Chapter 10: Hiking Adventures

"I didn't know you were into stuff like hiking," Natusme said. "I only remember you caring about gaming."

"I wasn't before," Ema said, a little out of breath. She hadn't gone hiking since returning to Japan and she could tell she'd already lost some endurance. She wouldn't be surprised if she was sore the next day. "I got into hiking while living abroad with my dad. We hiked most places we lived, and did some mountain climbing, though Dad wouldn't take me on the more technical climbs. He was worried about me getting hurt."

"You must have seen a lot of incredible places."

Ema smiled. "I did. I'll have to show you some of the pictures sometime." She hadn't been pleased about the hiking at first. Trekking up mountains had felt like a lot to ask of a ten-year-old, but she'd come to love it because it was quality time with her father. She'd also come to love hiking once she got used to the hard physical work.

"Am I going too fast for you?" Natsume asked.

Ema shook her head, then almost ruined it by nearly stumbling over a rock in the middle of the path. "No. This hike isn't nearly as hard as some of the ones my dad and I did. Besides, I've already lost some of my stamina. Slacking won't help me to build it back up."

"You lose it quickly," Natsume agreed. "Staying in good physical condition takes constant work."

"Do you like hiking?" Ema asked, peering at Natsume out of the corner of her eye. After Louis' suggestion, she'd asked Natsume if he wanted to go hiking before bothering to ask if he actually enjoyed hiking. "You were a runner before."

"Hiking is good," Natsume assured her. "It's good conditioning for running and I enjoy getting out of the city. This was a good excuse to get up into the mountains." He smiled at her. "Feel free to invite me to come with you anytime." A thought seemed to occur to him, and his brow furrowed. "And don't come out here by yourself, okay? Accidents can happen while hiking and you don't ever want to go alone. I think you'd throw the whole Asahina house into a tizzy if anything happened to you."

"I don't know about that," Ema said. "But I promise I'll be careful. Dad taught me all about hiking safety."

They rounded a corner and nearly stumbled into a fallen log. Natsume stepped on top before holding a hand down for Ema.

"Thanks," Ema said, pulling herself up with his help and stepping down the other side. "Do you still run, Natsume? I know you ran in college, but it's probably harder now that you work fulltime."

Natsume was quiet for long enough that Ema turned to look at him. "Natsume?" She prompted.

"I did stop running when I started working for my company," Natsume said. "There just wasn't any time anymore. I've started running again just recently. That's part of why hiking will be good for me. The conditioning will help me get back into the swing of things."

"I hope I'm not holding you back," Ema said, picking up her pace a little.

"You're fine," Natsume said, huffing a laugh. "Don't worry about me."

There were quiet for a moment and Ema thought over Natsume's long pause when she'd asked him if he was still running. If his new job was the only reason he'd stopped running, would he have taken so long to answer? She wanted to ask, but she knew she had things she didn't want people prying into.

She debated a few more moments before saying, "You loved running so much, from what I remember, anyway. Was it hard to give it up?" While Natsume had always loved gaming, Ema remembered him being far more dedicated to running than gaming. He spent most of his time training and practicing. Yet, in the end he'd chosen gaming over running.

Natsume was quiet again and Ema decided she had been prying after all. Still, Subaru had been the brother Natsume was closest to. Since the two of them were no longer close, who did that leave Natsume to confide in?

She knew he loved his triplets, but he'd never had the relationship with Tsubaki and Azusa that they had with each other. He more patiently or not so patiently tolerated their antics. Ema didn't think he'd talk with them about anything important and with Natsume living alone, she was worried he'd isolated himself. According to Louis, Natsume didn't seem to do much other than work. For the first time, Ema thought that Louis hadn't suggested Ema and Natsume go hiking merely for Ema's sake.

"It's complicated," Natsume finally said. Ema wouldn't call his tone unkind, but it was the harshest she'd ever heard it. Closed off.

Ema nodded slowly. "I understand complicated," she said lightly. "I stopped making friends when I lived abroad because it was too complicated."

Natsume sent her a sharp look. Ema used the excuse of scrambling over a rock to not look at him. She noticed her hand shaking and mentally told herself to stop it. If she wanted Natsume to feel comfortable talking to her, she had to show she was willing to do the same.

"Nearly everywhere we went it was a new language. I could learn a few phrases to get by, but it was difficult. Then there was the fact that there were so many people who just wanted to use me to get to my dad. But even those things weren't enough to stop me from trying to make friends."

Ema's heart tightened in her chest. Just saying the words sounded pathetic. Made her feel pathetic. "It was how quickly the friends I made stopped contacting me once Dad and I moved that made me stop."

