Chapter 5: Sunrise Mansion

"You'll be staying in Natsume's old room," Tsubaki told Ema as they walked up to Sunrise Mansion. Part of Ema wanted to pause and take in all in. The sun had started to set, highlighting the massive house that Ema hadn't seen in so long. It had been a second home to her for years. Now it would just be her home. The house and yard were gorgeous, but even if the place had been a broken down shack, Ema still would have found it beautiful.

"Natsume doesn't mind?" Ema asked, suddenly worried. She hadn't considered the fact that the Asahina's didn't have any extra bedrooms, which meant she'd have to take one of their rooms.

"Natsume doesn't mind at all," Tsubaki waved off. "And it's not like he lives here anymore anyway. What does his opinion matter?"

Ema threw a worried glance at Masaomi. She felt enough nerves over ruffling feathers without taking someone's room without their permission, whether they lived there or not. She imagined that Natsume and Hikaru both still liked to come home to visit.

"Natsume is aware and agreed," Masaomi assured her. "We asked his permission first."

"It's the best room," Tsubaki told her. "It's a corner room, so you'll have more windows. Even better, it's next to mine and Azusa's rooms, so you'll be close to us. Just let us know if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay," Ema agreed.

Iori and Tsubaki helped bring Ema's bags to her room while the Masaomi, Yusuke, and Wataru went to tell the rest of the family Ema had arrived. They were all going to have a dinner cooked by Ukyo together. It felt so nostalgic.

"Here's your new room," Tsubaki said, throwing the door opened. "Your new home sweet home."

The room was plain, which made sense since Natsume hadn't lived there for years and they'd probably cleared out anything he'd left in the room in preparation for Ema's arrival. There was a desk and a bedspread that was a neutral navy blue.

Ema had a sudden intense and visceral dislike of the room that she shoved down. It wasn't the room that was the problem, it was how bare it was. Just like every other place she'd lived for the past six years. Every place she and her father lived was so impersonal since they only stayed a few months or less. She and her father hadn't usually lived in hotels unless they were in the middle of traveling or staying in a location for less than a month, but no matter where they lived it felt like they were staying in a hotel rather than a home.

She knew the Asahina's were being polite by removing Natsume's things, but she wished they'd left it instead. Then the room would look lived in, real. But it was okay, she reminded herself. Because this time she would be staying. She'd collected plenty of things through the years of travel for her to decorate the room and make it her own. Her own room. Suddenly, Ema was smiling and the room was okay.

"What?" Tsubaki asked? "Something funny?"

Ema shook her head. "Just happy to be here, that's all."

"Well, we're happy to have you," Tsubaki said, setting Ema's suitcase down and slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Are you ready to go meet the rest of the natives? They're probably getting antsy waiting for you."

"Maybe she'd like a moment to herself instead," Iori suggest. "She might want to unpack a little before being whisked away."

"Loathe as I am to agree with one of these wolves, I think Iori is right, Chi," Juli said. "Besides, you and I need to make a plan of attack. You can't just walk into a crowd of these brothers blind. I don't care what you think about how trustworthy they might be. It always pays to take precautions. Don't you remember Car—"

"No, it's fine," Ema assured Iori. "I've spent the past six years unpacking and not seeing the Asahina brothers. I'm fine with finally reversing that ordering and seeing you guys while not unpacking."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Tsubaki said, leading Ema out the door.

Juli didn't say anymore and Ema felt him curl against the side of her neck in a silent apology. He knew better than to bring up Carlos.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" The a blond Asahina asked as Ema stepped into the hall. "Or can this beautiful young woman really be little Ema Hinata?"

Ema grinned and stepped forward, arms out. "Kaname!"

"Well, that's a nice greeting," Kaname said, obligingly wrapping Ema in a hug. "I guess it's true that getting a boyfriend really didn't make you forget all about us. Unless you only remembered us when you stepped off the plane."

