" "Kaname can do it," he called back without hesitation, and she groaned, then pouted, "Can I help with dinner, then?"

"Go sit on the couch and watch TV," he answered instead, and she groaned, louder, before standing, doing just that as she moved into the living room, collapsing into the corner of the couch and lying out, as if dying, one arm thrown over her eyes as she closed them, in a position extremely similar to how she met Futo. Feeling a buzz in her pocket, she glanced down, pulling out her phone at the newest message.

Natsu: And you knew that, how?

Me: Magic.

Natsu: Is that so. Was there a witch's hat beneath that hood you wore?

Natsu: Sorry it took so long to respond, just got out of the shower.

Natasha blinked down at the message blankly, squealing in fear at the barrage of images that flooded her mind, a dark presence in her mind roaring with laughter and supplying the thoughts.

"Imouto-!" Kaname was in the livingroom in an instant, at her side and touching her shoulder as he looked at her face, "What's wrong?" "I think I need to meditate," she whimpered, sniffing in shame as she curled into a ball. Dark laughter flooded her mind to the brim.