Natasha had left Juli to wander the house, while she dressed the next morning, he'd been cooped up so often lately, she was surprised he hadn't scolded her for it.. Although… maybe it was the whole demon -death issue as the reason that he was being so careful with her.. Well..

She wasn't going to complain…

She'd gone simple with a pair of white leggings and a long sleeved, black sweater dress that hung off of her shoulders, and fell to her thighs. She had the usual metal star around her neck, the Wicken's symbol bringing her peace, and a number of black leather cuffs around her wrist. She also had a slim black ribbon choker, tied into a neat bow at the nape of her neck, and a pair of dangly silver star earrings. Over her shoulder was another bag of entertainment for Azuza, as well as a few things for herself.

She met up with Yusuke in the hallway, who looked like something off of Natsume's Panzer of the Dead game.. Quite simply, he looked ready to collapse.

"Morning, nii-chan," Natasha waved to him gently, her eyes taking in his apparel. He wore a black coat-shirt, with white, twin dragons on the chest, and worn blue jeans. Were she a lesser female, she would have drooled, so, as a more sophisticated female, she kept her expression carefully composed, while she allowed herself to mentally drool…

"Morning," he muttered, clearly wishing he were back under his covers, he looked over his sister after a moment of silence, his eyebrows drawing together at the new scent around her. "Nn? What's.. That smell..?" "Huh?" she looked absolutely confused, her face creased at the corners of her eyes as she squint at him, before hesitantly sniffing her shoulder, she didn't smell anything different, there was the ever present chocolaty aroma of Arrow's and her's addiction- and-..

Arrow's vanilla scent….

Didn't he say he couldn't be sensed without prompt…?

"Uhhh.. perfume..?" she offered slowly, tilting her head as he hesitated, then shook his head sharply, as if to clear his mind, before nodding to the stairs, "Go ahead, I'll follow.."

"Alright," she smiled, giving him a few seconds to see it before she started down the hall, and quickly reached the stairwell.

"Good morning," she greet Masaomi brightly once she'd reached the living room, the eldest son brooding on the couch with a cup of coffee or tea -she couldn't tell from the distance- in hand, Juli in a similar position across from him, perched silently on the coffee table.

"Chii," Juli chirped, hopping onto her shoulder without hesitation and giving her a look of concerned observation, "this guys been looking stumped for a while now.."

"Masao-nii," Natasha raised an eyebrow, her weight shifting to her hip as she gave him a slight, calming smile, "Is something wrong? You look a little out of it.. Even Juli is becoming concerned." "Waah?!" Juli gasped, shaking his head from side to side quickly in denial, "I wasn't worried about him-! I didn't want his bad attitude to affect you-!" "Keep telling yourself that.." Natasha murmured smugly into the fur of his tail, internally giggling at his fuming face.

Masaomi looked up at her with a slight smile, though it was clear that he was troubled. "It's nothing, Imouto-chan.. It's just.. Azuza emailed a list of things he wants, but.. Do you have any idea what this is..?" He had his phone out to a specific message, and Natasha leaned over slightly to read it, the katakana somehow miraculously registering as English in her brain. Thank-You, Arrow.

"So.. manga and specific short stories.. That's not too bad.. I own like, half of these, anyway.. The rest are just anime.. It's not that confusing.." She was surprised the elder brother of a seiyuu didn't know what the majority of this was.. "Oh," the ashen haired male sighed, his tone relieved, though he was still frowning a little, "He wants to put his time to good use, then.." he groaned a little, and he grimaced down at the face of his phone, "As a doctor, though, I wish he'd rest more.."

Natasha nodded sagely in agreement, sighing as she shook her head, "Well, there's not much to do when he's already set his mind to it.." "Hey.." Masaomi's voice cut through her train of thought, and she peeked up at him with a curious tilt of her head. "I feel bad about asking this but.. Would you mind taking care of this list..? I can't really make heads or tails of this, so…" "With this many titles, it'll be a chore to buy them all," Yusuke input after Masaomi's case, his tone sounding slightly annoyed for the inconvenience. Natasha giggled, drawing the two male's eyes to her as she tapped a finger to her chin, "Leave it to the otaku.. Masaomi-nii-chan~!"

