It's Ema's first summer with the Asahina brothers. They travel to Miwa's private island to enjoy the ocean view.

Ema's POV

It's the 3rd day of their vacation at Miwa's island and Ema couldn't be happier. She had done so many things with her brothers, including going on walks with Iori, playing fireworks Yusuke, and building sand castles with Louis and Wateru.

Today, Ema was walking along the beach caught in a daze. She was thinking of what happened last night between her and Masaomi.

Last Night*

Ema was standing on her balcony admiring the stars when she heard movements down below. She watched silently as Masaomi left the beach house and began to walk towards the ocean. Not wanting him to feel alone, she made her way quietly down the stairs inside and when she reached the porch, she ran after him.

He noticed her before she called out to him. He looked up in shock at her beautiful face in her white silk pajama shorts and old T-shirts.

"Ema? What are you doing out here so late? It's dangerous you know." Masaomi had paused his walking to wait for her to catch up.

"I couldn't sleep, and I saw you leave. I didn't want you to feel lonely so I thought maybe I could walk with you." She smiled shyly. "Unless of course you wanted to be alone. I'm so sorry, in that case I'll just go back."

Before she could start to walk away, Masaomi reached out and grabbed her hand. "It's okay, you can come with me."

As they walked, Masaomi was telling her why it is he came out here.

"It's hard for me to find peace when we go on family vacations. As the oldest brother, I have to act as a responsible adult and watch out for every one else. I do enjoy my time with them, and watching after every one. But every now and then, I'd just like a little peace and quiet. I love to come out here, it's my favorite place to visit."

He was leading her out into the woods on the opposite side of the beach. Ema stumbled over some loose twigs and Masaomi pulled her closer.

"Be careful, we don't want you to fall and get hurt here. We're almost there."

Ema was looking up at Masaomi's mess of brown hair, not really watching where he was leading her. She knew he wouldn't let her get lost in a place like this.

"Masaomi?" She asked.

"Yes, Ema?"

"Is there anything you've ever wanted to do, but didn't? Because you were too busy being the older brother?"

At this he stopped. He looked down into her big brown eyes that reflected the moon light so perfectly and smiled a small smile.

"I don't feel as though I'm missing out on anything if that's what you mean. Yes there are some things I've wanted that I can't bring myself to do because I'd like to be with my brothers. But it's no reason not to enjoy the life I chose to have. I love my family."

Ema couldn't stop staring into his eyes, so when he broke away first and continued walking, she stumbled and fell.

"Oh no! Are you okay Ema?" Masaomi bent quickly to grab her hands and help her up. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you hadn't started walking with me."

"I'm okay." She stood and wiped at her knees, brushing away dirt and twigs. "Why do you guys treat me like I'm breakable?" She asked, her eyes staring into his again.

They were face to face, him looking down at her and her looking up at him. He was about 6 inches taller than her, so there was a pretty big gap. He slowly reached up and placed a soft hand on her cheek.

"Miwa loves you very much and would be devastated if something were to happen to her first and only daughter." He brushed some hair off her shoulder. "You're only 16, and yet you're so small. Your skin is soft and pale, unmarked by scars. Your eyes are so full of love and wonder at the world." He smiled softly, his kind eyes shining in the moonlight. "It would be a tragedy for something so small and kind and loveable to be hurt in some way" he grabbed her hand and carefully led her a few steps further into the dark to show her a tide pool filled with glowing plankton.

"This is what I was leading you to." He stepped back and watched her eyes grow big in amazement, truly smiling at her reaction.

"This is so beautiful!" She jumped up in joy and ran to the edge. The glow lit up her face in the prettiest shades of green, blue, and red. She reached out as if to touch it, but glanced back at Masaomi for permission.

"You can touch it, it's not poisonous." He nodded.

She reached her hands in simultaneously and swirled them around in the tide pool. She began to laugh freely at the feeling of being tickled.

"Masaomi, come feel this! It's so soft and yet scratchy. I've never felt anything like this." She laughed again.

Masaomi knelt down beside her, watching her laugh, and began to play in the water too. They played for an hour or so before they started to lose their glow, and they decided to head back to the house. The walk back was quieter, Ema smiling the entire way, while Masaomi watched her excitement. When they reached the door to the beach house, Masaomi wrapped Ema up in a gentle, warm hug.

"Thank you, for following after me. You truly make me feel as if I'm free of all my worries and duties"

"I'll always follow you Masaomi. After all, you're my big brother."

Present Day*

Ema knew Masaomi was holding something back from her that night. He had wanted to say something, when she asked if there was something he wanted to do but wouldn't. And when he was touching her softly, calling her small and fragile, she saw it in his eyes. A small glimmer, hidden behind a sadness she couldn't identify. Was it sadness she saw? She wasn't sure, but for a moment, she thought he was looking at her with the purest love she'd ever seen. But it was quickly covered before she could grasp it.

Wateru ran up and grabbed her arm. "Ema come play with me! I want to play with my ball. Please please please!"

He was bouncing up and down, pulling her arm. She laughed and followed him to the spot he was playing at by the water.