"Beautiful," Juli muttered, though quietly enough that Ema wasn't entirely sure she was supposed to hear him. "That's the first thing a playboy would say to a young woman upon seeing her for the first time. Are you paying attention to this, Chi? I told you things would be different."

"Of course not," Ema told Kaname, but before she could say more, Tsubaki interrupted.

"What boyfriend? When did you get a boyfriend? Where did you get a boyfriend?"

Ema flushed, embarrassed. She hadn't exactly told all the Asahinas about her and Erik's relationship. Or Carlos, if he even counted. Erik had been hers and he had been special. He was the only person other than Arisa and the Asahinas who Ema had really been close to outside her father. She'd wanted to keep him to herself other than to tell Hikaru.

She hadn't minded Kaname knowing, but it somehow felt awkward with Tsubaki knowing. He'd always acted like a protective older brother, even with her overseas. She hadn't known if he'd be protective over her dating, but hadn't wanted to deal with it if he was. Especially after the disaster with Carlos. The last thing she needed was one more person telling her 'I told you so' about a relationship gone wrong.

"It doesn't matter," Ema waved off, hoping she sounded nonchalant. "He's not my boyfriend anymore."

"Why not?" Tsubaki asked, sounding offended on Ema's behalf. "What was he a jerk to you? Do we need to hunt him down? And back to my first question, when did you get a boyfriend and how long did that go on for? Why didn't I know about it? And why did Kaname?" Ema was pretty sure that string of questions meant she'd been right about Tsubaki falling on the protective side. Now she was really glad she hadn't told him about any of her relationships.

Ema grabbed Tsubaki's face to make sure he was paying attention. "I dated a few times while I was away. I'm sure you dated a few times too, but I didn't hear about any of your girlfriends. Right now I'm single and plan to stay that way. This is my first opportunity to attend a real school in six years and I'm not going to mess it up by getting tangled up in a relationship. Okay?"

Tsubaki pouted a little, but said, "All right, fine. For now. But I expect to hear if there's a guy you're interested in at school or around town, okay?"

"There won't be," Ema promised.

Ema and Iori fell back a little as Kaname and Tsubaki discussed something that happened at Kaname's work that morning.

"Relationships can really suck, huh? It can make it hard to know who to trust."

Ema turned a surprised look on Iori. He had a sad and bitter look on his face. Ema was stunned. Iori, the prince of the neighborhood, had a bad relationship? If he'd had a bad experience, what hope was there for the rest of them?

Before she could think of something to say, or decide if she should say anything at all, they were in the living room and there were more Asahinas she hadn't seen in years greeting her.

"You look wonderful, Chi," Louis said, bending down to hug her.

"You too, Louie," Ema said. "You're hair's prettier than mine."

"No way," Louis said, shaking his head as he pulled away from the hug. "But I can give you a nice hair treatment if you'd like. And hello to you as well, Juli. You're looking well."

"Am I really?" Juli asked, the frustration in his voice clear. "I should be looking a nervous wreck at the situation Chi has gotten herself into, but boy am I glad to see you. I don't know what I'd do if you had moved out of the house."

"Situation?" Louis asked, tilting his head. "What situation?"

Louis paid no attention to the odd looks some of his brothers gave him as he responded to Juli's chattering. Pleased to see his old friend and hoping he'd found an ally, Juli leaped from Ema's shoulder to Louis' in order to plot.

Ema shook her head, hoping Juli wouldn't offend Louis. She'd have to talk to Louis later about not paying attention to Juli's silly concerns.

"I made sushi and miso soup for tonight," Ukyo told Ema. "I hope you don't mind. I thought about making one of the recipes you sent me, but then I thought a more traditional Japanese dinner might be nice for your first night back in Japan."

Ema beamed at Ukyo. "A traditional Japanese dinner sounds perfect. Thank you, Ukyo." Part of Rintaro's adventuring show focused on the foods found in each of the places he traveled to, so he and Ema usually ate local cuisine. She'd enjoyed plenty of the food they'd tried and certainly never got bored of her meals, but something about eating a traditional Japanese meal sounded like home.

