Chapter 29 New Year Festival
"Hey, welcome, you guys!" Kaname called and waved to his family and Ema. "I'm glad you made it. Was it terrible getting here?"
"Traffic was abominable," Ukyo said. "You should have told us to leave earlier."
"Ema, you look so cute in your kimono!" Kaname complimented, ignoring Ukyo. "And your hair looks great. Louis' work?"
"Ah, yes," Ema said, putting a hand to her hair. It was in an updo that was probably fancier than anything Ema had ever done before. "Louis couldn't make it tonight since he already had plans with his coworkers, but he still wanted to do my hair."
"You are a flower among flowers, my dear," he told, taking her hand and kissing it.
"Don't act like she's one of your customers," Ukyo said, smacking the back of Kaname's head.
"But she is a customer today," Kaname argued, wincing as he rubbed his head. "And it's true. I don't tell lies, you know. Especially not when wearing my monk robes."
Ukyo rolled his eyes and muttered something about fake monks.
"I want some candy!" Wataru exclaimed, bursting between the two of them. "Look, Masaomi. There's cotton candy, and snow cones, and—"
"All right, Wataru," Masaomi interrupted. "Pace yourself with the sweets, okay? We wouldn't want you to get sick."
"Aww," Wataru complained, then looked to Ema. "What treat do you want to try first?"
"Me?" Ema asked, surprised. "Whatever you want, Wataru."
Wataru folded his arms and shook his head. "Kaname says that real men let women have the first choice, so you should decide first."
"Does he now?" Ema asked, giving Kaname an amused glance and wondering what kind of conversation had happened between Kaname and Wataru that he'd said. "Well, that's very gentlemanly of you, Wataru. We don't we get some shaved ice first?"
"I'll see you guys in a little bit," Kaname said, starting to walk away. "I've got an appointment right now, but I'll have some free time later. Enjoy yourselves, okay?"
"Let's go!" Wataru said, grabbing Ema's hand and pulling her to the shaved ice booth.
Ema was about to pull out her wallet when Masaomi stopped her. "You're our guest here tonight," he told her. "And I don't expect you to pay for shaved ice because Wataru wanted you to get some."
"I can pay for it," she argued. Her father sent her some money every month and she currently had a job. "And I wanted to come."
"Yes, but Kaname was the one who invited you," Masaomi argued. "And we're the ones who brought you." He smiled at her, the same gentle smile he gave to Wataru. "I don't want to hear any arguments about money tonight, all right?"
Something about the way Masaomi looked and talked to her made Ema feel like she was there as part of the family. She smiled back shyly. "Okay."
"And if you want any souvenirs, let me know and I'll get them for you," Tsubaki said, slinging an arm around Ema's shoulders.
"We're kind of a big group to wander around together in this crowd," Masaomi said, looking around. "I'm afraid we might get unintentionally separated or lose one of us. How about we split into two groups, and then meet up again once Kaname is available to spend some time with us?"
"Okay," Tsubaki agreed, his eye going to Ema. "I—"
"I call Ema and Masaomi in my group!" Wataru exclaimed, interrupting Tsubaki as he latched onto Ema's and Masaomi's arms. "You three can be the other group," Wataru said, looking at the twins and Ukyo.
Ukyo frowned, unhappy to not be in the same group as Ema, but unwilling to say anything.
"Why should you get to be with Ema?" Tsubaki asked, crossing his arms and trying to stare his little brother down. "All you want to do is eat sweets. We actually want to do fun stuff."
"I want to do fun stuff too!" Wataru declared. "And you and Azusa get to spend time with Ema all the time. You two have her all to yourself at work and when you go out to dinner. It's mine and Masaomi's turn to be with her. We want to spend time with her too, right, Masaomi?" He turned to look at his oldest brother.
"I think it would be lovely to spend some time with the two of you," Masaomi said, then gave Tsubaki a chastising stare. "You do get to spend a great deal of time with Ema. You shouldn't begrudge someone else in the family spending time with her. Unless you, Ema, would like the groups to be arranged differently?"
"Me?" Ema was surprised at being asked suddenly. "No, I'm fine. I would love to walk around the festival with you and Wataru." She smiled at the other three. "And we can spend some time together later when Kaname joins us."
"Fine," Tsubaki sighed. "I guess that's fair."
"Come along, you two," Ukyo said, ushering the twins away. "If there's so much you'd like to do, Tsubaki, we'd better get started." Ukyo was quite sure he was far more disappointed than Tsubaki about the how the groups had turned out. The only reason he'd come to this ridiculous shrine was because he'd wanted to spend time with Ema, but he could hardly begrudge his youngest brother wanting to spend time with her too. At least she wouldn't be with the twins. He didn't have to worry about anything happening with Masaomi by Ema's side.
