Chapter 13: Basketball
"You can do this," Yusuke told his image in the mirror. "You two have been getting along really well at school and she seems to like you okay. She makes you lunch every day and you always eat lunch together. You just need to get a little closer to her to become friends. And then—and then—"
Yusuke flushed red just at the thought of what might come after. At what hopefully would come after. Ema was just as amazing as she'd been when they were kids and Yusuke had first started to like her. Better, even. He wanted to capture Ema's attention before any other guy did, but he was still an idiot around her. Too ornery and offish. He knew it, but he was doing a little better around her and he hoped spending some relaxing time with her outside of school would help him be more comfortable with her. More real with her.
He slapped his cheeks to bring himself back to the present. "Just invite her!" He ordered himself. It wasn't a date. It was just two classmates going to watch a game together that was all. And he'd present the idea as them supporting Subaru, so it would look natural. Completely natural.
~.~
"H-hey, are you doing anything this Saturday?" Yusuke asked as Ema made dinner. Thankfully, Ukyo had to stay late at work. Yusuke wasn't sure he could have gotten up the nerve to ask Ema if anyone else had been present.
"I don't think so," Ema said, looking up from chopping vegetables. "Ukyo and I will plan out next week's meals, but that won't take us very long. Why? Is there homework you wanted help with?"
"No," Yusuke said, shaking his head and hoping he wasn't blushing. That was another great thing about Ema. She was definitely smarter than him and always willing to help him with homework. She never seemed to think he was stupid or resent the time she spent helping him. "Subaru has a basketball game on Saturday and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me. You know, to cheer him on and stuff. You haven't been to one of his games before. He's really good, so it's fun to watch. And the energy of the crowd is fun to be around. Watching a sports game in person is way cooler than watching over the TV."
"I've never been to a sports game before," Ema said, then smiled. "Sure. It sounds like fun. Thanks, Yusuke." Her smile widened. "It will prepare me to know how to cheer for you when you have your first soccer game."
Now Yusuke knew for sure he was blushing. He'd hopped Ema would come to his games. After all, the whole reason he'd agreed to help out the soccer team was because Ema had said it would be cool to watch him play, but he'd been too afraid to ask if she still planned to come when they had their first game in a few weeks. He'd hoped that inviting her to watch Subaru would be a step toward him being able to invite Ema to his game, but, apparently, he wouldn't have to after all. He was so happy he could almost cry.
~.~
"There's a lot of people here," Ema said, looking around at the crowd.
"Yeah, college games are pretty popular," Yusuke said. "Don't expect to find a crowd like this at our high school's soccer game."
"That's okay," Ema assured Yusuke. "I still think it will be fun."
She was excited to be at Subaru's basketball game for multiple reasons. Number one was that Yusuke had invited her. Yusuke wasn't always the friendliest with her, but she had come to understand that he wasn't the friendliest with anyone, including his brothers other than Subaru, who was clearly Yusuke's favorite. The fact that Yusuke had invited Ema to come to his favorite brother's game with him made Ema think Yusuke had fully accepted her presence at Sunrise Mansion. She was grateful her work toward making Yusuke comfortable with her had paid off.
Not only was one of the three brothers upset with Ema's presence okay with her now, but Yusuke was becoming a real friend to Ema. It was nice to get to go to school with a friend.
The second reason she was excited to be there was because she hoped this experience would help her understand Subaru better and maybe draw a little closer to him. Basketball was obviously the most important thing in Subaru's life, but Ema knew nothing about basketball. Maybe if she learned more about basketball and could talk with Subaru about it, or at least if she supported him at his games, he'd be a little more comfortable with Ema living in his house.
She only hoped she would find the game interesting. Since she'd never watched basketball before, she didn't know what she would think of it. If she found it boring, she was pretty sure her chances of becoming friends, or at least polite housemates, with Subaru were doomed.
The game started and Ema bit her lip as she tried to make Subaru out among all the players.
"Which one is Subaru?" She finally asked. She'd thought she'd caught a glimpse of him here and there, but wasn't sure. Subaru would hardly be impressed if she congratulated him at the end of the game for a basket or pass he didn't make.
