A/N: Happy New Year! Thank you very much to everyone who supports this fic with reviews/follows/favorites!

Chapter 34: Reconciliation

"Next time we go on a trip, we should go with just the two of us and Juli," Ema told Louis lightly.

There were at on onsen again, though an indoor one this time. Spring was around the corner, but it was still chilly outside. This trip they had been joined by Tsubaki, Azusa, and Kaname. With how well Ema got along with most of the brothers she wondered how on Earth she'd ended up on a trip with the two who things were awkward with.

If she had known Azusa and Kaname would be on this trip, she would have come up with an excuse for why she couldn't come. Not that Kaname had done anything like Azusa had, things had just been awkward between her and Kaname ever since the New Year's fireworks festival at Kaname's shrine. They hadn't spoken much since then other than superficial conversations.

"Okay," Louis agreed. "Juli will be happy about that. I know he was sad to be left home this time." Juli had come down with something and been frantic he wasn't coming with Ema. He'd insisted on having a private conversation with Louis before they'd left for some reason. Ema felt bad leaving Juli behind, but Masaomi and Wataru had promised to take good care of him for her.

"Should we change and head straight for the onsen?" Tsubaki asked, catching up with Ema and Louis. After Wataru had mentioned how sad it was the Ema was all by herself at the last onsen they went to, Tsubaki had suggested they look for an onsen where people wore their swimsuits in the water and that allowed guys and girls into the same pool. The place they were at was geared toward foreigners who were more shy about their bodies, but Ema was happy they'd found a place like this. If only they didn't have two certain people with them. Onsens were supposed to be relaxing, not stresseful.

"Sure," Ema agreed. "We can spend an hour or two in the onsen and then get dinner. They're supposed to have a good buffet here."

~.~

"I'm excited we finally got to come on one of these trips with Louis and Ema," Tsubaki told Azusa in their room as they changed. "I've been bummed we haven't been able to go on any of the others. Don't you think Ema looks so cute in her swimsuit?"

Azusa's throat felt tight. This was the point where he was supposed to feel jealous, but he couldn't manage that with how Ema was treating him right now. He hadn't been able to think of anything to make things up to her and she was still avoiding him. She hadn't looked at him once since they'd left the house.

"Azusa?" Tsubaki prompted.

"Uh, right, sure," Azusa agreed, forgetting what Tsubaki had said. He wanted to bring his problem up with Tsubaki, but wasn't one hundred percent sure Tsubaki wouldn't accidently make things worse. Plus, then Azusa would have to explain how and why he had upset Ema, and he wasn't he was ready to have that conversation with his twin yet. That was a conversation that required thinking and planning ahead.

~.~

Ema stood awkwardly in the corner of the onsen. It felt rude somehow to get in first, so she was waiting for one of the others to arrive. Weren't girls the ones who were supposed to take a long time getting ready and boys the ones who were supposed to be fast?

She startled when three blond foreigners were suddenly in front of her.

"Hey, cutie, are you here all alone?"

She was surprised at how fluent their Japanese was. "Um, no I'm just waiting for my friends."

"Oh? How many? Are they as cute as you? Maybe we can all hang out together."

"Mm, I don't think that would work out so well," a voice behind Ema said before an arm wrapped around her shoulders. She jumped and looked up to see Kaname, his eyes on the three boys. "I'm afraid she's here with friends who aren't particularly interested in sharing."

The three boys grumbled, but left without any protest. Ema relaxed, grateful Kaname showed up when he did.

"What?" She asked when she realized Kaname was staring at her.

"I can't help but feel that what just happened it somewhat reminiscent of conversations we've had recently and proves I'm correct."

"That?" Ema scoffed, gesturing at the backs of the boys. "They were looking for a girl who was alone and vulnerable. There are plenty of guys like that. They think the girl will be flattered by the attention and do whatever they want. They're not terribly picky about who the girl is so long as she isn't bad looking."

Kaname looked like he wanted to bang his head against a wall. The look almost made Ema laugh.

"You're stubborn, you know that?" Kaname asked. "I don't think there's any way you're telling me the true story behind why you don't think you're pretty."

"It doesn't matter," Ema said, shrugging out from under Kaname's arm. "But thanks for the save. I appreciate it."

To Ema's surprise, Kaname reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"Hey, Louis," he said, speaking over Ema's head. "I need to talk with Ema for a bit. Why don't you occupy the twins while I do?"

Ema gave Kaname a shocked look, then turned to see Louis heading off toward the twins, who had just entered the room.