Ema could see Tsubaki laying on a towel not far from them, and Iori was tending to some flowers close to the woods. Ukyo and Masaomi were sitting on the porch, talking and watching them.

They kicked and tossed the ball around and several times Ema had to go get it out of the ocean. The water was tougher today than it had been the last two days they were here. It was choppy and moving quickly at the beach edge. She was only wearing her bikini, with a sleeves zip up shirt over it, so she felt when the breeze slightly picked up.

Wateru kicked the ball into the water again, laughing.

"Alright Wateru, I think we should place something else now. Maybe we should get farther from the water, it looks like it might storm."

"Okay big sis!"

Ema chased the ball into the ocean. The current has pulled it back from the edge pretty far, and the farther she walked, the higher the water got. Ema could feel the strength of the waves pushing at her as she took the final step to reach the ball, the water was now just below her arm pits. She reached out and-

WHOOSH!!!!

Her scream was cut off as her head sunk below the surface quickly. She felt the water rushing over her, spinning her around. She did a few flips and turns, struggling to kick out against the current. She had stepped off into a sudden drop and an unexpected riptide had ripped her off her feet. She couldn't make tails of which way to swim, up was down and down was up. She couldn't breathe and was kicking and paddling the best she could, but she didn't know that she was swimming down and not to the surface. When the black spots took her vision completely, she slowly lost strength, until she passed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Masaomi's POV

Masaomi was laughing and talking to Ukyo when he heard her scream. It sounded panicked, but not like an emergency. He glanced around and didn't see her, so he shrugged it off. That is, until Wateru began screaming.

"EMA! EMA! HELP! Someone save Ema! Masa! Ukyo! Help!" Wateru was looking out at the water, screaming as loud as he could. Masaomi and Ukyo took off the porch at full speed, running to Wateru.

Tsubaki had sat up from his towel nearby, and was asking Wateru what was going on.

"Ema fell. She didn't come back. You have to help her!" Tears pouring down his face.

"What do you mean fell? Fell where?" Tsubaki was holding the 10 year olds shoulders and shaking him.

"She fell! Help her. She didn't come back!" He repeated loudly.

Masaomi bent down to his level. He was worried about Ema, was she hurt? Bleeding? But his only answers were to calm down Wataru.

"It's okay, Wataru. Can you show me? Show me where she fell." At this point all the brothers had gathered around to see what all the commotion was. Masaomi watched in horror as Wataru pointed out to the water.

"She went to get the ball. She fell and she hasn't come back." He sobbed quietly.

Masaomi moved faster than he ever had before and took off into the water, Subaru close behind him. All he could think of was her dying, and how he could never live with himself if that happened. The desperate feeling building in his chest as it tightened were feelings he was trying to bury and hide.

Masaomi saw a string of bubbles float to the surface and pop. A glimmer of hope booked as he dived below the surface and saw her. She was floating with her head down and her feet closer to the surface, her eyes closed and mouth open. A look of peace was the only way to describe the blank expression on her face.

He grabbed under one of her arms, and Subaru grabbed the other and they swam to the surface.

"Swim on your back, let the current push us back to !" Subaru yelled over the water to him.

Masaomi kicked into his back, pulling Ema's head back to keep water from her face. He swiped her hair to the side and got as close to her face as possible to see if she was breathing. He couldn't tell and his chest tightened. She was completely pale, lips blue.

They reached the shallows quickly, Subaru bending to pick her up and run her out of the water. He laid her down and Masaomi dropped to his knees beside her. He pressed his ear to her chest.

Nothing. No heartbeat. No breathing. He started CPR.

No no no, he thought. Not her. Don't take her. Don't take such a kind and loving soup from this world. Don't take her from me.

He did 30 compressions and didn't hesitate to tilt back her head and give her mouth to mouth.

Wataru was crying, calling out her name. Ukyo was holding him in his arms, trying to console him. Subaru was across Masaomi asking to help.

"Get- him- away. He doesn't- need to- see this" Masaomi was breathing hard as tried to bring Ema back.

Thankfully, Subaru understood, and dragged Ukyo and Wataru inside.

The other brothers watched as Masaomi continued to breathe for Ema.

It hadn't been two minutes when she began coughing. Water shot from her mouth, and Masaomi rolled her to her side.

"Oh thank God," Iori mumbled. He shuffled off and Masaomi heard him throwing up.

"Deep breaths Ema," Masaomi rubbed small circles on her back to relax the tightened muscles. "You have to breathe in." Tears of relief began to fall on his cheeks. "Someone go call a doctor"

"I'll do it," Yusuke turned to the house, but Ema croaked out a no.

"Please- don't," She gasped around her coughs.

"Ema you were dead," Masaomi touched her face, that was still too cold. "You weren't breathing for at least 3 minutes. There could be-"

Ema rolled onto her back, and with as much strength as she could, clenched a small fist in Masaomi's shirt. "No- please- I want- to stay- with you."

Masaomi noticed how weak she was, even as she tried to sit up. He gently wrapped his arms around her, and picked her up bridal style. He wanted her to be checked by a doctor, but if she wouldn't let them call, then he was the best he could offer.