"There, number fourteen," Yusuke said, pointing out one of the Meiji players. "Sorry, I should have told you his number earlier."
"It's fine," Ema said, but Yusuke's attention was already back on the game. She took a moment to really look at Yusuke. He was more excited than Ema had ever seen him. His eyes were bright and he followed the players movement's like it was his own team playing down there.
While she knew Yusuke liked sports, she was sure it was watching the older brother he admired that made him so excited rather than getting to watch a college basketball game in person. Ema hid her smile behind her hand. It was adorable to see how much Yusuke looked up to Subaru. He didn't seem to get along well with many of his other brothers, so Ema was glad he had Subaru.
The thought made Ema wonder if Subaru had anyone to look up to now that he and Natsume didn't get along. They had been so close before Ema left. Subaru had even played video games with Ema and Natsume a couple times. Not that he'd ever said anything to Ema, but spending time with Natsume had meant so much to him that he'd even been willing to put up with Ema's presence.
Ema's thoughts were interrupted when the crowd suddenly booed. One of the players from the opposing team had elbowed a Meiji player hard in the stomach. Then Ema noticed the number of the elbowed player was fourteen. She gasped. "Subaru!"
A timeout was called and the offending player was penalized.
"That's terrible!" Ema said. "Does something like that often happen in basketball?"
"No," Yusuke said, his eyes narrowing in anger. "That guy just couldn't stand how pathetic he is compared to Subaru. He couldn't make any moves against him, so lost his temper. What an idiot. A player who loses his temper will never become a professional."
"Is that what Subaru wants to do?" Ema asked, surprised. "Become a professional basketball player?"
Yusuke nodded, some of the light coming back into his eyes. "Yeah. It's been his dream for years, and he's had scouts at some of his games."
"That's amazing," Ema said, paying better attention to the game. She was surprised when the timeout ended and Subaru came back onto the court. She'd expected him to take a break after being elbowed like that. Watching the game, Ema could see how talented Subaru was. There were other good players from both teams, but Subaru still stood out.
"Subaru's making more baskets than anyone!" Ema said excitedly.
"Yeah, I know!" Yusuke said. Ema missed the suddenly sharp look he gave her and the frown on his face when he turned back to the game.
~.~
Meiji University, Subaru's team, won thanks to Subaru. Ema and Yusuke stayed to talk with him after. Subaru smiled when he saw Yusuke, but the smile disappeared when he realized Ema stood next to Yusuke.
Ema's heart clenched, but she struggled to keep the smile on her face. Rejection in any form was never easy, but that was why she was here. To hopefully make Subaru a little more comfortable with her presence.
"Sorry for intruding, Subaru," Ema said when he got closer. "Yusuke invited me since I've never seen a basketball game before. You were really amazing! Meiji won because of you. I bet the scouts have been really impressed with your performance. Not that I know anything about basketball, of course."
"Um, thanks," Subaru said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.
Realizing that Subaru and Yusuke probably wanted to talk and that Subaru never talked in front of her, she said, "I'm going to get a drink from the vending machine. Do you want anything, Yusuke?"
"No, I'm good."
"Subaru?"
Subaru looked surprised at being addressed by Ema and actually met her eyes for a second before looking away. "No, thanks."
Ema nodded before turning and leaving.
~.~
Yusuke was surprised to watch Subaru visibly relax when Ema walked away.
"Why did you bring her?" Subaru asked. Yusuke was again surprised to see that Subaru was upset.
"What's wrong with me bringing her?" Yusuke asked. "Like she said, she's never seen a basketball game before. I thought this would be a fun way to introduce her to it. And I wanted her to see what a good player you are." For a moment he'd regretted wanting Ema to see Subaru in action. He'd been worried when she'd seemed to think Subaru was so cool part way through the game, but it looked like he didn't have anything to worry about. Subaru looked and sounded like he couldn't stand Ema. Had that been going on the whole time Ema had been living at Sunrise Mansion? It had been over a month.