"We have nothing to talk about," Ema said. "There isn't anything to talk about."

"Oh, I think there is," Kaname said, gently leading Ema into the water and an unoccupied corner. "And I think it's time you talked about it."

Ema folded her arms and leaned against the wall of the onsen, not looking at Kaname.

He spread his arms across the lip of the onsen, his gaze on Ema. "I'm pretty sure I can wait you out, you know. A lot of people find silence to be uncomfortable, but, like I've told you, I've had customers who are in real anguish and don't know how to verbalize it. I have a lot of practice waiting for people to say what they need to say."

Ema waited another minute or two before asking, "Why do you even care? Why does how I view myself mean so much to you?"

"Because you're my friend and practically an adopted member of my family," Kaname said, frowning at her. "You're important to me and I don't like you not realizing your full worth. You shouldn't think any less of yourself than you are, Ema. And if someone is responsible for you feeling that way, you shouldn't let them win like that."

Kaname's words gave Ema pause. She'd never thought of her reduced self-image as her letting Carlos win. Was it possible Kaname was right?

"But you're biased," Ema said. "You've known me since I was a little girl. How can I believe when you or any of the other Asahina brothers say I'm cute?"

Kaname smiled, an edge of relief in his eyes that Ema was responding to him. "Because every time Hikaru saw you, he bragged about how lovely you were becoming and would send us pictures. He told us how lucky he was that he got to see you blossoming in person while the rest of us were so far away and didn't know when we would see you again." He leaned closer, almost as though sharing a secret. "I think we both know that if Hikaru didn't find someone pretty, he would say so."

Ema bit her lip to keep herself from smiling. Hikaru was probably the most blunt person she knew. At least, when he wanted to be. The only time he gave false compliments was when he was trying to get something from someone, and he certainly hadn't been trying to get anything from Ema when he talked to his brothers. There was also the fact that Ema had always considered Hikaru to be an excellent judge of beauty. He'd made himself into a lovely lady admired by nearly all who met him, after all.

"Did Hikaru really say that?" Ema asked.

"I still have the emails saved in my 'Ema' folder if you want to see them when we get home," Kaname offered.

"You're 'Ema' folder?" Ema asked, amused.

Kaname smiled, but looked a little embarrassed. "Yes. I kept most of the emails you sent me in a folder to show off to my friends that I had a cute little sister figure who traveled the world. Since Hikaru's emails usually had pictures of you, I put them in the same folder."

"Thank you," Ema said. It warmed her heart that Kaname had kept emails from her. That was something she would have expected of Tsubaki or Wataru, not Kaname.

She sighed and looked down at her hands, watching the way the water distorted her fingers. "There was something that happened." And the she told him about Carlos, a fuller version than what she had told Iori.

Kaname's jaw was tight and his eyes were hard when Ema finished.

"Bastard," he said with feeling. "Don't you dare give him or anything he said or did one more thought, Ema. He doesn't deserve it."

"You're right," Ema agreed, surprising Kaname. She smiled at his surprise. "I liked what you said. About how I was letting him win. I'd never thought of it that way before, but I've been bogged down by how he treated me for a long time."

It wasn't just Kaname's words that made Ema think of the situation differently. It was conversations she'd had with Iori and Masaomi as well, but thanks to those conversations, Kaname's words had struck her in a way they might not have otherwise.

"I think I may have also treated some people unfairly because of it. You among them." She'd been so suspicious or disparaging of any guys who called her pretty, so sure they only wanted something. That hadn't been very kind of her. She had no idea what other people were thinking or feeling and had no right to push her own experiences and perspectives on to them without knowing where they were coming from.

"Well, that went much easier than I expected," Kaname said. He wrapped an arm around Ema's shoulder and kissed her forehead. "Unless you're just humoring me and don't really feel this way."

Ema smiled. "I wouldn't have told you about Carlos if I was just humoring you." Ema felt lighter, as though a burden had been lifted off her. "Thank you, Kaname." She grabbed his hand around her shoulder and squeezed. "Thank you for caring and for pushing the issue even when I tried to push you away."

"That's what family's for," Kaname said, shrugging again. Ema beamed. Few things made her as happy as when the Asahina brothers said she was like family to them. "But maybe before you date another guy, introduce him to me first. I'm pretty good about picking out the trash from the worth while ones."

"I sure hope I make a better decision when I choose to date again, but I may just take you up on that offer, Kaname. Thank you."