"Then at least let me give you an exam. I'm worried I might have hurt you during the CPR, or you hit your head in the water." He also couldn't let her go. Not after that.

Ema weighed nearly nothing as Masaomi carried her into the beach house. Her head rolled from side to side, but her fist stayed clenched in his shirt.

Azusa and Tsubaki opened the double doors for him to walk through. Neither one could look at Ema as they passed by, they kept their eyes down. Ukyo was waiting inside.

"Is she...?"

"She's okay. I'm going to do a full check up, she doesn't want to to the hospital." Masaomi turned for the stairs and started up them. Fuuto was ahead of him and opened her bedroom door.

Gently, Masaomi laid her on her bed. "Fuuto, go grab some water from the kitchen. She'll be dehydrated from all the salt. And Iori, grab extra blankets and my bag from my room. I need you guys to leave, she'll need rest and I'm doing an exam."

Natsume lingered and watched as Masaomi held Ema's hand, but turned to follow the others. He closed the door.

Finally alone, Masaomi brought Ema's hands up to his mouth and kissed her softly. Silent tears streamed down his face.

"Masa- Masaomi?" Her voice was rough and scratchy. He looked down at her, relieved she could speak and was awake.

"I thought- I thought I'd lost you. That you weren't going to wake up and you were gone." He was whispering to her, trying not to overwhelm her with his feelings. He gently brought his hand to her cheek and held her small face. "Ema, I don't know what I'd do if you died. I can't imagine life without you in it."

Before letting her answer, he quickly pulled back and went to the door. He heard someone coming back up the stairs. He opened it just as Iori and Fuuto came back with the supplies.

"How is she?" Iori asked.

Masaomi took his bag from him. "She'll be okay I think. I just need to make sure she didn't hit her head or anything. I'll come down and update everyone."

Closing the door, he went back to Ema and began checking her vitals. Her heart rate was a little slow, and her temperature as well. But her lungs and breathing seemed fine. This relieved him greatly.

"Nothing hurts does it? Physically?" He looked at her pale face again, struck by how beautiful she was even after facing death.

"No, I'm okay really." She said weakly. He gently sat her up so she could drink some water.

"Do you want to change into something more comfortable? And dry? You need to rest now."

"I want to. But I don't have the energy." She moved her hand until it was touching his, sending a shock into him. He started at where their skin was touching. "Thank you. For saving me. I'm so sorry."

"Sorry?" He started in amazement. She was apologizing to him for her almost dying. "This is my fault, I should have been watching. I'm responsible for you."

"You can't watch all of us. I'm old enough to know better. I knew the water was getting rough. I also knew there were drop offs. I wasn't prepared and that's my fault. I shouldn't have gone out that far on my own." Masaomi couldn't take it anymore. He leaned forward and laid his head down on her chest.

"I thought I lost you Ema. I love you, more than a sister. And I didn't want to hurt you by telling you this, because you'd be so much happier with someone your age. But you scared me today. And you showed me that I can't live without you. You don't have to return my feelings. Just let me care for you."

Masaomi let her rest after this, and have her a gentle kiss on her forehead before leaving the room. He updated his brothers and they checked in on her through out the day, making sure she's alright. No one went back outside, as the storm had picked up and was now pouring outside.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ema's POV

Later in the night, a loud crash of thunder awoke Ema. She was scared of storms, and this one was particularly bad. The large windows on her balcony doors reflected the lightning, letting it flow across her room. Another loud crash and she sat up, flinging off her blankets.

Her muscles screamed in protest as she stood up and changed quickly into pajamas. She tossed her swimsuit to the side, and put on the first things she touched: shirts that were a little too short, and an old tshirt Masaomi had given her.

Another loud bang, and a few flashes of lightning and she took off, out of her room. She went running to the one place she knew she would be safe. At first, she was nervous to knock on the door. She didn't know if he was awake, or if she would be bothering him. When another crash of thunder shook her, and she let a few tears out, she decided to just open his door and go inside.

She had barely cracked it, and stepped inside. She was biting her lip, looking at the floor, but of course he heard her open the door.

Another flag of lightning lot up her face, and showed all the uncertainty she had of being there. But when the thunder came and her small frame shook in fear, she took the few steps forward to the bed.

Masaomi was sitting up, watching her, waiting to see what decision she made. When she decided to come to the bed, he opened up his blankets to let her in.

"Ema, are you okay?" He raised his hand to cheek and wiped away the few tears she had.

Ema nodded slowly, but shook again with the thunder. "I'm scared." She whispered. Laying in bed with him, face to face, her heart beat quickened a little.

Mason placed a tentative hand on her waist, pulling her a little closer. "You can stay here with me if you want."

That was all the invitation she needed. Ema cuddled up into his chest, tucking the top of her head beneath his chin. Masaomi chuckled a little.

"Masaomi..." She sighed.

"Yes, Ema?"

"I love you too," she whispered into his chest. Then she pulled back, just enough to look him in his eyes, and said it again, louder. "I love you too."

Masaomi was surprised, but leaned forward and gently kissed her. When Ema shivered, he tried to pull back. Ema let him break the kiss, but stayed snuggled against him.

"I'll never leave your side again," he mumbled.