"Ngh," Yusuke clicked his tongue after a moment, Masaomi's smile directed at her as the redhead sighed, "Alright, I'll help out." "Much thanks," Natasha flashed him a smile, and she shared a quiet chuckle at Yusuke's Tsundere side. "I'm doing Azu-nii a favor after all.."

"Well then, we better hit the bookstore," Natasha grinned, linking her arm into his and giving Masaomi a conspiratorial wink, "If you can send that list to my phone, we'll pick it up asap, I have quite a few things, but there are some I'll need to purchase." "Oh-!" he reached back to his pocket at that, and held out a small folding of bills, "Then.. use this-" "Alright let's go Yu-chan-!" Natasha cut him off before he could finish, escaping with Yusuke toward the kitchen exit as if Satan were on her heels, "Bye, Masao-nii-!"

Masaomi blinked in shock at the spot she'd been in not ten seconds prior, turning his gaze to the still extended hand, before closing his fingers tightly around the offered money. "What is it with her.. And trying to do things on her own..?"

Natasha had dragged Yusuke first and foremost out for breakfast, swiping the bill before he could comprehend what she'd done and sneaking off to pay, much to his annoyance when she'd returned. He'd ranted for nearly ten minutes after that that it was an embarrassment when the girl paid for food, but she'd tuned it out by the time they'd gotten to the bookstore. While she was shopping for Azuza, she could update her manga.. Perhaps Shingeki no Kyojin had been released..?

"Sheesh," Yusuke muttered, having been browsing the manga section for a good ten minutes now, "Azu-nii could take a break while he's sick at least.." "It can't be helped," Natasha sighed, shaking her head as she inspected the next title, "For a workaholic like Azu-chan, it's only natural that he's going stir crazy.." "Jeez," he scoffed, looking at a shelf higher than she could see due to being vertically challenged, "It's like you get my big brothers better than I do.." "Pardon?" she raised an eyebrow as she found the series the needed, now, just the volume.. "N-Nothing-" Yusuke tried to chuckle, but paused.

"Found it-!" they chorused, shooting each other an incredulous look as they paused, smiled, and laughed.

Yusuke held the books while she checked off the list, humming softly to herself as she did so, "Were almost done.. Just a few more things.." Yusuke peered over her shoulder to read the list, his tone relaxed after their little laugh. "So, I guess we're going to a video store, next? We might have to hit a few different places for all of these titles.." "That's not a problem," Natasha flicked the list closed with a toss of her wrist, "While we're out I can update my anime shrines.." "You have shrines..?" Yusuke repeated, his tone dubious. Natasha grinned, "Uhuh.. But only for the ones I obsess over on a consistent basis." Yusuke sighed, shaking his head with a slight smile, "Jeez.. my little sister's an otaku-" "AND PROUD-!" Natasha cheered, launching herself into his side with a light tackle-hug. He lost his breath at the contact, grimacing when she only seemed to laugh. She left him after a few moments, and he was thankful she'd moved to go ahead of him, his face flushing spectacularly as he forced the thought of her torso pressed tightly to his away from his forefront attention...

"Y-You know-!" he started before he could stop himself, internally admitting to himself he wasn't going to be able to last much longer if he didn't cool down some. She turned back to face him with a spin of her heel, arms tucked behind her back as she looked up at him with wide, bright golden eyes. He was so going to regret this in his next life.. "We'll have to go to a lot of stores to find the DVDs.. So.. maybe we should get the books to him, first.." "That's a good idea," Natasha nodded almost immediately, her face thoughtful as she tapped her thumb to her bottom lip, "Lord knows I would have gone mad with boredom by now.. Getting these to him asap seems the best option.."

She flashed him a smile, and he swallowed, tensing his muscles reflexively to avoid stepping forward. Events following would either lead him to (least likely) glorious acceptance, and (most likely) physically painful rejection and/or ruin.

