A/N: Ugg, I've been reading over past chapters and fixing some of the mistakes I made before posting them. How did I miss so many mistakes?! I apologize for my sloppiness.

Chapter 9: Dates and Basketball

"You're in such good shape for a man with a desk job, Natsume-kun," Ayame, the friend of one of Natsume's coworkers said with a flirty smile, giving his arm a squeeze.

"Uh, thanks," Natsume said awkwardly, feeling uncomfortable with the situation. He'd gone out to drinks with his coworkers, as he did upon occasion, and lately Ayame always seemed to be there. It wasn't like Natsume had anything against her. She was a vibrant and funny woman. He just wasn't used to a woman being so bold. And she kind of reminded him of Tsubaki, which creeped him out just a little bit.

"You must go to the gym a lot after work."

"Not really," Natsume said. "I just go running most mornings."

"This guy was almost a professional athlete," Wakabe said, jerking a thumb at Natsume. "He was a runner in high school."

Natsume sighed and Ayame's eyes lit up. "That's cool. Why'd you decide to join a gaming company instead?"

Natsume shrugged, hardly willing to discuss the topic with a near stranger. "You can't make much of a career out of running. That's all."

"Smart choice," Ayame said, nodding her head. "If you will all will excuse me, I need to use the lady's room."

Wakabe watched Ayame leave, her tight dress hugging her curves. Once she was out of sight, Wakabe turned and smacked Natsume's arm. "Dude, what is wrong with you? Ayame-chan so likes you and she's hot. She flirts with you ever time we go out for drinks. Why haven't you asked her out yet?"

"Yeah, Natsume-kun, what's the matter, you don't like girls?" Reyna, Ayame's friend and Natsume's coworker, teased.

"I like girls just fine," Natsume said, not liking where this was headed. Why were his coworkers trying to push him into dating someone?

"Then what's the problem with Ayame?" Reyna asked. "You're going to give the poor girl a complex by not asking her out when she keeps throwing herself at you. If I had a yen for every time she complimented you, I'd be a rich woman by now. You spend too much time holed up in that apartment of yours all by yourself. You need more social interaction."

"What do you call this?" Natsume asked, spreading out his hands to indicate the bar and their coworkers.

"Mandatory," Wakabe stated. "You'd be harassed mercilessly at work if you didn't come to the bar with us. We're talking about going out and having some fun. How long has it been since you've been on a date?"

"I guess it's been a while," Natsume admitted, thinking that maybe he could go on one date with Ayame. At least to stop his coworkers from harassing him and to get Ayame to stop blatantly flirting with him. And who knew, maybe the date would turn out to be fun.

~.~

A week later, Natsume sat across from Ayame in a nice restaurant, wearing a suit and tie. Ayame was acting like her normal vivacious self, but it felt awkward to Natsume to be with Ayame without his coworkers around.

"So, do you think you'll stick with this whole gaming company thing for a while?" Ayame asked. "I'm not really into video games, but your group seems to like them."

"Well, working on them is what we've chosen to do for a living," Natsume responded bluntly. That was another problem with the date. He and Ayame appeared to have nothing in common. The woman, or girl really, that Natsume spent most of his time with outside of his female coworkers was Ema, and though Natsume knew it wasn't fair, he kept comparing his date to the times he spent with Ema. She was much more fun to be with.

Natsume felt his phone buzz while Ayame chatted with the waiter about the wine menu and he surreptitiously pulled his phone out to check the text. To his surprise, it was from Ema. She was having trouble with the latest demo he'd given her and had texted asking if she could come by his apartment and have him show her how to get through some tricky parts.

"So, what do you think, Natsume-kun?" Ayame asked, pulling his attention away from his phone. "Should we get a nice wine here or go out for dessert at the bakery Reyna-chan told us to check out?"

"Actually, I already have plans for after dinner. Sorry I didn't mention it before." Keeping his eyes on Ayame, he texted 'Come on over'. He felt a twinge of guilt at Ayame's upset and hurt expression, but this date was going nowhere and there was no point in leading her on.