"I'm glad you approve," Ukyo said, returning Ema's smile. "Though I did save all the recipes you sent me, so if you feel nostalgic for any of the places you've been, we can cook something from there."

"That's very kind of you to offer, but I think I'm good with sticking with Japanese for a while."

"Did you miss it?" Wataru asked, pulling on the edge of Ema's shirt. "Japanese food, I mean?"

"I did," Ema told him, patting him on the head. "And I missed you, too."

"Good!" Wataru said, throwing his arms around Ema's waist for a second. "It was fun to get emails and pictures of you, but having you here will be a lot better. I want you to stay in Japan for a loooong time, okay?"

"Well, you get me for at least two years," Ema reminded him. "By the end you might be sick of me."

"No way!" Wataru argued, vigorously shaking his head.

"I don't remember anything about you being anywhere near worthy of making us sick of seeing you," Azusa said. "Some of our brothers are a lot more annoying than you could possibly be."

Ema smiled shyly. She hadn't been as close to Azusa as she'd been to Tsubaki and some of the others, so it was nice to hear something like that from him. "Maybe not, but it has been six years. Maybe you just don't remember well enough. Or maybe you'll find the ways I've changed to be annoying." Ema spoke jokingly, but she hoped it wasn't true. She was seventeen now rather than a ten-year-old girl. Maybe they would like the memory of her as a little girl a lot more than her current teenage self.

"No way," Tsubaki said. "Azusa's right about our brothers. There's plenty of them I'd trade you for any day. Now, on to more interesting subjects, you can finally watch mine and Azusa's anime with us! Right now I'm working on Dark—"

"Dark Circle," Ema interrupted. "And Azusa is working on Space Flight Z."

Tsubaki stared at Ema in surprise and she grinned back at him. "Did you really think I wouldn't know what you're working on? I've probably followed both your careers more closely than anyone. I have most of the animes and games you and Azusa have worked on."

"I knew you liked our stuff, but I didn't know you were that big of a fan," Tsubaki said. "You should have told us. We would have sent you all that stuff for free."

Ema shrugged, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious. "It made me happy to collect your guys' work. I'd always get so excited when a new anime or game voice by one of you arrived in the mail." She hesitated, then shrugged one shoulder. "It made me feel a little less lonely when we traveled to new places to hear your voices. Almost like I had someone I knew there with me."

Tsubaki again fell into stunned silence. Ema hadn't known it was possible for Tsubaki to be stunned into silence. It was kind of fun that she had managed to do it twice in under five minutes.

"You could have called us," Tsubaki said.

Ema shook her head. "It would have been complicated to work out between my dad's shooting schedule, your work schedule, and the different time zones. Besides, it would have been expensive."

Tsubaki opened his mouth, but Azusa put a hand on his shoulder, stalling him. "It doesn't matter at this point. We can't change the past, Tsubaki." He smiled at Ema. "I'm happy to hear our work helped you feel better." He paused, and a light flush covered his cheeks. Ema was grateful she wasn't the only one feeling a little shy over this conversation. "It's always nice to hear that someone enjoys our work, but to hear that it helped someone during a time in their life that was maybe a little rough…that means more. Thank you for telling us, Ema."

"Of course," Ema said. She was grateful for how much the two of them had been there for her through some tough times, even without knowing it. "Like Tsubaki said, it will be fun to finally watch your animes together with you. I'm looking forward to it."

Ukyo called them to dinner after that. Wataru insisted on sitting by Ema and Tsubaki demanded the other seat next to her. Louis promised to do Ema's hair the first day of school.

Tears again tried to come to Ema's eyes. Thankfully, everyone was too engaged in animated conversation to notice. She had missed this so much, and now this would be her life every day for the next two years. She couldn't wait.