~.~
"Are you sure you don't mind being with us?" Masaomi asked Ema quietly as they watched Wataru play a fishing game at one of the booths. "I'd hate to take you away from anything you'd like to do here tonight."
Ema shook her head. "The only think I really want to do is watch the fireworks with everyone. I don't much care what else we do. Besides, it's fun to be with kids at events like this." She smiled as Wataru pouted in frustration at not being able to win the game. "I'm sure it would have been fun to wander around the festival with Tsubaki and Azusa, but I'm just as happy to be here with the two of you. Like Wataru said, I haven't been able to spend much time with either of you lately."
Masaomi smiled. "Well, we're very happy to have you with us. Let me know if anything catches your eye that you would like to try."
Masaomi and Ema trailed behind Wataru as he jumped from booth to booth, frequently taking both their hands to excitedly bring them along.
Wataru was trying out another game when a group of giggling young women in kimonos walked behind Ema and Masaomi. "Don't you think marrying a doctor would be the best?" One of the girls asked.
"A doctor or a lawyer!" Another chimed in. "Then they're smart and loaded." She sighed. "But how are you supposed to find them other than by being sick or pretending to be in legal trouble?"
"You could always became a nurse or a legal secretary!" Giggled a third.
Ema turned her head to watch the women walk away. "Have you ever had that, Masaomi?" Ema asked. "Someone wanting to date you because you're a doctor?"
She turned to look at him and was surprised to find him blushing.
"I—well, I…I guess maybe a little, but as pediatrician, most of the women I meet are the mothers of my patients, but people like that…" He looked in the direction the women had gone and shook his head. "I think that's a poor reason to choose a spouse. There are many things that matter more than that."
"Absolutely," Ema agreed whole-heartedly. "Like choosing a man who is kind, reliable, and loves children." She paused. "Like you, Masaomi."
Masaomi sputtered a little as his face turned a deeper shade of red. Ema couldn't help her giggle, though decided that was enough teasing. "Sorry, Masaomi. Any girl who wanted to date you only because you're a doctor would be a fool, but you are a wonderful man and I think you would make an amazing father. You're like a father to Wataru and he adores you."
"Well, that's very kind of you to say," Masaomi said, scratching the back of his head as he stared at the ground. His gaze moved to Wataru and he smiled. "But I don't think dating is something I'll do for a while yet. With our father gone and our mother rarely home, I want to provide Wataru with all the support he needs. Since he's my first priority, I don't have any room for a woman in my life right now."
Ema was stunned at Masaomi's words. Though she'd never heard Masaomi talk about women, she'd still wondered if he had a girlfriend. She never would have guessed that Masaomi had a reason like that for not dating.
"That's amazing," Ema said sincerely, an ache in her chest. She wished she'd had a family member that devoted to her. Not that her father didn't love her, but it had been difficult the years she lived in Japan and he'd traveled. Having the Asahina brothers in her life had saved her a great deal of pain and loneliness as a child, but she'd still had to go home to an empty apartment and get herself ready in the morning from a young age.
And even when she traveled with her father, there had still been plenty of nights she'd spent alone. It just hadn't been for weeks on end like before. "Wataru and the rest of your brothers are very lucky to have you, Masaomi."
"You think so?" he asked. "I don't think I'm doing anything terribly special. I'm just being a responsible older brother is all."
Ema shook her head. "You go above and beyond that, Masaomi. By a lot. Being responsible is making sure your brothers have food and clothes and get their homework and chores done. What you do is a kindness that I think few people choose to be capable of."
Suddenly, images of Carlos and Erik popped into Ema's head. It had been a while since she'd thought of them and she was grateful for that. There was a world of difference between those two and Masaomi. She gave Masaomi a considering look as she realized dating a guy like him would be a good way to go. For the first time in a long time, the idea of dating didn't make Ema shudder inside.
"I think you overestimate me," Masaomi said, blushing. "I'm not as reliable as Ukyo, or good at helping my brothers with their troubles like Kaname."
Ema shook her head again. "It's hard to see ourselves in the best light sometimes. It's easier for others to see the good in us than for us to see it in ourselves. All we can see is how we're lacking, or how we're not good enough."
"I think you have some of that as well," Masaomi told her. "You don't seem to realize how much you do to help me and my brothers. At this point, I really don't know what we would do without you."
"Ema, Masaomi!" Wataru called, apparently having finished his latest game. "Let's go to the next one!" He waved for them to follow him.
Ema slipped her arm through Masaomi's and leaned her head against him as they walked. He looked down at her in surprise before smiling. He turned his attention back to Wataru, but shifted his arm to bring Ema a little closer to him.
~.~
"You guys ready for the fireworks?" Kaname asked.