Natsume arrived home later to find Ema sitting outside his apartment door. "Sorry, Ema. Did I make you wait long?"

Ema shook her head. "There's no need for you to apologize, I'm the one who texted you late on a weekend evening. Were you at work when I texted you?"

"Uh…" Natsume paused as he opened his door, not sure how to respond. He didn't want to lie and tell Ema that he'd been at work, but he found himself not wanting to tell her that he was on a date either. He told himself that then she might tell Azusa and Tsubaki, who would then call and harass him and it'd be awkward. He also didn't want to say that he was out with friends, because then Ema would feel guilty and think that she'd pulled him away from something else he wanted to be doing. "Just an event that I had scheduled for earlier this evening," he finally said as he loosened his tie and took off his suit jacket. "It was a dinner that I had to attend."

"Oh. I hoped I didn't interrupt anything." Ema put a hand to her mouth, looking concerned.

"Not at all," Natsume assured her. "Now, why don't we put the game in and let's see if I can't get you passed where you're stuck." The game was one or two player, so they both sat on the floor and played. Once they got passed the part that Ema had been stuck on, Ema was so excited that they kept going. Natsume always enjoyed playing with Ema. She was good at video games and her enthusiasm and determination always made him smile. She made an excellent demo-player when he and his coworkers were unsure about a game they were developing.

When Natsume's phone rang, Natsume picked it up and held it between his head and shoulder without pausing the game. "Yeah?"

Kaname's voice came through the other end. "Please tell me our adorable little sister is still with you."

"Yeah, why?"

"Why? Because it's midnight and she's not home. What are you two doing that you don't know what time it is?"

"Seriously?" Natsume asked in surprise, lifting his wrist to look at his watch. "Sorry. I was helping Ema get through some tough parts on a game demo that I gave her. The time must have gotten away from us."

"So long as Ema's safe, that's all that I care about," Kaname said, sounding equal parts relieved and exasperated. "If you two want to play video games at your apartment late into the night that's fine, but please let us know beforehand."

"I'll try," Natsume promised. "Talk to you later."

"Take good care of her. We've only got one little sister, you know." Yeah, like any of them could ever forget the fact that they went from having an entire baseball team's worth of brothers to also having a sister. Especially when that sister featured so prominently in their lives. Natsume hadn't missed the changes occurring in his brothers. He'd watched as some of them became more mature and more open after Ema joined the family. And more responsible. Kaname had never called Natsume over any of their brothers staying at his apartment late at night.

"Yeah, yeah," Natsume responded before hanging up.

"Is something wrong?" Ema asked, pausing the game.

"Kaname called to point out how late it was and to make sure that you're okay," Natsume answered.

Ema tilted her head to look at Natsume's watch and gasped. "I had no idea it was so late! I'm sorry, Natsume."

"Don't worry about it," Natsume brushed off. "It's not like either of us has anything we need to do in the morning. I can take you home now if you want. Or if you'd prefer, we can keep playing and you can spend the night. I'll give you the bed and sleep on the floor."

"Is that really okay?" Ema asked, looking shy.

"I wouldn't offer if it wasn't," Natsume answered honestly.

"I…want to stay here," Ema said. "It's more fun to play video games with you than with any of our other brothers. You're better at it then them."

Natsume smiled and they resumed the game.

~.~

"What was that, Asahina?" The coach demanded as the ball hit the rim and bounced off. "You're my best shooter! And passer and runner. Or, at least, you're supposed to be. Where is your mind, boy?"

"Sorry, Coach," Subaru apologized, wiping the sweat from his forehead and trying to tamp down his frustration. He'd been sucking all month and he couldn't figure out why. His sloppy performance lost them a game two weeks ago. Even worse than that, although he was only a junior in high school, the college scouts were already watching his performance. The real test would be his senior year, but he couldn't afford to be off his game now.

"Go again, Asahina," the coach ordered. "And keep going until it's perfect."

Subaru nodded and got into position again, his teammates moving to try to block him. By the end of practice, he still wasn't performing well and the coach threatened to bench Subaru during the next game if he didn't shape up.

