Standard disclaimer; also, there are some announcements in the second author's notes.


The story of Eris and the golden apple is one that has fascinated many for centuries. It is one told in nearly every region; any mythology book will have tucked away into it the story of the goddess, perhaps delivered in blocks of text, or rather in colorful illustrations with the golden fruit gleaming magnificently among the faithful, wise, and beautiful.

The golden apple perhaps caused more discord than the fruit of Persephone, the six seeds passing through her lips and damning her to the Underworld.

And the golden apple, in all its beauty, symbolized chaos.

But most importantly, the golden apple lived and breathed within the walls of Sunrise Residence, a flower tucked behind her ear.


Ema nearly waltzed her way home, and by the time she had crossed the threshold, Yusuke's eye had begun to twitch in annoyance. The small flower still laying on her ear rose questions, and her daydream demeanor turned heads:

"Ema," Ukyo had called for her attention, holding to her a stalk of leeks. "Would you mind cutting these? We'll be having stew tonight, and..."

He trailed off, seeing her on the couch sandwiched between Tsubaki and Azusa, chocolate eyes half-lidded above a serene smile. Chuckling to himself, the second son dismissed her distraction as sleepiness, pulling a knife from the kitchen drawer and slicing the leeks. He caught eyes once with his younger brothers, and Tsubaki lifted a finger to his lips in a hushing motion with a grin.

Her cloudiness drifted her through dinner, one hand pushed between her knees and the other stirring her stew contentedly. All comments and questions directed at her were repeated twice, the brothers beginning to grow curious about her sudden change in poise.

It was Natsume, who'd stopped by the house for a visit to give her a game, to comment first on the flower. The brothers who had been present turned their ears, their attention caught; Ema, however, had flushed pink and promptly pulled it from her curls of hair, holding it close to her heart as she murmured a reply to Natsume and scampered up the stairs. Speculation began to weave at her odd reaction.

"Relax, all of you," chastised Masaomi, whose fingers had tensed around the handle of his mug. "I'm sure it was just a flower from Iori..."

Iori caught his brother's unspoken question and shook his head silently. "No, it wasn't me."

The atmosphere quickly quieted as eyes flitted to the others. A smug voice cut through the silence.

"Well obviously it must have been a boy from school," Hikaru began, eyes smoldering over the rim of his cup as they gauged his brothers' reactions with wicked interest. "And with the way she was acting, I would say she returns the feelings. Our little sister seems to have been smitten."

And he closed his eyes, basking in the golden apple he'd thrown among the brothers.

"Of course not." Azusa raised his glass to his lips and closed his eyes, feeling the color drain from his face. One hand rested itself on his chest. "She would have told us if that happened."

"For once I have to agree with Azusa," it was Tsubaki who piped up next, voice sharp and defensive. "She couldn't have kept something like that from us!"

"Not couldn't," Hikaru said. "Shouldn't. It doesn't mean that she wouldn't or didn't."

"Hikaru, that's enough." It was Ukyo whose cold, stern glare pierced his brother. His voice was strained. "Let Ema be, and don't tease your brothers."

"Ah, but you agree with me, don't you?" Hikaru said, unaffected. "That she's in love, I mean. You saw the way she acted tonight. It was the same lovesick puppy face that you all wear every day!" And with that, he broke into cool laughter.

"Enough." Ukyo's glare seemed to harden. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Hm? About her being in love? Or about you?"

"You—"

"I'm just being a supportive big brother," Hikaru cut in. "If my little sister is in love, then I only see it fit to help her through it. And by through it I don't mean getting over it. But I digress. It's still only an if at this point, hm? I have no clue why you're all getting so worked up over it." With that, he stood, laying his cup on the slider on the coffee table. "I'll be taking my leave now. Good night, everyone."

The click of the locking door seemed to echo for ages in the stillness.


Breakfast was tense in the morning; Ema hadn't seemed to notice. However, all the brothers, even those who hadn't been present for the previous evening's heated debate, twitched in the dark aura that seemed to fall over the table. Ukyo and Masaomi tried in vain to create light conversation.

Both eyed their sister warily.

"Well," Ema stood gently. "We should be getting to school now. Yusuke?"

The boy's head snapped up, violently fighting the red threatening to color his cheeks. He hadn't listened to the conversation the night before, and was anxious to return to school to learn more about the curious boy who had caught his infatuation-turned-sister's attention.

"Yes! Yes. Let's go."

Neither noticed the many pairs of eyes that trailed after them.