"I'll head out first, then," Natasha took the bags of books from his hand, his tense fingers twitching at the sudden lack of weight from his hands. "Bye, Yu-chan~!" she sang sweetly, waving a little as she wandered toward the exit, "I'll meet you back at home, then~!"

Unfortunately, Hiro was not on duty when she'd gotten to the hospital, but she'd luckily remembered the room and floor number. With the bag slung over her shoulder and swaying against her back, she walked casually along the mildly busy hallways. It was much more quiet than the emergency or pediatric units, but it was still surprisingly comfortable. Mostly, she surmised, due to the delicate paintings along the walls, and the earthy tones of design to the waiting areas and hallway floors.

Natasha stretched her neck as she walked, her eyes lazily drifting from one door to the next. Finally, she came across the open one with 348 outside of it, with a small, slidable paper placard that read Asahina beneath it. She came to an abrupt stop outside the door when she caught a sight of pink fabric, darting back a step so she was hidden outside the door's threshold. Voices, soft and filled with suppressed emotion, wafted from the corner where Azuza's bed was placed, the curtain meant to separate his bed from the empty ones pulled back halfway, giving her a decent view of the twins, who were leaned slightly toward one another on the bed.

"I missed you.."

"Idiot," Tsubaki scoffed, his voice nearly choking, "That's my line.." He paused, finding the words, before he continued, "You fainted and I didn't know what to think, and.." He hesitated, before forcing his gaze to the bed sheets, "I just couldn't bring myself to come." Azuza made a soft sighing sound, his smile warm and genuine, "It doesn't matter anymore.. You're here now.."

It was quiet for a second, and Natasha took a moment to create a piece of paper, pulling the sharpie pen from her bra and uncapping it with her teeth, using the wall as a hard surface as she began to write.

"I'm sorry.. For not listening to a word you said.." Tsubaki's voice drifted out of the room, but she was preoccupied in sketching a mini Natasha-chibi holding a simple blue bag. "..and stressing you out with everything.."

"I should have brought it up sooner," Azuza pitched in calmly, Natasha now working on the twin-like chibi's of her drawing, one with black sharpie hair accepting the bag and a white haired one with black outline holding hands with the black haired one with a smile, both of them looking happy and child-like. Kind of cute, actually.. "Anyone would get angry if they had that sprung on them.."

"No," Tsubaki replied, "Even if you'd have said it sooner.. I probably wouldn't have gotten it.. S-so.." Natasha heard the silence break by a shuffle of fabric, taking a moment to peak, assuring herself they were occupied, before crouching low to the ground, placing the bag inside the room with the note attacked via shiny created silver skull pin. She snuck back out of the room, grateful that Tsubaki could not see her, before returning to the hall, standing only when she was a safe distance away, enough to fist pump with a chuckle of victory. "Yosh-!"

She yawned slightly as she checked her phone, grinning at the time, and began walking. If she hurried on the last leg, she'd be able to help out with dinner, excusing her from cleanup, and ultimately giving her more time to sort out her approach for Arrow's "Grand Reveal" as she had personally dubbed it.

She found her way outside with ease and began picking her way down the steps. She hummed softly to herself as she pulled a pair of headphones from her bag, letting them lie limp around her neck as she blasted music from her created ipod. She was nearly three meters out the door, when a horn picked up beside her. She turned her head in slight curiosity, eyebrows jumping in surprise to see a head of orange hair. "Natsume..?"

"Hey," he called politely, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, though it was almost strained, but she couldn't fathom why. "Hop in."

"I don't exactly make it a habit of hopping into men's vehicles," Natasha smirked, clicking at the device in her pocket to stop the music as she flashed him a smile, "Now if you were to offer candy, however.."

"What a brat," he muttered, but the tension had eased from his eyes and mouth, and he offered her a sarcastic look, "Mind helping me find my lost kitten, then..?" "Certainly, dear stranger-!" she chirped, practically skipping around the car to the shotgun and slipping in with an unhindered grin, "So long as I'm home before the streetlights glow~!"