Subaru dragged his feet all the way home, unable to do anything but think about his poor performance on the court. He'd never had a slump like this before. What was wrong with him? When he got home, he dropped his stuff on the living room floor and Ema appeared a moment later.

"Welcome home, Subaru! You got here just in time, dinner is ready. I was afraid that you wouldn't make it. Did practice run long today?"

"Yeah," Subaru said, scratching the back of his head. Though his lateness was more because of his slow pace walking home than him having to stay late at practice.

"Is something wrong?" Ema asked, peering up at Subaru.

Subaru blushed at having Ema's focus on him. He appreciated how caring Ema was, but sometimes he just didn't know what to do with the attention. "Just some problems with the team," Subara said. "Don't worry, I'll get it figured out."

"If you say so. If you need an ear to listen, I'm always here," Ema offered.

"I know," Subaru said with a smile, following Ema to the dinner table.

During dinner, Azusa asked Ema, "So, have you picked which high school you want to attend yet?"

"Yes. Hinode High is my top choice. I'll be taking the entrance exam for it in a few months."

"Me too," Yusuke added. "We'll be going to the same high school."

"Assuming you even get in, Yusuke," Tsubaki said, eliciting a round of yelling from Yusuke. Subaru stared down at his dinner, feeling oddly disappointed. He liked it when Ema came to his games and had kind of been hoping that she'd come to his high school so that she might be there for more of his games. She always got so excited, and it was fun to have someone to share basketball with. Especially after Natsume ran away from sports.

~.~

After dinner, Ema rushed to her room, wanting to get to the next level on her game. She was so close to level eight. All she had to do was figure out how to beat the zombie hoard guarding the dungeon and the necromancer controlling them.

When Ema reached her room she remembered that she might be forgetting some homework. Ema sighed and gave her game controller a mournful look before reaching for her phone to text Mahoko about the homework (she was fairly sure that if she had forgotten, chances were that Yusuke had too). Except, her phone wasn't in her pocket. Ema frowned as she looked around her room, checking in her purse, her backpack and under her pillow and bed. Finally, Ema concluded that she must have left it downstairs in the kitchen.

When she reached the kitchen she could hear Subaru and Tsubaki talking since it was their turn to do the dishes.

"I saw that look on your face when Ema announced her high school," Tsubaki was saying. "You're disappointed that she's not going to the same one as you, aren't you?"

"What? No!" Subaru denied. "Why would I care what high school she goes to?"

Tsubaki tsked. "First Yusuke and now you. I know that it's hard to resist our adorable little sister when she's close in age to you guys, but don't think that I'll hand over my imouto-chan so easily. All my life I waited for a little sister, but got stuck with all you brothers instead. She's precious, you know?"

"Shut up!" Subaru said. "You—you don't know anything. You wanted her here from the beginning! It's not easy for me to have a girl in the house. It's annoying to have to watch what I wear around the house all the time. It was better when it was just us guys."

Subaru stomped from the kitchen, nearly running into Ema. His eyes widened, first in surprise, then horror when he saw her. "Ema—"

Not knowing what else to do, Ema spun on her heel and ran back to her room. Why? Why did she have to hear that? She thought that she and Subaru were friends now. Ever since she first went to one of his basketball games. Had he just been pretending to make things easier around the house? Or because he wanted to spare Ema's feelings?

Ema reached her room and shut the door, leaning her back against it before sliding to the ground. She'd thought that she was a complete member of the Asahina family now, and that everyone else felt that way too. Maybe she was just kidding herself. Did anyone else feel the same way as Subaru?

A few moments later, a tentative knock came at her door. "E—Ema?" It was Subaru. "Ema, are you there?" Ema said nothing. "Listen, Ema, I'm sorry about in the kitchen. I didn't mean it. Tsubaki—he just gets me so mad with the things he says sometimes. I lash out, but I don't mean it. Really, Ema, I'm glad that you're here."

Part of Ema wanted to stay silent and sulking on the floor, but she couldn't just ignore Subaru when he was apologizing. Ema stood and opened the door a little. Subaru peered into Ema's eyes, looking sorry and hopeful before looking down at the ground.