Ema seemed to light up when she passed through the doorway, seeing Kaito's cheerful wave at her once his eyes caught hold of hers. His smile seemed to grow warmer than the day before, and Ema nodded to Yusuke and sat down beside Kaito.

"Good morning," he greeted, taking a large bite of his sandwich. "Sleep well?"

"Yes, did you?" Ema replied with a blush.

"Just fine, thanks. Dreamt of sandwiches," He held up a sandwich stuffed with roast beef and cheese. "So naturally I had to stop and get one on the way. Want a taste?"

He held his uneaten half of sandwich in its paper wrapping, offering it to her. She hesitated a moment.

"I can't ask that. You paid for it on your own..."

"Yeah, but I'm getting full anyway. If you want it, take it, I don't mind."

Ema tentatively took a bite of the sandwich before smiling softly. "It's good!"

Kaito nodded, and the two ate their meals in companionable silence.

Ema had finished the last bite of her sandwich when the teacher cleared her throat and announced the week's plan. Upon hearing of a partner project, Ema's eyes wandered inconspicuously to Kaito beside her, whose legs were bouncing impatiently as class started. The teacher let the students talk amongst themselves to decide their groups, and Kaito looked to Ema, who dropped her stare and blushed.

"Ah, I didn't know there would be a partner project. Although she did tell us that earlier in the week." Ema remarked as she let her eyes raise back up to Kaito's. He nodded thoughtfully.

"Partner projects. They're difficult. I've met a few people I could possibly partner up with."

"O-oh." Ema nodded, mildly disappointed. "That's good. I might just partner up with my brother."

He chuckled. "If you want, we can partner up. I'd assume you work with your siblings all the time."

"It's really no trouble if you had somebody else you wanted!" Ema said with a small squeak. "I do, and that's alright if you had somebody in mind. I don't want to be any trouble."

"Then in that case, we should partner up." He grinned, two dimples appearing which Ema hadn't noticed the day before. She turned pink as he continued. "You're smart. And fun. But I won't push you around, don't worry; I'd get it if you want to partner up with your brothers."

Her head snapped up, stunned. A panicked gleam lit Kaito's eyes, and the dimples on his cheeks quickly disappeared.

"Er... did I say something wrong?"

"H-huh? No, you didn't. I'm sorry, I'm just not used to people saying that."

Kaito blinked, oblivious to her meaning, before smiling amiably. "Oh, yeah, I guess it was pretty forward of me to say it directly. Sorry."

"No, don't apologize. It would be nice to work with you, I just don't know if Yusuke will have a partner..."

He nodded. "Then go to him. I'll be fine!" he beamed and looked back around the room, where already a girl in their class was waving at him coquettishly. He smiled and nodded (Ema took care in noting that his dimples didn't flash when he smiled at her, and that his nod was more polite than flirtatious).

"Ah, Hinata-san." He turned back to Ema, russet eyes sparkling. "We should hang out outside school, though."

She blinked and turned red.

"Not like that!" he laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "I mean as friends. We can picnic under the cherry blossoms."

"Oh! I'd enjoy that. Did you have any time in mind?"

"Saturday, maybe? I can pick you up at around eleven in the morning."

"That sounds nice." Ema said, a small smile on her face. "I look forward to it."

Kaito nodded eagerly and tore a small piece of paper off the corner of his assignment, scrawling his phone number on it. "In case you have any questions. About the picnic or about the project." He added the last part with a grin before scampering off to their classmate and taking a seat beside her.

Ema turned, making her way to Yusuke as she thought about his words earlier.

You're smart. And fun. But I won't push you around.

She hadn't mentioned the real reason for her shock when he spoke his declaration. After the longest time of hearing Fuuto call her an idiot, or of allowing unwanted kisses and almost-kisses from the people who were supposed to be her brothers, his words were like a breath of fresh air. She looked at him from across the room as she took her seat next to Yusuke, a faint smile growing on her face.

A breath of fresh air indeed.


I forgot to mention this last chapter, but my only knowledge of Brothers' Conflict is off the anime and the OVAs. Please don't take it to heart if I mess anything up within the novels or games, and please bear in mind that I'm still trying to capture their voices correctly.

As far as shipping; so far, this is going to be an Ema/Iori story. However, I'm pretty neutral with whom I ship Ema (Iori excluded), so if you want the story to sway one way or another, just give me a suggestion as to whom you'd like to see as her lover at the end of the story. No promises, though.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please review; it makes me happy to receive feedback and definitely makes me want to update faster. :)