She had to pause to clear her throat and she gave Natsume a tight smile. "It made me feel like I wasn't worth being friends with. I was entertaining enough to talk with when I was there, but once I was gone I wasn't interesting enough to keep in their lives. Only the Asahinas cared enough to stay in contact with me all those years. Well, you guys and one friend who's dad is also an adventurer and sometimes worked with my dad."

She shrugged. "So, I stopped making friends. I decided it wasn't worth the effort. You complimented how good my gaming skills are, but I didn't have much else to do most of the time." Erik had appeared after she'd made that decision. He'd worked hard to earn Ema's trust, to get her to allow him into her life. But in the end, he'd obviously felt the same way as the others.

Natsume stopped, grabbing Ema's arm when she didn't notice and kept walking. He spun her around so she was facing him. "You are worth it," he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eye. "You have no idea how many of us Asahinas have been waiting for you to come back to Japan just to visit. None of us cared that we didn't see you for years. That didn't change what you mean to us. Even if we hadn't seen you for another two years, that still wouldn't have changed."

"You're going to make me cry," Ema warned, swiping at her eyes. She tried to pass it off as a joke, but Natsume's words meant a lot to her. There might be those in the world to whom Ema meant very little, but there were people who loved her as well. "But thank you."

"Well, that wasn't my intention," Natsume said, awkwardly patting Ema's shoulders before taking a step back. Ema expected them to resume their hike, but Natsume stayed where he was, so Ema stayed there too.

Natsume sighed, shaking his head and running a hand through his hair. "I did it for Subaru," Natsume said.

"Did it for Subaru?" Ema echoed, confused. "Did what for Subaru?"

"Gave up running," Natsume explained. "Running and basketball are two very different things when it comes to the professional world. It's very difficult to make any kind of a living running professionally. Basketball is another matter, and Subaru has real talent. I think he can make it into the pros." He sighed again and started walking, slower this time.

Ema fell into step beside him.

"I was in college when I realized the best thing for me to do for myself was to drop running. I couldn't make a career or a living out of it. I loved it, but it was time to leave it behind. However, I was afraid if I told Subaru this that he would get discouraged, think that he couldn't make it in basketball either would give it up. I didn't want his dream of joining a professional basketball team to be affected by my decision to leave running."

He shrugged and gave the trees surrounding the path a helpless look. "Subaru looked up to me so much that I was sure my decision would affect his own decisions about his future. I couldn't let that happen, so instead I told him I was quitting running because it wasn't important. That it was just a way to pass the time in school, but now I was moving on."

"That's what your fight was about," Ema breathed, Subaru's supposed animosity toward Natsume suddenly making sense. The two had always trained together and Natsume had always encouraged Subaru. For Natsume to essentially tell Subaru that sports no longer mattered to him…it must have been devastating for Subaru to hear that.

"That was the cause," Natsume said, nodding. "I'd hoped that Subaru would have forgiven me by now, but he still refuses to talk to me."

"That's so sad," Ema said. "For both of you." She wished she could think of something to say to help, but nothing came to her mind. She wouldn't have thought Subaru was one to hold a grudge this long, but maybe it was because he and Natsume had been so close. "But you're running again now?"

Natsume nodded. "I've missed it a lot. It was actually you coming home that made me decide to start running again. And maybe…" He shook his head. "It's probably a stupid thought, but maybe it will help Subaru to talk to me again."

"Me?" Ema asked. "How did me coming back to Japan help you decide to run again?"

Natsume smiled and shrugged. "It wasn't anything big. Just nostalgia mostly. I remembered that you used to come to my meets with Tsubaki and Azusa. You were always the adorable little girl on the sidelines cheering the loudest."

Ema blushed. "Was I really the loudest?" She'd always been excited to go with the twins to Natsume's meets. It had almost been like going to watch an older brother or cousin, and Tsubaki and Azusa had always taken her out for ice cream afterward.

Natsume laughed. "Maybe not always, but it seemed like it to me. Maybe other people got quieter because they thought it was cute to this little girl jumping up and down. Anyway, I'd already been considering getting back into running when I heard you were returning. The nostalgia of those memories was enough of a push to get me going."

"I'm glad to hear that," Ema said, unconsciously picking up the pace in her excitement. Her heart warmed as much as it had with Natsume's earlier words. It made her grateful to hear that those memories of Natsume's meets didn't matter only to her. "I guess that gives me some responsibility in making sure you stick with running. I guess now I have to invite you whenever I come hiking."

Natsume laughed. "You could also come to any official runs I do and jump up down squealing like you used to."

Ema blushed again and decided not to respond.