Subaru continued. "All of us are glad that you're here, Ema. The Asahina family is better with you in it. Do you…" He paused and shifted uncomfortably. "Would you like to come to my game on Friday?"

A tight ball of hurt still sat in the middle of Ema's chest, but she couldn't say no to the vulnerable look on Subaru's face. Plus, she was well aware that Tsubaki's teasing did set Subaru off sometimes. She'd seen him lash out at Tsubaki before. "I'll be there," she told him quietly.

~.~

That Friday, Subaru was still worried about how he'd play in the game. He'd improved a little in practice during the week, but definitely wasn't up to his usual standards. And now on top of being off his game, he felt bad for hurting Ema. Tsubaki's teasing had pissed him off and he'd already been confused and upset over his basketball performance, but that was no excuse for the things he'd said about Ema, whether she'd been close enough to hear him or not.

He stepped out of the locker room and paused in surprise when he saw one of his teammates with his girlfriend. The girl was holding both his hands and smiling up at him. "Good luck tonight, Naru-kun."

She lifted up on her toes and kissed her boyfriend. Subaru blushed bright red at the sight. He looked down at the ground and walked passed them, though he still heard his teammate say, "Ah, you know I'll play great tonight. I've got you here to cheer me on!"

Subaru stopped in shock when he heard those words, and the image of Ema holding his hands and giving him a good luck kiss flashed through his mind. His face burned even hotter, but something finally clicked and he realized why he'd been off his game. He liked Ema. He played better when she was there, but she'd been so busy with studying for high school exams that she hadn't been coming as often lately.

He put a hand to his forehead and mentally cursed his stupidity. How had it taken him so long to figure that out? He'd liked her for ages. At least for months, but probably for years. Then again, he was completely hopeless when it came to women. Was it really his fault for not realizing his true feelings for Ema?

With his new epiphany in mind, Subaru resolved to play an amazing game tonight. He didn't know if he could say anything to Ema after just barely realizing his feelings for her, but he could at least try to show her how he felt through his performance.

Unfortunately, the coach decided to keep Subaru out of the first half of the game. Subaru couldn't blame him, given his crappy performance during the week, but he fisted his hands on his knees and bounced his legs in irritation as he watched the players run back and forth on the court. When the halftime buzzer hit, their team was down by ten points.

"Coach, put me in for the second half," Subaru urged, and the coach looked at him doubtfully. "I figured out why I was struggling," Subaru promised. "It was…something going on in my life. I know that it shouldn't have affected my performance on the court and I promise that it won't ever again. Now that I have it figured out, I swear that I'll play well."

The coach looked between Subaru and the scoreboard before nodding his head. "All right, Asahina, but don't let your team down." Subaru nodded, a grateful smile lighting up his face before he ran out on the court. Thanks to Subaru, his team pulled ahead and won in the second half.

Before meeting with his team afterwards, Subaru found a moment to sneak away to speak with Ema.

"That was amazing, Subaru-kun," Ema told Subaru. She smiled as she spoke though it seemed to Subaru as though it wasn't as exuberant as her normal smile and his heart clenched at the thought. "You know, Natsume-kun is always praising how well you—"

"I don't want to hear about him," Subaru snapped, then immediately winced at his tone when Ema flinched. "I'm sorry, Ema. I didn't mean to sound like that." He really needed to do a better job of confronting his feelings, both the good and the bad. Although he didn't know if he could help it with Natsume. He hated hearing his brother's name and he especially hated hearing Ema talking about another guy.

"Thanks for coming tonight. I…I really appreciate your support at my games, Ema. I play better when you come to see me." It was on the tip of his tongue to admit that he needed her, but then he reminded himself that Ema was still in junior high and he was in high school. Now wasn't the time for this. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and instead said, "Maybe you're my good luck charm or something."

Ema smiled more sincerely this time, and said, "Then maybe I should come more often."

"I'm sure that my whole team would appreciate it," Subaru joked, wondering when he could tell Ema his real feelings for her.