"Yeah, yeah," Tsubaki said. "You sure have been building this up. It better be good."
Their two groups plus Kaname had reconvened for the firework show and were settling themselves on a free patch of grass in the field.
"Have you been enjoying yourself?" Kaname asked Ema.
She smiled. "Absolutely! I got to have all kinds of food tonight that I haven't had since I was a little girl, and Wataru won me this bear." She showed off the small stuffed animal Wataru had insisted on giving her when he finally won one of the games.
Kaname smiled at the small bear. "I'm happy to hear you've had a good time. I'm sorry I've been a terrible host and away from all of you all evening."
"Oye! Asahina!" A handsome man in monk's robes called. Of course, all the men in monk's robes were handsome. It was kind of the point of the shrine. "Ryusei says that everyone on the staff has to watch the firework show with customers, and that includes you. You can't spend work time with your family."
A crease appeared between Kaname's eyebrows as he frowned, then his eyes caught on Ema and lit up. "I'm not over here to be with my family. I'm over her to be with her." He caught Ema's arm and pulled her in front of him. "You know that I come from a family of all boys. This lovely lady here is a childhood friend and we haven't been able to spend New Year's together for the past eight years. That's why I invited her here tonight."
"Oh?" The monk said, studying Ema in a way that made her blush. "Lucky you, Asahina. I wish I had such a cute childhood friend."
"Yep," Tsubaki said, standing so he half-covered Ema from the monk's view. "Lucky us. Too bad we're not willing to share."
The monk ignored Tsubaki. "Well, Ryusei's word still stands that your time should be spent properly with a customer during the fireworks show."
"That's why Kaname came to get me," Ema said, gripping Kaname's arm in both of hers. "He was busy the rest of the evening, so I spent the time with his brothers. But now we're going to watch the fireworks together."
"Oh, I see." The man nodded his head at Kaname in a way that was almost a bow. "I apologize then."
As he left, Kaname turned to his brothers. "Well, you heard the man. There's special viewing places for the monks and customers. Looks like I'll have to take Ema there. Sorry for stealing her away suddenly, but rules are rules." Kaname guided Ema with one arm and waved to his brothers with the others as they protested Kaname taking Ema away.
"Sorry you almost got in trouble for trying to watch the fireworks with us," Ema apologized as they came to a building with a row of wooden platforms littered with deep cushions. There were walls on either side of each platform to provide privacy and a door at the back, though Ema couldn't tell where it led it. The platform provided a view above the crowd sitting on the grass.
"Don't worry about it," Kaname assured Ema. "This may not have been our plan, but at least we still get to watch the fireworks together. I would have been lonely if I'd had to watch them with a stranger." He lifted Ema's hand to kiss the back of it.
"You don't mind that I said I was your customer then?" Ema asked, wanting to make sure. She hadn't wanted Kaname to get into trouble, so had interfered without thinking about it.
Kaname smiled. "When have I ever objected to having a lovely lady on my arm?"
Ema's mouth twitched in an almost-frown that Kaname missed. "I know you're always nice to women and treat them gently, Kaname. It's part of who you are and part of your job, but you don't have to keep telling me I'm pretty."
Kaname gave Ema a sharp look and they were staring at each other rather than the sky when the first fireworks went off.
"Why do you not think you're pretty?" Kaname asked. "Where is this coming from?"
Ema held her arms out to the side in frustration. "From reality, maybe? I'm not saying I'm ugly, I certainly don't think that, but I know I'm average. I'm just realistic about my looks, Kaname." There was only one guy who'd told Ema she was pretty, who'd complimented her constantly on her looks. And he was a cheating, lying, jerk.
Kaname's jaw tightened. "That's not true, Ema, and I don't think you're being honest with me about the reason why."
Ema folded her arms, her position and face closed off. It hurt to hear a guy tell her she was pretty when she knew she wasn't. Not that she felt Kaname was like Carlos. He had several women in his life, but he was perfectly upfront about it. She'd heard a conversation between Kaname and one of his girlfriends before and they all knew they weren't Kaname's one and only. Some, if not most, of his girlfriends were probably customers he'd met at the shrine.
She looked up at the exploding fireworks, wishing they were with the rest of the Asahina brothers. If Kaname's coworker hadn't spotted him, they would all be having a great time together instead of the argument Ema and Kaname were having now.
Finally, Kaname sighed and shook his head before turning his gaze upward as well. "You're wrong, Ema," he said quietly. "But I'll drop this for now. I'm sorry for upsetting you." Kaname was sure there was a reason behind Ema feeling this way, but it was clear she didn't feel like opening up to him. He wished there was a way for him to make Ema see how pretty she was. Why did so many lovely girls have to be so insecure about their looks?