They shared a soft, amused chuckle, before he pulled from the curb, and shifted into gear, carefully gliding into traffic and heading toward the route to Sunrise Residence.

"Thanks a bunch, pumpkin," Natasha flashed him a smile as they merged into a clearer lane, her teeth nearly sparkling in glee as she sat tucked in the comfortable seat. Trains weren't always a picnic. "Saves me from winding up in a train car.." "Did you stay for long?" he asked conversationally, to which she only smiled in a secretive way, and shook her head. "No.. but I did manage to sneak the manga inside.. I have the ones I bought, but I was sure to grab all the titles he asked for.."

"You had to sneak him a bag of manga…" Natsume repeated slowly, disbelief and amusement colouring his voice, "What on earth brought that on..?" "Tsubaki was having a moment with the invalid," Natasha huffed, smirking a little as she shook her head, "I wasn't going to ruin it.. I wrote a note and slid the bag in, then left.. You know.. Mission impossible style.." "So Tsubaki did go to see him," he nodded to himself slightly, before focusing on the traffic around them, "I figured he might." "As stubborn as he thinks he is, he's actually a real pushover.." Natasha shook her head slowly in mock disdain, "Both of them seem to be, actually.." "I heard this through work earlier," he spoke after a pregnant pause, "but they've settled on Tsubaki as Azuza's replacement."

"Oh, Jeez.." Natasha muttered, letting her head fall back onto her seat, "Talk about family drama.. And after the whole fight just got settled about it, too.."

"They'll be fine.." he chuckled, giving her a passing glance while she pouted beside him, "Because right now, they're trying to be there for each other.." "I knoooow," she whined, slumping a little as she grimaced, "I just have a bad feeling about something.. I don't like it.."

"Well.." he murmured, smiling a little at her childish sulking, "I don't really have anything concrete to go on.. But I can just sort of tell.." "I trust your judgement," Natasha admit casually, sitting up a little and avoiding his gaze. His eyes darted to her swiftly, before pulling back to the road, something in his jaw jumping before he continued to focus on the task a hand. "Well.. we're still triplets, after all.." "Oh yeah.." Natasha murmured idly, her elbow propped up on the door's armrest while her palm cradled her cheek, eyes glazed over as she gazed out to the orange and fading purple sky, watching the sunset with a severe calm, "That one soul thing, right?"

The car slowed as they pulled up to a red light, but she could hear his clear confusion, "What the heck is that?" Natasha tilted her head a little, but ultimately turned to face him, giving him a playful smile, "Tsubaki told me about people being born together having one soul.. And while the thought didn't immediately interest me, I pondered on the theory for a longer moment, later.. It would explain a lot of the strange occurrences between a pair of twins I used to know in my junior high days.."

"I'm sure he was talking about his link to Azuza, but.." he slid a slight smile towards her, the look becoming more gentle when he saw she was admiring the view. "Maybe I'm linked to them, too.." "I don't doubt that," she chuckled, turning to give him a flashing smile with a customary peace sign, "Even if you are the youngest, something tells me you're the most mature…"

He watched as she relaxed into the seat, his thoughts whirring a mile a minute, before they fell to her lips, almost as if he were in a daze. "Your smile will give them strength.." she looked up at him with a start, but he did his best to elaborate for her, in an effort to correct his comment, "It's selfish of me to ask.. But.. I want you to keep smiling for those two.."

"N-.. Natsume.." she murmured, wide, golden eyes blinking in surprise. A light, dusting warmth spread across her face, and her shoulders caved forward ever so slightly, her whole demeanor that of a retreating puppy. "W-What do you-..?"

"I say this," he turns enough so that he could completely look at her, and his posture was held with firm conviction, his gaze steady on her face and his smile honest. "Because there's nothing that'll make them happier.." The light seemed to have changed ages ago, and it was at that point that he switched back into gear and continued to drive. Natasha sat calmly in her seat, her expression a mixture of complexity and embarrassment, the pink refusing to leave her face, even after several silent minutes of comfortable quiet..