"Why does she need to see that?" Subaru asked. "And I thought you were as upset as me that she was coming to live with us. What made you change your mind?"
Yusuke had forgotten that Subaru had told the family he didn't want Ema to come live with them, and then Masaomi had scolded him for not wanting to help Ema.
"It's not that I didn't want her to come back to Japan," Yusuke said, looking at the ground rather than Subaru. "We were friends before, remember? I just thought it would be awkward for us to live in the same house and go to the same school, but it's been fine. Plus, she's a really good cook. The dinners she makes with Ukyo are even better than the ones Ukyo used to make by himself." He hoped Subaru didn't remember that he and Ema hadn't actually been friends when Ema had left. He was pretty sure Subaru hadn't paid enough attention to notice.
"Even if you're not happy she's at the house, why do you care that she came to your game? She thought you were really cool out there and was really worried when you got hit. She was impressed you were dedicated enough to get back on the court even after you were hurt. What's your problem with her?"
Yusuke suddenly realized that he was on the verge of fighting with the one brother he never fought with and fell silent. He didn't regret what he'd said, though. Subaru was his favorite brother, but he couldn't help feeling protective of Ema. They spent a lot of time together, after all, and she did a lot for him making him lunch every day and helping him with homework.
Subaru blinked in surprise. "She was?"
Yusuke sighed. "Yes, she was, but if you don't want her here, I won't bring her again. You might spoil how she thinks of basketball, though." If he hadn't already by being so rude to her. Yusuke hoped he'd never been that rude to Ema.
"It—it's fine." Subaru looked awkward as he gazed in the direction Ema had gone. "Look, it's just hard to adjust having a girl in the house, all right? I don't have anything against Ema personally. If she were a guy, I wouldn't have a problem with her living there. It's been just us guys for a long time. I don't even know how old I was when Mom moved to her apartment in the city. You can bring her again if you want."
Yusuke relaxed. He hadn't thought about the situation from Subaru's perspective. Or any of his brothers' perspectives, really. He'd been too caught up in his own mixed emotions on the matter. "Yeah, okay, I can see that. It is a big change to have a girl in the house. Just try to give her a chance, all right? She's really nice and this is a big change for her too. She's trying hard to fit in at high school for the first time and at our house." He was pretty sure that being helpful was part of Ema's nature, but he was also concerned that part of why she helped everyone was because she was worried about not being welcome at the Asahina's home.
"Fine," Subaru agreed. "I'll try."
~.~
Ema was walking down the hall that night to give a comic she'd borrowed from Yusuke back to him when she passed Subaru's room. His door was open and she gasped when she saw him take off his shirt.
His gaze jerked to her, but her eyes were on the purple bruise covering the left half of his chest.
"That looks really bad. You should ice it, Subaru," she said. "I'll go get some." She turned and hurried toward the kitchen.
"Someone chasing you?" Kaname asked as Ema hurried past him.
"Subaru got hurt at his game," Ema called over her shoulder. "I'm getting him some ice."
She returned to Subaru's room a moment later and handed him an ice pack wrapped in a dish towel.
"You didn't have to do that," Subaru said, taking the ice pack.
"You have to take good care of your body," Ema argued. "You've got scouts watching you and a bruise like that could make you move slower during your next game. Now isn't the time for an injury." She glanced behind her at Yusuke's comic that she'd carelessly tossed on the ground after seeing Subaru's bruise and winced. She hoped she hadn't hurt it. "Anyway, sorry to intrude in your room. I'll see you later, Subaru."
~.~
Door now shut, Subaru held the ice pack to his chest and stared at the basketball sitting in the corner of his room. He was a jerk. His first thought when he'd heard Ema gasp was that she was offended over him taking his shirt off with his door open, but that hadn't been it at all. She'd only been concerned about his bruise.
The whole time she'd been there he'd done his best to ignore her and not be wherever she was, but Yusuke was right. Ema was really nice and a really good cook.
He should make an effort to talk to her. The only problem was, since he never spoke to girls, he didn't actually know what to say to one.
